Sage Hobbit movie advice for PJ?

[Zebedee]

There should be no Arwen in it, but 10 year old Aragorn making an appearence would not be bad at all, nor would Legolas making an appearence. Maybe at the Battle of Five Armies?"
Also, the Wargs should look more like the wolves they are.

I'm sure that The Hobbit will do well whatever they do.

[Gil-Galad]

It'll probaly start like Gandalf meeting thorin and discussing about Erebor, then like gandalf saying "i'll find your new member" or something, then it cuts to Bilbo just waking up and having a regular time then he hears the knocks on the door

thats what i think might happen...

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by the phantom

We are the general film-going public ... what you and I expect from movies in general is no different than what others expect.

You an I are a miniscule percentage of the film-going public. If the film studios suspect that "love interests" sell films, then there is probably something in it. Perhaps you and I (and most here no doubt) are slightly out of kilter with the majority in this regard.

Perhaps it answers why there isn't a love interest in the story- but it doesn't address my query in the least.

Of course it does. Most people first read The Hobbit as children. If not, they are quite aware that it is a children's tale when they do read it. So, either way, the reader does not expect a "love interest" to be present in it. This would apply equally if The Hobbit were made as a film for children.

I tried to think of successful "adventure" type films that have no "love interest". It's present in all the Star Wars films, the Indiana Jones films, the Terminator films, Spider-Man and The Hulk. All I could come up with off the top of my head were some war films (such as Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down) and some horror films (such as the Alien films, if we overlook a slight dalliance between Ripley and the Charles Dance character in the third film). The Hobbit would, as a film, fall into neither of these categories (although war and, potentially, horror would feature as aspects of it).

But I wonder whether I (and others) have pinpointed the issue quite as precisely as we might. Perhaps the absence of a "love interest" would not matter too much. There are probably a good number of films in which this aspect is absent that I have overlooked. Perhaps the real issue is the absence of any strong female characters (indeed the absence of any female characters of note at all). Save for the aforementioned war films (and others in the genre), I cannot think of a single film that does not have at least one female character in a fairly major role. And it's difficult to see how this might be addressed in The Hobbit without including the White Council scenes and playing up Galadriel's role in them or changing the gender of at least one of the major characters.

Ms Thorin, anyone ...!!?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

If romance MUST be incorporated into The Hobbit, than limit it to perhaps some innocent frolicking at Elven parties in the woods. You can have all of the touching parting shots you desire, as the villiagers prepare to go off and kill stuff. "I'll miss you, be careful." and all of that. You could have some innocent flirting in taverns along the way, or ANYTHING like that, but for Pete's sake, don't add romance where it doesn't belong.

Aragorn was TEN. A cameo, perhaps, of him with Elrond when the party arrives in Rivendell. "Run along, Estel." That sort of thing. No premature aging; Arwen wasn't even around at this point.

For Beorn, I fully agree with the Robbie Coltrane idea. He is the only man for the job. Although I can see where this wouldn't be a good idea, as I really liked the idea of using generally unknown actors in LotR.

Other recommended cameos are these: include Legolas, but not as a big role. Have him enjoying himself at a nice woodland party. Or he could be the one in charge of the Dwarves when they're captive. I would laugh a lot if he was one of the drunken guards. Saruman: I love the idea of including the sacking of Dol Guldur. Shots of the White Council would not only explain where Gandalf takes off to, but it would be a nice gift to 'Rings fans to see Galadriel and Co. in their pre-War of the Ring days. Gimli absolutely must make an appearance. That's just one of those things. The Sackville-Bagginses. I'll be horrified (although not much surprised) if Bilbo's homecoming is left out.

Andy Serkis IS Gollum, correct?

And for my last (and the only unserious part of this post) comment: If they don't include the song "Tra la la lally", I will be very put out. I fully think that Glorfindel should make an appearance singing it in the trees.

Fea

[Tuor of Gondolin]

". Perhaps the real issue is the absence of any strong female characters (indeed the absence of any female characters of note at all)."
--------------------
SPM has hit on a key point, one I was probably subconsciously debating.
All of the films he cited are predominantly male, but they all have one or
more strong females, usually with a love interest connection, except for
(believe it or not- Ripley). But how to incorporate such a figure
in The Hobbit? Have some female dwarves? (Hey, they're so similar to
non-Khazads that perhaps Bilbo didn't notice.
A partial solution is Galadriel and the White Council.
And perhaps Bard has a girlfriend in the Home Guard. Galadriel and
Bard's fiance would bracket the movie(s) but wouldn't be a movie-long
presence, perhaps G is back at Rivendell on the return.

