Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson discussed his upcoming film adaptation of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at San Diego Comic-Con.
Since then, rumors have swirled that Jackson had shot enough footage to turn J.R.R. Tolkein‘s novel into a trilogy. Do you think the novel could work as a trilogy?
Here’s more from Deadline: “On the trilogy possibility, I’m told that while Jackson shot plenty of extra footage, he has already stretched a single book into two movies. His DVD editions of The Lord of the Rings were so compellingly loaded with extended cuts of each film—they actually filled in storytelling gaps for hard core fans–that my bet is he indulges those fans that way again, even though no final decision has yet been made.”
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Woohoo! Another Hobbit video from Peter Jackson.
Can't wait till December?
Quench your thirst for all things Hobbit in the latest production video by Peter Jackson
Here's the link: http://the-hobbit-movie.com/2012/06/11/the-hobbit-production-video-7/
#14 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1938)
89 points
I know this isn’t exactly a children’s book, but I first read it when I was nine, and I loved it so much I read it and the LOTR trilogy over and over until I was “grounded” from checking them out anymore. - Anna Ruhs
Probably my favorite book kid or adult, reading it has remained a pleasure throughout the years – and there are quite a few years for me. – Pam Coughlan
I remember reading this book on the way to elementary school and having to stop right when Bilbo was in the tunnel leading to the dragon’s lair. That was excruciating! – Sondra Eklund
Undoubtedly the upcoming movie has helped grease the memories of my readers, but I’m sure it would be just as high on this list, cinematic adaptation or no.
The synopsis from Amazon reads, “‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.’ The hobbit-hole in question belongs to one Bilbo Baggins, an upstanding member of a ‘little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves.’ He is, like most of his kind, well off, well fed, and best pleased when sitting by his own fire with a pipe, a glass of good beer, and a meal to look forward to. Certainly this particular hobbit is the last person one would expect to see set off on a hazardous journey; indeed, when Gandalf the Grey stops by one morning, ‘looking for someone to share in an adventure,’ Baggins fervently wishes the wizard elsewhere. No such luck, however; soon 13 fortune-seeking dwarves have arrived on the hobbit’s doorstep in search of a burglar, and before he can even grab his hat or an umbrella, Bilbo Baggins is swept out his door and into a dangerous adventure. The dwarves’ goal is to return to their ancestral home in the Lonely Mountains and reclaim a stolen fortune from the dragon Smaug. Along the way, they and their reluctant companion meet giant spiders, hostile elves, ravening wolves–and, most perilous of all, a subterranean creature named Gollum from whom Bilbo wins a magical ring in a riddling contest.”
In Anita Silvey’s 100 Best Books for Children I discovered a veritable treasure trove of information about this book. And while I’d love to just lift the whole passage hook line and sinker, I will endeavor to hit only the highlights.
Where did the book come from? Well, like many fine books on this list, Mr. Tolkien had a tendency to tell his kids stories about Bilbo. He’d already written about Middle-earth in The Silmarillion so it wasn’t hard to continue in that world. Once a publisher showed interest, Tolkien was asked to illustrate the book himself, so he did, creating two maps and the runes. “Tolkien had even hoped that some of the lettering on the map would be printed using ‘invisible ink.’ However, the publishers found this idea too expensive, and, eventually, the map – with all the letters completely visible – appeared a the front endpaper.”
The craziest thing is that Tolkien went back and changed The Hobbit years later when he was finishing the Lord of the Rings trilogy that would follow. Chapter Five or “Riddles in the Dark” (the Gollum chapter) got a few changes. Good luck finding the earlier edition then!
Now part of the reason that Allen & Unwin decided to publish the book in the first place was because Mr. Unwin gave the manuscript to his son Rayn
Normally I don’t advertise author/illustrator contests and challenges but this one has something I like. Namely, Rube Goldberg machines. Actually, I also happen to like Lisa Graff. And I happen to like her new book which I finished yesterday and includes the aforementioned Rube Goldberg thing. The first to ever appear in a children’s book? You decide.
Next up, I’ve heard the movie news but if we’re gonna do Hobbit then we’re doggone gonna do Hobbit. Just maybe not the version you’ll be seeing in theaters soon.
Thanks to Hark! A Vagrant for the link.
Next up, grants plus The Eric Carle Museum plus copious Raul Colon? There is nothing about this that I do not like.
Thanks to Sandy Soderberg for the link!
Now these days everyone’s talking about nonfiction. Thanks to the Core Curriculum the subject is hot as hot can be and nonfiction’s been getting a real leg up. I can’t tell you how many people have recently asked me if I knew any librarians that are specifically knowledgeable in the realm of elementary informational texts. With that in mind, the interest in quality nonfiction has never been greater. That’s why it’s nice to see new biographies out there, like the recent Twice As Good by Rich Michelson which tells the tale of William Powell. But, as LeVar Burton might say, you don’t have to take my word for it.
And since we’re dealing with Easter here, it’s only fair that we end with bunnies. Bunny bunny bunnies. It was a toss-up between this, the bunny who eats the flower, and the bunnies in the cups. In the end, I figured you go with the sure-fire crowd pleaser.
I was going to spend a lot of time on this Fusenews. Then I picked up Doug TenNapel’s Cardboard and lost most of my evening in the process. So it goes. I really am going to have to be brief today. To sum up:
The Battle of the (Kids’) Books rages on in earnest! Wish I’d submitted my bracket this year. So far the winners make sense to me.
- Opinions I do not share. #1: “Here is a list of eleven children’s books that still have value in a writer’s adult years.” I might agree with you if you meant that Rainbow Fish makes for an excellent source of protein. #2: “Ten Tips for Avoiding Terrible Children’s Books.” This may actually be the strangest collection of children’s book-related advice I’ve seen in years. I live in hope that I misread it and that this is all the stuff you’re supposed to avoid, not do.
- Stephen Fry + a pub called The Hobbit = lawsuit city. Actually, you don’t even need the Stephen Fry part.
- It’s spine poem time! With Poetry Month right around the corner you just know you want to partake. Spine poem it up!
- Of course THIS month is Women’s History Month. So I wrote a little guest blog piece just for the occasion where I noted the little known historical heroines making their debut in juvenile print this year.
- Speaking of apps n’ such, did you know that over in Italy where the Bologna Book Fair takes place there is now a Bologna Ragazzi Digital Award? In incredibly good idea. International apps. A whole new world.
- New Blog Alert: New to me anyway. We Too Were Children, Mr. Barrie which describes itself as “Being a Compendium of Children’s Books by Twentieth Century ‘Adult’ Authors Currently Out of Print”. It’s beautifully done. Go see.
Actor Elijah Wood 
Excuse to watch trailer again? I like excuses to watch the trailer again.
I still distinctly remember the first time I read The Hobbit. I remember EVERYTHING about it … searching the library shelves for a new-to-me book, seeing the green and blue cover with those fascinating winding hills and streams, opening up to the first page, and then dropping everything else to curl up in the corner and read, read, read. There are few first reading experiences that remain etched so plainly in my memory. That this one remains so clear tells me a lot about how deeply this book affected me.
I hadn’t realized that Tolkien had actually changed the Riddles in the Dark chapter in later editions of The Hobbit. What’s wonderful is that in Fellowship of the Ring, he gave a reason for the change, having someone (Bilbo himself, or Frodo, I can’t recall) say that Bilbo had actually put the first version, the one he’d told the dwarves, into his book (his book being There and Back Again, otherwise known as The Hobbit).
I still love this book and am hoping that the movie does it justice. (And I loved the 70s version as well!)