J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic tale of The Hobbit is shaping up to be every bit of the action saga that made The Lord of the Rings series so popular and compelling in its film adaptations. The latest installment, The Desolation of Smaug gives the original Hobbit movement the 180° treatment and turns up the fight scene throttle considerably more.
Fans have already showed their appreciation for it droves at the box office and its presence will most likely still be felt well into the new year.
Hip-Hop Wired recently attended a press junket for the film which hosted the likes of Luke Evans, Aidan Turner and Academy-Award-winning director, Peter Jackson.
Fans well-versed in the original novel may or may not be open to change yet The Desolation of Smaug does offer up a bit of deviation from the book. Its biggest addition is a female elf by the name of Tauriel (which means “Daughter of the Forest”) played by actress Evangeline Lilly.
Lilly, who had convinced herself from retiring from acting until she received the call from Jackson also had some concerns herself tampering with the historic storyline but her character required an in-depth training regime to ensure the credibility of the character. She told the media she had to complete five different types of training including, “Weapons, stunt, movement, dialogue and language training with the weapons training with different weapons in the dagger and bow and arrow.”
Peter Jackson spoke candidly of his expansion of characters and revealed as much as he could, given the fact that 2014 will conclude this respective trilogy with There and Back Again. “What it does is let the characters drive the story because in a novel, the writer is the one who takes you on the journey,” he explained to the reporters on hand. “When it comes to a movie, you have to have the story told through the dialogue of the characters.”
“I’m sure no one wants me onscreen and talking over the film,” he joked to much laughter. The experienced director was also cognizant that he was making a movie that serves a bigger narrative in itself stating, “I did want to have a unity and not have any one movie feel any less of a story than what audiences have already seen.”
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is currently playing in theaters nationwide and you can purchase tickets in this very post via Fandago. As an added bonus, hit the gallery to see a host of Warner Bros. approved exclusive pics from the film.
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Photo: Warner Bros.
