rogueslayer452 | Entries tagged with the hobbit

Taken from the Crunchy Questions Meme:

We all know that the source material is often regarded as better than adaptations, however what is an adaptation that you think is better than its source material?

A lot of the time whenever there is a book-to-movie adaptation, unless I've read the source material first beforehand, I tend to see an adaptation first before reading the book if it interests me. This just kind of happened naturally for me (due to having watched a lot of movies and television more than reading a lot of books when I was younger), but I like this method since it oftentimes allows me to squash those automatic nitpicking habits and consider them separate entities telling the same story in different mediums. There are certainly exceptions for sure, but in general I try to step back and be more objective when comparing the two. There are a lot of adaptations that miss the mark, and a lot that actually do it well, and then there are those that actually surpass the source material by making it better. It's all subjective, of course.

( If I were to name a few.... )

I'm sure there are some others that I cannot recall, but these are the ones that immediately jump to mind when I think of adaptations that are better than or improve upon their source material.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: UNSECRET ft. REMMI - Mad World

As I'm sure most are aware by now that Amazon is going to produce a Lord of the Rings television series with a multi-season order. Christopher Tolkien has also resigned from the Tolkien Estate, which may coincide with this recent news.

There have been a lot of mixed reactions to this, as suspected. Purists are upset about this, some are scratching their heads wondering why this even was considered since nothing will ever top the films, while others are tentatively curious. I, myself, was rather skeptical when this was first announced, although it's been said that this will be a prequel and not a remake of the films, which made me relax a little. In truth I've come to the conclusion that, in the right hands, a television series that explores different areas of Middle-earth that we didn't see in the films would be interesting. I've always believed that television gives more room for exploration and development than films do, and if done right it can give us so much more content taken from that world and universe and expand it further. I do agree that when it comes down the faithful adaptations, Peter Jackson's films are the closest we'll ever get and nothing else will ever compare. But even his films were a mere interpretation of Tolkien's world, which was a risk at the time when he was starting making them. Who is to say that nobody else should take a chance at it as well? True, it could end up being completely disastrous, or it could surprise us and actually end up being really good. This is the gamble with adaptations. At the moment we don't know anything about the series yet since it's still in the early stages and was just announced, but I do have a couple of qualifications of things I want to see happen with this series.

Don't make it grimdark. We don't want or need another Game of Thrones-style show. Lord of the Rings is the antithesis of that series anyway, so there is no need to make it something that it isn't. I know that this series will probably be made to fill in that void once Game of Thrones has ended and no doubt it will be compared to it, but it should not follow in its footsteps. Fantasy, particularly high fantasy, doesn't have to be "dark and gritty" in order for the audience to be engaged.

Have more women be included in the story. One of the things I appreciated was Peter Jackson trying to include women in the films (Arwen having a more included role, the creation of Tauriel and the women of Laketown picking up arms to fight alongside the men in The Hobbit), though I do wish there could have been more inclusion. So having more women characters in various roles is something I want to see in a television series, no doubt about that. Also, I want more women to be involved with the production of the series, this means women writers, directors, and producers.

Actually hire and have significant roles for minorities. Speaking of inclusion, this should be a no-brainer. There needs to be more representation of non-white actors portraying fantasy characters, something that neither film trilogy did which was disappointing.

Film in New Zealand. Or, at least film somewhere that has gorgeous scenery and landscapes.

As a whole, this is going to be interesting to watch unfold. I'm still a tad apprehensive, but at the same time I'm also intrigued on where this could potentially lead if done well.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Nine Inch Nails - Just Like You Imagined

++ There is a new friending meme going around, so join in if you haven't yet!

++ The cast and crew of Sense8 did a huge "thank you" video in celebration of getting the show back, with talking about the show and what it meant to them and the appreciation of the fan community, and just the entire thing in itself is just so beautiful and heartfelt. It makes me incredibly happy to have been part of something like this, and seeing that our efforts as a fandom weren't wasted, that our voices were heard. We, the fans, made this happen. Also, Lana and some of the cast did a live interview where they discussed more in depth with everything that occurred and their feelings about the entire ordeal, from news of the cancellation to the fan campaigning to them getting brought back. It's actually the first time we hear them talking about it at length, so it gets kind of emotional when they're discussing what the show means to them and how the news affected them in a personal way, and the gratitude they have towards the fans for fighting as passionately to get it back. I just love these people, I love this show, and I love this fandom. ❤

Lana also made a little comment about writing season three? This is obviously not an official statement, but she mentioned having so much faith in the fans that I think she's preparing for anything. I'm trying not to get my hopes up since I've already mentioned being totally fine with us just having a two-hour final episode to conclude the story, since that is more than most cancelled shows ever get. But I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be so fucking excited if we actually got more than that should the special episode succeed beyond expectations in terms of viewership.

++ In A Heartbeat is a cute little animated LGBT short film and it has been getting a lot of praise and attention, and for good reason. It is absolutely adorable and powerful, even without a single word being spoken. Anyone who hasn't seen it yet, I highly recommend you do so.

++ Since I've been going on lately about fandom merchandising, this was recently brought to my attention: a limited edition Thorin Oakenshield figure statue from The Battle of the Five Armies, on the throne and everything. Of course, this being the WETA Workshop, it is outrageously expensive just like everything else they've got in their store, but it is also incredibly gorgeous and immensely detailed. I'm just in awe. Thorin is still my favorite character of The Hobbit films so naturally when something new appears in the merchandise I'm immediately drawn to it.

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Kesha - Woman

++ You have no idea how happy I am that Isaiah Mustafa and Terry Crews are joining together in the new hilarious Old Spice commercials. Isaiah especially, because his Old Spice Guy commercials have always been a real treat. Remember when they did the twitter questions thing where he made special individual viral videos doing all those effects? That was an event that gave me life, and while this collaboration isn't on that level, it still is pure fun.

