Bring home The Desolation of Smaug – and let us see YOUR version of the dragon

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
April 7, 2014 at 2:06 pm by greendragon  - 

Home video release time is upon us! Lucky folks in the UK can already today get their hands on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; tomorrow, April 8th, the DVD and Blu-ray becomes available in the US, Spain, Mexico and Canada, with Italy following on April 9th. (Check out release dates in this post, here.)

Remember – you still have time to enter our ‘Show us your passion for Smaug!’ contest.  We’re loving seeing the entries received so far! It’s going to be a tough decision, to award those fabulous prizes from Warner Bros. The competition closes April 8th at midnight UTC; read details and find out what you could win here.

[Click here to enter 'Show us your passion for Smaug' art contest]

Posted in Blu-Ray, Contests, DVD/Blu-Ray, DVDs, Events, Hobbit Movie, Merchandise, Shop, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on April 7, 2014 by greendragon

Warner Brothers clarifies ‘Desolation of Smaug’ Bonus Feature confusion

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
April 13, 2014 at 7:19 pm by Aragorn the Elfstone  - 

With the release this past Tuesday of the Blu-ray and DVD Editions of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, there was a bit of confusion concerning several video advertisements and the bonus material on the discs.

The videos embedded below – “Beorn the Shapeshifter” and “Laketown – Entering the World of Men”, as well as a “Giant Mirkwood Spiders” video on the L.A. Times website – contained snippets of behind the scenes video and interviews that many could not find of the discs.

Warner Brothers has now informed us that these are promotional pieces created to promote the release, and do not include material from the discs themselves.

The Bonus disc on both the Blu-ray and Special Edition DVD releases do, however, contain the following content:

- Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set (In the Company of The Hobbit & All in a Day’s Work) ~ 41 minutes
- Production Videos ~ 37 minutes
- Live Event: In the Cutting Room ~ 38 minutes
- New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth, Part 2 ~ 7 minutes
- Trailers & Previews ~ 12 minutes
- Music Video “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran ~ 6 minutes

Posted in Blu-Ray, DVDs, Hobbit Movie, Merchandise, MGM, Miscellaneous, New Line Cinema, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Warner Bros. on April 13, 2014 by Aragorn the Elfstone

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Available Now

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
Just a little reminder that as of now, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is available nationwide (and few other countries) in multiple different formats without that Star Trek crap that Paramount pulls on their releases where special features vary from store to store and format to format. Nope, here it is thankfully the same. In this case the special features are a behind the scenes look at the film based mostly on Jackson's video blogs and music video. The real goodies are being saved the Extended Edition due sometime around Christmas. Hit the links to order from Amazon, with note on average price for each format.

Versions: BR + DVD + Ultraviolet ($23) | 3D BR + BR + DVD + Ultraviolet ($25) | 2 disc DVD ($17) | Limited Edition Book Ends + 3D Combo Pack ($80)

Bring home The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and take part in an Adventure

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG is released THIS WEEK on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download!Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the Company travels East, encountering along the way skin-changer Beorn and a swarm of giant Spiders in the treacherous forest of Mirkwood.  After escaping capture by the dangerous Wood-elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself, where they must face the greatest danger of all-a creature more terrifying than any other; one which will test not only the depth of their courage but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself – The Dragon Smaug.

Behind the Scenes for the Sound Effects of The Desolation of Smaug

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

Last week The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug received two Oscar nominations for sound in the categories of Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. In the video below the crew discusses how how they created the audio track, the challenges, and how the film influences their decisions.

The Desolation of Smaug Receives Three Oscar Nominations

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

Today the Academy of Motion Pictures of Arts and Sciences officially announced the nominations for the the 86th Annual Academy Awards. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug received three nominations in the Visual Effects, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing categories. Congrats to the crew on the recognition of their fantastic work. Sadly odds are very long with them winning as suspect a Gravity sweep. The winners will be announced during the Oscar telecast on March 2nd. The full list of nominations is here.

