New “Hobbit” video blog online – post-production…and beyond!

The world premiere of Peter Jackson‘s “The Hobbit” is in New Zealand on Wednesday and you’ll be delighted to know that the film is almost finished.

“Trust me – I know what I’m doing.”

Which is…nice?

Judging by the latest (#9) production blog uploaded by His Awesomeness, it’s a relief that the movie is this far along – these are phenomenally complex enterprises, undertaken by a brilliant collective of artisans, technicians and inspiringly creative individuals all united by delivering Jackson’s singular vision.  Just from watching the production blog, the thought is impossible to escape that just one person has to ultimately bring together multiple departments, disciplines and skill sets in a cohesive whole to  deliver three films.  I just don’t know if I could keep on top of that level of mind-smushing difficulty for as long as Jackson will have to.

There’s the usual jocular, collegiate, ‘man, this stuff is fun!’ tone running throughout the blog, but I’d hate to have to be the guy steering the ship.  But, at the same time, I love that he’s devoted himself to taking regular movie goers, genre nerds and devoted Tolkien fans alike back to Middle Earth for another couple of slices of prime fantasy fun.

Glowing blue swords? Nerdery? Does want!

There’s another blog due after the premiere this week – and those all-important first reviews to boot…

 

 

 

Trailered: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

Not going to lie, I'm indecently excited to see this next December...

In what has apparently become the week of the year when the movie studios unleash all of their biggest movie trailers at once – Bam! “The Dark Knight Rises”! Bam! “Prometheus”! Bam! “Wrath of the Titans”! – New Line, MGM and Warner Brothers have now thrown the first teaser trailer for the first part of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of “The Hobbit” into the mix.

So, small fry, then.

It's Ash - run away! Sorry, wrong returning, nerd-bait, 2012 franchise entry...

Though it would have been intriguing to see what once-incumbent director Guillermo Del Toro did with the Tolkien source material (he does get a credit, per the contractuals at the end of the trailer), this first look does a lot to establish that it’s poetic that Jackson gets to return to the worlds he so convincingly realised on film in partnership with Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh – it just looks and feels right.

Anybody else want to up sticks and move to Hobbiton?

There’s just the right balance in this teaser between story and visual candy – much of it is scene-setting stuff with Gandalf assembling his collection of Dwarves and other Middle Earthians (amazingly, the WordPress browser spell-check informs that ‘Earthian’ isn’t a word.  Who’d’ve thunk it?) with the odd blink-and-miss-it battle with trolls chucked into the mix.

I'm no scholar of the "Rings", but that looks like Sting to me.

The first film opens on December 14th 2012 with part two, “There and Back Again” following a whole bloody year later.   Give them to me, now – project them directly into my waiting eye holes!