++ Official Agent Carter vs. Agents of Shield Dubsmash War announcement. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

++ It seems that ABC has decided to go ahead with the Mockingbird spin-off, which they had previously passed on earlier this year. Interesting. While I do like Bobbi and Lance on Agents of Shield since they mesh well with the ensemble cast, I would like to see their individual stories separate from the main show. Since the second season finale had them bring everything to the table, Bobbi in particular, I would love to see what they do with their own story. I wonder how it'll happen. Perhaps it'll be like Agent Carter, a shortened season premiering during hiatus.

++ Apparently, the extended edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has been rated R, making it the first of the Middle-earth films to have such a rating. Considering the amount of violence the battle scenes and deaths of the LOTR trilogy had, in both theatrical and extended, it's curious why BOTFA received such a higher rating when every other movie of both trilogies were strictly PG13. Obviously we're going to be seeing more of the battle, so it makes me wonder how much more graphic it'll be, especially in comparison to the LOTR battles and deaths. Nevertheless, apparently we're going to be having a special treat since the entire Hobbit extended trilogy will be back in theaters in October, and you know that I'll be hoping to get tickets to see that. It would be the perfect birthday present.

Current Mood: content
Current Music: Phildel - The Wolf

++ Nina Dobrev is officially leaving The Vampire Diaries. While I'm incredibly happy that she's finally free and off to do greater things for herself and her career, it's interesting to me that the show is going to continue on without her. Not that she was the "be all, end all" aspect, but she basically has been the main character of the show since the beginning; she has been an integral part of the plot and almost everything centers around her relationships with all the other characters in some form or another. Although while I haven't seen anything beyond the first two seasons, I've heard that in the most recent one Elena has been more or less pushed to the background while Caroline has been taking the spotlight, leading to much speculation because of it, and it was confirmed in her statement that she wanted Elena's journey to end at some point. It does make me wonder how the show will do after her departure, whether it'll be cancelled shortly thereafter or become a cockroach like the other longer lasting CW shows, never dying until it is eventually run into the ground by TPTB.

++ Apparently there's a movie deal for the indie horror game, Five Nights At Freddy's. I haven't played it myself but I've watched others online do it (most notably Markiplier's). I'm curious on how it's gonna work for a game like this to be translated onto the big screen. There is plenty of potential with the already built-in lore of the story to explore and expand on, so it could be intriguing on what they plan on doing with it.

++ The blonde wig Emilia Clarke wears for her Vogue UK photoshoot looks a bit more natural than the one she wears on the show in the later seasons. Here just looks like a modern AU Dany. So gorgeous. ♥

++ Hearing all the reports from Hobbitcon that happened almost makes me want to attend conventions again, from the interactions with the actors to the fun shenanigans that occurred. But most importantly is the news that the extended edition of The Battle of the Five Armies will hopefully feature 21 additional scenes. I'm hoping that this is true because there was also confirmation from the actors who were there that indeed, so much was filmed especially of the dwarves, but PJ was forced by the studios to edit a lot of things from the theatrical cut, which explains the chopped up feeling in certain places. Which means will be getting so much more content in the extended. I mean I expected as much, but still. Basically, MORE MIDDLE-EARTH YAY. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: EarlyRise - Narcissistic Cannibal

( Yep, it still emotionally hurts after the second time. )

As you can see, this film still has an emotional hold over me and that most likely won't let up any time soon. I'm planning on seeing it several more times in the theaters, and my third viewing will be in IMAX pretty soon. If my emotions can handle it, that is.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: London Grammar - Devil Inside

( Spoilers, and mostly incoherent rambling. )

Please talk with me about it if you've seen BOTFA, we need to share in this pain together.

Also, what's interesting is how I didn't actually see the film at midnight, because our theater was showing it some hours earlier. I don't know if this is something new, but somehow they were showing it at 7:00pm, 10:30pm and then at midnight, and the day previously was of course the exclusive marathon event of all three films. I just found it rather strange that they would organize it like that, since I had gone to the DOS midnight premiere last year and other midnight premieres before that. There were still people that showed up obviously, but it wasn't as overly packed as before. So, I don't know.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Bear McCreary - Kalagyi Anaila Kaziri

++ Don't forget the all the fandoms friending meme along with the new multi-fandom friending meme. All the friending memes!

++ I am now in possession of the tickets for the midnight premiere of The Battle of the Five Armies. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

I've only ever been to a few midnight premieres in my life, I think two from Harry Potter (not counting the midnight book releases) and the most recent one for Desolation of Smaug. I think midnight premieres only work best when it's a particular franchise with fans. I remember going to the last Deathly Hallows midnight premiere and there were people dressed in costumes, someone was dressed as a Snitch running around the theaters with someone trying to catch them. Some people were dressed up for The Hobbit last year, too. The only downsides to midnight premieres though, aside from having to wait in line for hours just to get the good seats, are people who get drunk and end up being loud and obnoxious, or people who end up being immature in general just to show off and be stupid. I had only one unpleasant incident during the DOS premiere, so I'm hoping it doesn't happen for BOTFA.

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: VAST - Somewhere Else To Be

( I will not hide while others fight our battles for us! )

I literally cannot right now, I'm just speechless. Last year I was practically thrumming with excitement for Desolation of Smaug, but this year I'm feeling both excitement (to see all the epic new stuff) and incredible dread (knowing what happens). The Battle of the Five Armies is not just the last Hobbit film, it's basically the end of an era. So, in other words, I am not even remotely emotionally prepared to survive any of this.

And it premieres next month (December 17th), which is both too soon and too far away. I want to remain in denial just a little while longer, please!