It has been a busy few days, with Peter Jackson and company tantalizing fans with first a teaser poster and now a teaser trailer for the upcoming middle film in the Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug, due in theaters on December 13th.
None of this will be news to you. The internet has been flooded with this information for days; posts blowing up all across social media as the trailer was released world-wide today. I was able to get my first glimpse of the trailer not long after noon, CST. My immediate reaction: “Wow!!!”
There is a school of thought out there that one should not blog about the same things everyone else is blogging about, and adding to the fray could be seen as white noise. But then I thought, “I’m a fan of this. A BIG fan!” Just a few weeks ago I was sitting in a restaurant having lunch with John Picacio and Tara Smith on the verge of going full-blown Ringer maniac as I told them how the extras on the extended editions of the films are a source of true inspiration regarding how I want to approach my work, my passions, and my life. Cheryl Mahoney just read the books for the first time and her posts have had me re-reading all of my own Lord of the Rings-related posts. Every year I immerse myself in Tolkien-related reading and viewing, often during a few different periods of the year.
I’m no expert, nor am I a super-fan. My devotion pales in comparison to many. Nevertheless, the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and the work done by the film-makers in bringing his creations to the big screen have had and continue to have an enormous influence on my life.
So why wouldn’t I post about this and share my own excitement with the rest of my dear friends who are also no doubt excited too? If you haven’t seen the trailer, or need to get another dose, come along after the jump.
Don’t be afraid to open this up and click on a higher resolution. There you go!
Well?
My disclaimer: It has been over a decade since the one-and-only time I’ve read The Hobbit. I barely remember it. So while I know that the film-makers are taking their (justified or unjustified) liberties with the adaptation, I know almost nothing about what is and is not part of the book other than the invented character of Tauriel played by Evangeline Lily. This has allowed me to approach the films the same way I did when seeing The Lord of the Rings trilogy as my first read-through of the books ever was after seeing the films.
So, my thoughts:
1. Love the Thranduil(Lee Pace) voice-over. It brilliantly echoes that of the Lady Galadriel(Cate Blanchett) in The Fellowship of the Ring. [In all accuracy it would be Galadriel echoing Thranduil since the events of The Hobbit come first, 😉 ]
2. I’m pleased with the dark, menacing feel of the trailer. The Two Towers was a dark and foreboding middle chapter and whether or not The Desolation of Smaug turns out to be I like that the trailer give it a similar film.
3. Everything looks so gorgeous. No surprise, but still. I was as excited that they were making three more Tolkien film adaptations because of the potential to see more set designs, miniatures/bigatures, costumes and areas of New Zealand as I was about the story, and this trailer reinforces that.
4. Don’t the underground areas look great? Feels like a companion to the Mines of Moria sets from Fellowship.
5. Despite the fact that her character is entirely made-up, this made me pretty excited about Tauriel. And its wonderful to see Leggy again!
6. Smaug. There were mixed feelings out there in the interwebs about whether seeing any of Smaug would be a good or bad thing. I would have been fine without seeing him and hope that in subsequent trailers they reveal no more than this. I’d love to be surprised on opening night. Still, it was fun to see a little tease… It is an understandable risk because people are already voicing negative as well as positive comments. Speculation abounds regarding whether or not this view is a finished version or if it will look “better” (their words) in post-production. Guess we’ll see in 6 months.
I’m sure I could say more, and will, in the comments.
On a Tuesday night, June 14th, 2011, an event featuring the Extended Editions of The Lord of the Rings began with the first theatrical release of the enhanced Extended Editions. It was a celebration for their release on blu-ray. For three consecutive Tuesdays we reveled in big-screen Tolkien/Jackson goodness. How fun that his trailer was released on what was that same day two years ago! I had so much fun reliving memories on my blog that I went ahead and posted links to reviews below. I don’t expect anyone to go back and read these, this was really more for a handy reference for me. It is fun to have these records, but also disappointing when I see all the non-fiction I’ve read and not reviewed. Oh well, good excuse to read them again, eh?
Let me know your thoughts on the trailer!
- The Films:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Theatrical Review
The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition Theatrical Release Review
The Two Towers Extended Edition Theatrical Release Review
The Return of the King Extended Edition Theatrical Release Review
- The Novels:
The Silmarillion ~J.R.R. Tolkien
The Children of Hurin ~J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring Group Read, Part 1
The Fellowship of the Ring Group Read, Part 2
The Fellowship of the Ring Group Read, Conclusion
The Two Towers Group Read, Part 1
The Two Towers Group Read, Part 2
The Two Towers Group Read, Conclusion
The Return of the King Group Read, Part 1
The Return of the King Group Read, Part 2
The Return of the King Group Read, Conclusion
- Related Nonfiction:
Defending Middle-earth: Tolkien: Myth and Modernity ~Patrick Curry
The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection
Peter Jackson: A Film-maker’s Journey ~Brian Sibley
There and Back Again, An Actor’s Tale (audio) ~Sean Astin, Joe Layden
Thanks for posting this, Carl! I don’t usually get to see too much Internety stuff while I’m at work, so it was nice to get home, sit down, and see your post and the trailer right away.
