Blogger: Rachel Kent
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Next up: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
I’m sure many of you have seen the trailer for The Hobbit (part 1), but for those who’ve missed it, here’s the link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/
While I loved The Lord of the Rings movies, I had trouble with the books. I read half of The Fellowship of the Ring and quit. The story is fantastic, but such extreme world-building was too much for me. I probably should give the books another chance now that I’m much older, but the movies still feel like enough for me, especially since I already have a negative impression of the books.
I know they are wonderful classics, and they deserve to be loved–I’m just not at the place where I can love them yet.
The Hobbit, however, was another story.
Literally.
The characters were not as deep, the fantasy world felt less dense and the story was a grand rollicking adventure . Of course this is why The Hobbit is a single book while The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy.
I am excited about the Peter Jackson-directed film because I’ve so enjoyed the visual beauty of The Lord of the Rings films. If they can pull off the same style and cinematic splendor, The Hobbit should be a wonder-ful film.
I think The Hobbit is a great choice for a film because:
1) While the story is less epic than The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it still takes place in Middle Earth and includes lovable characters like Bilbo and Gandolf in their younger years.
2) The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was a such huge success the filmmakers are assured of an audience.
3) The story has a dragon. Dragons are really “in” right now.
4) The Hobbit appeals to all ages and could be a family film for families with slightly older children.
The list could go on, but I’d love to hear your thoughts! Why do you think The Hobbit is a good choice for a movie? Do you agree that The Hobbit is less epic and exciting than The Lord of the Rings? Why? And which did you like better, the books better or the movies?
I’m sorry I’ve been quiet the last couple of days, but I will be commenting on your comments later today. Thanks so much for your participation so far this week!
The Hobbit is one I’m watching closely as it develops. I get a kick out of Peter Jackson’s behind the scenes videos he posts from time to time on FB (I’ll confess I cheered at the first one, when I heard the music from the movies playing and images of WETA Workshop started scrolling past). I also confess I adore the books and have read them all a couple of times. In fact, they were partly what inspired me to start writing again as an adult (a hobby I indulged in in grade school).
Rachel, do you like audio books, or the type of radio drama that Focus on the Family did for The Narnia Chronicles? The BBC, decades ago, did the same thing for The Lord of the Rings. It had a full cast, and a narrator, and in fact it was Ian Holm who voiced Frodo in that production (that’s how to tell it from another dramatic radio version that wasn’t half so good, be sure Ian Holm is the voice of Frodo). You might enjoy that. We sure did. Over and over and over.
I am super excited for the Hobbit to come out as a movie. I have enjoyed reading all of the Lord of the Rings novels (though, I agree with you, Rachel, The Fellowship nearly stopped me as it was very expository in places.) Peter Jackson did such a fantastic job with the first three movies that I feel certain he and his crew will do equally as well with this one.
I think the journey undertaken in The Hobbit is no less epic than the one in the LOTR. It isn’t quite as “save the world” as the journey of the Fellowship but it is still rife with danger and peril and heroics. I think they will both be good.
The Hobbit is one of my favorite classics. I took a Tolkien class in college, and while I made it through all the LOTR books because I had to, they were a tough read. On screen, they are fantastic! I’m excited about The Hobbit coming to the big screen. I connect better with the characters and enjoy the LOTR qualities in a smaller, better articulated/sligtly whimsical stage.
The hero’s journey is always epic, and I hope they capture the true essence of Tolkien’s story in the same manner as LOTR.
As a fantasy author, I should never admit this, but I haven’t made it all the way through the LOTR books either. For shame! The movies are my all-time favorites and The Hobbit is one of my favorite novels ever. I absolutely couldn’t put it down. But the slow pacing in Fellowship is killer. One of my goals for 2012 is to give LOTR another go and to force myself through the tough parts.
I’m thrilled that Peter Jackson fought for the rights to The Hobbit, as there was some question there for a while. But I was a little concerned when I heard that Orlando Bloom is reprising his role as Legolas in the movie. Not that I don’t love me some Legolas, but he’s not in the original story. I hope they don’t fiddle with the story too much in order to amp up the “star power.” Frankly, The Hobbit doesn’t need it. The story is brilliant and already has a huge audience. There are other wood elves that can be cast with hot actors, if need be. 😉
I’ve read “The Hobbit” for a class when I was in high school and enjoyed it very much. I look forward to the Peter Jackson directed film. I loved the Peter Jackson directed Lord of the Rings trilogy however, I did not enjoy the 1978 version directed by Ralph Baksi but the 1980 Return of the King directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. was somewhat enjoyable.
When I was in college, a long time ago, there was a traveling puppet show that put on “The Hobbit”. It was so good. Smaug had to be handled by three puppeteers and when he breathed fire I was so scared since I was in one of the front rows.
Lori, a traveling puppet show version sounds like so much fun! I would love to see that.
Lindsay, I should set the same goal, but I’m just not there yet. Maybe next year!
Lori B.– Audiobook might be the way for me to go. I enjoy listening to books in the car.
I’m thrilled to see The Hobbit! I loved the LOTR movies, but think the books are better. While Peter Jackson did an amazing job of recreating the world, by sheer necessity he had to leave things out (or we’d still be in the theaters watching the films). He chose wisely in what to cut, but I still missed those pieces. Tom Bombadille in book one, most of book two since Jackson focused on the assault on the keep, and Frodo settling down in Middle Earth for a number of years before leaving with the elves in book three, just to name a few.
I am grateful to Peter Jackson for one thing, the movies were enough incentive to get my children to read the books. I think I need to read my old copies again, after I finish taping up the bindings.
Rachel, I have to discipline myself not to listen to the audiobook of LOTR more than once a year to keep it fresh. Even the poetry comes alive when it is being chanted or sung in Rob Inglis’ beautiful British accent. My concern after seeing this trailer is that Jackson will lose the light adventure feel of The Hobbit to make it a prequel to the much heavier LOTR. When Tolkien wrote The Hobbit he had no idea what was going to happen in LOTR. The ring is only one incident among many. But then, with many films based on books, I have to tell myself ahead of time not to expect the book, and I will enjoy it much more.
I’m not much into fantasy, so I haven’t seen LOR, and I couldn’t make it through The Hobbit when I tried to read it in my earlier years. I think I’ll have to give it another go now that I’m older and finding some fantasy stories enjoyable.
I read The Hobbit when I was a kid and the rest of the series in college and LOVED them. I saw the first movie, but it was vastly different from the book, so I never watched any of the others. It’s impossible for a movie to create a different world in such depth as those books do. (Did you know The Lord of the Rings had been rejected by publishers because they said it was too long?) However The Hobbit might work well as a movie so maybe I’ll watch that one.
I read everything but the last book. It was a slow read though because of the extreme details. I remember watching the movie commentaries of the director of the movies and how he confessed the difficulty of transferring the story to screenplay. I do love the books and the movie, and can’t wait for the Hobbit to release.
I’m looking foward to the Hobit coming out. When I was younger my dad read the books out loud to my brother and I. My brother loves them, but I’m with you about the story world taking up too much story time. The movies are great, though!