I'm not really sure why so many people are hating on the implied Tauriel-Legolas romance. Legolas isn't mentioned in the Hobbit. So it's not in any way unfaithful to the source material for him to like an elf maid. In fact there are quite a few love stories in Tolkiens histories of Middle-Earth. Why is Legolas not allowed to love? It's not like Suspian where it was completely contrary to everything we know about the characters. I usually don't like unnecessary romances. But if this one is well handled and isn't disrespectful of Tolkien's writings I can't think of any logical reasons to be upset about it.

I usually don't like unnecessary romances. But if this one is well handled and isn't disrespectful of Tolkien's writings I can't think of any logical reasons to be upset about it.

Your first sentence completely covers why I personally don't like the idea of any implied romance whether it involves Legolas, Tauriel, Kili, Thranduil, or Radagast's Rhosgobel Rabbits. It's unnecessary. When the announcement about The Hobbit being three films happened one of the reasons given was three films would give more time for character development. If the "character development" that is being added in is an unnecessary romance that eats up time that should have gone to developing Bilbo's character or advancing the plot, I don't want it. Even if the romance is respectful of Tolkien's writings I still won't like it unless it contributes something significant to the plot that could not have been conveyed any other way. So far I haven't seen anything that has convinced me to think that Tauriel's presence contributes anything other than a female character and an excuse to have a romance so the films can be more like LotR.

That, and I don't really trust Jackson's idea of "character development." *coughFaramircough*

Daughter of the King, yes, I agree. Peter Jackson didn't do enough with the book Faramir's romance with book Eowyn, which did so much to heal her of the Black breath.

Your first sentence completely covers why I personally don't like the idea of any implied romance whether it involves Legolas, Tauriel, Kili, Thranduil, or Radagast's Rhosgobel Rabbits. It's unnecessary.

Unfortunately we need Legolas, Kili and Thranduil for the remainder of The Hobbit, especially as it is a prequel to LOTR. Otherwise I'd get the pest control to apply the myxomatosis and calicivirus to those rascally rapid Radagast's Rhosgobel Rabbits, and Tauriel as well, should there be any unnecessary romance implied.

I thought of a possible non-romantic interpretation of Thranduil's line about

I think it's pretty plain the way Thranduil says Legolas is very fond her of that there will be some sort of romance whether we like it or not. I'd rather there not any kind of romance. But as long as its well handled I'm not gonna fuss too much about it.

Thorin's plot line does have some similarities to Aragorn, so it seems to me to make sense that they would appear to at least somewhat resemble each other.

We have not seen the whole of Thorin's character arc yet, either. While Aragorn grows more noble and capable as the story of LOTR progresses, we see evidence in the most recent trailer for DoS that

Spoiler

we are going to see Thorin markedly deteriorate. Going by the trailer footage, he is likely going to have an intense argument with Bard about whether he should enter the mountain or not. Thorin claims that he "has the only right to enter the mountain"--perhaps implying that his only thought is for himself--while Bard appears to be thinking about his own people. ("If you go into that mountain, you will destroy us all.") Bard may be showing more leadership qualities than Thorin at this point.... either that, or Thorin is being extremely courageous while Bard is being extremely fearful. I don't know how the filmmakers are ultimately going to deal with these two characters' interactions. Anyway, as I said, this has the potential--and, going by the book, it obviously should be--a very different character arc than what we see for Aragorn.

Perhaps also part of the reason why Thorin appears to be an Aragorn stand-in also is due to the fact that movie-Thorin does not appear to be nearly as old as he is in the book. As I remember, from the book, Thorin is more than a couple hundred years old. But in the movie, Thorin looks much younger. Is it just me, or does he not appear to have aged at all from the prologue of the movie, until we meet him next at Bilbo's home? (Forgive me if I'm wrong.) Perhaps they should have made Thorin appear more his actual age. (Unless it is just an advantage of being a dwarf that one can be several hundred years old, and look much younger than that. After all, that seems to be a trait that the Elves have!)

Totally getting away from The Hobbit movies, but it has just been announced that The Lord of the Rings musical will be returning to the stage in 2015. We saw it three times when it was in Toronto, and wow, just wow! The critics hated it ('cause they do not understand Tolkien At All ), but the fans loved it! There were a few small niggles I had with the production, but they were rather insignificant bits. And the soundtrack is beautifully unique.

*starts saving now*

I've only heard the soundtrack, but I absolutely love this musical. So excited that it's going to tour again.

Dot!

Okay, breathe, Jo, breathe. I ran into a very unexpected adventure just now: a good friend of ForeverFan's, 'Swan', whom I have met briefly in offline life, tagged me on FB to ask if I would like to meet her in Toronto on November 4th for a Desolation of Smaug World Wide fan event that will include "a first look at footage from the film and a live Satellite Q and A with the actors and filmmakers"! Oh my. Oh my. Maybe I am more excited for this film than I thought. Swan was given these tickets by a friend who won them in an art contest, but couldn't go. Sad for her. So, yeah. Just figuring out transportation/meeting up details.

