Peter Jackson - director of "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

A film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's story "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again" the creators of the film managed to stretch it into a whole film trilogy, which became a prequel to the grandiose fantastic epic "The Lord of the Rings". 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 will forever be associated in the history of cinema with six films about the fascinating life of the fabulous creatures of Middle-earth.

History of Creation

The director started as the author of acute 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 start 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: inAlmost all Hollywood studios were involved in the center of the scandal. It was legal conflicts that prevented the filming of the film epic about Middle-earth from The Hobbit from starting. The director first shot a picture about the adventures of Frodo, which took place 60 years after Bilbo's adventures, and then the story of Bilbo himself.

In 2008, due to protracted negotiations for the rights to a new film and a long break between filming trilogies, Tolkien's heirs filed a lawsuit against New Line Cinema, which filmed The Lord of the Rings. The amount of claims of the right holders amounted to approximately 220 million US dollars. The start of work was "frozen" until the parties came to a pre-trial agreement. The amount of compensation paid remained unknown.

Who will direct The Hobbit?

In the fall of 2006, Peter Jackson negotiated a two-film co-production with MGM and New Line Cinema. However, due to a legal conflict over financial matters between Wingnut Films, a company owned by Jackson, and the film's producer, he was removed from his position as director. New Line Cinema chief Robert Shay announced that he would never work with the New Zealander, prompting a flood of messages from Lord of the Rings fans on the Internet calling for a boycott of the company, so Shay began to seek a compromise with Jackson.

In 2007, the parties announced that they had reached an agreement on the filming of two "The Hobbit" films. Guillermo del Toro was supposed to directJackson is a producer. The Mexican writer, screenwriter and director, who became famous for Hollywood action films, started working on the film's script. Before that, he did not speak very flatteringly about the fantasy genre, but after the appointment he promised to make every effort to successfully implement the project. The start of filming was delayed many times due to unresolved bureaucratic problems and lack of funding. After nearly two years on the job, del Toro decided to leave the project. The director of "The Hobbit" again became Jackson, 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 has greatly influenced the imagery of the picture and the dramaturgy.

Storyline

The trilogy became a free adaptation of the story "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", which tells 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 perilous journey to the Lonely Mountain (the first film of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey). Originally, The Hobbit director wanted to "spread" the events over two films, which was financially beneficial.

However, in 2012, Jackson announced that they had made the decision to make a trilogy because after viewing the footage they had a good feeling about the perspective of the picture. In order to more fully reveal the fascinating story, stories about the journey to the city of Esgaroth and the kingdom of Erebor have been added (the second film"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug") and about the decisive battle with the orcs (the third film "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies").

Criticism

Many critics and fans of Tolkien's work extremely negatively met the uncomplicated story about the hobbit's journey stretched over three films. The director was accused of artificially dragging out the action, of superfluous plots that have nothing to do with the original source. Many noted that the rather weak dramaturgy is no longer compensated by spectacle.

The writer's heirs spoke very harshly about the film, believing that the director of "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" destroyed the philosophical thought of the book and the atmosphere of Middle-earth.