First trailer for 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' brings back memories of Oscars past
Will the new prequels find similar luck in the awards season?
Martin Freeman in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
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Nearly eight years ago, the Academy Awards saw one of the great clean sweeps of all time as "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" walked away with the 11 Oscars for which it was nominated. The grand release at the end of a three-year journey that saw a total of 30 Oscar nominations and 17 wins, the film was the bow on a lucrative, critically acclaimed series that could only again be matched by the same unique mixture.
After legal disputes and a non-starting try with a different filmmaker at the helm, audiences will again be treated to that same unique mixture after all as the Peter Jackson-directed "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" hits theaters in one year's time, with a part two, "There and Back Again," to follow in 2013. And with the release of the first full trailer for the former, one can't help but wonder: will Oscar come calling again?
I was always appreciative of the "Lord of the Rings" franchise and what Jackson accomplished, even if I wasn't at all a fan or thought all that much about the films after they had come and gone. I revisited them once or twice over the years, picked up the extended editions on DVD and then again on Blu-ray (the extended version of "The Fellowship of the Ring" being my favorite installment). But certainly the films built magnificently on an already established fan base as they raked in $2.9 billion worldwide.
With films like "The Dark Knight" and "Avatar" setting new box office milestones and benchmarks, one wonders what film, if any, will be able to make a strong play at those numbers. I'd say the second film in this two-parter might be the one, but more importantly, it will be fascinating to see what Jackson's lessons will bring to these prequels to his previous series, just as it will be delightful to see where Andy Serkis and the Weta crew expand on what they've already pioneered in performance-capture technology with the character of Gollum.
Speaking of which, perhaps by that time, after all the fuss over his work in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" this year, some ground might have been softened, if not broken, to allow for serious consideration of Serkis's performance in the films. We shall see.
Check out the new trailer for "The Hobbit: An Incredible Journey" at Motion/Captured (courtesy of Apple). And feel free to leave your thoughts on it, or on the previous franchise in general if you like, in the comments section below.
Only 12 more months to wait.
For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.
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2012-2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Best Picture
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Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Best Original Score
Best Original Song
Best Production Design
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Foreign Language Film
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupSergio
December 20, 2011 at 11:40PM EST Reply to CommentAll I can say is that Cate Blanchett is BACK! Perfect Galadriel
JJ1 Yes, and it's as if she hasn't aged, at all.
December 20, 2011 at 11:43PM ESTThe Great Dane It's called Botox meets Weta :)
December 21, 2011 at 4:07AM ESTJJ1
December 20, 2011 at 11:42PM EST Reply to CommentSo psyched. LOVED the initial trilogy. Love the books. I could go on. The trailer is great. Martin Freeman looks great. Box office should be fantastic. Oscarwise, looks like it could rack up some major tech noms/wins. My only hesitancy is that it kinda feels too familiar? I shouldn't complain. I'll always welcome a chance to go back to Middle Earth. But, know what I mean?
SJG Yeah, it definitely has a
December 21, 2011 at 12:51AM EST"The Lord of the Rings".... AGAIN!
sort of feel to it. I've long felt that Peter Jackson was actually the wrong person to direct the prequels because The Hobbit is so tonally distinct from LotR that a different director would be able to distinguish the films meaningfully, but it's easy to see where Jackson just fell into staging everything the same way as the original trilogy. You'd think Gandalf's brooding stare at the fire was lifted straight out of "Fellowship".
Rashad You can easily tell this will be more humorous.
December 21, 2011 at 1:49AM ESTCaptainCanada
December 20, 2011 at 11:53PM EST Reply to CommentGreat teaser.
Scary to think that it'll have been almost a decade since the last film when "The Hobbit" is released.
Joe W
December 21, 2011 at 12:02AM EST Reply to CommentI think you can definitely look for Art Direction, Film Editing, Cinematography, Sound, Sound Editing, VFX, Costume Design, Make-Up, and Score. Wouldn't be surprised to also see it go for Picture/Director. Could we see a Dark Knight/Nolan - Hobbit/Jackson battle of the blockbusters for Best Picture? Extremely wishful thinking but that would be awesome (what if Prometheus blows people away too?
We are in for some serious quality blockbusters next year. Can't friggin wait!
JLPatt
December 21, 2011 at 12:08AM EST Reply to CommentI'm excited, but to be honest I'm more weary than anything else. "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is my favorite film(s) of all time, and I feel like Jackson couldn't have made those more perfect if he tried. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it seems hard to believe he could live up to the same brilliance of that original trilogy, and anything even short of it will be disappointing.
HoustonRufus
December 21, 2011 at 12:14AM EST Reply to CommentI never read the books. I proclaimed them "not my thing" before walking reluctantly into Fellowship and fell hook, line, and sinker. The three films together remain one of the great movie going experiences of my life. I still put the films on from time to time and get swept away completely.
I can't wait for The Hobbit films. It will be hard to compete with the experience I had with LOTR, but if they are anywhere near as good, I'll have a ball.
