The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey


 * This article is about the 2012 live action film. For the 1977 animated film, see The Hobbit (1977 animated film).

Summary
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first film of the upcoming movie trilogy The Hobbit. Peter Jackson, who previously directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will direct all three films. An Unexpected Journey is scheduled for release on December 14, 2012, and its sequel The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is scheduled for release on December 13, 2013. The third film of the trilogy, currently titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again, is scheduled for release on July 18, 2014.

Synopsis
An Unexpected Journey follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever... Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ...a simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know. -- (c) Warner Bros.

Cast
Martin Freeman will portray a young Bilbo Baggins while Ian Holm will reprise his role as the Older Bilbo Baggins. Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will reprise their roles as Gandalf and Gollum, respectively. Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett will also reprise their respective roles as Elrond and Galadriel.

Orlando Bloom will reprise his role as Legolas. Although Legolas never appears in the book The Hobbit, it is revealed that the Elven King that Bilbo and the dwarves met was actually Legolas's father Thranduil.

The character of Radagast the Brown will appear in the movie and will be portrayed by Sylvester McCoy, known mostly for his portrayal as the seventh incarnation of The Doctor on Doctor Who. Although he is mentioned in the book The Hobbit (in Chapter 7 on page 109 when Gandalf asks Beorn if he remembered Radagast and that he was Gandalf's cousin who lived on the Southern borders of Mirkwood), for the rest of the book Radagast makes no appearance.



Future Films in the Trilogy
In The Desolation of Smaug (scheduled for release on 13 December 2013), having successfully crossed over (and under) the Misty Mountains, Thorin and Company must seek aid from a powerful stranger, Beorn, before taking on the dangers of Mirkwood Forest—without their Wizard. The film will likely follow the group through Mirkwood, their arrival in Lake-town, and their exploration of the Lonely Mountain, culminating in the desperate fight against the ancient dragon Smaug.

There and Back Again (scheduled for release on 18 July 2014) will likely begin with the Battle of the Five Armies, which occurs near the end of The Hobbit, and may then explore the adventures Bilbo had in returning home, events which were not covered in the book The Hobbit, and will perhaps reveal some of Gandalf's investigation of and conflict with the Necromancer in southern Mirkwood, serving as bridge between the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings film trilogies.

Plot
Read about the plot from Tolkien's original tale.

Trivia

 * Guillermo del Toro was originally on board to direct, but bowed out due to "ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming"
 * When it appeared Martin Freeman would not be available to play Bilbo in The Hobbit films due to scheduling conflicts with the BBC television series Sherlock, other actors such as James McAvoy, Tobey Maguire, and even David Tennant were considered.
 * Ryan Gage was originally cast to play Drogo Baggins, father of Frodo Baggins. According to Peter Jackson, "Ryan is a great young actor who we originally cast in a small role, but we liked him so much, we promoted him to the much larger Alfrid part."

Memorable Quotes
"While I can honestly say I have told you the truth, I may not have told you all of it."

- Bilbo Baggins

"Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old The pines were roaring on the height, The winds were moaning in the night, The fire was red, it flaming spread; The trees like torches blazed with light. The bells were ringing in the dale And men looked up with faces pale; The dragon's ire more fierce than fire Laid low their towers and houses frail."

- Thorin Oakenshield,Fíli, Kíli, Óin, Glóin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori and Ori

"I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure..."

- Gandalf

"Allow me to introduce: Fíli, Kíli, Óin, Glóin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, and the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

- Gandalf

"Thorin: I cannot guarantee his safety, Gandalf: Understood. Thorin: Nor will I be responsible for his fate."

- Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf

"Gandalf: You'll have a tale or two to tell when you come back. Bilbo: Can you promise that I will come back? Gandalf: No, and if you do, you will not be the same."

- Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins

"Bilbo: My Name is Bilbo Baggins. Gollum: ''Bagginses, what is a Bagginses?....Preciousssssss."

- Gollum and Bilbo Baggins

Deviations from the Book
Since this film is still pending release, take a moment to read about the differences in the other films, in order to get an idea for what to expect with The Hobbit films.

What we know so far

 * Elijah Wood appears briefly as Frodo Baggins, whereas this character does not appear in the book. As Frodo hadn't been born during the events of The Hobbit, the inclusion of Frodo indicates that parts of the story will take place shortly before or during the events of The Lord of the Rings. According to TheOneRing.net, "As readers of The Hobbit know, the tale of 'The Downfall of The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit: or There and Back Again,' are contained in the fictional Red Book of Westmarch. In Peter Jackson's LOTR films, the book is shown on screen and written in by Bilbo and Frodo and handed off to Samwise Gamgee... The fictional book and either the telling from it or the reading of it, will establish Frodo in the film experiencing Bilbo's story. Viewers are to learn the tale of The Hobbit as a familiar Frodo gets the tale as well." This inclusion has many Tolkien purists in an uproar, but in an interview for The Salt Lake Tribune, Elijah himself spoke to this issue: "It’s lovely. And it’s very appropriate... What they’ve done is clever and it’s actually a nice entry into the story."
 * the group will be attacked by orcs on the way to rivendell.

