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Shelob'sAppetite
Doriath
Oct 23 2012, 4:28am
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New Interview with Martin Freeman
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Radio Times just posted a new interview with Martin Freeman. There's nothing new in it, but his comments at the end are interesting (and perhaps, a little worrying):
"I'm excited about seeing it - I want to like it, I want to be pleased with it, and I want to be proud of it. There are inevitably bits that you'll wish you were better in, but Peter Jackson is a very skilled director and he knows Middle Earth better than anybody else.
"I'm very hopeful, but also nervous because I want to please myself first of all, and I also hope everyone else likes it."
The main star of a film repeating that he "wants" to like the film he appears in (as opposed to just outright liking it) does not seem to be the height of praise...
Is this just Martin being Martin, or perhaps an indication that he's not that enthused about the final product? Or something else entirely?
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Aragorn the Elfstone
Dor-Lomin
Oct 23 2012, 4:41am
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Sounds like he's just being a little self critical, that's all. :) //
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//
"All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake to find that it was vanity; But the dreamers of day are dangerous men. That they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible."
- T.E. Lawrence
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demnation
Nargothrond
Oct 23 2012, 4:53am
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always struck me as being a tad overly modest. I don't think it is in his nature to pump something up as "the greatest thing ever."
Use Well the Days
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Shelob'sAppetite
Doriath
Oct 23 2012, 5:28am
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Though he does describe the next Sherlock episode as "brilliant," so he doesn't always shy away from hyperbole...
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DanielLB
Elvenhome
Oct 23 2012, 7:03am
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If I were in it, I'd be worried for the next couple of months!
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He's probably been warned about purist backlash. I imagine that's what he's getting at.
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dormouse
Gondolin
Oct 23 2012, 7:16am
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Can't see anything worrying in that....
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He's concerned about his own performance. Probably something of a perfectionist, lots of artists are. This is a very big film for him; it's also quite unlike anything he's done before so he's cautious.
(Besides, it's very British not to leap in with both feet shouting 'It's brilliant, it's fantastic and I'm amazing!' )
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Shelob'sAppetite
Doriath
Oct 23 2012, 8:06am
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But as I mentioned earlier, he has described Sherlock episodes as "brilliant," so he is certainly not above high praise...
Perhaps the material itself is, after all, not really his cup of tea?
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Cave Troll
Ossiriand
Oct 23 2012, 8:16am
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Hi all! Long time lurker here...
Whilst I find myself agreeing with Shelob a lot of the time, I wouldn't read too much into this tbh.
I genuinely think it's a case of him having not yet seen the film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVjKKfxphEg
It's only natural for him to be very nervous about whether it'll all come together in the final edit or end up a bit of a mess. I know I am.
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Shelob'sAppetite
Doriath
Oct 23 2012, 8:21am
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But wouldn't it be more of an imperative to promote the Hobbit with enthusiasm, given how much of an impact it is likely to have on his life?
Or does he want to distance himself from it early on, so he can pull a Harrison Ford "I never really liked Star Wars" schtick?
I may just be reading too much into it, but Freeman has occasionally been distinctly sober about the project, as has McKellen from time to time...and that worries my worrying head.
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Fardragon
Nargothrond
Oct 23 2012, 8:23am
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Isn't heavily dependant on green screen. So the cast will have a much better idea what the finished product will look like.
A Far Dragon is the best kind...
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Shelob'sAppetite
Doriath
Oct 23 2012, 8:28am
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But the script, the character interactions, and the drama, should surely give Freeman some indication of the film's quality, non?
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DanielLB
Elvenhome
Oct 23 2012, 8:29am
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But wouldn't it be more of an imperative to promote the Hobbit with enthusiasm, given how much of an impact it is likely to have on his life? And I can't answer that. I may just be reading too much into it, but Freeman has occasionally been distinctly sober about the project, as has McKellen from time to time...and that worries my worrying head. To stop myself from worrying, I like to think he's simply nervous about the whole thing. If the films flop ... it could be the end of his career (very dramatic and unlikely, I know). And like you say, it's always better to lower one's expectation bar, so one can be pleasently surprised. Maybe he's been reading your posts. 
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Shelob'sAppetite
Doriath
Oct 23 2012, 8:35am
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But the simple fact that he seems so nervous, and not fully convinced of the film's quality (even in public), makes me think that there are some potentially huge flaws that he's trying to hedge against...
And yes, he reads my posts. Upon request, I have been sending a daily digest to his trailer.
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Cave Troll
Ossiriand
Oct 23 2012, 8:36am
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Well, I mean, I hope you're proven wrong but there is a nagging feeling that it could go either way...
The thing is: far too much of the success of these films rests on his shoulders (he is The Hobbit after all!) so he has no Harrison Ford-style escape route here. If he's a great Bilbo, the films will, at very least, hold their own. And if he isn't, he'll have to carry some of the blame. I would also be nervous/guarded in interviews for the time being!
