Flashcards! There's a good idea, Pattertwigs Pal! I don't know how I'm going to keep them all straight either - so many dwarfs!! (I actually memorized all of their names at one point, and could probably still rhyme them off, with maybe a little help.) To keep all of these 13 dwarfs identified, I guess I'll have to watch the movie multiple times! (For any who know me and my love for Tolkien, you'll know that this wouldn't be a hard task for me to do - after all, I've watched The Lord of the Rings movies probably dozens of times! ) Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to The Hobbit movies!

I see they're continuing the part about female dwarves having beards. *headdesk*

I don't find that terribly far off from what's said in the book.

It was said by Gimli that there are few dwarf-women, probably no more than a third of the whole people. They seldom walk abroad except at great need. They are in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to the dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of other people cannot tell them apart. This has given rise to the foolish opinion among Men that there are no dwarf-women, and that the Dwarves 'grow out of stone.'

Which one is which?

Gloin is on the right... the one that looks like Gimli.

To keep all of these 13 dwarfs identified, I guess I'll have to watch the movie multiple times!

Good luck, Nellie of Narnia.

It is nice to see some of the dwarves and their look/appearance. Maybe when all thirteen are released and known, there could be an identification contest so when the movie(s) come out we'll know them right away when they appear onscreen.

Looking forward to the next round of dwarf photos.

Gloin is on the right... the one that looks like Gimli.

Okay. I got confused because the one on left reminded me of Gloin in LotR.

... 7&comments New Hobbit production video from PJ! In this video, you actually get to see a couple of really rough shots SOOC (including Gollum and Bilbo!!!) and get to see some of the amazing locations that they're scouting right now.

I found it really interesting to see that filming has been broken up into very specific blocks or stages. The first block just finished, and filming won't resume until September or so, with PJ and crew doing preliminarily edits, re-writes and etc. in the meantime. PJ says it's a smarter way to film big movies and I have to say, it makes sense. Not only does it keep the crew and cast from burnout, but it adds more flexibility to everyone's schedule. With so many actors and professionals in demand, giving them a few months in between shoots to work on other projects is helpful. After all, we all know what Martin will be doing during his break...shooting Sherlock!

^^ Awesome video! I was hoping PJ would put out another one soon.

Should I put my comments about it in spoiler boxes? I will for now, just in case.

Spoiler

I see Bilbo is wearing clothing more like in the book than those we saw in the EW/Empire pics. I like that look. Definitely more like a wealthy Baggins.

He looks so small next to Elrond. How do they make the hobbit actors so short next to the other actors, when in reality they're close to the same height? I was told by someone that the hobbit actors were on their knees during those scenes, but it didn't look like Martin was on his knees from that shot they showed when PJ is standing behind him...

And Sylvester McCoy! This is the first time I've ever heard his voice. I think he'll be a fantastic Radagast.

It's so great seeing Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol again. I see they're splitting the character's two different personalities into seperate shots again, just like they did in the famous TTT scene. I saw Andy talk to the first camera in his "Smeagol" voice, and then turn to a second camera in his "Gollum" voice. Anyway, he looks like he had great fun getting back into that character again.

And seeing him work as second-unit director is so cool. I've often heard in interviews that he's really wanted to direct. Now he's finally getting his chance. He looks exhausted though. By the way, does anyone know all that a second-unit director does?

They showed the river where the barrel-riding scene will take place! That's always been one of my favorite scenes in the book, so it was great seeing that.

~Riella

A second unit director is basically an extension of the main director. When one is shooting a large production, because of time constraints or efficiency or whatever, there will often be two film crews filming on the same day, at the same time. Since the PJ can't be in two places at once, he will appoint a director for the second unit so filming can keep going. The second unit usually won't tackle major scenes. For instance, PJ could be busy shooting the spider caves scene, while Andy is off shooting some location shots or a small conversation or scenes involving extras or whatever.

I seem to recall that when LotR was being filmed, they had up to six units all filming at once.

That was my first thought as well when I saw Andy face the camera and then turn the other way, but then I thought maybe he was talking to Bilbo and turned to talk to himself when he faced the camera and when he turned back the other way, started talking to Bilbo again. Just a guess, either way it's awesome!

Behind the Scenes Video 2:
It might sound silly, but it's kind of emotional watching these behind the scenes videos, it just brings back so many good memories for me!
Its so amaing to be able to experience Middle-Earth all over again!
Seeing Andy Serkis doing Gollum again is just awesome!
Seeing Elrond and Bilbo together!
And to see my two favorite artists!!!!
Alan Lee and John Howe, I Love their drawings! Their LOTR concept art drawings have influenced me since I first saw them nearly ten years ago!

Dwarfs:
I Love all the dwarfs so far! I really LOVE that they are each different, it makes it way easier to remember who is who.
I also can't wait to see Fili and Kili!
It seems like they are releasing them in family pairs.

That was my first thought as well when I saw Andy face the camera and then turn the other way, but then I thought maybe he was talking to Bilbo and turned to talk to himself when he faced the camera and when he turned back the other way, started talking to Bilbo again. Just a guess, either way it's awesome!

If you listen, closely, though, you can also hear that he changes his voice to the deeper, more gravelly "Gollum" voice when he turns to the other side. And when they filmed TTT, that famous scene of the two personalities talking was filmed in a single take, and he just turned his head from camera to camera as he switched back and forth. So I'm thinking that's what they are most likely doing here, as well.