Production
According to hollywoodreporter.com, principal photography began on March 21, 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand at Wellington Stone Street Studios, as well as in the town of Matamata and at other undisclosed locations around New Zealand. Jackson recorded a video blog in July of 2011 from on set at Pinewood Studios in England which featured Christopher Lee in full makeup and costume as Saruman. Sets were built here on stages F, N, and P. As reported by theonering.net, the next segment of shooting, again in New Zealand, began at the end of August and was completed in December 2011. Filming is rumored to have a scheduled completion target of March 2012.

In April 2011, via his Facebook page, Peter Jackson revealed that he has chosen to film The Hobbit "duology" at 48 fps (frames per second) instead of the normal 24 fps:


 * "We are indeed shooting at the higher frame rate. The key thing to understand is that this process requires both shooting and projecting at 48 frames/s, rather than the usual 24 frames/s (The great majority of films have been shot at 24 frames per second since the late 1920s). So the result looks like normal speed, but the image has hugely enhanced clarity and smoothness. Looking at 24 frames every second may seem ok–and we've all seen thousands of films like this over the last 90 years–but there is often quite a lot of blur in each frame, during fast movements and if the camera is moving around quickly, the image can judder or "strobe." Shooting and projecting at 48 frames/s does a lot to get rid of these issues. It looks much more lifelike and it is much easier to watch, especially in 3-D."

It was announced that the two parts of the movie would be split in to three parts: Part 1: An Unexpected Journey to be released in 2012, Part 2: The Desolation of Smaug in 2013 and Part 3: There and Back Again in 2014.

Timeline

 * 1995: According to Brian Sibley's 2006 book "Peter Jackson: A Film-maker's Journey," interest in filming The Hobbit is originally expressed by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh this year. They envision it as the first part of a trilogy (parts two and three would have been based on The Lord of the Rings).


 * March, 2005: Peter Jackson launches a lawsuit against New Line claiming he has lost revenue from merchandising, video and computer game releases associated with The Fellowship of the Ring.


 * January, 2007: New Line co-founder Robert Shaye, annoyed with the lawsuit, states that Jackson will never again direct a film for New Line, accusing him of being greedy.


 * August, 2007: After a string of flops, Shaye begins trying to repair his relationship with Jackson, saying "I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit."


 * December 16, 2007: Peter Jackson is officially announced as executive producer of The Hobbit films.


 * February, 2008: New Line Cinema completes a merger with Warner Bros. The two parts of The Hobbit are announced as being scheduled for release in December of 2011 and 2012 respectively.


 * April, 2008: Guillermo del Toro signs on to direct the films despite an interview in 2006 where he was quoted as saying "I don't like little guys and dragons, hairy feet, hobbits, [...] I don't like sword and sorcery, I hate all that stuff."


 * August, 2008: Pre-production begins, with Del Toro, Jackson, Walsh and Philippa Boyens writing the scripts.


 * November, 2008: Del Toro has mentioned that he, Jackson, Walsh and Boyens realize something new about the story virtually every week and that the script is continually changing.


 * March, 2009: Completion of the story outlines and treatments end, and the studios approve the start of writing the screenplay.


 * June, 2009: Del Toro reveals that he has decided where to divide the story based on comments from fans about signifying a change in Bilbo's relationship with the dwarves, and on how many actors would be available to reprise their roles.


 * November, 2009: Peter Jackson reveals that he anticipates the script for The Hobbit will not be finished until the beginning of 2010, which will delay the start of production until the middle of that summer (several months later than previously anticipated). The announcement creates doubts about whether the film will make its previously-announced release dates of December 2011 and December 2012.


 * January 22, 2010: Alan Horn states that the first film will likely not be released until the fourth quarter of 2012.


 * May 30, 2010: Del Toro announces at TheOneRing.net that "[i]n light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming", he would "take leave from helming", further stating that "the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. [...] I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future and fully support a smooth transition to a new director."


 * June 25, 2010: Jackson is reported to be in negotiations to direct the two-part film.


 * September 24, 2010: The International Federation of Actors issues a Do Not Work order, advising members of its member unions (including the Screen Actors Guild) that "The producers...have refused to engage performers on union-negotiated agreements." This would subject actors who work on the film to possible expulsion from the union. In response, Warner Bros and New Line Cinema considers taking the production elsewhere, with Jackson mentioning the possibility of filming in Eastern Europe.


 * October 15, 2010: New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. confirm that The Hobbit is to proceed filming with Peter Jackson as director, and that the film will be in 3-D. That same day, Deadline Hollywood reports that James Nesbitt is in negotiations for a part in the film.


 * October 23, 2010: Former "Doctor Who" star Sylvester McCoy confirms that he is in negotiations to play a major role as a "wizard", leading to speculation he could appear as Radagast the Brown.


 * October 25, 2010: Partly out of fear for the Tolkien tourism effect, thousands of New Zealanders organize protest rallies imploring that production remain in New Zealand, as shifting production to locations outside New Zealand would potentially cost the country's economy up to $1.5 billion.


