First, here lately I've been discussing movie news that is of interest to the D&D community and none should be more important than the Hobbit. At first I was mildly outraged when it was announced the Tolkien work would be made into two movies, but I saw ample room for a cliffhanger or two in there. Now the recent announcement that the Hobbit will be a trilogy has my head hurting. My sentiments echo many of those online. Naturally I want to see any and all movies set in Middle Earth, but my skepticism is high for their motivation and ability to do this. As we've been assured there is a wealth of extra material to use for these additional movies yet looking at the real page count of these works it boggles my mind. It's pure b.s. Even given all the appendices and scraps of references, I believe the Hobbit trilogy will still end up being contrived beyond belief. And I'm not talking about walk on cameos by Legolas or whoever. After all the Hobbit itself contains no female speaking roles. If the cumbersome books of the Lord of the Rings trilogy had been stretched out in the same manner (it wasn't fashionable to segment book movies back then) then we would've suffered through 9 movies! Yet each was kept intact as one (albeit long) movie. Now we're supposed to accept that the simplest, shortest and most iconic of Tolkien's works can cover three movies by itself? I shudder to think about the extended director's cut DVD.
Anyhow, I can't wait to see how they pull it off. Maybe that's part of my gripe. Having to wait so long to see all three finally released. It's a tease as much as a cash grab. I want to see Smaug now not one to two years from now. Nerd rage aside, I know I'll love all three movies too. Oh well. One more thing, my hope is that they someday make a movie adaptation of Tolkien's The Children of Hurin. For anyone who hasn't read this, it's a dark and epic tale from before the Ring saga. Check it out.
Next up is GenCon Indy on August 15th. And it's about time, I need a vacation. Just another reminder to those in the Greyhawk community, we at Canonfire have got a couple meet-ups planned. If you want to stop by and say hi and share a drink at the convention check out this forum thread or drop me a message here.
Lastly, this is a mental note to myself mainly. I'm planning on reviving my Ring of Five Questions interview series at Gencon. I'll try hitting up several authors and artists for interviews in the future, and perhaps I'll extend the offer to hardcore Greyhawk fans as well. Along those lines, I'll also be taking part my local group's Gamerstable podcast activities (no set time table). Who knows, if you're interested maybe you could take part in a recording at the con? More next time!
1- Looking forword to having a drink at the RAM. Sat. at 5pm got-cha
ReplyDelete2- You do know that im a published author. Got my first module published here http://www.rpgnow.com/product/99009/Advanced-Adventures-%2322%3A-Stonepick-Crossing Just dont do a interview after i've had a few at the RAM ;-)
This will be 3 movies I won't be seeing, not in any form, big screen, DvD or badly filmed Russian bootleg VHS.
ReplyDeleteLife is short and there are things that you shouldn't inflict on your consciousness such as Jackson's mangled and dreary version of Tolkien's work.
I will stick to text and my own imagination and wish Jackson 'Good Morning'.
I'll probably love all three movies also, but hoping they keep the salt pork, dwarf-tossing and elf shield-surfing "Kowabunga, Legolas, dude!" to a minimum. There's only so much of that I can take.
ReplyDeleteSmillan
Aside from the "creative licence" Jackson will employ, I am looking forward to seeing the movies. I can't think of any one movie that was ever completely true to a book. This'll draw attention back to the fantasy interests and GamesWorkshop will most likely have some line of figures put out that will work nicely with my gaming. I'll take it for what it is and see just how far off Jackson goes... and reserve the right to talk about it then.
ReplyDeleteCheers.
The Hobbit was always my least favorite of Tolkien's works. I'd much rather sit through a 10 part movie of The Silmarillion.
ReplyDeleteBut that's just me.