You can learn as much from failures in the work of filmmaking as you can from success. With that in mind, I have always approached The Hobbit trilogy with a sense of dread. I will admit, I have never actually sat and watched it all. From the moment I started watching the first film in the series, something felt off. There didn’t seem to be a coherent story line. There were moments that were interesting, but overall I just didn’t care what I was watching. But to be honest, I never really gave it much thought. I figured…ok, this is something for true fans. Not someone like me, who only marginally liked Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
On a side note, I remember the controversy over filming in 48 frames per second. For those who don’t know what that means, in general film has always been shot at 24 frames per second and it gives you that kind of strobe effect that effectively makes a film look like film. On the other hand, television video, like the news, is typically shot at 30 frames per second, giving you that video feel. Back in 90’s, when I was a young wannabe filmmaker, we only had shitty video cameras that would shoot 30 fps. And there were all sorts of hacks that we would use to make our videos look like 24 fps. So the idea of a higher frames per second was somewhat idiotic. People walked out of the theater complaining that the film didn’t feel like a film. And, of course, all of us…from the past….sat their shaking our heads. Of course. Film is 24 fps…anything else looks like a fucking home video.
Ok, so moving on. I want to share this amazing 3 part video with you all. From someone who really digs deep into the goings on of The Hobbit and how it became one of the biggest flops in movie history.