Visual Effects
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

Sound Editing
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

Sound Mixing
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

See how WETA brought Lake-town to life for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
April 3, 2014 at 9:51 am by Demosthenes  - 

The little behind-the-scenes clip of Orlando playing with his knives was pretty cool, but this is just a whole ‘nother level of “wow”. Thanks to Ringer Smaug the Stupendous for the heads-up!

Click below (run, do not walk!) and see exactly how Weta created Lake-town using a variety of CGI and VFX techniques.

To create the city, our models department built 50 unique buildings, eight unique bridges and six towers, all of which were dressed and scaled differently in order to provide the vast amounts of variance required to populate the 200,000 square metres of ground with up to 1,500 buildings visible in some of the shots.

Over two million planks of wood, more than five million roof tiles and 1,749 walkways were created to bring Lake-town to life.

Posted in Headlines, Hobbit Movie, Locations Sets, Production, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, WETA Digital, WETA Workshop on April 3, 2014 by Demosthenes

New Poster, 3D Featurette for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

Just cause The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is out doesn't mean the posters stop. The latest features the massive Dwarf treasure as Smaug does his Scrooge McDuck impression. In addition below is a brief behind the scenes featurette with the cast and Peter Jackson as they discuss the 3D quality of the film.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Blu-Ray Details, Release Date

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

The official home video release date of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has been revealed. In the US, it will be out on April 8th while in other countries the range will be from April 7th to 17th (list at end). Per usual now, there will be multiple formats for the release, not including whatever store exclusives that are in the pipeline: a Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo Pack ($105.42), a Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack ($44.95), a Blu-ray Combo Pack ($35.99), and a 2-Disc DVD Special Edition ($28.98). All the combo packs will include UltraViolet Digital copy. The collector's edition includes two "Gates of Erebor" replica bookends created by the Noble Collection.

As for as announced special features on all formats:
- Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set: In the Company of the Hobbit and Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set: All in a Day’s Work: Experience the film’s challenges and demands, and journey alongside the director into Mirkwood, Lake-town and Dale as the movie’s most intense, pivotal scenes are created
- Production Videos: Watch production come to life as Peter Jackson gives you an inside look at the making of the film
- New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth, Part 2: Travel with Peter Jackson and his team across the stunning locations of New Zealand transformed by the filmmakers into Middle-earth
- “I See Fire” Music Video: Ed Sheeran’s beautiful theme song from the film is illuminated with this intimate music video

Chances are there will be a few more special features, released as store exclusives with most of the goodies saved for the Extended Edition that will be released sometime in December.

Regional release dates:
April 7: UK
April 8: USA, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Hungary
April 9: Italy
April 11: Germany
April 16: France, Netherlands, Belgium, Australia
April 17: Brazil

New Desolation of Smaug TV Spot, Evangeline Lilly Interview, Smaug Clip and VFX Challenges

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is out now (as TV spot below reminds us) and already it has enjoyed a great first day with $8.8 million take for the midnight shows in the US. The current estimate is the movie is on track for a record $80 million weekend but no idea what the worldwide take will be.

The cast continues to make the talk show rounds (next 2 videos below). Evangeline Lilly appeared on The Daily Show to discuss the movie with Jon Stewart, teasing him about his complete lack of knowledge of the film while Benedict Cumberbatch popped up on Conan O'Brien. The interview itself was ok but the main but was the first real clip with Smaug. Its very brief as a portion of it was padded with stuff already shown in the trailers.

Over at THR, Weta's Joe Letteri discussed the challenges they faced creating the scenes with Smaug. Part of the problem was the impressive size as Smaug ("twice as big as a 747") with unique antomy that had to be taken in account when creating him in the computer. While you don't see it, they actually create a digital being complete with skeletal structure and muscles to help create a look of realistic movement. Since he has wings and other fantasy elements, that required often hand done animation to achieve the final effects. As to that the gold pile, "We had to simulate all the gold coins, every time he moved. Sometimes it was a little, sometimes it was a lot, but it ended up being over a billion gold coins. During some of the action sequences, threre were hundreds of millions of coins moving at once." Another difficulty was the barrel scene that often had to be completely re-created in the computer from the water, to the actors or replacing them digitally. More details here.

