Now, I’ve been late on getting excited for The Hobbit because I still haven’t gotten over Guillermo del Toro leaving the project. Peter Jackson gave us a beautiful trilogy, but how long will be be now before we see somebody else’s take on Tolkein’s universe? There’s something to be said for diversity of adaptation. …Also he left out the Scouring of the Shire and the completely irrational canon nerd in me will never be able to forgive him for that.
Except… Peter Jackson is such a sweethearted fan-panderer. And Ian McKellan is there. And THERE ARE SO MANY DWARVES, my spiritual fantasy race of origin. Watching the first of what will hopefully be many video blogs takes me back to watching the extended Lord of the Rings DVD sets when I was sixteen, which set a bar for special features that has never been met since by any release I’ve seen. The incredibly comprehensive featurettes not only covered the technology, craftsmanship, and design that came together to visually make the movies, but also heavily focused on the personal relationships created by the production. It gave the viewer a real sense of being there, and a real longing to be a part of it.
What I’m saying is if you want to be an extra in The Hobbit, start booking your flights now.
(via Geeks With Curves.)
