The Hobbit Film... trilogy.

[Muz]

I'm kinda hoping that to be the case..however..PJ knew what he was doing very well when he tackled the LOTR to filmify it, managing to not only shoot 3 movies at the same time but also bring modifications on the fly and being mostly on top of things... could he really have so grossly miscalculated his planning with regards to 2 movies..no, scrap that..we've been shooting too much stuff, let's make it 3 instead?
I'm thinking this should have become apparent fairly early in the process of shooting/production.. the very late timing of the announcement that after all there are going to be 3 movies is.. odd.

He did a good job of making LOTR into 3 movies, but note that there was a whole bunch of stuff cut for the theatrical releases that went into the extended DVD cuts. I'm viewing the 3-movie Hobbit as something he wants to do so as to keep that "extended" stuff in on the big screen.

Also, after viewing the trailer, the wargs seem to actually look like wolves rather than mutant hyenas.

[MLai]

Does this mean my Warg action figures are invalidated?!?!??

[Traab]

Im not so sure I liked the part with gandalf talking to galadriel, or whoever it was and him talking about how he brought bilbo along for hope or some such thing. What the hell did gandalf need hope for? He wasnt on a quest to do something like, I dunno, destroy the one thing that is keeping sauron tethered to this plane of existence, he is trying to get a group of dwarves moving on their quest to go feed themselves to a dragon like a bunch of morons. "Oh sure 100+ years ago a much younger smaug wiped out my entire clan barring a few survivors, but im sure the 13 of us dwarves will be more than able to handle an even older and stronger version of smaug. After all, we brought musical instruments!"

[Xondoure]

Im not so sure I liked the part with gandalf talking to galadriel, or whoever it was and him talking about how he brought bilbo along for hope or some such thing. What the hell did gandalf need hope for? He wasnt on a quest to do something like, I dunno, destroy the one thing that is keeping sauron tethered to this plane of existence, he is trying to get a group of dwarves moving on their quest to go feed themselves to a dragon like a bunch of morons. "Oh sure 100+ years ago a much younger smaug wiped out my entire clan barring a few survivors, but im sure the 13 of us dwarves will be more than able to handle an even older and stronger version of smaug. After all, we brought musical instruments!"

And Frodo wasn't brought along for courage?

[MLai]

So basically PJ is gonna epic-fy The Hobbit and it's gonna feel all awkward?

But hey! We get to see the Necromancer!

When I was a young 'un reading The Hobbit, I always pictured him like this. Just taller and with long witchy fingernails. And shinier.

[Traab]

And Frodo wasn't brought along for courage?

Frodo was brought along because noone else was either willing to hold the ring, or capable of withstanding its allure. Bilbo was brought along because gandalf is a very strange old man that apparently is able to tell that a fat tiny gentleman of leisure would make for an excellent hero with a bit of experience.

[Saph]

Frodo was brought along because noone else was either willing to hold the ring, or capable of withstanding its allure. Bilbo was brought along because gandalf is a very strange old man that apparently is able to tell that a fat tiny gentleman of leisure would make for an excellent hero with a bit of experience.

Maybe Gandalf had taken a look at Bilbo's character sheet and noticed that he'd rolled great for his stats.

Plus, you gain XP SO fast when you're a 1st-level character in a higher-level party. Just so long as you can stay alive the first few combats . . .

[dehro]

Frodo was brought along because noone else was either willing to hold the ring, or capable of withstanding its allure.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc.. is what Dr. Sheldon Cooper would say.

Bilbo was brought along because gandalf is a very strange old man that apparently is able to tell that a fat tiny gentleman of leisure would make for an excellent hero with a bit of experience.

that's more like it

[Muz]

Im not so sure I liked the part with gandalf talking to galadriel, or whoever it was and him talking about how he brought bilbo along for hope or some such thing. What the hell did gandalf need hope for? He wasnt on a quest to do something like, I dunno, destroy the one thing that is keeping sauron tethered to this plane of existence, he is trying to get a group of dwarves moving on their quest to go feed themselves to a dragon like a bunch of morons. "Oh sure 100+ years ago a much younger smaug wiped out my entire clan barring a few survivors, but im sure the 13 of us dwarves will be more than able to handle an even older and stronger version of smaug. After all, we brought musical instruments!"

Given the little smile Gandalf has when he says it, I'm not entirely sure his answer is meant to be 100% serious. Or maybe he's realizing that Thorin's quest is a long shot, and Gandalf is laughing at the absurdity of his own answer. (Thought to himself: "Why DID I send this poor hobbit? I suppose it was a silly thing you did, old Gandalf, you and your hobbit fascination...")

I'm not sure I'm explaining myself very well here, but hopefully someone gets my point.

[Traab]

Post hoc ergo propter hoc.. is what Dr. Sheldon Cooper would say.

that's more like it

I disagree. Frodo, in the book, had held the ring already for quite some time. He had shown resistance to its influence, and considering bilbo was able to let it go after what, 30 years of owning it? It made sense to let frodo take it when he volunteered to do so. Especially since he had managed to get it to rivendell in the first place when gandalf got waylaid. They couldnt let boromir take it, he wanted to use it. It couldnt be held by an elf or dwarf due to racial mistrust, gandalf flat out refused to touch the dang thing, and merry and pippin were morons. Frodo was the only reasonable choice. This was a totally different situation than The Hobbit. In The Hobbit, Gandalf shows up, virtually forces bilbo to join up, and gives no reason other than mystical wise man mutterings about how there is more to him than you guess. He pretty much randomly picked a fat nervous hobbit who had likely never been more than 2 miles from his house before and tossed him out on a quest that could have lead to a horrible death. If he had an actual reason to pick bilbo, he never really shares it with the rest of us.

