Two New Images of Bilbo and Gandalf from Empire magazine.

This sounds good I love that the Dwarves walk about the set like they own the place as I have been worried about all the LOR characters who are returning whether they are in the hobbit or not. This is Bilbo and the Dwarves story after all.

I'm just waiting for Dr Death to get upset about the "excotic dwarf "quote [;)][evil]
 
the dwarves are going to be "sneered at" by the Elves of Rivendell upon arrival? I suppose they're going to emphasize the poor Elf/Dwarf relations all the way through..first at Rivendell, then when they are imprisoned by the Elves of Mirkwood, and the Bof5A and carrying right on into LOTR with Legolas/Gimli. Not surprising really, but I guess this means that either there will be no "Tra-la-la-lally" or it will have a definite "neener neener" quality to it.
 
When they arrived at Rivendell, IIRC the elves did mock them for their long beards and say that Bilbo should stay outside with them rather than continuing into the Homely House with the dull dwarves.

Sounds a lot like sneering to me - with a bit more laughter and less curled lip.
 
Can't wait to get the full story! Indeed this may very well be a "good-luck charm" of sorts to have Empire once again feature The Hobbit. Ian looks spectacular on the cover, properly grungy and dirty, and always smoking. He's The Dude of Middle-Earth.
 
'Exotic' isn't exactly a dirty word, in fact i would think the dwarves should look a bit 'exotic' within the middle-english surroundings of the Shire, and in the refined world of Rivendell they would look even more out of place. Just so long as it isn't kind of 'greasy italian waiter' exotic[laugh].

From what little we get from those comments i'm very much encouraged by PJ's comments about the tone of it- he seems to have 'updated' or at least made the nature of the tonal shift a bit more mature than some toothless infantilism. You can kind of imagine that rather than the grandiose and reverential entrances of the participants in the Council of Elrond, Thorin and company would be bundled into the back entrance as a kind of embarrassment. PJ mentioned that we'll be seeing parts of Rivendell that we haven't before, and if he means that in the sense of the House of Elrond then i notice on the miniature from LotR that there's a rather spacious, low domed type of gazebo that might serve well as accommodation for the dwarves. The mention in this article too of them having a 'healthy disregard for the icons of Middle-earth' coupled with PJ's 'old friend' in the first production video suggests we're likely to see a bit of a reprise of the Boromir/Aragorn moment from Fellowship of the Ring over the Shards of Narsil- i imagine something along the lines of Thorin taking a similar tour round the gallery and when faced with the mural of mankind's finest moment snorting in derision in the kind of 'You call that heroic? Piece of piss' fashion while rolling his eyes. They could go as far as having Thorin use one of the shards to pick a fingernail or trim a bit of hair that's annoying him but that would probably be a bit more than i'd like and be kind of bordering on the sacrilegious.

Of course all of this is pure speculation but it's the kind of direction PJ could go in reconciling the lightness of The Hobbit with the more adult developed Middle-earth of LotR.

Dr Death
 
in the book is mockery. At least, that's how it's always come across to me.
"Well, well!” said a voice. "Just look! Bilbo the hobbit on a pony, my dear! Isn’t it delicious!" ... Then off they went into another song as ridiculous as the one I have written down in full.
​
If that's not sneering and mockery, I don't know what is! (It's rather precious, Oxford-tinged mockery, I admit. There are a couple of great examples of this in the early Oxford-set episodes of Brideshead Revisited - the novel and the TV adaptation at any rate, I can't remember whether they make it into the recent movie. I'm far from sure that Jackson will keep quite that tone, but I think he's picked up on something important and I'll be looking forward to seeing what he does with it.)
 
I have no idea what they'll do in the film with it, but man, that song is grating—they are definitely mocking them. I think it was the Tolkien Professor who pointed out that Bilbo and the dwarves are in pretty bad condition while the elves are content to poke fun at them.
 
“The tone is actually the part of it I’m enjoying the most,” he laughs, casting a fond eye upon his rabble of exotic dwarves, clattering about set like they own the place. “They have a healthy disregard for the icons of Middle-earth.

Isn´t Peter stating that he will introduce a more lither tone than LOTR? I just hope we don´t get too much dwarven comic relief.

About the pictures... I have to say once again: Bilbo looks too young, I wish Martin Freeman could blend a little better with the looks of Ian Holm as Bilbo. Regarding Gandalf I can´t see where he looks any younger than before, he seems even ragged and dirty...
 
The MORE innocent and somewhat childish and confused Bilbo is at the First, then his Growing up and becoming a true Brave Burgler is exactly Right. I expect that it will be very funny in BagEnd, and with each adventure we will see his Maturity growing....until he is pretty Wise to the Ways of MiddleEarth!
by the End of H2. Along with him we see all of....the Seriousness of the Events happening in this Third Age.

Just as "We grew into the Adulthood?" when we read it the first time.

Eventually when we get to see all 5 Movies in a row, on Bly-ray down the Long road, the Over-all ARC of Development of the 5 will make perfect sense!

(Then we all can Sail into the West, knowing PJ&CO did his best, to please the Professor...JRRT would be proud of them!) xoxoxOB
 
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I think it looks like they are really playing up the grizzled and crustiness of Gandalf, which doesn't help him look younger.. I would have thought he could take somewhat better care of himself than that! Anyway, the only cue to him being younger is his hair being darker grey. In FOTR his hair was more silver.
Not that Ian McKellan can help aging a bit in the last decade.
Also it kind of works with the story, in that he is shown as looking pretty old, and then after the balrog fight and rebirth, he looks younger and fitter. Gandalf has a vague ageless quality.
 
I know Empire is a British magazine, but I don't know how they handle overseas publishing—I mean, I've obviously seen them in US stores, but I'm wondering if there might not be a delay in it coming over here. An American on tumblr mentioned that her local newsstand doesn't get them until a month later, which means August for US Ringers.

In conclusion, British Ringers, we await your scans. :)
 
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