But, no, it's not wildly encouraging. 
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Fardragon
Nargothrond
Oct 23 2012, 8:43am
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Much of the time he would have been interacting with a green screen
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He won't know how good the performances where until they are put together.
It doesn't matter how good the script is, the FX and green screen could still make it look rubbish.
A Far Dragon is the best kind...
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Welsh hero
Mithlond
Oct 23 2012, 8:45am
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On Sherlock v Hobbit on the way Martin talks about them
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OK, his performance on Sherlock has been "tried and tested" as it where. He knows how it will look on screen. He knows how he likes it. He knows how we like it.
With the hobbit, he's not really seen the film yet. May not see it until the premier. He has no idea how his performance looks on screen. Keep in mind everyone has been saying how great Martin is
-Irfon
Twitter: @IrfonPennant
middle earth timeline FB: https://www.facebook.com/MiddleEarth1
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Cave Troll
Ossiriand
Oct 23 2012, 8:49am
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Man, it's nerve-wracking!
At least there are reasonable explanations as to why each of them is so wary (a massive weight of expectation for Freeman, McKellen wasn't 100% keen on returning, Weaving isn't sure about the three films) but still...
As you say, we'll have to wait and see.
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dormouse
Gondolin
Oct 23 2012, 9:47am
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You're reading too much into it.
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Which seems to be endemic round here. Beats me why so many people seem to trawl every published word on the films, every image, every toy, desperate to find something to panic about, but it seems they do.
Why do you want it to go wrong? Why assume it's going to when you haven't seen it?
Freeman is not a Tolkien geek. Nor, for that matter, is Ian McKellen. They're professional actors who have done the best job they can and must now entrust their work to the hands of editors, post-production and so on. They haven't seen the finished film. They're too honest, too professional and, frankly, too British to whoop and squee and tell you it's going to be the coolest thing since vanilla ice cream. Rather than take their modesty and caution as just that - modesty and caution - why make it a sign of trouble? Why not respect them for their honesty? Promoting the film is not their job.
There is only one test of how good these films are. The films. End of.
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Shelob'sAppetite
Doriath
Oct 23 2012, 9:52am
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Who said I want it to go wrong?
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I want it to go right, and have been quite encouraged by the three-film decision, and the recent rumors of the close to 3 hour running time of AUJ. I have been waiting for things to go right ever since I was disappointed by the LOTR films.
Here, I'm just doing what it is people do on film messageboards before a film is released.
Speculating based on small scraps of information.
I mean, why else are we here?
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dormouse
Gondolin
Oct 23 2012, 9:59am
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But the speculating always seems to be negative...
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'Martin Freeman doesn't sound enthusiastic enough.... could that be a worrying sign?' - and so on. It's not just speculating, it's looking for things to 'worry' about. Don't know about anyone else, but that's not why I'm here.
(I'm looking for clues that the talking purse will be included, or links to Ori's knitting patterns.....)
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jtarkey
Nargothrond
Oct 23 2012, 10:14am
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I remember at Comic-Con he said something to the effect of "I just come into work every day and do my job". I forget the question he was responding to, but I remember thinking "wow, that sounds oddly cold". I could be reading into it to much, but it does seem like no one is particularly excited.
I guess, in comparison to LOTR, it just seems like the people involed aren't as enthusiastic as you would think. This could be for a number of reasons:
A. Obviously, actors are at least vaguely instructed about what they can and cannot say about the film. I don't want to sound like a conspiracy nut, but is it possible that they have been told NOT to over hype the films?
B. The films are really not turning out very well
C. No one truly has any idea how the films will turn out (none of them even know the exact break point of any of them).
D. We are all insanely over-analyzing very brief interviews which the general public really don't pay much attention to at all.
Something tells me D. is most likely.
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tolktolk
Menegroth
Oct 23 2012, 10:35am
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Dormouse, you are the voice of reason. I can't understand why some people here seem to be constantly on the hunt for any negative angle they can dredge up. Aren't films supposed to be fun?
For what it's worth, I think some of this confusion is down to the great Atlantic cultural divide. Martin Freeman is not given to blowing his own trumpet - his comments on Sherlock were about the script and storyline, not his future performance - or American style hyperbole. He answers questions honestly. He has not seen the film yet, and it would be very strange if he were not both nervous and excited at this stage. Peter Jackson describes the same feelings going to Comic Con in Vlog 8.
I also think because Sherlock is not shown on a major American network, people in the US don't understand what an enormous international hit the show is. As far as the BBC is concerned I am sure the team could carry on making it till they all drop off their perches.
And given that all the actors involved in The Hobbit already have other projects on the go - Martin for instance is making The World's End with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and James Nesbitt is currently on TV in a very good role as a brain surgeon in Monroe - I don't really think any of them need to worry about it ending their careers!
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