Trailer for The Hobbit and Pictures from The Tunnel...
So I found some goodies! First and foremost, we get our first The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug trailer, packed full of elfy goodness.
Click to viewOkay, you all know who I’m going to talk about first. Tauriel!!!!
I don’t need to look far to know that people are already putting up a fuss not only about an original character being inserted into the film but that said original character is... a woman! But I love how Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are totally unapologetic about their decision to infuse the story with a feminine presence, not only in adding Galadriel to the first Hobbit film, but now bringing in a creation of their own to offset the sausage fest.
I’ll admit, I reacted to the news of Evangeline Lily in the part the same way I’m sure many reacted to Liv Tyler as Arwen back in the day, simply because I wasn’t completely sold on Kate in LOST. Sometimes she could be brilliant, but the writers were way too interested in that terminal love triangle with Jack and Sawyer, and I think on some level Lily knew that Kate’s backstory made absolutely no sense.
But from these few glimpses of her, I’m impressed. She not only speaks with gravitas but actually has something important to say. Rumours are that she’ll have a sort-of romance with one of the dwarfs, but this trailer would indicate that her role leans more towards galvanising the Elves out of their current state of inactivity and taking steps to combat the approaching evil. And it’s clear that she gets some fight scenes in there as well. Whoohoo!
Lee Pace, what, what, what are you doing? Seriously, I know this guy can act, but so far he seems to exist solely to inspire internet memes.
That said, I hope we get to see something of Legolas and Thranduil together; I’m already wondering what Jackson’s take on the father/son relationship will be. I get the feeling they’ll be at odds, with Tauriel trying to convince Legolas that they should be doing more to help Middle Earth and Thranduil wanting to keep the Elves isolated.
That said, I can smell the Thranduil/Thorin Foe Yay fanfiction a mile off.
Scenery Porn! Sometimes I forget to be grateful that I live in New Zealand, and then a Lord of the Rings film comes along and reminds me. Some of those shots were great, though I’ll admit that I’m not really a huge fan of CGI. Perhaps it’s just because I’m a child of the 80s, but I love old school puppetry and prosthetics over computer-generated effects. So the big reveal of Smaug was a bit ho-hum for me, though I’ll withhold judgment till it’s out. Maybe it’ll be more impressive on the big screen.
Finally, it was great to see a few clips of Tolkien’s storybook elements (ironic that most of this trailer bears no resemblance to anything in the book), with the infamous barrels carrying the dwarfs down the river.
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These have been circulating for a while on Tumblr; they’re pictures on-set from The Tunnel, which features Angel Coulby. Obviously she’s not in these particular images, but the actors you see are Stephen Dillane (better known as Stannis from Game of Thrones) and Clémence Poésy (better known as Fleur Delacour from the Harry Potter franchise). All we know so far is that it’s a remark of the highly successful Swedish/Danish miniseries called Bron Broen (The Bridge) and that Stephen Dillane plays Angel’s on-screen husband. Personally I can’t wait to see her in a contemporary setting.
Now I’m just holding out for a trailer! Can’t be too long now...