Tedd
December 21, 2011 at 12:30AM EST Reply to CommentIf The Avengers, the Dark Knight Rises, and The Hobbit are all fulfill their promise, this should be a banner year for blockbusters.
I couldn't be more excited.
Rashad The Avengers looks like tv crap, which kills me to say
December 21, 2011 at 1:51AM ESTJJ1 It really does. :(
December 21, 2011 at 9:40AM ESTMormonKingofBeaverIsland
December 21, 2011 at 2:26AM EST Reply to CommentThat looks a little nerdy...
Chris138
December 21, 2011 at 2:58AM EST Reply to CommentAh, I'm getting the extended trilogy on Blu-ray soon. I haven't seen the films in there entirety since they were released all those years ago, so I look forward to watching them again.
The trailer looks solid, though.
The Great Dane
December 21, 2011 at 4:05AM EST Reply to CommentI think, however brilliant The Hobbit films might be, that the Academy is DONE with the Jackson-Tolkien love story. They gave Rings all the Oscars they could. There's no reason for them to keep doing it. Especially since it's broken up into two films. Even the effects and technical aspects of the film - they will probably feel that they HAVE awarded everything to the franchise that they can. I think there's a bigger chance for The Hobbit films to recieve ZERO nominations than to win, say, 4-5 Oscars.
matsunaga Exactly my thoughts.. It wouldn't make sense... But the trailer is amazing... I have to give it to Team Jackson over Team Nolan for this 1st trailer over "The Dark Knight Rises" 2nd one...
December 21, 2011 at 4:16AM ESTShawn
December 21, 2011 at 5:00AM EST Reply to CommentBah. The Hobbit is a quickly paced adventure fantasy with a comic tone. The back story may be interesting to Tolkien geeks, but it doesn't belong in a telling of The Hobbit. Everything about Jackson's production seems wrong. It's too dark and most of all much too long. I'd rather watch a production of the play put on by schoolchildren.
Incidentally, I thought Jackson did a pretty good job with LOTR when he wasn't getting his Harryhausen on. I'd be eager to see an adaptation by a more serious director.
loyal_mehnert
December 21, 2011 at 12:47PM EST Reply to CommentIt's been ten years since The Fellowship of the Ring. The Hobbit trailer is like a warm embrace from an old friend.
I have so many great memories attached to Lord of the Rings. Going to New Zealand and experiencing Mt Doom in person, seeing the musical on London's West End, watching Howard Shore conduct the music live in Chicago, sitting in a theatre (in full costume) for 24 hours during Trilogy Tuesday. Can't wait to head back to The Shire next year.
In terms of Oscar, the best answer to the "Will The Hobbit be nominated" debate is probably The Two Towers. "Only" 6 nominations including BP, no nominations for screenplay or directing or acting. In terms of the AMPAS, the weakest LOTR film by far. And yet it still managed a BP nomination over Far From Heaven and Frida and Road to Perdition.
Assuming The Hobbit is 90%+ on RT, makes 350-400m domestically, and has guild precursor support, a BP nom seems highly probable to me. A solid 10 nominations overall is quite possible:
Best Picture
Best Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Costume
Best Make Up
Best Score
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Visual Effects
I'm interested to see if the British Voting Block, largely absent this year, will push the film, especially interesting since The Hobbit was almost relocated to England from New Zealand (though they did shoot Sir Christopher Lee's performance at Pinewood since he was too frail to travel). So many great British actors are in the film, it's an all-star lineup. Another question, will Sir Ian McKellen seemingly do the impossible and receive yet another nomination for Gandalf the Grey?
SJG I just can't see McKellen getting nominated again. The subject matter in LotR lends itself to serious consideration in a way that The Hobbit's subject matter doesn't. And I often wonder whether a lot of the voting Academy members were unaware that Gandalf would be returning in the sequels to Fellowship. It always felt like a nomination guided by feelings of "What? The best character, portrayed by the actor who gave the best performance, isn't coming back? We better jump on that bandwagon while we can!" Maybe I'm way off base though.
December 21, 2011 at 1:20PM ESTI wonder whether Kris isn't right though about Serkis being taken seriously as a supporting actor candidate though. Or maybe the Academy will recognize this as their perfect moment to give him a special achievement award or something, considering his body of work in mo-cap.
The Dude
December 21, 2011 at 12:52PM EST Reply to CommentI gotta say, even watching a youtube trailer on my somewhat-slow laptop, the use of those fancy schmancy cameras is evident...this movie looks reeeeaaaaaal crisp. Very nice.
Thomas
December 22, 2011 at 1:37AM EST Reply to CommentI am stoked to see these but I really wish that Jackson had started with the Hobbit. It seems here that his visual take on Middle Earth is already ten times better than LOTR and I wish that he could have cut his teeth on this first and brought a more mature vision to the trilogy. Also I was ecstatic when I heard GDT was on to direct these films and then heartbroken when he gave up waiting. He would have been fantastic.
Also, what exactly is going on with the Galadriel sweeps Gandalf's tousle of hair back moment? I don't want to sound like a fan boy troll, but come on a love story? Forget that. I will be totally disappointed if they throw that in to have some sort of love interest in the film.