But yeah, it was so great to see. I'm so excited!

I'm surprised, though, that they are showing so much so early.

~Riella

Yeah, I didn't finish watching the video yet, but it kinda sounds like they're revealing too much of the most important scenes.

I disagree 110% with the idea that they're releasing too many spoilers too early. And I'm not saying that cause I'm a spoiler freak who wants to see as much stuff as possible.

What spoilers have we even had? We've had a few character shots, which really only give us a look at character design. We've had a couple glimpses of two or three scenes I think.... Bilbo at home reading his ?contract with the dwarves in the background, Bilbo in Gollum's cave, and Bilbo with Elrond. All of which are straight out of the book. Not exactly spoilerish imho.

Spoilers that I would consider too much at this point in the game are pictures or news stories containing plot changes or expanded plot lines (booting the Necromancer out of Mirkwood), extended complete movie scenes, anything with Smaug, Beorn, the Mirkwood spiders (shoot I don't even know how far they've even developed this stuff yet). Things of that nature.

But a couple character shots and three iconic scenes from the book, yeah, totally disagree they're releasing too much too early.

Another production video! *does a happy dance* My sister and I squealed a lot at various points throughout the video. It was very exciting to see Andy Serkis playing Gollum/Smeagol again. As well as the New Zealand landscape (so beautiful!). The few shots we saw of Elrond and Bilbo were quite exciting too.

How do they make the hobbit actors so short next to the other actors, when in reality they're close to the same height? I was told by someone that the hobbit actors were on their knees during those scenes, but it didn't look like Martin was on his knees from that shot they showed when PJ is standing behind him...

Didn't they use scale doubles in LotR? Really short people would be dressed like the hobbits during the shots focusing on the Big People and really tall people would be dressed like the men and Elves during shots focusing on the hobbits and Dwarves.

On a completely unrelated note to that: why does spell-check think "hobbits" isn't a word?

*dittos FK* We've actually seen very few spoilers so far plot-wise. Everything so far has been just visual.

Dori, Nori and Ori: Nori's hair is just really odd; Ori's almost ... cute; Dori looks the best of the three—quite cool—except I think his beard should be longer, along with the beards of the other two. Short beards do not become dwarves. Certainly each has a very distinct look, which is better than the lot of them looking almost identical (as in 12 Gimlis ). To me, though, I think Nori and Ori appear too small or something. Dori's size and overall 'dwarvishness' is better, imho.

fantasia, I think your friend's FB thoughts might be bang on. At least I hope they are, as they make much sense. Each outfit is quite something (not surprisingly).

Oin and Gloin: YES, YES, YES!

I wonder when the next couple will be released. This kind of reminds me of how the dwarves appeared before Beorn ... a couple at a time.

I have no problem with the continuing idea that females of the dwarf race have beards. As has been mentioned, it's right in line with Tolkien's thoughts on this in the Appendices.

*gobbles up the new Production diary video* New Zealand has endless gorgeous locations! And I love the amazing selections of the LotR music they incorporated into the video ... some of my [many] favourite parts. Nicely done. Yes, 'twas interesting to hear about the blocks of shooting time. But wow, Andy and PJ look and sound exhausted. Honestly, though, I'm glad PJ has put a bit of weight back on. After all, he really does seem to be part-hobbit.

And how excellent that Serkis can gain such wonderful experience as 2nd-unit director!

*dittos FK* We've actually seen very few spoilers so far plot-wise. Everything so far has been just visual.

*dittos fk and DOT*

I disagree 110% with the idea that they're releasing too many spoilers too early. And I'm not saying that cause I'm a spoiler freak who wants to see as much stuff as possible.

What spoilers have we even had? We've had a few character shots, which really only give us a look at character design. We've had a couple glimpses of two or three scenes I think.... Bilbo at home reading his ?contract with the dwarves in the background, Bilbo in Gollum's cave, and Bilbo with Elrond. All of which are straight out of the book. Not exactly spoilerish imho.

Maybe "spoiler" is the wrong word, then. What I mean is, I'm surprised they're showing so many iconic parts so early. Usually with movies, as far as I've seen, the really famous moments which everyone wants to see, are usually saved for later on, and sometimes until the movie comes out.

I remember waiting seemingly forever until we saw Dragon Eustace. And there were also many famous non-CGI parts in other movies with which the filmmakers kept audiences waiting to see. It seems almost like a teasing tactic to keep people watching and waiting.

I thought PJ would do that, at least, with the Riddles in the Dark scene. Especially with the finding of the ring. But that was something we saw in the very first video. I mean, I love seeing these things a year and a half early. But if they keep showing all the good scenes, what will be left by the time the movie gets here? A lot of things no doubt, but will it be things anyone cares about? It's not always wise to let people see everything they want to see beforehand. It has a habit of lowering anticipation in some cases, if the things the audience was wanting is something they've already gotten, just by watching previews and news.

~Riella

^ Exactly! Like, the part I really wanted to see was the Riddles int he Dark scene where Bilbo finds the Ring and all of that. So far, I only saw where they filmed it. But still, something changed, and now I'm not so excited anymore. It;s ruined now, no longer mysterious and epic. I dunno, maybe something changed for me personally that had nothing to do with releasing the location. But food for thought...