So, the World Wide Hobbit Fan Event was last evening (from 5 - 6:30 pm). The doors opened at 4, which is when we arrived. To our pleasure, there were a few freebies, such as
*a 5' long banner of characters from The Desolation of Smaug
*a Hobbit event t-shirt highlighting last evening's event
*free popcorn and pop to enjoy whilst watching the satellite show straight from New Zealand (also including audiences from New York, London, and LA).

There were also 7 giveaways to those folk who dressed up, three of which were copies of the EE, releasing this week: the friend I was with actually won one! Very cool! They also gave away two Bag End Lego sets *drools* and a $500 gift card to HMV. Can't remember the 7th item.

Before we entered the theatre, we were all scanned for recording devices. PJ must have stressed the importance of us not recording the footage a half dozen times, overall, understandably. So, hopefully everyone respected that.

I did not don a costume (although if I had had the time, it would have been fun to have been a hobbit again), but did wear
*my Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey/Smaug baseball cap, straight from New Zealand that coracle, herself, kindly presented to me this past June ( )
*my Lego Bilbo key chain bought at the same Moot,
*my mallorn leaf brooch
*a beautiful necklace from another NWebber friend that compliments the brooch so nicely

To my surprise, when I was headed back into the theatre before it all began, a prime Toronto radio news station stopped me in the lobby to ask if I wanted to be interviewed about the event: I agreed, so the news guy asked me a few questions for about a minute. I was not overly positive about my expectations for this 2nd installement because I was so disappointed with the first film, overall. I wish he had asked me after the event, for then I would have been more enthusiastic.

Whilst I am not a crazy fangirl when it comes to actors and actresses, it was fun to hear from some of the cast responding to questions from the audience. (The squee-ing and over-the-top almost idol worship drives me nuts, though. ) Two people I always enjoy hearing, however, are PJ and Andy Serkis, and PJ, especially, did a fair bit of talking.

So, here is the transcript of the entire Q&A, which you can also view online. They then cut the online people off to show 20 minutes of previously unviewed footage of the film. Wow! If you want to know the specifics about it, THERE ARE SPOILERS, but here is the link. <- MAJOR SPOILERS!!! You have been warned.

We also saw PJ's video production diary #12, which should be online. EDIT: Ah yes, here it is!

Overall, I was impressed with the film footage, and more encouraged (partly because there was no sign of silly Radagast or Azog, although I know they are in DoS ).
*No sign of Beorn, though, whom they are keeping very well hidden until December 13th.
*Some parts and detail-y tidbits were exactly how I have always pictured various parts in the book. ♥
*As for Tauriel, I could live without her, but not a huge deal.
*I do like that they

Spoiler

have expanded Bard's role, and hope they do complete justice to his book character, although Luke Evans looks rather too much like Orlando Bloom

*The spiders are going to be so very creeeepy!

*escaping from the Woodland Realm, oh yeah! Bilbo is priceless here.

*the visual of Laketown, wow!

*I love Balin's character throughout, especially given what tragically happens to him years later in The LotR days

*this footage seemed to be more character-based than action-based, which appeals to me much more. Not sure how that will play out in the movie, itself, though

*most of all, Bilbo venturing into the heart of the Lonely Mountain, seeing the vast treasure in the mammoth cavern, and then ... Smaug! A small part of him, anyway. But the tension at that point is rather wonderfully unbearable!

Warp-up (leaving my original typo up for laughs ) Wrap-up: I am more eager to see The DoS now than I was before I attended the event.

So, this Press Release is totally important enough to have a separate post ...
I am eager to hear what Shore has created for the Bard-related and Smaug-related music! Along with many other tracks. Forget the theatrical soundtrack; let's have this Special Edition!

Jo, that's exactly what I did last year. I put the extended soundtrack on a Christmas list even before I'd seen the film, I think.

I'll definitely be getting this one soon, though probably not for Christmas. Our lists have been made and sent already.

In other news, the credits song, "I See Fire," is available to purchase as a digital download and Peter Jackson has posted a video of it on his Facebook page, which includes some behind the scenes footage and appropriate shots from the first film. The video's description details how the song came to be. It's not as Tolkienish as the last one, but I really like it. I can already feel the chill bumps of hearing it play over the credits.

I'm not sure how I feel about the "I See Fire". I don't think it has the right mood for Middle-Earth, I feels like they want to reach out to the teenage girl demographic. "Into The West" is still one of the best songs ever composed.

I'm much more excited since the World Wide Hobbit Fan Event. DOS feels like such a step up from the last one. The graphics in the new trailer(3) looks better than the entire AUJ movie!

SMAUG'S VOICE...

But I'm very worried about the Tauriel-Legolas 'romance' which is pretty much confirmed now. I just hope its an after-thought or even just flirting would be better than a full blown romance.

Loved (most of) the new trailer. It looks like a real step-up from the first in terms of quality. Smaug's voice is fantastic! As for the song, "I See Fire", I enjoyed it and I don't think they're aiming for a teenage girl demographic. The low-key instrumentals worked well with the ballad.

I just saw some 360 degree photos from Hobbiton.

Here is Bag End:

http://360.io/KgRRg5

and Shire generally:

http://www.neuseeland-panorama.de/neuse ... -matamata/