The Hobbit

[BoShek]

Yeah, two movies of The Hobbit would be a little better than trying to fit into one. Beorn should be John Reese-Davies in his tall grandure.

[Turambar]

I think they could make it right in just over 3 hours.
In the LOTR movies, I felt PJ made Gimli into too much of a baffoon, so I would like to see the Hobbit just to see the serious nature of the dwarves. Not to mention seeing armies of them with chopping people up with mattocks & axes.

[CropDuster]

A more serious portrayal of the dwarves would definitely be a welcome improvement, as would a more heterosexual portrayal of the hobbits.

[Mandalorian Candidat]

...as would a more heterosexual portrayal of the hobbits.

Huh? Where's that coming from? Didn't Sam get married in RotK and have children?

[Turambar]

A more serious portrayal of the dwarves would definitely be a welcome improvement, as would a more heterosexual portrayal of the hobbits.

LOL! Okay, so maybe PJ overdid the relationship between Frodo & Sam.
On the subject, I think the whole thing would have worked better if Frodo was over the hill and 15-20 yrs older that Sam.
In attempting to show the burden of the ring PJ ended up portraying Frodo as both weak and foolish while Sam became the hero.
Although, the ring took its toll on Frodo's physical being, he grew in wisdom throughout the epic. I just never felt that was shown in the movies.

[RooJay]

I don't think the Frodo/Sam relationship was overdone at all. Let's not forget that these are 'hobbits' and not humans; to ascribe human emotion or thought processes to those characters and assume that they are absolute is ludicrous and counteractive to the statement that was being made. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson after him, never once implies anything other than a very close and powerful bond of friendship. To imply sexual context of any kind in the relationship only serves as a great disservice to that particular story arc.

[arctangent]

I don't think the Frodo/Sam relationship was overdone at all. Let's not forget that these are 'hobbits' and not humans; to ascribe human emotion or thought processes to those characters and assume that they are absolute is ludicrous and counteractive to the statement that was being made. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson after him, never once implies anything other than a very close and powerful bond of friendship. To imply sexual context of any kind in the relationship only serves as a great disservice to that particular story arc.

my brother and sister in law went to a special screening of return of the king (because she works for part of warner bros here in the uk) and many members of the audience who obviously didn't know the books came out asking why all the hobbits were homosexual. so that idea must come across to people somehow. people tend to forget that the lotr was written in a more innocent time.

[Beast]

Looks like 'The Hobbit' may end up happening with New Line and Peter Jackson, if Time Warener can complete it's purchase of MGM. Here's the news from Variety.

"With Sony apparently unable to construct a final offer for the purchase of MGM, it's looking increasingly likely that Time Warner will swoop in and grab the prize. Bringing MGM under their wing would give Time Warner a nice little bonus -- worldwide theatrical and television rights to J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit." Time Warner owns New Line Cinema... and what a sweet addition to New Line's "The Lord of the Rings" franchise that could be.

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[JON9000]

Beorn should be John Reese-Davies in his tall grandure.

I think Brian Blessed would make an awesome Beorn.

I think he would make a lousy Borg. Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Mandalorian Candidat]

Thanks for the update, JJB. More good news for the fans.