Are 13 dwarves too many? Is one book not enough?
By PETER KEOUGH | December 10, 2012
Are 13 dwarves too many? Is one book not enough? These were questions raised at the press conference for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An UnexpectedJourney. It's the first of three two-and-a-half-hour films adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's prequel to his Lord of the Rings trilogy, which Jackson had also adapted into three epic-length movies."It kind of surprised us a bit, too," said Jackson at the press conference for the film. "At the beginning, there were only two films. But the book was written at a very breathless pace. Really major events are covered in just a few pages. Plus, in The Return of the King there are a hundred pages of material that Tolkien meant to include in The Hobbit. All this gave us a lot to work with."
So it wasn't just a way to squeeze out another franchise?
"It's not a franchise!" stormed Ian McKellen in his most intimidating Gandalf voice. "These are films! This isn't X-Men. Anyone who thinks that Peter Jackson operates in response to market forces doesn't know him very well. Ask any nine-year-old. They haven't just seen Lord of the Rings once. They've seen it three times. In one day!"
Besides, he added, the films let him explore Gandalf's romantic side.
"There's a scene in which Galadriel [Cate Blanchett] adjusted my hair," he says. "I'm still a little shaky."
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