New Image Shows The Other Side Of Bilbo Baggins

[Brendon Connelly]

As per the original Tolkien, the story of The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggins' transformation from a placid homebody to a bold and cunning hero. One of the key turning points is captured in the latest still from the movie adaptation.

So, you might consider the following image a spoiler. I don't think it is, but you probably shouldn't read my subsequent comments if you're looking to stay fully fresh.



That, I believe, is Bilbo drawing his sword out of the carcass of a spider in Mirkwood. This is the sequence in which Bilbo uses the ring to outwit the spiders of the forest, slays them and rescues the dwarves. This is when he first stands up for himself, physically, without the support of his cohort.

He calls the sword Sting, naming it at the end of his battle with the spiders. We could well be looking at that exact moment.

The pacifist in me feels a little odd about this step in the "hero's journey", but in The Hobbit, at least, there's also another storyline being traced, that of Bilbo's relationship with the ring, the seduction of its power, and his slow decline. You can read his use of the ring here in Mirkwood, and its association with the killing of the spiders, with Bilbo's eventual near-ruin.

The picture was published by The LA Times. They also provide some interesting quotes from screenwriter Philippa Boyens. Here's a juicy bit on the tone and target audience:

The story is very much a children?s story so deciding how to tell this was one of the first things we had to do. Who is the audience? It is very distinctly different, tonally, to Lord of the Rings until the very end and then you begin to see the world of Middle-earth opening up? but, having said that, we felt that it is the same audience [who will come to see the films] and then you start to worry because it is easy to repeat yourself. It is quite a similar journey, you?re going from the Shire to a large, dangerous mountain.

You can expect to see Bilbo vs. the spiders in An Unexpected Journey, the first Hobbit film due in December.

[Vlad]

The pacifist in me feels a little odd about this step in the “hero’s journey”,

It's taken me a while to reach this conclusion, but the evidence is in: You're pretty ridiculous.

[JOE SOAP]

It's taken me a while to reach this conclusion, but the evidence is in: You're pretty ridiculous.

I agree, apart from the fact this is fiction along with every other fantasy/sci-fi tale, this really is a ridiculous statement or a complete joke. Did he flagellate himself for liking the awful Sucker Punch?

[Hannah Shaw-Williams]

This is probably my favourite part of the entire book. Well, either this or the bit with the barrels.

And that's surprising because I'm horribly arachnophobic.

[Kinnon]

My only reservation I have with this and the trailer, is the same one that kept dragging me out of the moment with the LOTR trilogy. There's 3 visual facets: The amazing location shooting all around New Zealand, as good as a director could hope to hope to work with, The meticulous interior sets for Rivendell, Bag End etc, thick with detail for actors to immerse in, and finally the polysterene carved ruin sets on soundstages...I don't know if it's how PJ shoots them, and from the behind the scenes work it doesn't seem down to a lack of craft from the stage technicians, but they just jar me, especially considering how wonderful the other 2 facets are.

Having said that, 2 exceptional facets would still outshine 1 lackluster one, I did get a lot of enjoyment from LOTR.

[JOE SOAP]

and finally the polysterene carved ruin sets on soundstages...I don't know if it's how PJ shoots them, and from the behind the scenes work it doesn't seem down to a lack of craft from the stage technicians, but they just jar me, especially considering how wonderful the other 2 facets are.

I think it's the fact that a lot of those 'outdoor' sets lack atmosphere and generally are either badly lit or have very little surrounding background which is very noticeable in wide shots. They seem literally untouched with any enhancing post-fx other than grading.

[Brendon Connelly]

It's taken me a while to reach this conclusion, but the evidence is in: You're pretty ridiculous.

Why? Because I understand that these moments have a subtext, and I care about what it is?

What's your point exactly?

[Meyeraustin]

It's taken me a while to reach this conclusion, but the evidence is in: You're pretty ridiculous.

Pacifism does not require one not to defend oneself.

[Meyeraustin]

Why? Because I understand that these moments have a subtext, and I care about what it is?

What's your point exactly?

"For thus you speak: ‘Real are we entirely, and without belief or superstition.’ Thus you stick out your chests – but alas, they are hollow!"


Pacifists like you only are able to exist because you live in societies defended by non-pacifists.

[Kinnon]

I think it's the fact that a lot of those 'outdoor' sets lack atmosphere and generally are either badly lit or have very little surrounding background which is very noticeable in wide shots. They seem literally untouched with any enhancing post-fx other than grading.

Very much agreed Joe, they seem unfinished or empty by comparison, and it's very strange. It's not like I'm holding them up against Alex Thomsons work on those beautiful indoor sets on Ridley Scotts Legend, I'm comparing them against the great work they've already put up. That scene in Fellowship where Frodo confronts the ringwraiths at Weathertop, it's like "pump in the dry ice and be done with it", and there's bits in the Hobbit trailer that look like possibly more of the same.