As for my thoughts–your #1 is about the first thing I thought, too! I’m looking forward to the Thranduil scenes now. I reread The Hobbit just a few months ago, so the changes jump out at me, but I don’t think they’re going to bother me here the way they did with The Two Towers the first time I saw it. In fact, I’m really curious as to the direction they go.
Finally, do we really have to wait another six months???! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it. Its fun for me going into this because other than Bilbo and Smaug and the scenes with Bilbo and Gollum I really don’t remember anything at all about this story, so it is almost all new to me. I plan on re-reading The Hobbit after all three films are out.
I was thinking the same thing as I typed this…6 months?!?!
You list the nvels and leave off The Hobbit?The Hobbit should always be read followed by LOTR. Hobbit isn’t a prequel, the others are the sequel. As for the trainer, I have not seen the first one and so didn’t look because of possible spoilers. I’ll have to wait for all three films to come out on extended, special woo-woo editions and then watch. Years from now, sadly.
I have read it…actually read it right before seeing The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. But that was 5 years before I started blogging, so no review. 🙂
Looking forward to the Extended Edition release in the fall. I haven’t bought The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey yet because I’m waiting for that edition.
novels, trailer. Gee I wish I’d proof better.
I hear you. I was reading those Return of the King Group Read posts and each one had a ton of spelling errors. It was atrocious. I fixed those I caught, annoying as it was.
Dang! Shouldn’t have watched it – 6 months is too long to wait. It gave me just taste enough… I had successfully put it out of my mind for now and was happier without the anticipation. I agree with a commenter who said, “One does not simply wait until December.” Seriously though, looks great and I can’t wait… and yes, I am glad to see it. I hope there are more soon.
BTW: I can’t wait to see Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel. It made me think back to the Lost outtakes where she (Kate) and Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) were talking. She asks, “You look familiar?” He was supposed to say, “Have you ever seen Drive Shaft?” Instead he said, “Have you ever seen Lord of the rings?” They actually dated for a while. How weird would that have been if they had married.
Never watched Lost, so this will be my first exposure to Lilly as an actress. Which is kind of fun for me as that was my first exposure to many of the cast in LOTR when Fellowship was released.
I’m not all up-in-arms at this point in regards to the created character. We’ll see how I feel a) after seeing the movie and b) once all three films are done and I re-read The Hobbit. I suspect I’m going to be pretty sold on the character unless she is very poorly written, and I’m not worried about that happening.
Did you see the video of the One Ring dot Net girls reaction to the trailer? Jackson filmed a fun cast reaction to their reaction that you can see here:
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/06/12/73351-hobbit-news-in-brief-new-production-video-soon-trailer-reactions-and-premiere-update/
That is pretty cool. Kudos to Jackson for stuff like that.
Yes, I like that he engages with the fans. Sure, he realizes there is a marketing aspect to it, but I think he genuinely enjoys fandom as well.
First I have to say I’m disappointed in myself–I didn’t know this had been revealed. Thank goodness you are there to help people like me. When I first heard that they made three films out of The Hobbit I was a little outraged. It’s a small children’s book. This tease shows how wrong I was and why I don’t make the big bucks. I can’t wait to see this.
It just popped up yesterday, and in reality was probably mostly broadcast on the nerd/geek channels, ha! I never got bent out of shape about the three films simply because I love this world and more time spent in it is exciting. Plus if they do mine the appendices for some of the story, which they have rights to from their LOTR deal, then that just means seeing more Tolkien on the big screen. I have to say seeing this trailer, and recalling what little I remember about The Hobbit, I cannot wait to see what they are going to do in the third film.
all I can say is: Peter Jackson can do no wrong when it comes to Tolkien’s books. Loved the trailer! The best way to wait for a movie for 6 months is to try to fill ourselves with other good movies… Superman is due out… take one month at a time and hope we have good stuff to occupy us!
(nothing to do with action movies: have you seen trailers on television for the next Despicable cartoon?..I am already laughing! It looks like another good “tension relief ” movie!)
I’m pretty much of the same opinion. There are things I have niggling complaints about even with Lord of the Rings, but in the end they are minor and don’t in any way diminish the great affection I have for the films and everyone who brought them into being.
I really enjoyed Despicable Me, so the next should be fun.
Loved Dispicable Me! Have you seen Steve Carell’s appearance to promote the movie on Ellen? Worth 3 minutes I think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6sBSq5cB1M
No, but I will check it out, thanks!
actually.. i can deal with 6 months.. my problem is dealing with THREE YEARS for the next Trek movie!
Well yes, there is that…
Look at it this way, people: whatever you have been waiting for since last year is almost here!
