3. Again, not a thing that usually bothers me. Smaug was clearly going in and out of the mountain for quite some time (he's only not been seen for sixty years - the sack of Erebor happening a further 140-somethign years prior) and he's been in contact with Sauron.

1. Its not a kind of thing that bothers me in watching the movie. He had more than enough time to learn it, either during his time with the Dwarves or afterwards. Besides, the older Bilbo is clearly something of a scholar.

2. I like the prologue. Its what's called a "James Bond opening" - an opening sequence full of action and spectacle that wets the audience's apetite for what's to come. Its par for the course, having been imployed in Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Here, there's also the throughline of Thorin. Its all the more important given that this is now the first film of the series, narrativelly, so you need a strong, promising opening.

3. Again, not a thing that usually bothers me. Smaug was clearly going in and out of the mountain for quite some time (he's only not been seen for sixty years - the sack of Erebor happening a further 140-somethign years prior) and he's been in contact with Sauron.

4. That's the magic of cinema. Its a long take (a lot of the photography in The Hobbit is), its quiet until some score bleeds back into the picture and Bilbo is framed from behind within the round passageway, with the door out of his house clearly in focus. The suggestion being that his is kind of a lonely existence and than he does have a longing to leave his house. I understand that originally there was more to it, but Jackson (justifiably) prefer the very humorous juxtaposition from Bilbo staring out his window in silence to his bursting out of the door. It also makes Bilbo more active as opposed to being compelled by Gandalf as he is in the novel.

5. Interesting. James Nesbitt as Bofur is one of my favorites of the Dwarves. Yeah, he's the comic relief which can be annoying to some, but he's also the heart of the company.

6. Thranduil was awesome in how much I loathed him. Because Tolkien's early writing were almost entirely about Elves (at one point, Beren was an Elf, as well) he had to have all sorts of Elves: good and bad. But over time he became so enamored with them that he could not bear himself to portrary any Elf as too unsympathetic - to the point that his portrayal even of Eol feels apologetic. The Elvenking clearly suffered from this, having been concieved of and initially written as very antagonistic to the Dwarves plight, but than changed to a much more sympathetic character in following episodes. The film version is more meat-on-the-bone, and more consistent with Tolkien's earleir depiction of Elves. As for him being the greatest of the Elvish rulers - I think that title still goes to Elrond. He is the heir appearant to the position of High King of the Noldor - he just doesn't go by that title.

7. The gates are sealed until Smaug bursts through them at the end of The Desolation of Smaug.

8. Jackson made his Hobbits generally thinner and younger than their book conterparts.

9. Meh. It just became too much a fuss to deal with two individuals in a crowded environment. Not to mention that Gandalf is a tall man, unlike the shorter (if much more stout) Thorin.

Bofur was one of my favourites and I thought Nesbitt was great. He had more dialogue than most of the others because he was hired to be a featured player, along with Ken Stott as Balin. Both those actors were known in Britain, as was Aidan Turner to an extent. Most of the rest were New Zealanders and pretty much unknown outside that country.

1. How did Bilbo know so much about the history of Erebor that he was able to deliver such a detailed prologue? Did he learn more over the years since the events in The Hobbit or did he gather that info throughout his journey?
----- I think both of the above, plus as was said, Bilbo became something of a scholar after his adventures.

2. Anyone else think the opening prologue telling the history of Erebor was one of the best parts of the trilogy? Was any of the dialogue from the opening prologue in the novel? If not, who of the 3-4 writers penned this part of the screenplay? Brilliant writing. I love the camera work and introduction to Thranduil.
-----I liked the prologue of AUJ for its depiction of Erebor and Dale in their primes as well as the attack of the dragon. It brilliantly told us all we needed to know to understand the quest in a few minutes.

2. How did Smaug know such specific details about Thorin, such as his name and obsession with the Arkenstone, as well as that Thror had been slain and details of the Dwarves' plight, as well as the people of lake town?
-----It seems clear that Sauron and Smaug were in contact and Sauron was aware of Thorin’s quest. He had human spies and agents who could have sussed out many things. We’ll have to assume that the dragon had also been told something about Thror and his obsessions. In the book Smaug had destroyed Laketown at the same time he attacked Dale and Erebor and was well aware of Esgaroth as a potential danger. It works in the movie as well.

