Will the sequences involving Smaug and the spiders be genuinely scary?
I think so. I hope so. At least that’s the way we’re approaching it. Every good children’s movie, be it early Miyazaki or Disney, always has a thrilling scene or two. When I read The Hobbit as a kid… Well, you have the moments like when Beorn has the heads of goblins on spikes outside his house [laughs].
Tolkien made no bones about that. There is no way to have a dragon attack a town that’s not scary. It’s the same for the spiders: there is no way of making giant spiders cocooning people so it would be gentle!
Have you been studying real spiders? There are some big ones in New Zealand!
We have been. We have a couple of the guys in the design team who are obsessed with spiders.
They actually do their own little documentaries and features and they go out and capture spiders and they shoot their mouthparts and this and that with macro-lenses.
The main problem with the spider designs is how do you translate the weight into a design so nimble or so long-legged, because a spider has long legs. With Shelob, she was quite low to the ground so she moved like a tank. Our spiders have to feel massive but be very nimble.
Next: Epic scale
Comments
Motley
Oct 29th 2009, 11:10
I AM SO EXCITED BY THIS - I JUST CAN'T WAIT! I love Mr Tolkien, Mr Del Toro and Mr Jackson and am really looking forward to seeing who has been cast as Bilbo, who is Smaug's voice, whether it has the warmth and humour of Tolkien and can effect like LOTR did. *squeeeee*
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Looseball
Nov 7th 2009, 16:35
Del Toro and Peter Jackson are two of the greatest filmmakers ever, I have tremendous faith they'll make an amazing film just like LOTR was and hold up to everything that he said in this interview. If I were going to cast Smaug, it would definitely have to be James Earl Jones.
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lonelymountain
Nov 7th 2009, 23:48
I do hope we get to see a bit of old Bombadil! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZbA6nMqV1g
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labrat
Nov 9th 2009, 4:04
I like the idea of a JEJones voice, but Smaug needs to be something no one has ever heard, and I hope it is not snake like (slitherin-like). But that JEJ quality. I don't know how the dragon will be able to talk without looking hooky. Same for Beorn and his animal talk, and his pets, I hope it doesn't turn into a child's cartoon. There are so many important things that need to be in the movie. Examples: Thorin's father, GFather and Dain, were involved in the goblin wars in Moria, and Thrain and Thror were bearers of the one of the Seven. Bolg was killed by them, but one of his relatives (son, brother?) was the Great Goblin. I also think that the One Ring left Gollum, not so much because of Bilbo, but because Thorin a ring heir, and Gandalf who bore one the Three, were nearby in the caves. How did the Trolls get Glamdring and Orcrist-were they in Moria or some goblin hoard for millenia? Also, I think that when Gandalf encountered friends from Rivendell during the Troll episode that these friend could have been Elrond's sons and maybe a very young Aragorn. And surely the Dwarves stayed at Bree during their trip to Rivendell and passed by Weathertop. Thorin's father was kidnapped in Mirkwood (Gloin was his companion, but was not kidnapped, luckily) and taken to Dol Guldur where he was tortured and his ring taken from him. Gandalf found him there, but was unable to save him, but Gandalf did learn about Sauron. And during Bilbo's travel year, the White Council drove Sauron out of the Dol Guldur, the same year the Ring was found by Bilbo. More as it occurs to me
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