The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
“From the smallest beginnings come the greatest legends.“
Lee Pace as Thranduil
Directed by Peter Jackson
Written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, J.R.R. Tolkien
Release Date: November 28, 2012
Also starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage
Genre: Adventure | Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Synopsis
A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on an “unexpected journey” to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug.
Trivia & Facts
• Both Ian Holm and Christopher Lee filmed their scenes at London’s Pinewood Studios because health concerns left them uncomfortable with flying to New Zealand.
• All cast members (including the extras) wore wigs in the film.
• Thranduil, the father of Legolas, first appeared in the Hobbit book simply as “The Elven King” with no mention of his real name. Is it only in The Lord of the Rings, when Legolas first appears in the books, that he is identified as the Son of Thranduil of Mirkwood. When Legolas enters Lothlorien in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Haldir greets him in Elvish as “Legolas Thranduillion.”
• This film was shot on thirty Red Epic cameras, the newest model of the Red Camera available at the time.
• Asked how many wizards there are, Gandalf says there are five, naming himself, Saruman, and Radagast, then saying he can’t remember the names of the other two, merely saying, “The two blues.” Their names, Alatar and Pallando, appear in the book Unfinished Tales, but the filmmakers don’t have rights to use material from that book.
• Dwarvish was designed by J.R.R. Tolkien to sounds like a Semitic language, and the history of the dwarves themselves resembles that of the ancient Hebrews.
• The film subtitle “An Unexpected Journey” does not appear until 13 minutes into the film.
• The elk Thranduil is riding is actually a horse named Moose.
Quotes About The Film
“The Hobbit was also a fantastic experience. It’s just mind-blowing how beautiful it is. Peter Jackson has the sort of imagination that no one else has.”
“That’s one of the interesting things about The Hobbit – the conflict between the elves and the dwarfs – and we really worked hard to make that conflict specific.”
“I don’t understand it, but even though I’m two years younger than Orlando, we really do look like father and son in a kind of weird, Elvish way.”
“In the first movie you see me looking up at Thorin’s grandfather and I see the mountain of treasure he’s accumulated, and what I’m thinking in that moment is ‘You dwarves are gonna burn. You’re summoning a dragon with this pile of treasure, this pile of hoarded wealth. Bad things are coming for you and it’s not my problem.’”
Photo Gallery
External Links
– IMDB Page
– Official website
– Official blog
– Official facebook
– Official twitter