To wonder how The Hobbit is going to be stretched over three films?

[SpanielFace]

Lord of the Rings, yes. But I can't see how The Hobbit warrants 9 hours of film time. I'm still looking forward to seeing it though!

Another Tom Bombadil-phobe here, can't stand him ( and don't get me started on Goldberry ... )

Looking forward to 9 hours of Middle-Earth related shenanigans because I'm a dyed in the wool fantasy geek and I know PJ takes this stuff massively seriously ... Happy sigh.

Where to I join the queue to squeeze Legolas

Sorry MrsReiver, though I am sorrier about the £350 MOT!

So. My friend is at Oxford doing Eng Lit in the early 1970s and his tutor is with him meeting a friend at the college gates. As the three of them walk into the town to a pub, friend works out who this man is. Once in the pub, tutor goes to the bar to order. Friend is sat asking himself what do you do in the presence of greatness?

Bill, friend, decides. Conversation goes:

Bill: I think we are two people with very famous names.

Tolkien: Really?

Bill: I am William Pitt. And you are JRR Tolkien. And I want to ask you a question.

Tolkien: Yes I am him. Is the question ?Why did I write The Hobbit??

Bill: No, I didn?t want to ask you that.

Tolkien: Well that?s refreshing. Ask away.

Bill: Well????.

What was CS Lewis really like?

What did Martin Freeman say about Lucy Liu?

I hate Tom Bombadil but I do like the scene with the barrow wites, it's super creepy.

He must have met him just before he died! That is very cool!

Yes, Tee, Bill was rather brilliant, by his own admission , and tutor had arranged for him to be coached by Tolkien the following year (hence the meet up), but The Great Man passed away.

That's brilliant. What did he reply? I'm reading the book of letters from Santa which he wrote to his children, he just seems like such an intriguing chap. The world he created for Father Christmas is incredible, and the pictures he drew are gorgeous.

I can't recall the reply. It would have been something very Catholic though.

Another Tom Bombadil-hater.

About the eagles, surely Sauron would have seen them coming if they were trying to dispose of the ring? All right, they get through Mordor's defences, but only after the ring has been chucked into the fire, and Sauron is pretty distracted.

Going to go this weekend! I agree that 3 films is a lot, but it feels like an extra treat...

I like the JRR Tolkein story! We're reading his Father Christmas stories here with the kids- v popular, bit odd.
If you're a real lover of these films, I just saw something on eBay where you can bid for tickets for a private screening plus audience / Q and A with Sir Ian McCellan (sp?) for charidee. Personally it's not my thing but I thought it might make some Tolkein geek a great Xmas pressie.

I've seen it, it's brilliant, they leave it just after the eagles drop them off. Plenty for 3 films!

Got back an hour ago - eek it was fabulous! I even liked the 3D-ness which I wasn't sure whether I would.

It all fits together very nicely.

And it has Richard Armitage in it

And it has Richard Armitage in it

Oh yes indeed. Will have to stop myself from ogling too much when I go with DH on Sunday!

He is v.good. It is very funny that the two handsome actors who are dwarves have no facial prosthetics while all the others do

Loved The Hobbit book when I was younger but am put off the film at the thought of 3 of them. And of course they'll drag it out over 3 years.

Yet Lemony Snickett and Cirque du Freak encompassed entire series in one film (albeit missing out entire sections of the books).

It's really only 18 months - this one, no 2 is next December and no 3 scheduled for July 2014.

Glad to hear that Mr A lives up to expectations ! I love his singing.

Two - don't be put off, it really was amazing. So many brilliant details, why wouldn't you want to see it all rather than a crammed, rushed, chopped version?

I can remember some of the petitions to keep Tom Bombadil in the film.

I liked Tom Bombadil, though I don't think he'd have fitted into the Jackson adaptation very well, far too whimsical. They left him out of the Bakshi version too, of course, but I think Barrow-wights and Bombadil would have worked well there.

I'm not looking forward to the Hobbit, I just know I won't like it, but the children want to see it.

Nice to see fellow Tolkien-geeks, too!

I saw it last night. Peter Jackson having a great big wank over his own "creativity". I am so disappointed because it could have been amazing but every shot was 5,000 hours long and yet there was no real development of character, every new piece of narrative took an age to get to, most characters were comical so warranted no fear or love in them. I just didn't give a shit and was frankly bored for long sections of it.

I can see how a trilogy could work, but why make each film nearly 3hours long?! The Hobbit would have been wonderful if Peter Jackson had paid more attention to his audience, behaved like a proper story teller and made it 90mins.

Gutted and not in the slightest bit interested in watching the next two

girl - this is a bit what the critics are saying.

Dh made me go to see this last night - the 3D flight sequences made me feel car sick, the CGI was pretty amazing, and Richard Armitage was gorgeous a very good actor . Haven't read the Hobbit in years, so can't comment on how the film matched the book, but it was OKish as a film. Won't go ad see the next two, but will -drool over RA-- wait till they come out on DVD.

I am wondering fir Girl say the same movie I did.

I didn't see it in 3D as 3D gives me a migraine.

I thought it was fabulous, true to the book with some additional stuff. If they had tried to do the whole book, it would have been horrible.

Oh and yes, they sing two songs. The plate washing up song and the beginning of 'Over the misty mountains old' song.