Before Peter Jackson took the reigns of the franchise, Guillermo del Toro was supposed to direct The Hobbit, and planned to bring his friend and longtime collaborator Ron Perlman to voice the dragon Smaug. But financial problems and delays at MGM eventually forced del Toro from the project; after Peter Jackson, king of The Lord of the Rings, signed on to direct in his place, he replaced Perlman with Benedict Cumberbatch. That’s just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which takes you on an unexpected journey behind the scenes of the first film in The Hobbit trilogy!
Having gone on an unexpected journey and endured the desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson’s bloated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ finally comes to ‘The Battle of the Five Armies,’ which is less of a climax to this trilogy than a distended epilogue. After spending two movies and 330 minutes building up the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) as the ultimate antagonist, he’s eliminated from the story completely in the first ten minutes. He’s literally gone before the title appears onscreen.
There comes a time when we must stop kidding ourselves. These 'Hobbit' films – with 'The Desolation of Smaug' representing the shank of the trilogy – are not real movies. These are exploitation films for Tolkien nuts, for enthusiasts of the original 'Lord of the Rings' movies and for audiences so hungry for high fantasy they'll gobble up whatever is served to them and ask for seconds.
As someone w
'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' has released a brand-new poster for the continuing the adventures of Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and his band of dwarves to slay the dragon Smaug. But what's more exciting is that Warner Bros. has revealed the new trailer will hit tomorrow, October 1!
The next installment of Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit' trilogy continues the journey of Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf and their company of dwarfs as they seek to rid the land of the evil dragon Smaug.
When it was announced that 'The Hobbit' would be turned from two films into three, it seemed possible that Warner Brothers and Peter Jackson could kill themselves trying to deliver an additional three hour movie only seven months after the release of the second. So it's not a big surprise that 'The Hobbit: There and Back Again' has been pushed from July 18 to December 13, 2014.
Was there ever any doubt that 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' was going to dominate this weekend? Heck, it's probably going to dominate next weekend, too. If audiences embrace it like they did 'Lord of the Rings,' it may even dominate the week after that. The big question now is whether or not Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth will make a bunch of money, but exactly how many bunches.
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Though Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' hit screens mere hours ago, it's already on track to have the highest opening weekend of any picture to open in December. That's right, it's on track to open bigger than 'Avatar.'
At last, what so many of you have been waiting for is here—'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' hits theaters this Friday. It may be a slim week for new releases, but there's at least one more new film to keep you entertained.
Talk about your unexpected journeys -- a new report claims that 27 animals died due to the unsafe environment at a farm run by the production crew while Peter Jackson was filming 'The Hobbit.'
People of the United States and the United Kingdom can, well, unite over their love of Middle Earth with these two brand new TV spots for 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.'