Fans of JRR Tolkien, fans of Sir Peter Jackson, and fans of the cast of The Hobbit–
especially fans of the talented British actor Richard Armitage who portrays Thorin Oakenshield (right in character as Thorin from the 4th production video)–have had one year of earnest movie making watching.
And we have almost one year to go until the December 14, 2012 premiere (poster at left) of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”–and then another year after that for the second film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again”. Here is that Hobbit countdown clock I called up to remind us: http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcounter.html?msg=The+Hobbit+US+Premiere&month=12&day=14&year=2012&hour=5&min=00&sec=00&p0=64
In the meantime, we eagerly consume the intriguing bits of filmmaking news shared by the films’ director Sir Peter Jackson via his production videos–happily screen capping excerpting parts of the video to enjoy as stills for use in wall papers, signatures, or blog posts. Well, I haven’t developed the particular technical skill of screencapping and excerpting videos yet, so I rely on others who do it so well–RAnet (www.richardarmitagenet.com ) and Bccmee (www.fanvideos.wordpress.com), etc.
I wonder, will fans be as tuckered out by the time the movie comes around as I’m guessing the cast, crew, and production staff will be? Heck no! Though anticipation is sweet torment, “The Hobbit” films are something to look forward to–like a gift that hasn’t been opened yet.
So since everyone is focused on “The Hobbit” today, here is the movie’s teaser trailer “dropped” yesterday and can be viewed at Bccmee’s blog http://fanvideos.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/the-hobbit-trailer-20-december-2011/ that also has transcriptions and screen caps by her. And here is the youtube video directly provided by the amazing lady and friend whom I refer to as Tech Goddess Divine bccmee2:
All I have to say is this is one amazing movie teaser trailer!
And here are some amazing pictures from that video, screen capped by my good friend Dhana of “Do I Have a Blog” blog (see her blog link in the blog roll to the right):
Thorin Oakenshield (portrayed by Richard Armitage)
Thorin Oakenshield (portrayed by Richard Armitage)
Thorin Oakenshield (left, portrayed by Richard Armitage) and the Dwarfs in Bilbo Baggins home, Bag End.
Gandalf (portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen, left) and Thorin Oakenshield (portrayed by Richard Armitage, right)
Here are also some other links you can visit to find out more about “The Hobbit” films:
“The Hobbit” Career Page on RANet — http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/career/214.html
The One Ring Net (TORN) — www.theonering.net
TORN’s profile of the character Thorin Oakenshield — http://www.theonering.net/torwp/the-hobbit/characters/thorin/
A site labeled as the “official” Hobbit blog — http://www.thehobbitblog.com/
Sir Peter Jackson’s Facebook page — https://www.facebook.com/PeterJacksonNZ?ref=ts
“The Hobbit” Facebook page — https://www.facebook.com/PeterJacksonNZ?ref=ts#!/TheHobbitMovie
So, what did you think about “The Hobbit” teaser movie trailer?
Holiday Cheers! Grati
Image of Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield was found at RANet http://www.richardarmitagenet.com/images/gallery/Hobbit/4thProdVideo/album/slides/Video4-29.html
369 words–Noted for my gal pals Judiang and Bccmee who tease me mercilessly about my 1,000+ word blog essays. Ha!
P.S. I’ll resume sharing my holiday romance story “Lost & Found” on Thursday–with portraits interspersed throughout of my dream cast of Richard Armitage, Kate Beckinsale, Brenda Blethyn, Michael Crawford, Gina McKee and others.
Something About Love (A) 
Thank you, Grati……so well-worth waiting for!!!! Isn’t it just wonderful? I love Richard’s voice – it’s as deep as we all imagined – but I expected that song to be more lively as it is on my audiobook “The Hobbit”, produced in England in 2005. But I’m not complaining!
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Hi Kathryn,
We’re all swooning about Richard Armitage’s voice as Thorin Oakenshield–singing especially. Oh my! And he looks magnificent–as does the whole production, very lush and painterly.
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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And here is the link to the official website for the movie, TheHobbit
http://www.thehobbit.com/index.html
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I have yet to recover. How can one man affect so many of us I wonder?
