5. 3 Movies
Initially, we heard that Peter Jackson would make The Hobbit into two movies. That seemed alright: even though the book is not all that long, two movies could ensure elements of the story are not cut to fit on the screen. Then, it became three movies. This is where I began to worry. How would they fill three movies? Show Bilbo and the Dwarves walking from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain in real time? Add a few extra verses to all the songs the dwarves sing? No, they wouldmake it up. Well, not make it up, but draw on background information in the appendices to the Return of the King to expand the story. You know, stuff like the history of the Ring, Gandalfs travels. The same material that brought us a deeper glimpse into Aragorn and Arwens romance in The Lord of the Rings. You know, that part of the movies we all loved
so much (sarcasm here, just in case you missed it). This is concerning for two reasons. First, the story doesnt need it. The Hobbit is a great, self-contained adventure tale that introduces us to Tolkiens broader universe. Including too much background can ruin the narrative structure. The second is the reason why. Philippa Boyens gave us one
example of her thought process: Gandalf suddenly disappears off into the blue! Quite often! No explanation in the original book. You can't do that in a film, people want to know where Gandalf has gone. Its this disregard for the source material that almost gave us Liv Tyler fighting in the battle of Helms Deep