Hobbit movie progressing

[TheMisfortuneTeller]

Thank you for your lengthy reply, Morthorond. I did not find it at all tedious. And I fully appreciate your paranoia regarding Peter Jackson and his "Bad Taste" proclivities. As the old saying goes: "Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that real people aren't out to get me!"

However, at the risk of seeming pedantic, I would like to reiterate my somewhat modest contention that film renditions of Tolkien's own references in the published texts do not necessarily constitute "fan fiction" as would, for awful example, the completely invented and ludicrous elf-chick security guard "Itaril" secretly in love with a young Elf lord while simultaneously kicking butt and taking names all over the place for no comprehensible reason. Again though, as concerns what Tolkien specifically wrote about the White Council and the Necromancer:

From The Hobbit, Chaper One: "An Unexpected Party":

"'I don't understand,' said Thorin, and Bilbo felt he would like to say the same. The explanation did not seem to explain.

'Your grandfather [Thror],' said the wizard slowly and grimly, 'gave the map to his son [Thrain] for safety before he went to the mines of Moria. Your father [Thrain] went away to try his luck with the map after your grandfather was killed; and lots of adventures of a most unpleasant sort he had, but he never got near the Mountain. How he got there I don’t know, but I found him a prisoner in the dungeons of the Necromancer.'

'Whatever were you doing there?' asked Thorin with a shudder, and all the dwarves shivered.

'Never you mind. I was finding things out, as usual; and a nasty and dangerous business it was. Even I, Gandalf, only just escaped. I tried to save your father, but it was too late. He was witless and wandering, and had forgotten almost everything except the map and key.'

'We have long ago paid the goblins of Moria,' said Thorin; 'we must give a thought to the Necromancer.'

'Don’t be absurd! He is an enemy quite beyond the powers of all the dwarves put together, if they could all be collected again from the four corners of the world. The one thing your father wished was for his son to read the map and use the key. The dragon and the Mountain are more than big enough tasks for you!'”

From The Hobbit, Chaper Nineteen: "The Last Stage":

"… but every now and again [Bilbo] would open one eye, and listen, when a part of the story which he did not yet know came in.

It was in this way that he learned where Gandalf had been to; for he overheard the words of the wizard to Elrond. It appeared that Gandalf had been to a great council of white wizards, masters of lore and good magic; and that they had at last driven the Necromancer from his dark hold in the south of Mirkwood.

It seems to me from the textual evidence that Tolkien fully intended these references to matters above and beyond the immediate concerns of Bilbo and the dwarves, and if the upcoming Hobbit films make use of this material, they have defensible reasons for doing so without necessarily committing fan-fiction heresy. As for what Tolkien wrote about the changes that he made to Chapter Five, "Riddles in the Dark," I'll address those in another comment. Suffice it to say at this point that featuring Christopher Lee as Saruman -- hoodwinking Gandalf and the High Elves as to his ultimate allegiances and purposes -- does not constitute "fan fiction" in the slightest. Therefore, I have no up-front objections to the White Council and Necromancer having a suitable -- although subordinate -- place in support of Bilbo Baggins' excellent adventure.

Keeping things simple and safe: Christopher Lee -- Yes; Orlando Bloom -- No!