"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" 1st trailer is out.

[Grishnakh]

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" 1st trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=fnaojlfdUbs#!

The 1st trailer:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbit/


A bit of news for everyone:

Peter Jackson to produce 'The Hobbit'


NEW YORK (AP) -- Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy "The Lord of the Rings."

Peter Jackson is set to oversee the film adaptation of "The Hobbit."

Jackson, who directed the "Rings" trilogy, will serve as executive producer for "The Hobbit." A director for the prequel films has yet to be named.

Relations between Jackson and New Line had soured after "Rings," despite a collective worldwide box office gross of nearly $3 billion -- an enormous success. The two sides nevertheless were able to reconcile, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) splitting "The Hobbit" 50/50, spokemen for both studios said Tuesday.

"I'm very pleased that we've been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line," Jackson said in a statement. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth."

Two "Hobbit" films are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, similar to how the three "Lord of the Rings" films were made. Production is set to begin in 2009 with a released planned for 2010, with the sequel scheduled for a 2011 release.

New Line Cinema is owned by Time Warner. (Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.) Sony and Comcast are among the owners of MGM.

(At least Gollum will now look the same.)

[Metaknight]

Cool! I heard awhile ago it was suppossed to come out end of this or next year. Oh well

[Aldin]

While I initially thought this was both a natural fit and an automatic success, several things cause me concern at this juncture. The first is that all the things which I felt Jackson did best in LotR don't exist to nearly the same extent in The Hobbit - vast vistas, enormous armies, amazing battle sequences. Split into two movies, there isn't a single big battle in the first part.

I was least impressed by his work on the Fellowship as a fellowship rather than a loose collection of individuals. Since the acceptance of Bilbo into the group is a major theme, I'm worried that Jackson will screw up the relational part of The Hobbit. Look at what he did to poor Faramir in relation to Frodo or Merry and Pippin with Treebeard or Eowyn with Aragorn - *sheesh*.

Ah well - no point in worrying too much about it. I know I'll go see it anyway.

~Aldin, preciously

[Havokscry]

There is also a rumor going around that Sam Raimi may skip Spider-man 4 to direct The Hobbit, if Peter Jackson decides not to.

[Pattar007]

Coming in 2010, that's like...forever.

[zanter]

:: Drop to the ground and pump fists into the air. :: W00t! but why are they spliting it into two movies?

[Havokscry]

Originally Posted by zanter

:: Drop to the ground and pump fists into the air. :: W00t! but why are they spliting it into two movies?

From what my sources tell me , they're not splitting it into two movies. The first movie will be The Hobbit. The second movie will bridge the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

[Uprising]

Awesome. I can't wait to see Beorn rock the house.

[Taeblewalker]

Originally Posted by Havokscry

From what my sources tell me , they're not splitting it into two movies. The first movie will be The Hobbit. The second movie will bridge the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

THAT is food for thought. The detour that Gandalf takes to oust the Necromancer from Dol Goldur occurs during the Hobbit storyline, after the Misty Mountains and before Dale. However, it would be interesting if they showed the five Istari working together for the last time. That would involve including at least Radagast, who was absent from the movie trilogy.

What events occured after the Hobbit, aside from the capture of Gollum by the Wood Elves of Mirkwood, the delving of Balin into Moria, and the inheritance of Thorin's kingdom by Dain?

Time to hit the books...

[jaques]

I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark at this and say that this is probably a pure marketing ploy on New Line's part. They want to be able to say, "From the man who brought you the Academy Award winning Return of the King . . ." so they have to have Jackson's involvement. It makes the two Hobbit movies an extension of an existing, extremely popular movie series.

But if he's not directing, then we can't make any assumptions about how "in-tune" the Hobbit movies will be with his LoTR trilogy.

I'm perfectly fine with that, because I frankly think Jackson does only two things well as a director: guide his CGI artists to create amazing visuals, and work with his cinematographer to photograph beautiful women stunningly.

[jaques]

Originally Posted by Taeblewalker

What events occured after the Hobbit, aside from the capture of Gollum by the Wood Elves of Mirkwood, the delving of Balin into Moria, and the inheritance of Thorin's kingdom by Dain?

New Line Cinema presents . . .

The Hobbit II: Bilbo Putters About in his Garden for Two Hours

[Havokscry]

Originally Posted by jaques

New Line Cinema presents . . .

The Hobbit II: Bilbo Putters About in his Garden for Two Hours

Oh come on now. We all now that he had a big birthday party to plan.


The following hints at the idea for the second movie.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35108