By the way, Carl, I can tell you what happens in the third installment. A space ship appears and he people on it say they are from a parallel universe, that the dragon isn’t supposed to be on this world so they tractor-beam him up, but in the process the mountain collapses and slides into the lake and everyone drowns except Bilbo who jumps on a log and surfs the wave, hanging 10 – or 8 0r whatever – all the way back to Hobbit-town. The end. The soundtrack for the last tem minutes is all surf music, I believe.
Add a man made of steel wearing an iron suit yelling, “Kaaaaahhhhhn!” and you’ve about summed up my movies for the year.
Yes, me too! 🙂
And curses on you Richard for spoiling everything!
It looks incredible! I’m geeking out here.
I have been for the last 24 hours as well.
Just saw the trailer this morning–looks so exciting! I can’t wait to spend more time with these characters. One reason my reading/viewing of LOTR has made me more excited for The Hobbit (besides just immersing in the world so much) is that having the book-context has given me such respect for Jackson as an adaptor. He’s obviously taking big liberties with The Hobbit, but I have faith it’s going to make sense, and be ultimately grounded in Tolkien.
For instance, even though I know Legolas was never in The Hobbit…he’s Legolas, it’s an awesome decision to include him. And his backstory does actually add up that he would have been there (if I’m putting my dots together correctly).
Re: your comment on seeing Smaug, personally I’m not that anxious about what he’ll *look* like, but I’m so anticipating *hearing* him. I mean, Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of Smaug! So excited!
Thanks for the discussion–and the link to my blog. 😉
You are welcome.
I too was aware that Legolas wasn’t in the book of The Hobbit, but he was in Middle-earth during those events, so I don’t see it being a huge stretch to bring him in on this, and I’m glad they are doing stuff like that to tie the trilogies together.
It will be fun to hear how the dragon sounds too, yes indeed.
I’ve seen the negative comments on Smaug’s appearance popping up within seconds of the trailer’s release…personally I’ve got NO problem with his looks. His head/mouth shape looks like it was modeled after a Komodo dragon or monitor lizard. Real critter! So, what’s the problem? He’s not STRANGE enough? Think the wings and voice will make up for that!
Loved Kili in the background of Thorin in the water barrel escape bit. He looks like he’s in the greatest water ride in the world and enjoying himself immensely!!!
Me either. First of all we have no idea if this is finished product CGI, second of all the things you point out in regards to realistic look I completely agree with.
Looks fun just like the other Jackson films. I have to admit that Smaug didn’t look great to me. I think they should have saved him for a big reveal later with more action. He didn’t look bad just ok. As a big fan of Lost I have to say I’m happy with the casting of Evangeline Lily. I could care less if they added a new character as long as it fits Jackson’s story. I’ve never been a purest when it comes to books vs. film. I’m looking forward to December and then I believe part three comes out next summer instead of the next December.
I didn’t mind Smaug, for the reasons Sgist pointed out above. More than anything I’m hoping we don’t see much more of him until the movie itself. I like the anticipation.
I think I’m going to enjoy Evangeline Lily’s character. She looked great and I was impressed with what little of her acting that we saw.
On one hand I hope they stick with the summer release schedule for the next one and on the other I like the Christmas present that is a Jackson Tolkien adaptation. I guess it depends on how this ends. If it feels like only half a film then I will definitely want to see the second half sooner rather than later.
It’s refreshing to read a blog post from someone who is excited about the film, rather than outraged at the differences from the book(s). As a movie lover, as well as a book lover, I have learned to pretty much reconcile the differences. After all, they are different mediums. Now there are a few that have raised my ire. The film version of Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned had me foaming at the mouth, literally. But mostly, I just accept that there will be differences. And I always read the book, whether it’s after I’ve seen the film (like if I find out it was based on a book), or before. I think the film looks phenomenal and I have no problem with the introduction of Tauriel. And Thranduil…yes, I admit I’m a Lee Pace fan girl. 🙂 Can’t wait!
I know, there are so many of those posts out there Michelle. And I understand as it is possible I would be just like that had I taken The Hobbit to heart and read it many times over. As it is I love the book as it is part of Tolkien’s universe but I don’t have the passion for it I do for The Lord of the Rings and I only came by that passion by first being motivated to read them because of the films. So I don’t get too bent out of shape because in large part the opinions of these folks are right, at least from one point of view.
I like Lee Pace myself, so am looking forward to him having actual lines and not just a brief look on screen.
I know where I’ll be December 13! Many people wondered how Peter Jackson was going to make three movies out of THE HOBBIT. Now we’re seeing the strategy.
Me too George!
Can you believe that I STILL haven’t seen the first Hobbit movie??? I know, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me! However, me and my little brother did meet Andy Serkis while we were out shopping in Uptown New Orleans and he was incredibly awesome and friendly 😀 He’s down here shooting Planet of the Apes 2!
What?!?!?! Are you serious?!?!?! Nope, I don’t believe it. Not a word. 🙂
Very cool that you and your little brother met Andy Serkis. That is exciting. Didn’t even realize they were filming a second Planet, although I should have known since the last one did alright.