The Hobbit Will Be Three Films, Not Two

[digitalErich]

It was a good attempt at satire, but he writes too competently that it breaks the fantasy that I'm reading Rand.

Needs more writing along the lines of "This ring is magic. I know this because I'm a magic wizard."

[Shjinta]

Originally Posted by MagGnome

I'll accept nothing less than a hand-written, formal apology.

Give me your mailing address then.

[Narradisall]

Originally Posted by Shjinta

Give me your mailing address then.

[National Kato]

Originally Posted by Krispy

They are going to make shit up. They are going to make so much shit up. Enjoy your three movies.

On what do you base your opinion? Has Peter Jackson made 'so much shit up' previously in regards to Tolkien's work? Help me understand you.

[Primus]

Originally Posted by MagGnome

Which franchises has he milked, exactly? He made one multi-movie franchise, and to all but the most cynical of people it was a complete success.

Maybe he milked Meet the Feebles? The disconnect between your post and reality just boggles my mind. I could see that label applied to someone like Michael Bay, but Peter Jackson?

You must've missed when he tried to sell the movie 4 times to his fanbase.

[fitbabits]

Originally Posted by Primus

You must've missed when he tried to sell the movie 4 times to his fanbase.

And I bought every single version, sometimes more than once and on different formats.

[Psykoboy2]

Mother of god! We'll first get the 3 films released on Blu-Ray...then years later the extended editions. By then, some new format will have risen and we'll get the extended edition of LOTR plus this for a MASSIVE collection of movies that span like...20 hours!

[fitbabits]

Originally Posted by Psykoboy2

Mother of god! We'll first get the 3 films released on Blu-Ray...then years later the extended editions. By then, some new format will have risen and we'll get the extended edition of LOTR plus this for a MASSIVE collection of movies that span like...20 hours!

And I'll buy them all. Ever single time, and on every different format.

[Ink Asylum]

Originally Posted by Primus

You must've missed when he tried to sell the movie 4 times to his fanbase.

Was that specifically Peter Jackson's decision? Does he run New Line or Time Warner? He's not George Lucas.

[KSmitty]

I think 3 movies would be spreading it pretty thin. Unless... it's a shorter movie. They could easily chop the movies up and just add a little extra. It's not a long jump from 2 x 2.5 hour movies to 3 x 2 hour movies. And all the previous Jackson films were pretty lengthy.

Even so all that being said... yeah, cash grab.

[Krispy]

No, the third movie is likely being based off notes Tolkein wrote and never fleshed out. It'll probably be the best movie.

[Suave Peanut]

The way I've always imagined the Hobbit working was as a miniseries taking each of the nineteen chapters as a 23-minute episode, totaling a 7+ hour series. I can easily see the book filling three movies if presented right, with incorporate some of the LR appendices.

When I first heard this rumor last week I was hesitant about it. Not because they're making three movies out of it but because they're doing it so late into production. I'm unsure as to how they're going to make it work story-wise, but I like the options summed up by this article from a few days ago.

Three options seem most viable:
1) Shorten 1 and 2 to give content to 3
2) Flesh out 2 and 3 with history to give depth to armed conflict
3) End “The Hobbit” with 2 films and create the once imagined bridge film

I'm trying to be optimistic, which is something I never do for movies.

[National Kato]

Originally Posted by Suave Peanut

When I first heard this rumor last week I was hesitant about it. Not because they're making three movies out of it but because they're doing it so late into production. I'm unsure as to how they're going to make it work story-wise, but I like the options summed up by

Well, with a production like this (and as with LoTR) all the footage for all the films is shot at once. It's in the editing room where we get one or two or more movies. It's not so much 'late into production' as it is just in the editing stage.

And anyone who's seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy from Jackson & Co. knows that he can shoot way too much for a scene.

[Suave Peanut]

Originally Posted by National Kato

Well, with a production like this (and as with LoTR) all the footage for all the films is shot at once. It's in the editing room where we get one or two or more movies. It's not so much 'late into production' as it is just in the editing stage.

And anyone who's seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy from Jackson & Co. knows that he can shoot way too much for a scene.

What I'm referring to is that they made this decision after completing principal photography and a rough edit of the first film (and some partial edit of the second). He's been talking about shooting more next summer, so we'll see.

[Kelegacy]

Originally Posted by fitbabits

And I'll buy them all. Ever single time, and on every different format.

I have a bridge to sell you, PM me for the price.

[biosc1]

[fitbabits]

Has anyone read PJ's actual full statement? Reading some of the comments here, I think not.

"We recognized that the richness of the story of 'The Hobbit,' as well as some of the related material in the appendices of 'The Lord of the Rings,' gave rise to a simple question: do we tell more of the tale?" Jackson said in a statement. "And the answer from our perspective as filmmakers and fans was an unreserved 'yes.' "

"We know how much of the tale of Bilbo Baggins, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur would remain untold if we did not fully realize this complex and wonderful adventure."

[J Arcane]

The book does lend itself to a three act structure pretty well. I could see a number of points where one could split it into three.

The question is that I'm not sure there's enough in those three parts to get three movies out of it. In my hopes, it's because it's a literal, page for page, adaptation, but with this shit about working in appendix material I'm not sure that's a true hope.

[Krispy]

I think that this idea of a page by page adaptation generating a good movie is a complete fallacy.

[digitalErich]

I'm sure he didn't mean a literal page-by-page adaptaion. He meant that no major scene or concept would be left out.