That's one of the things I really appreciated about the LOTR, it had nothing bad in it, no innuendo, no scenes, no language. The Hobbit however...not quite squeaky clean.

I'm not sure what movie you watched but The Hobbit only includes bathroom humour, which can be found in the original novel.

New production diary is up: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151701535221558

There's a few more glimpses of Mirkwood, Laketown, and even a mention of the Battle of Five Armies but other than that nothing new really.

That's one of the things I really appreciated about the LOTR, it had nothing bad in it, no innuendo, no scenes, no language. The Hobbit however...not quite squeaky clean.

I'm not sure what movie you watched but The Hobbit only includes bathroom humour, which can be found in the original novel.

Interesting or strange...I don't recall anything to that effect in the book. I remember only one line in the movie.

Thanks for linking to the production diary, daughter of the King. I rarely watch those, so it was an interesting behind-the-scenes look at all those characters and props. I hadn't had the chance yet to see places like Laketown, for example. I am enjoying the look of it. For some reason, I didn't imagine Laketown to be in the middle of a lake. (I just thought it was right next to one.)

I do wish there had been a little more Bilbo in the trailer, though.

Oh, and Bard

I wonder what will come of this?

If I understand correctly, it sounds (and looks) like they are still shooting scenes for DoS (at least at the time this production diary was filmed)? I wonder if they are behind schedule then? I hope they have enough time to get everything done!

The bathroom humour is very minimal in both the book and the movie, I think some just can't handle any.

Hmm...you're mistaken sir. I'm apologize for not getting back to you, but bathroom humor was not my complaint. A) The crochet/croquette comment & B) Radagasts rolling of the eyes in the back of the head smoking who knows what was what concerned me. It certainly seemed to be more than a puff of Old Toby.

No worries, AslansChild. I apologise if I seemed a bit flippant and/or misunderstood you. Your comments A and B are quite reasonable (especially the drug references).

Ah. No problem mate, just glad to have it sorted. Thank you.

............
Am I the only one curious about the world premiere? It hasn't been set yet. I remember last year, everyone was booking and planning months ahead, but this year, we don't even where it's going to be...odd.

Are they treating it like a less important one, considering it's the 2nd film?

It seems that anything PJ's involved with is on the down-low. Yes, we don't know the world premiere date for DoS, but we don't even know the Tintin adventure he's adapting, and that's to be released sometime in 2015.

True. I was just thinking last week how I guess we're not having a Hobbit Panel @ Comic-Con this year, and then the Vlog says: "Oh yeah, we're not doing it!" You could've told us a bit sooner? People were talking about it months ahead last year.

*sigh* I then had to go through all the trouble of canceling my flight plans. #NOT #sarcasm

No serioulsy though, if ever there was a year to go, it would have been last year. It was the reign of the Hobbit. I watched the panel online afterward, & it looked like alot of fun, besides the fact that they got a sneak peek of the trilogy! And I later found out that Anna Popplewell was there too, at a Halo Panel. So, yeah, good year.

I am so far behind in this thread. In any case, I just read this about The Desolation of Smaug soundtrack. Very cool that the recording will take place back in New Zealand again.

To be honest, I have become quite frustrated with PJ, overall, so I don't have high hopes for this second movie. I am, however, curious about it, and am eager to hear the musical score, probably more than seeing the film itself.

Oh...why the frustration johobbit? And lack of high hopes? I'm way more excited for this one, but that probably has something to do with the fact that I didn't know much about the Hobbit this time last year.

In other news, Martin Freeman finished his filming:

It's sad that he's leaving, but it's good because it means the films almost here!

I applaud your enthusiasm, AslansChild!

How am I frustrated? Let me count the ways:

In brief (for, believe me, I could go on and on about this ), Fellowship is the closest of the three LotR films to the book, but once PJ realized he had that in the bag, he began to take too many liberties with the integrity of certain characters ... Faramir, Gandalf, Aragorn, even Frodo. *sigh* He made them so much less honourable than they are in the book. And since the success of those three films, he just goes on his merry way with other disreputable changes ... Radagast for example. So, my faith in him has become rather tenuous/dubious/shaky to say the least.

Having said that, I love a good deal in The LotR films, but the scenes that stink, really stink. And I'm afraid the same thing is going to happen with The Hobbit. It's only because I have loved these two tales for so many years that I am this riled about it all. Oh, I hasten to add I really enjoyed the 3/4 hour or so of The Hobbit.

Speaking of the book form of LOTR, wasn't there a place called Bucklebury in it? A place in the Shire, where the Brandybucks live, on the eastern bank of the Baranduin River? In Berkshire, England, there is a real place called Bucklebury. I don't know if there is any connection with LOTR, but I'm sure that Tolkien, who lived at Oxford rather than Cambridge, would have been chuffed to pieces by the celebrations going on there today and yesterday, because of the new Royal baby, born 22/7/2013. Bucklebury is the home of the Duchess of Cambridge's parents.

I just thought you'd all like to know about this little bit of Tolkien trivia.

There is a place called Bucklebury (or was it Buckleberry?) in LOTR. That's really cool. Do you know anything about the history of the place? I wonder if Tolkien's place was named after it, or if it was named in honor of Tolkien.

~Riella

For Frodo was going on foot. His plan - for pleasure and a last look at the Shire as much as any other reason - was to walk from Hobbiton to Bucklebury Ferry, taking it fairly easy.

I guess Tolkien would use an actual name, rather than some English place being named or renamed after his place names.