Have u not been paying attention? Every big movie is in 3D

The appeal is being mis-judged here, I know it has potential for being a four-quadrant appealing movie still I don't see each and every fan of LOTR returning. You have to consider that the trilogy was finished and this is not continuation of the same, we are not yet sure that people are interested in Bilbo's journey in the first place and that it would be as epic as the original trilogy (specially for the non-book reading public which in this case is bigger)

Warners do a pretty good job marketing in general so it should be OK, i hope they keep the same look and feel as the original Trilogy. Outside of Star Wars, there's no franchise left that packs this much culture and goodwill.

And what makes us think 3D will fade? Ticket prices will continue to go up and up whether its 3D or night.

And for an event pic like this with beautiful scenerary, people will not mind seeing this in 3D IMAX to experience the full production value.

Considering how hard it is to still crack $400m, this will be no easy feat. It needs to really outperform LOTRs domestically if it is to do this well.

I'm still thinking high $300ms, but would so love it if this beats The Dark Knight Rises for the Domestic Crown .

And what makes you think it will be a bloated 3 hr movie. It's not even out yet

Plus, i think this time around, we won't see the 3hr+ running time as the original Trilogy. This skews slightly younger so i'm thinking each part will be around 2hrs 30 mins or 2 hrs 40 mins like each of the Potter flicks are.

While i wouldn't totally discount Keyser's comments, i'm with SolC9, i think the potential is there. Plus expecting this to be much lower (ala Pirates 4 and Shrke 4) is in some ways very wrong. Neither of those two releases came off critically acclaimed installaments, and unlike those two The Hobbit is not another so so adventure re-emulating the spark long lost.

The Tolkien fans are alive and well, this movie will bring them out again. Unlike other fans, i think Tolkien fans are more subtle and understated.

What's wrong with the Prequel subtitles, i think they were actually quite strong. Phantom Menace sounds sinister (which the movie unfortunately didn't explore much of ), Attack of the Clones has a good ring to it and Revenge of the Sith doesn't seem more out of place then say Return of the King.

Better than Rise of the Sith.....i think the word "Rise" is so overused in subtitles. Rise of the Machines, Rise of the Silver Surfer...etc...

I think the new Hobbit subtitles are quite imaginative and stays true to the spirit of the books, I really like There And Back Again, An Unexpected Journey does quite have the same ring, but is quite fun. We'll get used to it.

In Australia.

For one, if it sticks to the Boxing Day release dates which all the LOTRs follow, we could well have another opening record (TTT owned for about 8 years until it was recently overtaken by the two last Potters and New Moon. Openings are getting bigger and bigger here. ROTK and TTT however still hold opening day records.

Though since it's opening 2 weeks prior to this in states...i fear they may also move away from this lucratie slot.

Ther'es nothing like seeing LOTRs on Boxing Day....it's like a ritual

There's obviously a risk to brining them back, i.e. people might feel as though it's just a cash crab and trying to emulate LOTRs.

Though for me, i'm personally excited to see Legolas, Elijah back. While they're not in the Hobbitt it's a goodway to build the connectedness and bookend both movies. Also the Introduction of the White Council is something which while not explicit in the Hobbit is something fans want to see (and something i'm dying to see presented onscreen). Did you see PJ's recent Q&A on facebook about the White Council......it was classic

I think they're doing quite well so far.

Jackson confirms White Council and Attack on Dol Guldur!

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/05 ... ol-guldor/

--

Nothing excites me more than the sheer prospect of The White Council entering Dol Guldur and fighting the Necromancer. I wonder how they're going to show it on screen and what extent the battle will be (if there is going to be one). You've got some greats there, Saruman, Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, Cirdan...and of all we know, Radagast and Legolas may be there to. Ah the prospect.

I was re-watching the Appendices of LOTRs and it's got me all excited again about the sheer prospect and production that is The Hobbit. I can't wait to see the new characters, especially - surprisingly enough, Thranduil. I love Elves

Is Christopher Lee returning as Saruman?

He was announced when they released the titles to the two movies.