3. Why did Bilbo suddenly completely change his mind about going in the quest, what came over him? I love how he looks at the contract and his reaction but did you find it a bit over the top or unrealistic that he would have such a drastic change of heart?
-----That was one of my favourite scenes in AUJ. IMO, Bilbo awakens to his Dwarf-free house and is initially jubilant, until the solitude after the lively night before brings home the sterility of his existence and seeing the contract releases his pent up longing for adventure.

4. Did anyone find James Nesbitt annoying at all? I don't like how much dialogue and screen time they gave him, didn't care for him one bit. I'm not sure why.
-----Bofur was one of my favourites and I thought Nesbitt was great. He had more dialogue than most of the others because he was hired to be a featured player, along with Ken Stott as Balin. Both those actors were known in Britain, as was Aidan Turner to an extent. Most of the rest were New Zealanders and pretty much unknown outside that country. But PJ and company have a genius for casting that really enhances his movies.

5. Anyone think Thranduil was awesome? Was he the greatest Elvin king at the time or in the history of middle earth? I had always thought Lord Elrond was.
-----I thought that Thranduil was a beautiful jerk, just like Thorin. Both were great well written and well acted characters. I sometime wonder if super-cool Thranduil was designed to appeal to fan boys and Thorin to women, though the Elvenking has plenty of female fans. IMO Thranduil wasn't the greatest king: the Woodland Realm was pretty isolated and obscure, though Thranduil and Legolas were of a higher lineage than the Wood Elves they ruled. But Elrond, heir to the Elven High King and a descendant of Luthien, was definitely greater.

6. Balin says the gate of Erebor is sealed and that there is no way in, how did it get sealed? It didn't seem to be sealed when the Dwarves were all leaving after Smaug's attack.
-----I assumed that Smaug just sealed up the gate with rubble whenever he went down for a decades long nap, like locking the door. Certainly the Dwarves didn't stop to seal it as they fled. At the end of DOS, Smaug broke out through the front gate of Erebor, opening it up.

7. Is Bilbo supposed to be a bit fatter or was that just the Rankin Bass vision?
-----Hobbits are generally somewhat stocky, though individuals of the elite Hobbit sub-group that the Baggins family belonged to (also the Tooks and Brandybucks) were usually taller, slimmer and more adventurous.

8. Is Gandalf really that powerful/threatening? Why did the two men at the prancing pony hold back when he sat down with Thorin?
-----Possibly they knew that the tall man with the staff and sword was a wizard, or maybe they would take on a lone Dwarf but not more than that.

Why then was he referred to as "the great Elvin king?" Was he, for his time, a big deal?

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Well, first, I would say that Thorin was being a bit sarcastic when he called Thranduil by that phrase. But Thranduil was a big deal in that neck of the woods (so to speak). He was a Sinda Elf so he would have been counted among the Wise, though it doesn't seem as though he was ever a part of the White Council. It might be that his father Oropher had been a member of the Councils of the Wise opposing Sauron in the Second Age. Most of the Wood-elves were more like the East-elves who were generally more wild and less wise than the Eldar. Unlike the High Elves and the Sindar, the Wood-elves did not much work metal and so had weapons and armor inferior to the followers of Círdan the Shipwright in the Grey Havens and Elrond.

Thranduil being a sinda among Woodland Elves made him superior in the eyes of his people in a way that Galadriel or Elrond weren't among theirs, to the point that he could take the mantle of "king" where the other Elf rulers only went by "Lord" (or "Lady").

Was any of the dialogue from the opening prologue in the novel?

Bilbo: "The First they heard was a noise like a hurricane coming down from the North. The pines on the mountain creaked and cracked in the hot, dry wind."

Thorin: "The First we heard was a noise like a hurricane coming from the North, and the pine-trees on the Mountain creaking and cracking in the wind."

Bilbo: "For a dragon will guard his plunder as long as he lives."

Thorin: "And they guard their plunder as long as they live."

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"To the anvil!", answered Thorin.[..]The embers in the heart of Thorin grew hot again. As he brooded on the wrongs of his house, and the vengenance upon the dragon, that he had inherited. He thought of weapons and armies and alliances as his great hammer rang in his forge. But the armies were dispersed and the alliances broken, and the axes of his people were few. And a great anger without hope burned him as he smote the red iron on the anvil."

I love the camera work and introduction to Thranduil.

Don't know who penned it, but yes I thought it was both well-written and some great cinematography.