Beorn the Shapeshifter: Sneak Peek at ‘Desolation of Smaug’ Blu-ray/DVD bonus features

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
April 3, 2014 at 11:49 pm by Aragorn the Elfstone  - 

In addition to the featurette posted earlier – showing Orlando Bloom practicing a Laketown fight scene – Warner Brothers UK has posted another sneak peek at the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD releases of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

This clip examines the design of Beorn, with interviews from actor Mikael Persbrandt and Hair/Make-up Designer Peter King.

The Blu-ray/DVD of The Desolation of Smaug will be released this coming Tuesday, April 8.
Posted in Blu-Ray, DVDs, Headlines, Hobbit Movie, J.R.R. Tolkien, MGM, Mikael Persbrandt, Miscellaneous, New Line Cinema, Production, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Warner Bros. on April 3, 2014 by Aragorn the Elfstone Source: YouTube

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Released

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

Today is the official release date of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. To mark the day, yet a new poster. Feel free to post what you thought of the movie in the comments.

Media Review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The reviews are already in for most of main media for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Over all most seem to enjoy the movie, grading it around a B+ saying it moves at a much more exciting pace compared to An Unexpected Journey. Another common note is the action scenes are very well done and exciting but frequently compared to video games. As for the new characters Evangeline Lilly's Tauriel was complemented as a great addition to the cast and the story, Legolas is a shot of fun to the movie, while Bard the Bowman landed with a mild thud. Smaug himself was more on fence with many critics thinking he was visually stunning but a bit one note as a villain. A few highlights below.

Entertainment Weekly (A+)

The Desolation of Smaug is a more grandly somber movie, and also a much better one, with forces of boldly intense and unified malevolence. ...This time Jackson nails that tone: the feeling that Bilbo, who's been recruited to steal back a wondrous gem called the Arkenstone from the dragon Smaug, is up against a cosmic storm of black forces. The dragon has ravaged the land, the angry, hulking orcs are on a power trip, and the elves — led by the imperious Thranduil (Lee Pace) — are isolationists who trap the dwarves in a dungeon, setting up a great escape via wine barrels on white rapids. ...Yet Jackson's direction is spiky and majestic, and the risky move of inventing his own Tolkien character — the elf guard Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) — as a love interest for Legolas (Orlando Bloom) pays off. These two bring some badly needed heat to the woodlands. Speaking of heat, the dragon is, quite simply, a marvel: gargantuan yet balletic, hoarding his mountain of gold with a razor-toothed smile, breathing not just flame but an inferno, and voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch with the most delicious, insidious knowledge.

Variety

"...The Desolation of Smaug” reps a major improvement on its predecessor simply by virtue of picking up at a more eventful place in the narrative... these character additions are meant to up the dramatic stakes and foster a sense of continuity with the “Rings” movies, the emotional gains are minimal. ...As ever, in terms of logistical mastery and marshaling of resources in service of a grandly involving bigscreen entertainment, one couldn’t ask for a better ringmaster (so to speak) than Jackson. There’s an unmistakable pleasure in being transported back to his Middle-earth, in being cushioned by the lush strains of Howard Shore’s score and dazzled by the elaborately detailed sets created by production designer Dan Hennah and his team, seamlessly integrating Weta’s topnotch visual effects."

Collider (B+)

"There’s a lot happening in Desolation of Smaug, but it all helps to broaden Middle-earth in a way Unexpected Journey never did. Unexpected Journey is passable enough, but it was never going anywhere particularly new or interesting. The goblin caves looked liked the Uruk-hai dwellings but with more wooden bridges. The forests were unremarkable. At one point they were climbing on stone giants for no particular reason. By comparison, Mirkwood and Lake-town have their own personalities, and more importantly, people talk about other places in Middle-earth. Jackson is showing and telling, and it makes the world feel lived in, but in a different way than Lord of the Rings. ...As for the new additions, Smaug and Bard are somewhat unremarkable. ...Smaug does a lot of talking, and Bilbo does a lot of scrambling. Most of Smaug’s dialogue boils down to, “Let me keep telling you how awesome I am and how everyone else sucks,” and it gets old quickly. He’s far more effective as a flying, fire-breathing, stampeding set piece."

