On Nov. 28, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” premiered in New Zealand after five years of development by executive producer and director Peter Jackson. The movie stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen as the white-bearded wizard Gandalf, and Cate Blanchett as the wise Noldorin princess. It will be released to the American public on Dec. 14.
Originally, “The Hobbit” was intended to be split into two parts. However, as the content of the film expanded, Jackson confirmed that the film would be split into three parts to fully include all aspects of the story. The second film, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” will be released on Dec. 13, 2013. The third film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” has a tentative release date of July 18, 2014.
“The Hobbit” story itself takes place sixty years before the first Lord of the Rings setting. It features Bilbo Baggins’ (Freeman) journey to reclaim the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug.
Some are apprehensive about splitting the epic into three films, but teachers Jennifer Wei and William Colglazier disagree. “I just want to see Martin Freeman on the big screen as much as possible, so that works for me. There is certainly enough story for three movies,” states Wei. Colglazier agrees, adding, “It’s great! More time watching movies instead of grading papers!”
Many have grown up with the story’s legacy. Colglazier says, “I read ‘The Hobbit’ in middle school. I wasn’t an avid reader back then, but this book got me more interested in reading. Not to mention it helped pass the time on an eight hour car trip pre-cell phones and iPads.” Junior Derrick Leong says, “I started reading ‘Lord of the Rings’ in third grade, and I didn’t understand it too much, but when the first movie came out I reread the books and became a true fan. Before ‘The Hobbit’ comes out, I’m planning to reread it multiple times.”
Wei also read the books early on. She says, “Part of what I find so compelling about the books is that all the male characters seem to represent different aspects of Tolkien’s picture of what it means to be a male. I find it intriguing that he was able to reduce women to three aspects—Eowyn the heroine, Arwen the maiden, Galadriel the mysterious queen—but he made men run a fairly detailed and complex gamut of innate character traits and abilities.”
The “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” movie was released in 2001 to popular acclaim. Considered one of the biggest and most ambitious movie projects ever, the entire project took eight years and $285 million to complete. The movie series grossed $2.92 billion in the box office and won 30 Academy Awards total. Many expect “The Hobbit” trilogy to be received with similar success.
