Subject: Re: I hear the sound of screams and rumbling feet...
Author:
Posted on: 2011-12-21 18:32:00 UTC
"Oh, and don't forget the dwarf fangirls. That Kili looks tappable."
He does, doesn't he? Fortunately, I have agents to protect me from my own fangirlish impulses.
Um.
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=85322
Now someone get me a TARDIS.
On the whole, I enjoyed Jackson's Lord of the Rings. THe only thing I didn't like about it was the way Gimli basically became comic relief for most of the film. What I found most enticing about the Hobbit trailer is that the dwarves seemed a lot more serious.
However, today I read an interview with the-guy-playing-Bilbo-who's-name-I've-just-forgotten, and the words "the dwarves add a comedic, almost childish effect" don't exactly fill me with hope.
The thing is, the Hobbit has been traditionally sold and viewed as a children's book. Therefore, people are more readily willing to think of it as being more light-hearted than it is, or even to search for some element to point at and say "See, look there! It's got stuff aimed at kids!" and say that the dwarves are silly like in Snow White or something. And, though it didn't go down the road that most kids books do (ie insult the intelligence of the reader and pander to the idea that kids couldn't understand complex ideas) and therefore is still appealing to adults, it is a rather light-hearted story. Not to say that it's not serious, simply that it's not Heavy. What they're doing is not World Shattering (or at least, they don't know it is). It's got some pretty scary stuff going on, and there's a huge political environment going on around the events of the story, but it's not about the politics, or the saving the world, or the bad. It's about a guy who's never been outside his own county being swept off on an amazing adventure into a world in which he is very small, in all senses of the phrase.
And, the last time I read it, the dwarves were a comedic element of sorts, from time to time. Slightly black humour, and more situational, absurd humour than Witty Comebacks, and definitely not all the time, but humour nonetheless. You try hiring a wizard to talk your way into the home of a stranger, inviting him on a journey, throwing a party, eating all his food, breaking his things, and then sing a song about how you're doing all these things that this person hates. See if I'm not laughing about all this.
Also, most of our main cast are dwarves. I doubt Jackson would be stupid enough to just blanket dwarves as comic relief, given that then most of the cast would be comic relief, and the film would be terrible (Because like it or not, the Hobbit is not a comedy)...
All that said, I stand with you on the desire for serious dwarves, and do hope that this film pulls through...
The Hobbit was a lot more lighthearted and sillier than the Lord of the Rings, so in a sense it does make sense that it would be less serious.
'Fraid that'd be me among them. As a devoted Sherlock fan, I'm very fond of Martin Freeman and hnnnnggghh he looks so adorable as a hobbit!
And yeah, "oh no fangirls and fanfic will explode again" but who cares? Bring it!
I knew that the animated movie wasn't enough for them!
*joins the search for a TARDIS*
Ah, I've never seen the movies, but I guess that the random blond girl was Galadriel? I don't think she showed up in the book. Kili and Thorin look very nice, though...
*starts filling Hunger Games bunker with Hobbit materials in preparation for fanfic explosion*
—aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. o.o
... Don't mind me. I'll just be over here biting my nails and pulling my hair out. As usual, it looks and sounds gorgeous, but I can smell seriousface tone shift and yet stupid-comic-relief!Bombur amped to eleven from here. Also, if Legolas (who is listed in the credits on IMDB) gets a shoehorned speaking part, I will puke.
I can deal with showing what Gandalf was up to in Mirkwood. That could be cool. Radagast showing up, this interests me. But god damn it, I can't trust Peter Jackson after what he did to Middle-earth the last time. Some wounds never completely heal. ;_;
~Neshomeh
I don't actually mind the idea of Legolas getting a speaking part. It's not like they're going to be quoting the book like you would a Shakespeare play.
As he is the King of Mirkwood's son, I don't see why he shouldn't get a line or two. It wouldn't actually be shoehorned in as they're not copying the book line for line.
But that's me.
Sorry, I didn't catch Legolas. Where was he?
Phobos and I just noticed that he's listed in the credits on IMDB.