Empire (5/5)

"While An Unexpected Journey had plenty of bucolic charm, it did, for a Middle-earth film, feel oddly inconsequential. The Desolation Of Smaug remedies that. Moody, urgent and, for want of a better word, Ringsier, it’s a much more satisfying film. As Bilbo (a still spot-on Martin Freeman) and co. near their destination, the film gets increasingly busy, splitting the group in two and intercutting between those strands and Gandalf (Ian McKellen), who’s off poking around the ruins of Dol Guldur. That storyline still hasn’t quite caught fire (it basically amounts to the wizard yelling at a giant, evil ink-blot), and it could be argued that more screentime might have been usefully given to the dwarves, who remain largely anonymous. Besides Thorin (Richard Armitage), whose facade of nobility is beginning to crumble, revealing baser motives beneath, the only one who gets much attention is Kili (Aidan Turner), vying with a returning Legolas (Orlando Bloom) for the attentions of auburn-haired elf ninja Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). As love triangles go, it’s fairly rote — and might have been more dramatic were Kili not the one dwarf who looks like an elf anyway — but Tauriel, a character created for the film who’s already got some Tolkienites raging, fits seamlessly into the world and gets to execute several pleasingly brutal orc-kills: at points, the film’s one arrow-in-the-head away from turning into The Raid."

Rolling Stone (2.5/5)

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a little less long and a little less boring. That's because after two hours of setup involving Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he hobbits along with the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and 13 dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), to win back the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, the dragon shows up. This Smaug is a dragon to die for. Director Peter Jackson performs the same kind of miracles with the digital Smaug that he did with Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy."

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Gets Early Digital Release

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
If you are a digital only buyer, then good news. iTunes and Amazon have posted the digital copy of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug early along with extras at a cost of $19.99. As a result of that price, I highly recommend just save your hard earned money and instead wait for the official April 8th Blu-ray release of the movie as can get the combo edition with Blu-ray disc, DVD and UltraViolet digital copy for a few dollars more. Now I will be the first to admit that UltraViolet is absolute crap compared to iTunes but regardless the physical copy is still more bang for your buck even if don't own a Blu-ray player. Even better the extra features are the same regardless if get iTunes or physical copy as both come with "Peter Jackson Invites You to the Set" and "New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth: Part 2." Still if you are needing that early The Hobbit hit, click the links to pick your virtual source: iTunes | Amazon.

Everything Wrong with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

From the Everything Wrong series, Cinema Sins has issued their take down of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Oakentoon #52 – His Grandfathers Bearing, Oakentoon #53 – The Desolation of Thranduil, Oakentoon #54 – More Desperate Measures

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

Video: virtual images in the Hobbit: the desolation of Smaug

April 18, 2014 at 21:07 by Demosthenes -.

Here is a clip really interesting people behind the scenes at Weta Digital which dissects the virtual images of the desolation of Smaug.

Apparently, a quarter of the film is made entirely of shots all-CG, and this clip describes the typical work flow develop the camerawork, the improvement of the key frame and how the lighting choices were dictated by the mood of each scene. Thanks to ringer Sandesh for the heads-up!

Posted in film Hobbit, Production, the Hobbit, Bilbo the Hobbit: the desolation of Smaug, WETA Digital on April 18, 2014 by Demosthenes
Source: WETA Digital

How The Desolation of Smaug Should Have Ended

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

A new entry from How It Should Have Ended that focuses on The Desolation of Smaug. The voice work is good but in this case not as funny as some of their past offerings.

VFX of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.
The remote server returned an unexpected response: (417) Expectation failed.

Below is another video that gets into the visual effects of the The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It acts as an overview of not only creating Smaug the dragon but also all the effects that were used such as in the barrel escape.