The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Director: Peter Jackson
Summary
Bilbo Baggins is swept into a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever ... Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities ... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
Male Deaths
- Barry Humphries (Great Goblin)
- Jeffrey Thomas (Thror)
- Stephen Ure (Grinnah)
Female Deaths
- None
Gallery
Trivia
- Viggo Mortensen declined to reprise his role as Aragorn, citing that Aragorn wasn't in the book.
- Richard Armitage has said that his first experience acting on stage was playing an elf in a theatrical production of The Hobbit.
- There was no doubt that Sir Ian McKellen would reprise his role as Gandalf. Peter Jackson said to him, "You must play Gandalf, whether I direct it or not."
- Sir Ian Holm and Sir Christopher Lee filmed their scenes at London's Pinewood Studios, because health concerns left them uncomfortable with flying to New Zealand.
- Peter Jackson claims that when he called Sir Christopher Lee to invite him to the premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), Lee responded, intimidatingly, "Am I still in the movie?" Lee had originally been slated to appear in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), but his scenes were cut from the theatrical release, which caused the actor and director to have a brief falling out.
- Daniel Radcliffe, Shia LaBeouf, James McAvoy, Erryn Arkin, and Tobey Maguire were considered for the role of Bilbo Baggins. However, Peter Jackson has said that his first choice was always Martin Freeman. Freeman was initially unable to accept the role, due to scheduling conflicts with Sherlock (2010), but Jackson re-worked the entire shooting schedule for the trilogy to accommodate him.