~Neshomeh
Legolas doesn't have a speaking part in the book; he doesn't do anything in the book, in fact, because he didn't exist as such when Tolkien wrote it. Therefore, anything he does in the movie will be crammed into the story where it doesn't naturally fit, which is the definition of shoehorning. The deviation from the book is precisely the problem, since there's no reason for it in this case except to let all the fangirls and fanboys squee at teh hawt Leggikins.
'Course, I might be forgiving if he's just getting drunk on Dorwinion with everyone else. If he ends up, like, helping the Dwarves escape or something, though, because he is Teh Hott Elf . . . gah. Gah.
~Neshomeh
Would be that he shows up during the 'trial' scene with his father and says something nasty or is used to play off what horrid things the dwarves are with Thranduil.
That's where I would put him. He's apparently only in there for like three minutes.
If Legolas helps the Dwarves escape, that'd be a continuity break wouldn't it? Considering that he only learnt to respect Dwarves during his time with Gimli on the Quest. So I wouldn't be too surprised if he tries to /prevent/ them from leaving, but I think Peter Jackson won't be that incompetent as to break Legolas's character development in the LotR movies by having help the Dwarves.
Not after what he put Sam through on the steps of Cirith Ungol, not to get into the total derailment of Frodo (he lied to Faramir). And, of course, Gimli son of Gloin following poor Merry and Pippin as the stupid comic relief. Also, let's not forget making Treebeard look daft. -_-;
No, I can't trust PJ's respect for characterization.
~Neshomeh
Since they're making two movies out of it, I think they're fleshing certain parts out for the sake of story. I mean, it makes sense in The Hobbit as a book, to skim over weeks of Bilbo sneaking invisibly around Thranduil's palace. But in a movie, how would you convey that? A montage or something would be just silly, as would a voice-over or subtitle, "Several Weeks Later..." But actually showing Bilbo watch things happen makes quite a bit of sense, in a movie.
I don't take issue with changes that have to do with switching media—showing a few scenes of Bilbo sneaking around, sure; maybe catching a glimpse of Legolas talking with people, sure—but I just don't trust PJ to stick at that. Also, given that Orlando Bloom probably costs a lot of money, I'm not sure how likely it is that they'd bother unless they were going to give him something important to do.
Anyway, this is just one small point, one thing I can point to that would make me upset out of a zillion possible things I haven't considered yet. This particular thing might not happen, but that doesn't mean something else won't. {= P
I explained it to Phobos like this: With the first LotR movie, we were promised cake, and we all went "Yay, cake!" And we got there, and it was mostly cake and only a little bit of neurotoxin, so we were like "Okay, that's cool." Then TTT came out, and we were promised MORE cake, but we got there and there was only neurotoxin, with a few crumbs of leftover cake. But then PJ went "No, really, the next time will be cake again, I promise!" and we went "Well, okay," but we showed up for RotK and it was neurotoxin again. It's not paranoia if I'm worried about more neurotoxin this time.
It hurts more because it always looks like cake to start with. {= (
~Neshomeh, metaphor-ing with portals.
I. Must. See. This! Dwarves! and Hobbitses! and Elves! Yeah...gonna start searching for a TARDIS myself here...a year is way too long...
Must be the new legions of Bilbo fangirls.
Also, that random Galadriel kinda threw me for a loop there (especially in light of that one Sue in the TOS who was the daughter of Gandalf and Galadriel), but I'm sure with context there'll... be... an explanation.
Oh, and don't forget the dwarf fangirls. That Kili looks tappable.
"Oh, and don't forget the dwarf fangirls. That Kili looks tappable."
He does, doesn't he? Fortunately, I have agents to protect me from my own fangirlish impulses.
And Thorin himself, he's probably going to have a few fangirls, being played by Richard Armitage and all...
From what I've heard, they're also dealing with what Gandalf was up to involving the Necromancer in Mirkwood, which involved her.
Yep. The Necromancer (coughSauroncough) and the White Council might be hinted at a bit of coverage, from the sounds of it.