This just in: Jackson's doing The Hobbit!

[annathepiper]

Peter Jackson has resolved his differences with New Line and is slated to be executive producer of a forthcoming two-movie adaptation of The Hobbit! No director or script yet, but they're expecting to start work in 2009!

The floor is now open for rampant speculation as to the appropriate persons to play Bilbo, all twelve dwarves (especially Thorin Oakenshield), Legolas' father ('the Elvenking'), Bard, and most importantly of all, the voice of SMAUG. :D

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Smaug has gotta be James Earl Jones. :)

(For once he'll get to play a dragon that's worth a damn!)

[annathepiper]

I dunno, his voice may be too recognizable. I hear James Earl Jones, I immediately think "Darth Vader". :)

Samuel L. Jackson

[wrog]

Oh, I'm sorry. Did that break your concentration? I didn't mean to do that. Please, continue. I believe you were saying something about "best intentions."
...
"What" ain't no country I know! Do they speak English in "What?"
...
English-motherfucker-can-you-speak-it?
...
And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."

Re: Samuel L. Jackson

[annathepiper]

Har!

Hrmm. I'd say that I'd think that for a proper Tolkien movie, Jackson's actually too much of a smartass... except that Smaug is a wily smartass. If they could make his voice sound properly like it's coming out of dragon-sized lungs, that might actually work!

[annathepiper]

Hee! I don't think I watched it more than a few scattered times, so I don't remember the character.

[ceallaighgirl.livejournal.com]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

[annathepiper]

Yay indeed! :D

[annathepiper]

McKellen has said he'd totally love to reprise the role. One can hope that he will do so. :)

And they totally need to get Hugo Weaving back to play Elrond, too. And I wouldn't complain too loudly if they snuck John Rhys-Davies back in to play Gloin, Gimli's father. ;)

[alstaria.livejournal.com]

I seem to remember John R-D stating, before the Hobbit was ever a certainty, that he would love to play Gloin :) Bu I do think they need a different actor for Bilbo. Ian Holm is awesome but just too old to play the the thief at the age he was in the Hobbit.

[annathepiper]

Yeah, I concur--Holm is just too old at this point unless they can pull some serious wizardry with making him look younger. That brief flashback glimpse we had in the LotR flicks was all well and good, but I don't know if they can pull that off for two entire movies.

*beam* I hope they get John R-D back, though!

[wildshadowstar.livejournal.com]

John Rhys-Davies has definitely stated that he will NOT be reprising a role as a dwarf. He said this somewhere in one of the commentaries, I believe, because the cosmetics used for his dwarf face gave him bad exema and made his face rather raw and sore.

[annathepiper]

Ah okay! That's totally understandable.

So let's aim for somebody who can channel him pretty closely. ;)

[janne.livejournal.com]

I suppose Alan Rickman would be rather too recognizable as Smaug, too--best menacing voice of the century, OTOH.

[annathepiper]

Yeah, too damn many people have imprinted on him as Snape. We wouldn't want movie viewers to expect Smaug to start giving Bilbo shit about screwing up his potion mixtures. ;)

[kissare.livejournal.com]

He has an *amazing* voice, though, and I think it would be great to give him a non-Snape identity, to remind people who only 'met' him through Harry Potter that he is not a one-trick pony. :)

[annathepiper]

He does indeed have an amazing voice, I'll grant you that!

And it occurs to me that I've seen him and enjoyed him immensely in Galaxy Quest as well, so I totally know he can do other roles. He's going to be in Sweeney Todd as well. That should be fabulous.

[wildshadowstar.livejournal.com]

There was this Harry Potter joke list thing that came out some time back, and one of the points was that Snape was not a terrorist hiding from Bruce Willis, referencing Die Hard.

[annathepiper]

Hee. Now there's something I actually haven't seen! (The movie, that is. Though I also haven't seen the list, I think!)

[angelina-zooma.livejournal.com]

I don't have anybody that immediately comes to mind. I did however want to say


eeeEEEEE!!!!! *dances*

[annathepiper]

*dances around with you!* Dude, we're going to see SMAUG. I am totally breaking out the popcorn for that.

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

I kind of assumed that they'd bring back Ian Holm as Bilbo, but he's probably too old even with makeup and other techniques used to make him seem younger.

As for other returning players from LOTR, I could see Andy Serkis doing Smaug. He's got enough range that it wouldn't remind people of Gollum. And they'll have to bring him back to redo the scenes with Gollum, if they aren't using Ian Holm as Bilbo.

Thranduil (the Elvenking's actual name) should be played by someone who looks like Orlando Bloom as Legolas but can actually act.

[alstaria.livejournal.com]

Jason Isaacs for Thranduil!!!!!

[annathepiper]

I am unfamiliar with Mr. Isaacs! What has he been in?

[kathrynelaraine.livejournal.com]

Oh gawd, he's just the hottest thing in dark hair and light blue eyes to grace the silver screen! LOL! He has been in a number of films. He was the Father and Hook in the latest live action Peter Pan. He was in "Sweet November" with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron as the drag wearing upon occassion upstairs neighbor. He was the bad dude in "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson.

He has mesmerizing eyes, I can see him pull off the etherial elf quality no problem.

As for Bard, I would second the Gerard Butler route. And I know he's now seen as "Batman" but Christian Bale comes across as strong and subtle like a certain Viggo as Aragorn.

I'd like to add at this time EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeee!!!! lol!

