The film adaptation of the novel by J.R. And the director of the film about the hobbit Bilbo Baggins managed to make an equally spectacular series of films about the adventures of Bilbo. New Zealander Peter Jackson in the history of cinema will forever be associated with six films about the fascinating life of the fabulous creatures of Middle-earth.
History of creation
The director began as the author of acutely social dramas, and after filming The Lord of the Rings, he became a recognized master of fantasy films. However, even he was not able to quickly begin filming a new series about the adventures of the hobbits.
First of all, it was necessary to solve the complicated problems with the copyright holder for the film adaptation of the story: almost all Hollywood studios were involved in the center of the scandal. It was legal collisions that prevented the filming of the epic about Middle-earth from The Hobbit. The director first shot a picture about the adventures of Frodo, which occurred 60 years after the adventures of Bilbo, and then the story of Bilbo himself.
In 2008, due to protracted negotiations on the rights to a new film and a long break between filming trilogies, the heirs of the writer Tolkien sued New Line Cinema, which shot The Lord of the Rings. The amount of claims of copyright holders amounted to approximately 220 million US dollars. The beginning of the work was “frozen” until the parties reached a pre-trial agreement. The size of the compensation paid remained unknown.
Who will be the director of The Hobbit?
In the fall of 2006, Peter Jackson negotiated a joint production of two films with MGM Studios and New Line Cinema. However, due to a legal conflict over financial issues between Wingnut Films, a company owned by Jackson, and the producer of the film, he was removed from the post of director. New Line Cinema CEO Robert Shay announced that he would never work with the New Zealander, which triggered a flood of Lord of the Rings fans on the Internet calling for a boycott of the company, so Shay began to compromise with Jackson.
In 2007, the parties announced an agreement on the filming of two films "The Hobbit." Guillermo del Toro was to become the director, and Jackson was to be the producer. The Mexican writer, screenwriter and director, famous for Hollywood action movies, began work on the script of the film. Before that, he did not speak very flattering about the fantasy genre, but after the appointment he promised to do his best for the successful implementation of the project. The filming was postponed many times due to unresolved bureaucratic problems and lack of funding. After almost two years of work, del Toro decided to leave the project. The director of "The Hobbit" was Jackson again, and the Mexican remained one of the screenwriters of the trilogy. They continued to work together on the script. Jackson believes that the creative style of Guillermo del Toro greatly influenced the images of the painting and drama.
Plot
The trilogy became a free adaptation of the story "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", telling about the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, the uncle of the hero of the Lord of the Rings Frodo. Bilbo, accompanied by a company of thirteen dwarfs, must make a dangerous journey to the Lonely Mountain (the first film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"). Initially, the director of "The Hobbit" wanted to "stretch" the events into two films, which was financially advantageous.
However, in 2012, Jackson announced that they had decided to shoot the trilogy, because after viewing the footage they had a good opinion about the prospects of the picture. To more fully reveal the fascinating story, stories were added about the journey to the city of Esgarot and the kingdom of Erebor (the second film "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug") and the decisive battle with the orcs (the third film "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies").
Criticism
Many critics and admirers of Tolkien's work extremely negatively met the uncomplicated story of a hobbit journey stretched into three films. The director was accused of artificially delaying the action, in excess stories that have nothing to do with the original source. Many noted that the rather weak dramaturgy is no longer compensated by entertainment.
The heirs of the writer very sharply responded to the picture, believing that the director of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings destroyed the philosophical thought of the book and the atmosphere of Middle-earth.