There’s plenty to look forward to when the first of The Hobbit prequels hits screens in December 2012. Not only will the new films feature cutting edge imagery that only Weta digital can conjure, it will also be presented in 3D having been shot using the Red digital camera system. While the technological differences will be apparent, the world which director Peter Jackson is creating, will be both new and familiar to fans of The Lord of the Rings.
Initially Jackson was wary taking on The Hobbit as the tone of the J.R.R Tolkein story was aimed more-so at children. Jackson was also somewhat concerned that he wouldn’t be able to offer a fresh take on the world having already much such an impressive trilogy.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey sees a Company of Dwarves via the wizard Gandalf, enlist the help of Bilbo Baggins to go on a quest and raid the treasure vaults of the thieving dragon, Smaug. Jackson soon realized how the spirited personalities of the dwarves would bring a new energy to the world of Middle-earth. A big part of the design process was also making the 13 dwarves each look different to match their unique persona’s.
While the characters of the Dwarves bring a comedic tone to the film, fans will be reintroduced to the familiar Tolkein setting that’s been crafted as earlier chapters of the LOTR universe:
I want it to seem like we’ve gone back on location into Middle-earth; that these two movies feel like they belong at the beginning of the other three. We’re the same filmmakers going into the same world.
Making the world feel familiar also allowed Jackson and the writers to find ways to include characters from the previous films – such as Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Cate Blanchett as Galadriel – who did not feature in The Hobbit story. Though as Jackson explains, the characters were in fact eligible to feature:
We’re not just adapting The Hobbit; we’re adapting a lot of additional material that Tolkein added to the appendices of The Lord Of The Rings. So we’re able to get more into what was going on in the world outside of Bilbo and the dwarves – which is really why it ended up being two movies.
While the first prequel will have something of a lighter tone, Jackson’s wife and writing partner Fran Walsh indicates that the second movie will focus on “war, madness and dragon rage.” Walsh explains:
We always saw The Hobbit more in the golden light of a fairytale. It’s more playful. But by the time you get to the end, Tolkien is writing himself into that place where he can begin that epic journey of writing LOTR, which took, as he put it, his life’s blood. All those heavier, darker themes which are so prevalent in the later trilogy start to come into play.
When the film opens next December, audiences will see the fantastical world in 3D. While not all directors feel comfortable making the switch, for Jackson “3D is easy”:
I’ve always tried to move the camera around a lot because it gives you a 3D effect in a 2D movie. So I’m not doing anything different, I’m shooting the movie as I normally would.
The Lord of the Rings was a testament to Weta‘s pioneering approach to visual effects, but having brought James Cameron‘s Avatar to life, and more recently the world of Tintin – the approach to incorporating digital technology is now more streamlined.
The technology gets better. Everything that we were pioneering on LOTR has now become a well-organised pipeline.
Guillermo del Toro who left the project when the studio was experiencing financial woes, contributed a lot to the story and while his “style and [creative] DNA” will be present in the final product, Jackson explains that when he took over the reigns, he needed to tell the story he envisaged:
When I took over from Guillermo, I had to make the movie I was imagining. His DNA is in there, but I’m not trying to impersonate the way he would have directed it. I’m shooting it my style. I thought it was important I was the same filmmaker as I was 10 years ago; I wanted that unity” [grinning] I’m back in LOTR mode.
Fans of the Rings trilogy wouldn’t have it any other way. While Del Toro would’ve brought an interesting style to the story, there’s no doubt that Jackson is one of today’s most exciting visionaries and to see him revisit this world he created not just once, but twice – it’s sure to be an amazing movie going experience.
If you haven’t seen Peter Jackson’s video production blogs, they’re worth catching. The new video looks at the logistics of location shooting and later we see Elijah Wood‘s return to Hobbiton. The previous behind-the-scenes focuses on the 3D aspect of shooting.
The new film stars Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, and Stephen Fry.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens December 14, 2012.
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