Does Martin Freeman hate Lord of the Rings?

Q

QuackingTroll

Valinor
In the comments on AICN (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/53971) Someone mentions Freeman hating Lord of the Rings...

I seem to remember a Ricky Gervais podcast were Ricky and Merchant are moaning about the films being everywhere and on everything at the moment, how much they hate them and how nerdy and geeky they are. This was back in The Office days of course and I'm sure he says that Freeman couldn't stand them either.

I hope someone from AICN asks him about this when the interviews start closer to release.
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I tried having a little search for this, because it does sound familiar to me, but only found little hints.

Here, Gervais and Merchant talk about how much they hate LotR, but I don't hear them mention Freeman: http://youtu.be/K1_oX5AccXk

And again here: http://youtu.be/MvxHr6GOcLo

I know that Freeman and Gervais don't really get on or agree with much, so maybe this comment was wrong. But if anyone has any info that would be great!

On a less related, but really funny note, here's McKellen and Gervais on Extras: http://youtu.be/nyoWmkhRyp8
 
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anything Gervais says as poignant. He's not known for his warm/fuzzie appreciation of things... so his comments and ranting don't mean much to me. I couldn't listen to him going on and on in your links. It's his trademark to be snotty about things and his negative noise isn't something I need rattling around in what left of my feeble mind ;)

As for one person's comment saying Freeman doesn't like LotR without anything to back it up... that doesn't hold any water, imho, either. Freeman's excitement and praise for Jackson/Tolkien is quoted, documented, and palpable. Of course he'd be excited to work on such a popular franchise, but I've never heard of him being so terse and cruel as Gervais about the topic... let alone negative at all. Maybe, like many, he could have commented on them being so long ;) Some would run with that, fersher!

So go with what we know, and let Gervais stay home and watch CNN when The Hobbit films come out. I'd hate to see the poor boy suffer. AND I wouldn't want him sitting next to me in the theatre, anyway ;) *throws popcorn at RG*
 
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is the actor playing Bilbo in Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Hobbit (currently filming and set to be released in two parts with the first out this December).

Ricky Gervais was, I believe, one of his co-stars in the British version of The Office.
 
Spoiler free.

.. And intend to remain so until I sit in the theatre on
whatever it is...

Dec 19?

[cool]

but, even then, I wouldn't know Martin Freeman from, Orlando Bloom ~ ten years ago.....

In other words. I could not care less who's filling the costumes. I'm not very celebrity savvy or interested in that sorta thing.

In JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth I trust. [laugh]
 
I wasn't going to take some 'movies first' name...

like 'I love PJ'.

After reading the books for 25 years before the movies came out.

Even if it was something witty like Legolamb..... [;)]

Although I am Obi-GYN Kenobi on a Star Wars site. [cool]
 
But writer and director of the series and now a producer of a lot of UK series (mainly staring himself, he's rather egotistical) and a stand-up comedian. Anyone from the UK knows him immediately, so I didn't think to explain that, sorry.
 
Do you think expectations are different for The Hobbit than TLOR considering the difference of material?

Meaning TLOR was much more serious, whereas The Hobbit was/is a 'children's book' that certainly will be given a more serious side to make it a more appealing to the general film audience?

I mean, it can hardly be treated like the 1977 cartoon ~ although that was the first I every heard of JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit or Middle-earth myself....

And the rest was history.
[:)]
 
are to have these Hobbit films be as good as Lord of the Rings... at least on my part... since there's been so much emphasis on having the 2 journeys flow into one long story. Rings set the bar as far as how Middle-earth looks, how baddies behave/look, etc. But there are new elements to make Hobbit stand out, fersher!

While TH is marketed and referred to as a children's story, I think it's more than that. It starts out light and geared for a younger audience because Tolkien used to tell this story to his kids.. but it really does turn more serious by the time the Company is captured by the Trolls and is deadly serious by the time they reach the Mountain and encounter Smaug. The Battle of Five Armies is not for a young audience, imho.

All that said, I don't think they'll have trouble with melding the 2 stories and 5 films together. There's more comedy at the beginning of TH (my assumption from conversations/comments by Peter, etc.), but that's very appropriate! I like the idea of the 5-film series starting out with more whimsy since so much of it is serious stuff.
 
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