The Hobbit--Opening Sequence?

[Arthur_Vandelay]

How should a motion picture version of The Hobbit open?

I always envisioned a throwback to Smaug's descent upon the Mountain, or to the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs (which began about twenty years later). Or should it begin as it does in the book, with Bilbo answering his door to Gandalf one morning and finding himself thrust into the midst of an adventure?

I thought the White Council of 2851--where Saruman dissuades his colleagues from attacking Sauron's stronghold at Dol Guldur--another possible opening (since it provides another indirect link between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings). But it seems to me the least likely.

Another possible opening could be Thorin's meeting with Gandalf at Bree, where they discuss the recruitment of Bilbo, and the plan to retake Erebor.

[Inderjit S]

I think it should be begin with scenes from the 'Quest of Erebor' section of U.T, though a lot more condensed, in which Thorin meets Gandalf outside of Bree and he invites him to the Blue Mountains and they think up the plan and Gandalf persudes Thorin and co. to take Bilbo along with them.

The whole Smaug scene can be put in when Thorin is describing it at Bag End.

[-K-]

I really like the idea of the opening sequence including Gandalf, who is already well known to the movie watching crowd. I also like the idea of a crazy and tortured Thror handing Gandalf the map and talking wildly about finding his treasure.

You could then do the credits as Gandalf rides to Hobbiton, and actually start the movie with the meeting of Bilbo.

[joxy]

Why would anyone want to start with anything different from the book?!
OK, so it's a lot like the much improved EE version of FOTR, but that could be more of an advantage than a disadvantage.

[Dáin Ironfoot I]

With any movie that has such historically-rich material such as the LOTR and the Hobbit, one cannot hope to produce a movie without a proper introduction/prologue. FOTR did an excellent job with this, successfully capping up the main details and following the history of the Ring throughout the Third Age. However, this story's (The Hobbit) main focus is not the path of the Ring, rather, it is the path of Bilbo Baggins. It is not about the Dwarves or the Longbeards, it is not about Sauron's increasing strength, it is not about the weakening of the White Council due to Saruman's avarice.

This is however, not possible to show on screen without recapping a proper bit of history beforehand, unless one wants a horrible screenplay. Purists will cringe at this, but Tolkien stating history on the pages is much different than representing it in a film. If done exactly as Tolkien did it, the film would be reduced to a cheesy, perpetually flashing-back movie, that hardly moves forward for all the backwards movement it must achieve to facilitate the plot. Thus, an easily understandable and short prologue must be included before Bilbo's unexpected arrivals, or else the non-reading audience will be scratching their heads at mention of 'The Lonely Mountain' and 'Thorin's dead father.' The reading audience will be rolling their eyes at the stagnant plot, waiting to see the story go on after relentless and frequent trips back into history.

Admittantly, some flashbacks/historical recaps can be artful, as one sees in the flashes of Isildur (though keep in mind he was introduced in the Prologue to FOTR), Boromir's death (though introduced in FOTR), etc. Hmmm... it seems PJ followed good cinematic structure by first introducing these historical scenes in the prologue or previous movies, and then artfully incorporates their scenes later in the films. It is not good cinema to haphazardly introduce complex historical scenes, accounts, or characters and expect the audience to comprehend the majesty of the story.

I... think that made sense. Im half asleep...

[Inderjit S]

Why would anyone want to start with anything different from the book?!

I guess it would be nice to give the background story to 'The Hobbit'.

[Arthur_Vandelay]

I guess it would be nice to give the background story to 'The Hobbit'.

And it would make perfect sense, given the fact that The Hobbit is being released after the Lord of the Rings movies. Most viewers, therefore, will be seeing the events of The Hobbit, and many of its characters, through the prism of The Lord of the Rings. It would be unusual, to say the least, to introduce audiences to Gandalf as if he were a totally new character in the Tolkien universe.

Perhaps it would have been easier to open the movie with Gandalf's visit to Bilbo, if The Hobbit had been released first. But I think it's probably better, now that it is being made as a prequel, to open with something like Gandalf's meeting with Thorin at Bree.