 * October 27, 2010: After two days of talks with the New Zealand government (including involvement by Prime Minister John Key), Warner Bros. executives decide to film The Hobbit in New Zealand as originally planned. In return, the government of New Zealand agrees to introduce legislation clarifying the distinction between independent contractors and employees working in the film production industry and also broaden the government's financial support for big budget films made in New Zealand.


 * November 1, 2010: Peter Jackson confirms that James Nesbitt has been added to the cast. Jackson is quoted as saying: "James's charm, warmth and wit are legendary as is his range as an actor in both comedic and dramatic roles. We feel very lucky to be able to welcome him as one of our cast."


 * November 27, 2010: Ian McKellen updates his website to include The Hobbit, suggesting that he has, in fact, decided to reprise the role of Gandalf in both parts of The Hobbit.


 * December 3, 2010: Swedish newspaper Nöjesbladet announced that Mikael Persbrandt had been cast in an unspecified role.


 * December 4, 2010: Deadline Hollywood reports that Orlando Bloom has entered into negotiations to reprise the role of Legolas.


 * December 7, 2010: Mikael Persbrandt is confirmed to play the role of Beorn. Jackson is quoted as saying, "The role of Beorn is an iconic one and Mikael was our first choice for the part. Since seeing him read for the role we can't imagine anyone else playing this character." Also on this day, Sylvester McCoy is officially added to the cast as Radagast the Brown.


 * January 6, 2011: Deadline Hollywood reports that Elijah Wood is in talks to reprise his role of Frodo Baggins.


 * January 7, 2011: Elijah Wood is confirmed as joining the cast by TheOneRing.net.


 * January 10, 2011: Deadline Hollywood reports that Ian Holm has entered into negotiations to reprise his role, playing the part of old Bilbo, that Christopher Lee has entered into negotiations to reprise the role of Saruman, and that Andy Serkis has been confirmed to reprise his role as Gollum.


 * January 11, 2011: Christopher Lee announces on his website that he will be reprising his role as Saruman the White.


 * January, 2011: Ian McKellen confirms on his website that he is "happy to say I start filming in Wellington on 21 February 2011."


 * March 21, 2011: Principal photography begins in Wellington, New Zealand


 * April 4, 2011: Bret McKenzie is added to the cast as Lindir, a Rivendell elf quarreling with Bilbo in The Fellowship of the Ring, whose name means "singer." (His father, Peter McKenzie, played the role of Elendil in The Lord of the Rings)


 * April 6, 2011: The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Andy Serkis (Gollum) would also serve as second unit director on the films. Serkis states: "I think I understand Peter's sensibility and we have a common history of understanding Middle Earth. A lot of the crew from The Lord of the Rings was returning to work on The Hobbit. There is really a sense of Peter wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic."


 * April 22, 2011: Peter Jackson confirms via Facebook that Ian Holm has officially been added to the cast.


 * April 24, 2011: English actor Rob Kazinsky (originally cast as Kili's brother Fili) leaves the film "for personal reasons."


 * April 25, 2011: Orlando Bloom reveals that he has been in contact with Peter Jackson, who had given him a copy of the screenplay, and states that there is a high probability he will return. He is quoted as saying, "I'm going to bet on it ... But I can't really talk too much about it because it's still sort of in the ether. But I would love to go back to work with Peter Jackson. It would be an honour."


 * April 29, 2011: After having previously been linked to actors Doug Jones and David Tennant, Peter Jackson reports on Facebook that the role of Thranduil has gone to Lee Pace. On his casting, Jackson said, "Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He's going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called "The Fall" a few years ago and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately."


 * April 30, 2011: Peter Jackson announces via Facebook that Dean O'Gorman has been hired as Kazinsky's replacement, stating: "Dean's a terrific Kiwi actor, who I am thrilled to be working with."


 * April, 2011: Peter Jackson reveals through his Facebook page that he is filming The Hobbit at 48 fps (frames per second) instead of the normal 24 fps.


 * May 1, 2011: Hugo Weaving is confirmed to reprise his role as Elrond: The Elven master of Rivendell. Weaving portrayed Elrond previously in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and it had long been assumed that he would be returning to the role, but his return was not officially confirmed until this date (almost six weeks after principal photography had begun)


 * May 27, 2011: Peter Jackson announces via Facebook that Orlando Bloom will reprise his role as Legolas.


 * May 30, 2011: New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures and MGM announce the official release dates for "An Unexpected Journey" (December 14, 2012) and "There and Back Again" (December 13, 2013)


 * July, 2011: Scenes from The Hobbit are filmed at Pinewood Studios, England using sets constructed on stages F, N, and P.


 * August, 2011: The second block of shooting in New Zealand begins.


 * October, 2011: Warner Bros. confirms that a Hobbit video game will be released in 2012, before the release of the first film.


 * December 16, 2011: Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Lego announce the development of figures and play sets based on the upcoming adaptations of The Hobbit as well as Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.


 * December 21, 2011: The first trailer for the film is screened in the U.S. before the Jackson-produced "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," and released on the Web on the same day.


 * December, 2011: The second block of shooting in New Zealand ends.

Score
Highly praised for his work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Howard Shore returns to compose the score for The Hobbit films.

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