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Hi Bccmee,
I can only speak for myself, regarding my admiration for Richard Armitage. Yes, Mr. Armitage is handsome, to be sure–more handsome and charming that any man has a right to be I jokingly say. But, it is more than that. He is more than that. Mr. Armitage’s storytelling and character portrayals have touched my heart and my soul like no other actor of his generation–or any generation, for that matter. Mr. Armitage so immerses himself in his characters that he gives them life and multi-faceted dimensions. He is truly inspiring as an actor–fearless in his character portrayals of life’s joys and sorrows.
And through Mr. Armitage’s media interviews we glimpse a courteous, kind, and respectful man who also supports several charities quietly and without fanfare. In my eyes, Richard Armitage is a gentleman and a gentle man–my highest recommendation for anyone. And since he has given his loyal fans such joy through his storytelling, I hope that he also has joy in his personal life. I am delighted for the recognition Mr. Armitage is receiving for his acting talent and dedication as an actor in being cast as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit films and I wish him every happiness.
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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Great trailer !!!
I love when Richard/Thorin is singing. :-)
Thanks for the caps Gratiana.
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You’re most welcome, April.
It is a wonderful trailer. And the singing was so heartfelt and timberous. I’m still aquiver. Ha!
Dhana made the screen caps and kindly allowed me to use them here. And since the original images in the video were rather dark, I simply brightened the images and adjusted the contrast. You’ll find that Bccmee also has screen caps on her blog that she has made.
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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I can’t wait Grati!
So,this is it, Richards dreams comes true. I’m happy for him:)
He can play,dance,sing,riding on elephant. He can deal with”middle aged ,quite well educated womens”and with screwdrivers:) Renaissance Man!
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Hi Joanna,
You have phrased it well, Richard Armitage is a true Renaissance Man and Filmmaking Artist! The wider world will soon know of his exquisite talents and also become enthralled by his storytelling. I can’t wait to immerse myself in Middle Earth again–with Richard Armitage portraying Thorin Oakenshield as my guide!
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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Update: Warner Brothers Pictures has released an HD version of The Hobbit Movie trailer that is found at
Thanks to RANet (www.richardarmitagenet.com) for providing that link. RANet gives the following HD viewing instructions: “Press play then change the settings to 1080p to see HD and zoom out to full screen.”
And don’t forget that BccMee’s Richard Armitage Vids & Graphics blog also has an earlier version of the video, screen caps, and a captions transcript. That link again is: http://fanvideos.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/the-hobbit-trailer-20-december-2011/
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Here is my comment on Bccmee’s blog just now:
Oh Bccmee,
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield is magnificent! Mr. Armitage’s voice, his physicality, his demeanor, etc., reflect a gravitas for Thorin that is stunning! I say again, stunning! And then, he sings in his timberous velvety Shakespearean trained baritone and I am completely in awe of his wonderful character portrayal.
Thanks for sharing the video, caps, and transcript. You’re the best!
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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And to think I had a LONG crush on Sean Connery! Yikes! Thorin is so much featured in the trailer – that bodes very well. Now we can put 7 minutes of screen time in a comic book where it belongs and put RA where he really belongs: up there with Sir Ian, Cate, Martin et al. :D
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Hi Fitzg!
I couldn’t agree with you more. Richard Armitage’s portrayal of Thorin Oakenshield will forever fix Thorin in our minds as a living breathing character. And his portrayal of Thorin will finally bestow upon Mr. Armitage the much deserved recognition of him as one of the esteemed actors, storytellers, and filmmakers of his generation. I am so thrilled for Mr. Armitage–not only for the recognition, but also for the enhanced opportunities for artistic projects that will come his way because of it. And I look forward to seeing Mr. Armitage in many more roles in the future.
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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Thanks to BccMee for sharing a link to an extended version of the Misty Mountains song (initially linked on Middle-earth Network News (http://news.mymiddle-earth.net/2011/12/21/misty-mountains-cold-hobbit-trailer-song/):
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Not even count how many times I saw the trailer, mainly because of Thorin singing (which is so completely different from the heard in the Clarissa). Oh, and I’m very pleased that Thorin does not look exactly like on promotional photos :-)
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Hi Ania,
That’s why I’m glad that Bccmee found and shared the youtube link for the song by itself. It’s so soothing. Sighhhhh!
And Thorin looks magnificent!
