Thoughts on an Opening and a Closing for The Hobbit

[ArathornJax]

Just thought I'd share an opening and a closing that I might like to see for The Hobbit. I've been reading again (been awhile) Wayne Hammond's and Christina Schull's J.R.R. Tolkien Artist and Illustrator. In the picture The hill : hobbiton-across-the Water they make the following comment on the image. Basically they say that the bridge (white, bottom left side) is the most significant feature in the drawing because not only is it the way the Bilbo leaves his "comfortable circumscribed world" and goes out "unto the road of adventure" it is also the symbolic bridge between our own world and the world of The Hobbit. It is the invitation for us to "enter the picture and the story."
I would love to see a similar angle filmed in the movie that connects the movie to the picture. What that would be I will have to think about and perhaps others can share their thoughts on this or on their own wishes for the opening of the film.

For the closing scene I would like a connection made between the picture The Hall at Bag-End, Residence of B. Baggins Esquire for this reason. In their book again, Hammond and Schull make the note that the picture shows that Bilbo has returned home, is comfortable again as shown by his waistline and is safe. However, the door is open and outside is the lane that according to Bilbo, goes "ever, ever on." Indeed as the authors point out, less than a year after this drawing is made Bilbo does go out the door again and into the East again when Tolkien started writing the LOTR. I just think the symbolism would be very cool and unlike Sam in ROTK who shuts his hobbit door to let us know the trilogy is over, Bilbo having his door open would let us know that the story will continue making a nice link to Film 2 or to FOTR.

Those are some thoughts on what I might want to see for an opening and an ending for The Hobbit, and I know they will probably be nothing like what happens and that is ok. What are your thoughts on my thoughts and what thoughts do you have for what you might want to see for the opening and closing of The Hobbit film?

 

[merklynn]

Seriously, those are some great visual narrative links. I hope something like this is done as it provides the perfect beginning, and the perfect open ended conclusion for the cinematography. I think you just found the perfect dust jacket for the movie.

 

[LordotRings93]

Maybe for the opening, we can follow the camera from the Bywater bridge all the way up to Bag End. Then some narration, and then shows Bilbo.

For a closing, I'd like it to be like in the book, but maybe a few seconds longer. Gandalf comes back to see Bilbo after the journey and they share a chat, then Gandalf leaves, Bilbo turns towards the camera, smiles. Then it pans down to his hand, which we see the One Ring sitting there. The hand closes and the titles roll (maybe when Bilbo closes his hand, the Eye can flash at us, or maybe Gollum saying "Precioussss".)

Just my ideas. Yours are brilliant, though!

 

[Laura&Carlos]

I think your ideas are interesting and have merit.

My own thoughts about an opening and closing that tie the new films to the trilogy ran in a different direction. Since Sam is the final author of the Red Book, why not bookend the film(s) with him narrating the story in flashback, or at least have him appear (for narration/flashback purposes) at the beginning of The Hobbit, if not the end. Borrowing a page from Tolkien's Epilogues*, it's likely that Sam would have read The Hobbit portion of the story to his children along with the stories contemporary with the trilogy.

Since Sam is in the final scene of ROTK, in a sense he could be seen as bookending that film's ending.

* The text of Tolkien's unpublished Epilogues from HOME can be found here: http://www.freewebs.com/memoirsoftheshire/epilogue.htm