Kate

[annathepiper]

Heh, none of the things you reference are things I've actually seen--but alstaria told me "Lucius Malfoy" and suddenly it clicked. Not bad for somebody who's actually not that huge an HP fan. ;)

I need to see Gerard Butler, I suppose, in something aside from 300--which I also haven't seen, but which is not particularly compelling me either. Every time I think of Butler, I think of that roaring still of him with his mouth wide open.

Now, you wanna talk Christian Bale, I'll second you on the yum. ;)

[kathrynelaraine.livejournal.com]

Gerard Butler was in a small indie movie called "Dear Frankie". It's a sweet movie, and quite touching. Well worth the rental fee, but I suggest buying it. He also had a supporting role with Billy Connolly and Dame Judi Dench in the film "Mrs. Brown" about Queen Victoria. Quite a charming role in that one. Both films are a must see to see the sexy scottish lad as something besides a roaring spartan or tormented phantom in an opera house.

I COMPLETELY forgot about Jason Isaacs role in HP! This is where I smack my own hand in shame for being such a loyal HP fan and commiting such an agregious oversight!

After thinking about it more after mentioning it, I am now kinda sold on the idea of Christian Bale as Bard.
I'm off to have yummy dreams now about men I'll never meet, lol!

[annathepiper]

So noted re: Dear Frankie and Mrs. Brown! I'll see if I can find those at some point.

And mmm, now I may have to go re-read The Hobbit and mentally picture Bale in the role. ;)

[alstaria.livejournal.com]

He plays Lucius Malfoy in the HP movies (which might be a reason not to cast him...though I don't think he's so recognizable from there), He play an Irish journalist in the dreaded 5th season of West Wing and he was also the evil dragoon captain in The Patriot.

The reason I said him for Thranduil is I have seen some art where he was used as the model for the King and it worked, it really worked. Plus, he's a decent actor :)

[annathepiper]

Ah okay! I know the guy by face and by his role as Malfoy, but I didn't know his name. Yeah, I could totally see him playing an elf, at least based on the look previously established in the LoTR flicks. :)

[annathepiper]

Holm seems too old at this point, though! You'd think they should totally bring him back for Bilbo, but can they make him believably younger-looking enough for the span of time between The Hobbit and LotR?

(The answer to this may be "duh, well, they made him look like a HOBBIT in the first place, didn't they?")

Andy Serkis back as Gollum is a no-brainer, and absolutely required. And indeed, I was thinking somebody that looks like Orlando Bloom is required for Thranduil!

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

hmm, cast speculation by hard-core fans is available at http://www.theonering.net/thehobbit07.html.

Current rumors (no idea if they're substantial or just fan-wanking):

Bilbo: Martin Freeman, Colin Firth, Shia LeBouf
Gandalf, Gollum, Elrond: same actors from LOTR
Bard: Clive Owen, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman
Smaug: Morgan Freeman, Edward James Olmos, Alan Rickman, Michael Clarke Duncan

I just hope this isn't George Lucas and the prequel trilogy revisited.

[otoselkie.livejournal.com]

All the choices for Bard crack me up, because, OMG, the fangirls would be/go nuts.

If the ideas presented in that link about the second film are correct... oi. Not going in for that one.

[annathepiper]

I could see them going the "totally studly" route to cast Bard, yeah, but I also would not object at all if they went the subtler route that gave us the lovely and talented Mr. Mortensen as Aragorn. :9

[annathepiper]

Colin Firth I could buy as Bilbo. Shia LeBoeuf is way too young, unless they want to age him up some. Or tweak the original story so that Bilbo's adventure has him way younger to start with.

Hugh Jackman as Bard wouldn't suck. ;)

I'm not worried much about Jackson pulling a Lucas here... but then, much will depend on who directs.

[smeehrrr.livejournal.com]

Why would it take two movies to do The Hobbit?

[annathepiper]

A good question! One for which I do not yet have an answer. :) My best guess is that since they have only one book to work with this time around, they're hoping to cover it in more depth.

[wrog]

I think this is one of these "Because They Can" situations.

At this point, I think Peter Jackson could propose a two movie sequence following one of his own meals from mouth to anus and he would get Infinite Budget for it.

[annathepiper]

Apparently there are also rumblings about only movie #1 being The Hobbit, and movie #2 being a LoTR prequel of some sort.

There's certainly plenty of time in there in which we could see something interesting, and assiduous scriptwriters have a wealth of Tolkien material to mine for ideas. So hopefully they could cobble together something that wouldn't suck.

[otoselkie.livejournal.com]

The question is: Tintin, Temeraire, and the Hobbits – do we have any idea what he's going to be doing first?

[annathepiper]

I dunno what all he'll be working on between now and 2009, but if he managed to squeeze Temeraire in there, that'd fail to suck. :D

[parabasis.livejournal.com]

AHHHHH!!! SQUEEE!

[annathepiper]

In-DEED. :D

[howlinhobbit.livejournal.com]

As you might imagine, I find this news rather exciting.

As to Smaug's voice, that was the only impressive thing about the DePatie-Freleng version of the Hobbit.

So Jackson just has to find someone who can do a credible Richard Boone voice.

[annathepiper]

I believe spazzkat made that very same point, re: the animated voice of Smaug! Hee.

We'll have to see what happens. :) (Hi, this is me trying to get caught up on mail in the middle of the Great Mail Migration to the Mac!)