[snoopy13a]

Frodo was brought along because noone else was either willing to hold the ring, or capable of withstanding its allure. Bilbo was brought along because gandalf is a very strange old man that apparently is able to tell that a fat tiny gentleman of leisure would make for an excellent hero with a bit of experience.

I think Bilbo was brought along because Gandalf wanted a non-dwarf in the party--particulary one who wouldn't succumb to greed. Elves were out of the question and most men could be as greedy as dwarves.

Gandalf had been good friends with Bilbo's grandfather, his two maternal aunts, and his mother* so Bilbo was on the top of list. Maybe Aragorn would have been a better choice, but he probably wasn't available and the dwarves may not have accepted him.

* It is hinted that Bilbo's mother may have gone on adventures with Gandalf.

Frodo was the clear choice as ring bearer because he already had it and was doing a fairly good job of resisting its influence. Also, hobbits seemed to be most resistant to the ring.

Finally, Merry isn't an idiot. The film adaption really butchers his character. He's actually responsible. He organizes Frodo's feigned move to Buckland, and he gathers the supplies for the trip out of the Shire. They ride on Merry's ponies and eat Merry's food.

Pippin is the irresponsible one, and that is mainly due to his age. Pippin has not yet "come of age." He is still in his irresponible "twenties" while Merry has the reputation as a responsible adult. Farmer Maggot treats Merry with the upmost respect--and not simply because of who Merry's father is.

I once read an essay which compared the fellowship to a sort of family. Gandalf was the father and Aragorn was the oldest brother who takes charge in the father's absence. Merry was the responsible middle child who gets overshadowed while Pippin is the youngest child.

[Xondoure]

I disagree. Frodo, in the book, had held the ring already for quite some time. He had shown resistance to its influence, and considering bilbo was able to let it go after what, 30 years of owning it? It made sense to let frodo take it when he volunteered to do so. Especially since he had managed to get it to rivendell in the first place when gandalf got waylaid. They couldnt let boromir take it, he wanted to use it. It couldnt be held by an elf or dwarf due to racial mistrust, gandalf flat out refused to touch the dang thing, and merry and pippin were morons. Frodo was the only reasonable choice. This was a totally different situation than The Hobbit. In The Hobbit, Gandalf shows up, virtually forces bilbo to join up, and gives no reason other than mystical wise man mutterings about how there is more to him than you guess. He pretty much randomly picked a fat nervous hobbit who had likely never been more than 2 miles from his house before and tossed him out on a quest that could have lead to a horrible death. If he had an actual reason to pick bilbo, he never really shares it with the rest of us.

61 years of ownership.

[Karoht]

He pretty much randomly picked a fat nervous hobbit who had likely never been more than 2 miles from his house before and tossed him out on a quest that could have lead to a horrible death. If he had an actual reason to pick bilbo, he never really shares it with the rest of us.

I always seemed to think that he picked Bilbo because he would get along with the Dwarves better than anyone else in Hobbiton. Thereby making him the better traveling companion. Not sure how Gandalf would have known that other than previous dealings with Hobbits.
I can't back it up with a quotation or anything, just a vibe I got.

[Traab]

Gandalf did mention bilbos family from time to time, implying that the took side of his family didnt mind having adventures, but that doesnt explain why gandalf didnt go after an actual took instead of bilbo. Like I said, I basically put it down to mysterious sage who knows things he has no way of knowing picking bilbo because he knows this particular hobbit can pull it off.

[Xondoure]

Gandalf did mention bilbos family from time to time, implying that the took side of his family didnt mind having adventures, but that doesnt explain why gandalf didnt go after an actual took instead of bilbo. Like I said, I basically put it down to mysterious sage who knows things he has no way of knowing picking bilbo because he knows this particular hobbit can pull it off.

Bilbo in his youth was always the most interested in Gandalf's stories. Much like Frodo.

[Androgeus]

Huh, up until now I thought this was about a Dwarven a Capella group... I'm a little disappointed now.

Don't worry, they just cut the trailer together so it would appeal to the fantasy/action crowd. The actual film is about a Dwarven acapella group and their struggles when their manager decides to add a hobbit to the group.

[MLai]

They were marathoning pretty hard. Maybe they're starting a new thing - Ironman Acapella.

I thought dwarves hate running? Hobbits too.

[Gnoman]

61 years of ownership.

Closer to sixty. Bilbo's 51st birthday was in Lake-Town, while he gave it up at his 111th birthday party. He's one of only two people who ever gave the Ring up willingly, and had it so much longer that Sam doesn't really compare.

[Xondoure]

Closer to sixty. Bilbo's 51st birthday was in Lake-Town, while he gave it up at his 111th birthday party. He's one of only two people who ever gave the Ring up willingly, and had it so much longer that Sam doesn't really compare.

Well to be fair to Sam, the ring was much more desperate and far closer to the seat of it's power.

[hamishspence]

Like I said, I basically put it down to mysterious sage who knows things he has no way of knowing picking bilbo because he knows this particular hobbit can pull it off.

In Unfinished Tales Gandalf goes into some depth on why he picked Bilbo. "Tookishness" is not enough on its own- a certain stolidity is needed as well.

[MLai]

Gandalf was the original Party Manager consultant. He knew the party needed an Everyman with John McClane armor to stand a chance.

Every band of adventurers planning to go on an adventure should hire one. Every party should have an expert 2nd opinion on not just their tank/dps/support quota, but also personality chemistry.

[grimbold]

Don't worry, they just cut the trailer together so it would appeal to the fantasy/action crowd. The actual film is about a Dwarven acapella group and their struggles when their manager decides to add a hobbit to the group.

this made my day :3

[dehro]

I can't do it at all!

[Dave Halfbreed]

Eh, I just wish they came out less than a year apart.