As part of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’s premiere festivities, Air New Zealand graciously invited TheOneRing.net to the red carpet reveal of their new Smaug plane! Fili of Happy Hobbit was in attendance and thank goodness she was, for two certain dwarf brother recognized her on sight! Another surprise was the appearance of Peter Jackson, so join the director himself, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, and TORn staffers Quickbeam, Sarumann, and Fili and her mother Dis for a fun time and some interviews with the cast! [Air New Zealand]
Below are some images Fili caught of the event.
Since this is full of conjecture for the next film, consider it wall to wall spoilers!!!
Here is a list of all the things we are looking forward to seeing in ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ next December. Since there are so many changes, additions and enhancements in the films, we can only know the broad strokes of what is to come with the details up for grabs. That means this list will mostly be based on events that occur in ‘The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ and the questions and actions they leave open heading into ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’
And now we begin the Spoiler filled guesswork portion of this article.
1) Legolas catching up to Bolg. Nobody, but nobody gives Leggy a bloody nose and lives.
2) Smaug’s attack on Lake-town will be epic! Bard’s response will be equally epic!
3) What exactly does it take to pry Thranduil out of Mirkwood and enter the fray? Could it be a true desire to assist the Men of Lake-town in their hour of need? Or will it be his desire to recover the missing elven gems? Or will it be a more personal desire to find and bring back Legolas and Tauriel who are missing and presumed to be in the middle of the fight already?
4) How will an injured Kili and the rest of the dwarves get out of the way of an approaching Dragon? And what about Bard’s kids?
5) Who springs Bard out of prison? Will it be Tauriel, Bofur and Fili, or might it be his son, Bain?
6) What becomes of Tauriel? Does she stay with the Dwarves and Bard’s kids or does she try to catch up to Legolas?
7) How does Gandalf get out of his pickle?
8) Radagast went to inform Galadriel of what was happening at Dol Guldur, will she go to War? Who else might come with her? Will Saruman join in or drag his feet?
9) Does Bilbo have the Arkenstone already? If not, how will things play out in Erebor while Smaug is away? And how does the Company find out about Smaug’s fate and how long does that take?
10) Is that big Orc army we see marching through Dol Guldur going to be present when the White Council shows up? Or is the army headed towards Erebor, leaving Dol Guldur rather defenseless when the White Council does show up to spring Gandalf?
11) When will Beorn decide to jump into the fray and how many dead orcs does he leave in his wake?
12) Will we see an auction beginning at Bag End with Lobelia stashing silverware into her bodice?
Additional characters aside, as they were all known before going in so they can’t be a surprise anyhow, here is a list of things that have surprised audiences in ‘The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ this past week since the film’s release.
1) Legolas got a bloody nose, which seemed to surprise him almost as much as it surprised the audience. He’s never been wobbly in a battle before, not sure if that is going to make him more cautious or not as he chases after Bolg, the one who inflicted the injury.
2) Smaug seems surprisingly well informed. He knew that Thorin had earned the nickname of Oakenshield while out in Middle-earth after the fall of Erebor. Smaug also seems fully aware that a Dark Power is rising and that there is an impending war coming. Now if we can just figure out who is feeding him this intel.
3) A Wind Lance, really? Not a standard Long Bow? How disappointing, although it is wicked cool looking and realistically makes more sense, it is not the image most fans were expecting from Bard the Bowman.
4) So Kili gets injured and is left behind in Lake-town, along with 3 other Dwarves. Wow! the Breaking of the Company. The fact he was injured by a Morgul bladed arrow was also a surprise.
5) The Orcs were chasing the Dwarves down the river and fighting the Elves in full sunlight? What’s up with that?
6) The other surprising bit with Smaug is that he could sense the Ring’s presence and by force of will convince Bilbo to take the Ring off. Yipes! It’s a power similar to that of the Nazgul.
7) Back to Bree we go, and this time the guy sitting in the corner is actually dangerous, and that dude munching on a carrot is back.
8) The Spiders did speak, but only Bilbo can hear them when he wears the Ring. Well, except for when he took the Ring off and stabbed that one spider, who then says “it stings” before dying, giving Sting it’s name. So the Spider’s speaking was a surprise, and the way it was handled was a surprise, but there is at least one inconsistency to this plot device. Does anyone care about that? Probably not, cause the spiders were creepy as all heck.
9) Gandalf entering Dol Guldur alone, first facing Azog and having to resort to trickery to get away, and then the big face off with the Necromancer, who reveals himself fully to Gandalf. The endless emptiness that is Sauron is epic.
10) While not surprised that the molten hot gold did not seem to injure Smaug, the most surprising bit in that whole sequence was just how transfixed Smaug was when the Golden Dwarf statue was revealed. He looked like an animal caught in a Cobra’s stare, which is probably the reverse of what Smaug normally encounters.
The Sydney Morning Herald recently released an interview they
conducted in 2012 – in which they had a chance to sit down with several of our beloved Dwarf actors. But it turns out that they were in for a bit more than they anticipated. The interview (which they titled “Lesson One: Never Interview Dwarves) began with Jed Brophy, followed by Graham McTavish – and before long, dwarves were being switched in and out in an exchange the Herald called “amusing, informative, long (very long) and occasionally anarchic.” Continue reading “The Sydney Morning Herald sits down with the Dwarves (and kind of regrets it…)”
Join Happy Hobbit’s Fili and Kili as TheOneRing.net’s official representatives on the black carpet of the Word Premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, held on December 2, 2013 in Hollywood. You’ll also get a glimpse of Air New Zealand’s new Smaug plane, find out what goes on behind the scenes as press, and of course, hear a little about TORn’s latest moot (or gathering, for those who don’t speak Entish!).
Below are some of the highlights from the night and weekend of festivities. For more pictures and lots of fun, follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Fili, Dis, Thorin, and Kili. Durin family photo! At the moot.
The “other” Fili and Kili are Happy Hobbits!
Smaug and Bilbo before the infamous incident.
On the black carpet!
Kili and Fili and Kili and Fili!
This Kili and Fili love Azog!
Evie gives some Happy Hobbit love.
Dean recognizes Fili, making her a very happy hobbit!
Bofur (Justin): the unsung hero! Thank you so much for all of your hard work!
This is a word-for-word transcription of a press conference held for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” in a hotel in Los Angeles after the World Premiere of the film. Seated were: Philippa Boyens, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Peter Jackson, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Aidan Turner and Dean O’Gorman.
Press were given microphones by moderators. Although TheOneRing.net attended, for which we thank Warner Bros., we did not have a chance to ask a question to the assembled group; we apologize for some that did. Transcribed by Twitter staffer @Saoirse_Loachlann Continue reading “Transcript: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ world premiere press conference”