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/05 ... confirmed/

Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, the character he played in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Martin Freeman, who just won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the BBC series “Sherlock,” takes on the central role of Bilbo Baggins. Also reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” movies are: Cate Blanchett as Galadriel; Orlando Bloom as Legolas; Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo; Christopher Lee as Saruman; Hugo Weaving as Elrond; Elijah Wood as Frodo; and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The ensemble cast also includes (in alphabetical order) Richard Armitage, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, and Aidan Turner.

==

Christopher Lee did state that he doesn't like flying at his old age, i wonder how they're going to get him there in New Zealand. Private Jet? Cruise Liner?

Though i'm so excited they brought back all the original principle actors from LOTRs, it adds to the overall excitement and connectedness of the two movies.

Besides the principal Hobbit and Dwareves announced as part of The Hobbit, i'm excited about Lee Pace as Thranduil, the guy is a cutie - though i wonder if they cast too young. I know Elves are fair and all but i would think that he would be like Elrond, or perhaps even older and more mysterious. Elves of course don't have beards, so this is going to be interesing.



The other is Richard Armitage, inspired choice and it's good that they're not necessarily bringing super well known actors to the movie (i.e. Viggo). This guy to me looks like either Hugh Jackman or Michael Fassbender. I think he'll be the new Aragorn (i.e. the one the ladies swoon over) though i wonder what Thorin will look like with all the facial hair

Glad to hear that Christopher Lee is returning. He's probably my second favorite actor.

And the return of the original actors really does add to the excitement. Someone else playing the role of Saruman, for example, would have lowered my interest in the film(s) significantly.

Exactly, hard to imagine who else can play Saruman, especially with that deep and dominating voice. Same for Gandalf, very iconic.

Was looking at the list of best selling books worldwide and guess which books made an apperance....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books

Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities - 200m+ copies
JRR Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings - 150m copies
JRR Tolkien - The Hobbit - 100m+ copies
Cao Xueqin - Dream of the Red Chamber - 100m+ copies
Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None - 100m copies

JRR Tolkien and Agatha Christie's book is the only ones to be released within the past century.

Some other interesting stats

CS Lewis - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - 85m copies
Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code - 80m copies
JK Rowling - Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire - 66m+ copies
JK Rowling - Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince - 65m copies
JK Rowling - Harry Potter: Deathy Hallows - 44m copies
Dan Brown - Angels And Demons - 39m copies

No idea how the other Potter books fared....

Best Selling Series

JK Rowling - Harry Potter - 400m+ copies
CS Lewis - Chronicles of Narnia - 120m copies

If only The Hobbit can turn that number of sales into box office success....it will crush Deathly Hallows LOL, i wish

Lucky Americans and New Zealanders....

FOTR EE opens tomorrow...

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/06 ... -upcoming/



I would so see this in theatres if they had released it here in Australia , perhaps next year in the lead up to The Hobbit

I just hope they just release these movies in theaters....I wasn't able to catch any of these in theaters.

You'll love it Jack Sparrow - these films were made for the big screen.

Uh, why not?

I surely hope to god they do a wider worldwide re-release next year in anticipation of The Hobbit's release.

Mix of bad luck and back then I did not have access to theaters (in India)....was just buying DVD's (horrible dubbed ones that came out after 6 months ). I would like nothing more than to watch these on big screen.

Shame on you indeed! There's nothing like watching this on the big screen with a big audience, massive screen and good sound.

The opening day showing of TTT to this day is still a memorable event, huge long qeues, red carpet treatment (yes they literally had a red carpet for regular audiences). AWESOME.

Matrix: Reloaded was the other release where you could feel the buzz and excitement, they had a green carpet for that one, of course.

If LOTR EE is released here in Australia, i'll definately be buying tickets.

I saw FOTR 4x, TTT 4x and ROTK 5x.

Anyone know how much the FOTR EE made over the past weekend, it was supposed to open on June 14th on selected cinemas. i can't see it on BOM's Weekend charts, and surely it made more than $100.

Do they not report it?