The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Two films for The Hobbit? Invented materials to "fill in the gaps"?

11-01-2006, 02:44 PM

Hi. Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I just thought I'd chime in on this debate as it is one that raged on in my head for a long time several years ago. Back when I was in film school I chose to tackle The Hobbit as my project for my screenplay adaptation class. I pulled the book(my favorite book as a child, by the way) apart and broke the story down into workable acts that were pretty much true to the events in the book. I was ready to start writing the script... and then I had a thought: what if I incorporated the mysterious events only alluded to in the books?

Certainly it would have broken up the action into two distinct stories I could cross-cut between(Your A story being Bilbo and the Dwarves and your B story being Gandalf and the actions of the White Council). I thought at first that it would add more depth and actually create a more compelling flow of action. But, the more I thought about it, the more I felt it was the wrong way to go. It would shift the focus too much off of Bilbo, whose personal journey is really what drives the novel.

I suddenly remembered the reason I loved this book had nothing to do with LOTR. It was all about Bilbo, a fat, silly little hobbit whose simple ways and common sense approach make him more a hero than any sword(even Sting) ever could. I quickly scrapped my grandiose plans and went back to the simple story I loved.

With all the recent talk of two Hobbit movies, I decided I would break out my good old singular script of The Hobbit and let someone other than my professors read it. If anyone is interested in doing so you can check it out here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hobbit_screenplay/

While I do stay pretty close to the book, I also throw in a few minor things from Unfinished Tales and occassionally simplify the action in the interest of saving screen time. I'd love to know what you think.

I really do think that a film version of The Hobbit should be just that. The big events that take place behind the scenes should stay off screen where they can lend a sense of depth and mystery. That's my take on it, anyway.

Thanks for listening.

11-01-2006, 02:44 PM	#38
PeteS Guest Posts: n/a	No need to mess with The Hobbit Hi. Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I just thought I'd chime in on this debate as it is one that raged on in my head for a long time several years ago. Back when I was in film school I chose to tackle The Hobbit as my project for my screenplay adaptation class. I pulled the book(my favorite book as a child, by the way) apart and broke the story down into workable acts that were pretty much true to the events in the book. I was ready to start writing the script... and then I had a thought: what if I incorporated the mysterious events only alluded to in the books? Certainly it would have broken up the action into two distinct stories I could cross-cut between(Your A story being Bilbo and the Dwarves and your B story being Gandalf and the actions of the White Council). I thought at first that it would add more depth and actually create a more compelling flow of action. But, the more I thought about it, the more I felt it was the wrong way to go. It would shift the focus too much off of Bilbo, whose personal journey is really what drives the novel. I suddenly remembered the reason I loved this book had nothing to do with LOTR. It was all about Bilbo, a fat, silly little hobbit whose simple ways and common sense approach make him more a hero than any sword(even Sting) ever could. I quickly scrapped my grandiose plans and went back to the simple story I loved. With all the recent talk of two Hobbit movies, I decided I would break out my good old singular script of The Hobbit and let someone other than my professors read it. If anyone is interested in doing so you can check it out here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hobbit_screenplay/ While I do stay pretty close to the book, I also throw in a few minor things from Unfinished Tales and occassionally simplify the action in the interest of saving screen time. I'd love to know what you think. I really do think that a film version of The Hobbit should be just that. The big events that take place behind the scenes should stay off screen where they can lend a sense of depth and mystery. That's my take on it, anyway. Thanks for listening.