And why not have Legolas as a major figure? As the king's son he would
probably have been there if he had been invented, and there's nothing in
The Hobbit to contradict it, such as a naming of Thranduil's lieutenants.

The general principle I'd like to see followed by screenwriters is to try to
not contradict the book but rather make use of ambiguities and/or
areas not covered, such as the exact nature of the attack on Dol Guldur.

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Movie schmovie. I think it should be a television series. A half hour for every chapter of the Hobbit.

It can be done. Totally.

An Unexpected Party, Roast Mutton, A Short Rest, Over Hill and Under Hill, Riddles in the Dark, Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire, Queer Lodgings, Flies and Spiders, Barrels Out of Bond, A Warm Welcome, On The Doorstep, Inside Information, Not At Home, Fire and Water, The Gathering of the Clouds, A Thief in the Night, The Clouds Burst, The Return Journey ...

It'd be awesome to see an epic, quality miniseries comprised of all 18 Chapters.

But then, I can see where the condensed format of a three and a half hour movie would be better, for consistency, and being able to keep some parts shorter (like A Short Rest) and some parts more focused and central.

Anyway, I have a few ideas.

The first being, NO WAY should Robbie Coltrane be Beorn. That's severe typecasting, and plus, I never imagined Beorn as jolly, and that's something Mr. Coltrane is just full of, that stuff they call joll.

He's Hagrid. Beorn ... Beorn isn't twelve feet tall, he's six foot something, and jacked. There has to be some unknown muscle man with a deep booming voice and freckled skin who can play him to a tee. A big bushy black beard and long black shaggy hair aren't enough to make the character, he's got to be able to take an axe to an enemy.

I'm sure there's somebody out there.

Ian Holm as Bilbo, Ian McKellan as Gandalf, Hugo Weaving as Elrond and Andy Serkis as Gollum, naturally.

As for actors ... I'm not exactly a pro when it comes to knowing names, but I'd like to see Billy Connelly as Balin, the same actor they had for Gloin's cameo back, and several other burly Irish, Welsh or Scottish actors playing the dwarves (so they mesh seamlessly with John Rhys Davies' portrayal of Gimli, of course!).

Remember how Stuart Townsend practically had the role of Aragorn, but Viggo was just too good to pass up? I'd say, Townsend would make a pretty mean Bard the Bowman.

Not to totally discredit myself, but I threw the idea of Jack Black playing Bombur at my sister. Bombur is the fattest of the 13 dwarves, he's a good comic relief character a lot of the time, and with Jack Black cozy with PJ because of King Kong, I can see it. It's not anything I'm pulling for, but hey, it could work.

And lastly, I'd like to see Orly pop in as Legolas, even if he's just standing by Thranduil's chair in his great hall, looking pretty, while Thranduil has Thorin locked up. That would totally validate Gimli's "NEVER TRUST AN ELF" comments in The Fellowship, since Elrond established that Gimli is 'son of Gloin', and we'll be seeing exactly who Gloin is ...

That's my two cents.

[Imladris]

With great hesitation I make this post. I've started making it two times already....

Why do you want to leave out the elve's cheerful singing? That would be a deliberate omission of the elvish character because they weren't always solemn and sad as the LotR movies correctly portray them.

Granted, I am not advocating a full blown musical number. That would indeed be in poor taste. Rather, wouldn't it make a nice background song as the dwarves are crawling over the beard and elf playfully insults them?

As for romance -- pfft -- the Hobbit doesn't need Romance. It's an adventure, and if they put in a romance it would be very cliche. All the action movies have romance and get the girl. In fact, a romance would probably undermine the theme of "the road goes ever on and on" and I cannot imagine Bard with a girl friend. That seems...so unlike him (yes I know he got married but in the Hobbit he sounds like an old bachelor).

And I totally agree that Coltrain would make a poor Beorn. Granted he's huge, but he is not bear like in the least.

[Mithalwen]

Very much hoping he is still alive (!) I would humbly suggest that when a booming voice is required, Brian Blessed is your man - he was Edmund's father in "The Black Adder" (first series).

Hmm I think I would go for nine 45-60 minute episode - roughly two chapters a pop.... better for scheduling and lots of action and cliffhangers