News from the set [2]

Ethereal yes, but I'm hoping the Hobbit elves will be more merry and mischievous than in LotR. That's how I first became acquainted with them as they taunted and teased Bilbo and the dwarves as they came to the Last Homely House, till Gandalf has to chide them about "over merry tongues".

I think there's even a good case to be made for Elven fart jokes. Wasn't Bilbo's first comment on coming to Rivendell "Hmmmm! it smells like elves!" That's surely a fart joke in the making

Don't give PJ and the Coven ideas David!

Of course there is no feasting without drink thats obv, I am talking about DRUNKENESS, not merry feasting. When you read the book you get the Tolkienesque version of feasting, but put drunken Elves in a modern film and you wont get the same effect will you? its totally obvious. If the film had been made in the 1940s then feasting was filmed in an innocent Errol Flynn as medieval hero type thing, but today drunkeness is hard to do right. The last time I saw this done was in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with Friar Tuck, it was cringeworthy. you tell me of a modern film set in medieval past that is trying to show innocent drunkeness and I will eat my words. The elves have to be innocent drunk, as its 1, a childrens film 2. children will be watching it 3. they cant show debauchery. so explain it to me cos I dont understand how they are going to do it.

I don't know where you are getting the impression they are falling about drunk.
The drunk bit begins when the Chief of the Guards (presumably now Xena-elf) and the Head Butler decide in humorous fashion they had best taste the new wine as there is a feast that night and they dont want to send up anything but the best.
They then get drunk, the guard falls asleep and the Butler drunkenly talks to himself for abit before also falling asleep.
The wine they are drinking is said to be particularly strong and to not be meant for the huge flagons they are drinking out of-PJ could convey this super strong strength bevvy in the converation easy enough.
Bilbo nicks the keys and lets out the dwarves and puts them in barrels.
Sober elves who are to help put the empties in the river arrive and find the two drunk elves and take the mickey out of them. They leave the guard sleepng and the rest have a round of the wine then get to work putting the barrels in the water, having a sing song as they do.

I dont see whats wrong with that Mrs Figg.

well thats ok, but you were talking about the feasting scenes not two sleepy guards, and I was talking about the feasting not the scenes in the dungeon/barrel area where ever they are when Galion? falls asleep.

You dont really see the feasting in the book. Every time they get close all the elves disappear. And what you do get of it is vey much in the carousing spectrum of drinking. The main drunken elves scene in the book is the barrels one.

cool so no vomiting on cats then yay!

Mrs Figg wrote: But it makes them ordinary, and Elves arnt ordinary. Anyone can get drunk, its banal, I never thought of Elves as banal.

I think we should respect the Prof, Mrs Figg.... Or... don't... you... respect... the... Prof.... ..

David H wrote:I think there's even a good case to be made for Elven fart jokes. Wasn't Bilbo's first comment on coming to Rivendell "Hmmmm! it smells like elves!" That's surely a fart joke in the making

Mrs Figg wrote:Of course there is no feasting without drink thats obv, I am talking about DRUNKENESS, not merry feasting. When you read the book you get the Tolkienesque version of feasting, but put drunken Elves in a modern film and you wont get the same effect will you? its totally obvious. If the film had been made in the 1940s then feasting was filmed in an innocent Errol Flynn as medieval hero type thing, but today drunkeness is hard to do right. The last time I saw this done was in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with Friar Tuck, it was cringeworthy. you tell me of a modern film set in medieval past that is trying to show innocent drunkeness and I will eat my words. The elves have to be innocent drunk, as its 1, a childrens film 2. children will be watching it 3. they cant show debauchery. so explain it to me cos I dont understand how they are going to do it.

If PJ were to film it exactly as in the book, surely even you, Mrs Figg, could not be offended.

yes yes yes ok! I respect the Prof yes merry feastingzzzzzzzz like the bookzzzzzz so tired nowzzzzzzzz elvses sleeeeepy nooooowwww ttoooo mmuch wwwiiiiinneeee dribble cough!

It's going to be a sleeping potion - in the wine - isn't it
O dear, I really ought to stay clear of this thread - it just depresses me!

Oh dear I think you might be right Kafria.
Almost certainly adminstered by fiesty female elf who thinks her King is acting to hastily and wrongly and so helps them escape. Ah bugger!

It all makes a horrid sort of logic, perfect end to a pefect day

A sad and sorry tale, indeed...

Figg quotes:

"Elvses are Elvses and Elvses dont have spinning rooms and pavement pizzas. They dont get the munchies and they dont have hangovers and they dont get beer goggles and start fiddling with squirrels! Dooohh! "

"I do think the connotation of drunkeness has changed since Tolkien wrote the hobbit, now its associated with Lager Louts and Hen Nights in Essex, fighting outside pubs and a kebab before vomiting on the cat. "


I think there's one thing we all can agree with....we all want to go drinking with Figgy!!!

(but we'll lock up the pets first).

yay! a night out with Figgy!

From a report on the BBC site:

Actor Stephen Fry has backed a Southampton pub after it was threatened with legal action by US movie lawyers.
The Hobbit pub has been accused of copyright infringement by lawyers representing the Saul Zaentz Company (SZC) in California.
Mr Fry, in New Zealand working on the forthcoming film of the Hobbit, called it "pointless, self-defeating bullying".
His support boosted the pub's Facebook supporters to more than 15,000.
SZC owns the worldwide rights to several brands associated with author JRR Tolkien, including The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings.
The pub in Bevois Valley, which is popular with students, has traded with the name for more than 20 years.
A letter from SZC asked the pub to remove all references to the characters.
The company asserts it has "exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in certain literary works of JRR Tolkien including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit".
Writing on Twitter, Mr Fry said: "Honestly, sometimes I'm ashamed of the business I'm in. What pointless, self-defeating bullying."
Landlady Stella Mary Roberts said: "We are overwhelmed. The support has been phenomenal.
"At the end of the day it is a legal matter. This just shows people's support and how petty the actions of the lawyers are."

Why bother? Not like Saul Zaentz are losing money because of this little pub exisiting and it only increases peoples awarenss of Tolkiens works and makes it more likely people will buy into some part of the Saul Zaentz merchadising in the long run.

This is the kind of action that makes me want to boycott.

I once met a woman who was dedicated to providing assistance for orphans in Belfast. They'd gotten a volunteer to paint cartoon characters on the walls of the children's ward at the health clinic. A nice idea, right?
...until a lawyer for Disney Inc. was watching a news report and saw the pictures of Mickey and Goofy in the background.


They had to paint over the pictures immediately or face a law suit that would have bankrupted them. Ever since I heard that story, Mickey and Goofy have always looked a little sinister to me.

The Olympic Games have been doing the same thing. I live near the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, the mountain in the center is named Mount Olympus and it's been called that for 200 years. All sorts of shops use the "Olympic" in their name, and they've all now gotten notification form the Olympic committee that they are infringing on the Olympic trademark

I won't be going to the Olympic Games either.

Every now and then one sees something that makes one think the Unibomber had his heart in the right place.

https://www.facebook.com/MiddleEarth1

Interesting 1993 a miniseries of the Hobbit was made in Finish, has any of our Scandanavian friends seen it ?

couldn't find it. no, haven't seen it. do you have another link or somwthing, cause the facebook page was empty.

Sorry Norc, hopefully someone can help.

This it Norc?

Dain, the baddest dwarf in Middle Earth.

http://www.movies.com/movie-news/39the-hobbit39-countdown-billy-connollyrsquos-dain-baddest-dwarf-middle-earth/7154?wssac=164&wssaffid=news&wss=mdcmkttwitter