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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Grati’s Image Enhancement and Manipulation Tips:
For those of you screen capping the movie trailer images–or retrieving them from RANet–here are my photo tips for making the images more visable since the lighting is so dark. Use your graphics converter type program–I use Photoshop Elements at home ($55 and well worth it) to:
1) brighten an image one or two levels
2) increase the contrast one or two levels–you must do this as well or your image will look washed out. The general rule I use is up 2 levels of brightness and up 1 level of contrast.
3) if all you have is a sliding scale type brightener or contraster, be sparing–too much brightening will be glaring
4) save the image as a jpeg file–it uploads better to the web than png files (at least for me); be sure to use at least 200dpi on the resolution and 10 – 12 maximum on quality–you will get a better image that way; even though general web images are generally 72 dpi, you might want to use the image for non web purposes. So always go for the higher resolution and quality;
Now, If you are trying to composite images–in case you wondered how I did it for the holiday cards exampled in my holiday header–here is my “secret”:
1) mask/select the central image in photoshop as needed–erasing or blanking out the background (or the part of the image you don’t want) if all you want is the central image (this is not easy if the background is a similar color of darkness/lightness to the image); sometimes cropping a portrait down to a head shot with the oval versus the square select choice works as an easy way to do it;
2) copy this image (“select” all usually works); then choose “new” in Photoshop and it will open a window the precise size needed for your image (choose transparent background); save the file as a gif file (this preserves a “blank or clear” background so you can composite it onto a background of your choosing);
3) import the image and other graphics files into Powerpoint to composite them (layer and position them) and add text–I like layering images in Powerpoint a lot better than in Photoshop–it is just easier for me;
4) Once you have all your layers and text positioned where you want them in Powerpoint, “select all” and copy (making sure that all elements “handles” are chosen so you know that you’ll have your full image), then open a new file in Photoshop and paste it in there; save the file as a jpeg (don’t let it default to png).
There are other tricks you can learn about erasing parts of images, using the eraser tool, or selecting parts of images more finely with the wand tool. And I’ve gotten particularly good at removing eye glass glare for portraits by using the outer eye corner of the left eye for the inner eye corner of the right eye, etc. Oh the tricks we come up with. But, feel free to ask me if you have a question. I’m not a graphic designer, but because of that, I have come up with some easy work around solutions.
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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Here is one more resource link about the media response to the Hobbit Trailer–this is from the international Business Times:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/270836/20111221/hobbit-trailer-decoded-lord-rings-teaser-learned.htm
Thanks to RANet (www.richardarmitagenet.com) for providing the link and an excerpt about Richard Armitage from the article:
“December 22, 2011
The International Business Times has a great review of The Hobbit trailer with specific mention of Richard: “Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) is especially convincing. He has the arrogant majesty of a deposed king and the underlying steeliness of the dwarves Tolkien fans know.” ”
Well done, Richard!
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You can keep your man in a uniform (Pride and Prejudice) – I love a man on a horse! With straight back and chin and nose up (well, as far up as the nose goes…) :D
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Oh Fitzg!
And Richard Armitage portraying Thorin Oakenshield possesses a most noble nose, indeed.
Holiday Cheers! Grati ;->
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Well, that nose is very good for “looking down on the hoi poloi”. But it does achieve a Plantagenet hauteur with the admirable chin up….
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Well said. Giggles! Grati
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Perhaps, I will share one “final” observation. Here is the comment I just made on Serv’s blog regarding how The Hobbit trailer has affected me:
Hi Serv,
Transfixed is the perfect word for it. We have all come under The Hobbit’s spell. Sir Peter is weaving a tale oft told, but making it new again.
And Richard Armitage portraying Thorin Oakenshield is mesmerizing in his intensity. Were I Persephone to his Hades, I would strive to not leave the Underworld–because to be in his presence is pure bliss.
And the reverent hymn like quality to the singing of the Misty Mountains Cold song by Thorin and the other Dwarfs is stirring and moving.
Sir Peter and Richard have touched my soul in a way that I didn’t realize was possible–and my anticipation was quite high to begin with. They have utterly demolished me.
Quivering Cheers! Grati ;->
P.S. Here is the link to Serv’s blog post http://meandrichard.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/transfixed-by-armitage/
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