The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

[axordil]

A fun read from tor.com:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/07/concer ... y-co-exist

[Voronwë the Faithful]

That's an excellent article. Thanks for sharing it.

[sauronsfinger]

Thanks for the article Ax. It really described many of my own feelings as well.

[Smaug's voice]

Had just come to post that article, which I agree with in lots of places.

[Elentári]

Agreed. Most excellent article....

[Primula Baggins]

An interesting, thoughtful, heartfelt exploration of one book fan's take on the films.

[Primula Baggins]

Maybe they're just working out the blocking, and that was the sword that happened to be handy.

[eborr]

I really like the prop Axe the fellow has in the background, it's got some kind of foam cover on it so it cannot do any real damage

[Smaug's voice]

Note Thorin's sword. Orcrist? How could that be?

The same way Gandalf gets Glamdring back, I guess. I.e. oversight.

[Elentári]

Yes, the photo is in the latest issue, which I have acopy of, but I won't be able to get any scans done till later. There are 6 pages of text, plus the "winter is Coming" double page photo spread.

Here are a few quotes to keep you guys going...

Without credits, The Battle of the Five Armies currently runs to a positively jaunty two-thirty - an entire 15 minutes shorter than Transformers 4. This one's got more of a thriller feel to it," Jackson elaborates, perfectly happy to shorten a Hobbit. "I think of this third movie as a psychological thriller with action scenes interspersed in the middle of it. It has got a very tight narrative structure. Three-hour movies don't tend to be thrillers."

Later in the interview Jackson is described as

...watching and cutting his film, determined to get it down to a "lean machine" of two-twenty ("but don't hold me to that!"), while simultaneously elaborating on sequences as he does. Only James Cameron can boast a comparable technical freedom. Jackson can literally fix things in post.

The article describes how Jackson is still shooting the movie, utilizing technology developed on Tintin :

...where shots in The Hobbit are entirely virtual, Jackson can pop down to his mo-cap stage...pick up his customized camera and create new shots of the Weta-conceived environments - the computer reproducing his moves on a monitor in a three-quarters-rendered Middle-earth. Shots limited only by Jackson's dexterity.

For the record, the new film marks an end to "swoopy."

(the camera plunge shots!)

A potential line of dialogue from Thranduil:

"We've come to tell you payment of your debt has been offered...and accepted."

On the make up of the five armies...

"All the Middle-earth battles have been different because they tell different stories." Jackson insistes. "Here I wanted to do things we had never done before. Obviously there are orcs fighting elves and men, but I wanted to bring in more creatures. The orcs have all manner of creatures. Not just trolls, but creatures they have bred for their armies. They are like the Panzer tanks of the orc armies."

The dwarves are not only mounted on battle pigs, but battle goats with huge horns. They also have battle rams (as in male sheep), and chariots with spiked wheel-hibs, Ben-Hur style. Or they will do once Weta Digital answers the call of their director's greedy imagination. "I didn't want the dwarf army to be on foot," he explains. "I wanted their army to have some cool accessories. Then the orcs turn up and have some cool accessories too. A big fight breaks out to see whose accessories are cooler."

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Oy!

[Frelga]

The Hobbit: The Battle of The Cool Accessories

[Primula Baggins]

I hope their battle shoes don't match their battle purses. That's so Second Age.

[Elentári]

Thanks for your patience, folks....the full text of the article is available here

[Voronwë the Faithful]

You're the best, Elen, as I have often said.

[Elentári]

I try...

How about another enjoyable article - Comic-Con: Peter Jackson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis, Evangeline Lilly, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom Talk THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

[Dave_LF]

Negotiations between Thorin and Thranduil "conclude abruptly with Dain's cavalry emerging on an adjacent hilltop."

Sounds about right.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I just read that one. Not as much there.

With regard to the Empire article, despite the eye-rolling Cool Accessories comment, and the shorter runtime (which of course has people freaking elsewhere), I find it encouraging overall. Particularly this: "I think of this third movie as a psychological thriller with action scenes interspersed in the middle of it." If that proves to be true, and the action serves the plot rather than dominates it, it could be quite good. As far as I am concerned, the jury is out as to whether Jackson having more time is a good thing or a bad thing. At least for this film he has no excuses.

[Passdagas the Brown]

V,

Not surprisingly, that's one of the lines that I found very discouraging (along with some of the other details - particular the horror that is PJ creating all sorts of last minute "all virtual" scenes with his little computer-camera).

Back to the "thriller" comment. Why doesn't PJ focus on creating the story of the Hobbit, than trying to fit it into the mold of a movie "genres?" He seems to have very fixed ideas about what makes a cool action adventure, a cool thriller, or a cool war movie, and I think the limits the originality of his films. Don't make a psychological thriller, make the Hobbit!

In my view, PJ is first and foremost a lover of GENRE films that are self-consciously GENRE. And I think that prohibits him from striking at anything truly genuine or original. As he said himself during an interview a few years back, he doesn't try to capture a "slice of life" with his films. He takes his cues from Alfred Hitchcock, and tries to give his audiences a "slice of cake."

That's fine, and all, for material that's designed to simply be superficial entertainment (as I see Hitchcock films, which are enjoyable). But don't bring that attitude to Tolkien.

It's at the root, I think, of why I am not such a fan of his. Nice guy, but an approach to film-making that I hate when it comes to these stories.

[Passdagas the Brown]

You're the best, Elen, as I have often said.

I agree with this 100%.