New Pictures From The Hobbit Celebrate The Book’s 75th Anniversary
I’m still quite wary of Peter Jackson’s decision to split The Hobbit into not just two, but three films. It seems like the pacing might move as fast as a glacier, with tons of details expanded upon that don’t need the additional exploration on film. However, I can’t deny that every other bit of PR is getting me really excited. This whole week is being called “Tolkien Week,” in honor of not only the book’s 75th anniversary on Friday, but both Bilbo and Frodo’s birthdays on September 22. First up on the celebration: new pictures!
The pictures show off Bilbo, Gandalf, Gollum, and a whole mess of dwarves. Most interesting is the first picture released of Radagast the Brown, played by Sylvester McCoy, who has also portrayed the Seventh Doctor on Doctor Who. Radagast is barely mentioned throughout all of Tolkien’s work, but apparently it was enough to work with, because now he’s in the film. This is the sort of thing that both excites me and terrifies me. Hopefully these additions enhance instead of detract.
