EXCLUSIVE: The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug: Premiere, Props, Sets, Review & Opening!

Article author, Jay West, sitting atop the Erebor Throne in the world famous TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre courtyard.

 

“I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led…”. Bilbo Baggins riddling the dragon Smaug in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Recently I’ve felt a bit like Bilbo Baggins himself — traversing the wonders of Middle Earth… by way of Los Angeles.

First going to the World Premiere of the new/second film of the three Hobbit film saga — The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Next venturing forth into a recreation of the Dwarven Kingdom of Erebor (Lonely Mountain – where the Dragon Smaug resides) on the historic TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre courtyard in Hollywood. Then going to a display of a collection of props, costumes, and other film used items from the The Lord of the Rings trilogy at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills. Traveling deeper into Middle Earth by way of the The Book of New Zealand/The Hobbit exhibit in Beverly Hills at The Beverly Hilton: which featured actual set rebuilds/elements from this new/second Hobbit film — also showcasing its filming locations in New Zealand. Ultimately coming full circle by going to the midnight opening of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug at the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre in Hollywood.

Click ahead to check out my journey — and for a spoiler free review of the film!

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On December 2nd, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug had its World Premiere in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre (where the Academy Awards are held). Hollywood Boulevard was fashioned with a black carpet adorned with trees resembling those seen in the the Mirkwood Forest sequence of the film — and several hundreds of fans lined the entire way: hoping to catch a glance of, photo with, or autograph from the film’s many cast and crew members in attendance, including director Peter Jackson. Click here to view a video replay of the arrivals.

The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug - Premiere and After Party Pics copy

All soon settled inside the Dolby Theatre — which is primarily utilized for live events, and can seat up to 3,401 persons. The film was projected onto an expansive screen that stretched across the entirety of the theatre’s stage (see my above photo of the theatre’s interior, taken just before the start of the movie — with the image of Azog the Defiler superimposed on the screen), and given that this was in the Dolby Theatre, it was naturally fitting that the cutting edge Dolby Atmos sound system be utilized: with speakers placed in all directions for completely immersive sound. Another technological bonus was seeing the film in the HFR (High Frame Rate) format — which features double the frame rate of standard film’s 24 frames per second: providing excellent clarity. As well, the film was presented in 3-D: definitely an ideal way to view Middle Earth’s incredible vistas and majestic imagery.

The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug Banner

Spoiler free review:

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ushers in a more complex and darker second act than the initial entry — with some brilliantly orchestrated action sequences throughout. The film spares little time retreading the exposition set forth in the first film, rather — it begins by ingeniously using elements from another of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works: Unfinished Tales — detailing an event which occurs just prior to The Hobbit — with the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) meeting Thorin, the Dwarf King (Richard Armitage) to discuss a quest to reclaim Erebor (Lonely Mountain) for the dwarves from the Dragon Smaug. Gandalf fears Smaug could be a tremendous danger if allied with the growing evil that is more and more evident in Middle Earth — and urges Thorin to reclaim his kingdom — something that Thorin has sought since Smaug took over, but lacked the necessary way to do so. Gandalf feels the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) would be a great asset to their quest, as Smaug would not readily recognize many aspects of a Hobbit’s presence — and suggests Bilbo would make for an excellent burglar to help reclaim the Arkenstone (“The King’s Jewel”) from Smaug.

 

From here we’re catapulted to where the first film ended — with Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and his fellow dwarves making their way closer to Ererbor — but before they can get there, there’s many obstacles and conflicts they must overcome. As this is a spoiler free review, I will keep the details sketchy — I will say this: director Peter Jackson is doing a phenomenal job fusing material from the original The Hobbit book, elements from Tolkien’s appendices, as well as creatively exploring and expounding upon both with his own artistic license in instances.

 

The addition of the character of Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), while controversial to some (as her character wasn’t a part of Tolkien’s original story), is certainly welcome — and her character feels completely organic to the story — the skill and strength she and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) display throughout certainly makes their characters thoroughly entertaining to watch. I also have to give a special nod to the dwarf Bombur (Stephen Hunter), whose character has some of the most creative (and hilarious) moments in the film. All of the cast is resoundingly excellent.

 

Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) is one of the best cinematic dragons to ever take flight on the screen: his massively sleek, serpentine aesthetic — matched with his booming, growling voice — makes for a terrific screen villain — and Weta Digital is to be commended for (yet again) bringing to life a fantasy creature in such a wondrous and believable fashion.

 

The entire film is visually stunning and striking to behold — and sets up the big climactic smackdown that’s going to go down in the last act/third Hobbit film, in spades.

 

Like the perennial, excellent second act reference that it is — Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back showed many how a great cliffhanger should end. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug also shares this trait — ending on a perfect cliffhanger note: so if you go into the film realizing that you’re building up to that — you’re as good as gold. Just don’t let Smaug know it…

 

Erebor - Chinese Theatre - 5 pics post

 
Immediately following the World Premiere and its aptly themed after party, I entered the Dwarven Kingdom of Erebor — faithfully recreated just yards away from the Dolby Theatre, on the historic courtyard of the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre in Hollywood. The set-up features two large Dwarf statues that “stand guard” as you pass through them to the riches beyond — faux piles of gold, swords, and other treasures are piled amongst pillars — and in the center, the throne of Thrain, the previous King of Erebor, the throne that his son Thorin is looking to reclaim as King… but the dragon Smaug has his claws tightly on it — making his own claim to be “King under the Mountain”. A nearby hi-definition monitor encased in a chest of “treasure” played a trailer for the new Hobbit film in an endless loop. The Erebor set-up will be at the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre courtyard through January 6th.

Julien's Auctions article collage - #1

Just as Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Dwarves came across a collection of swords hidden in a cave by trolls in their journey in The Hobbit — I too came across a collection of swords, along with axes, bows, costumes, and… rings: from the second largest (second only to Director Peter Jackson’s) collection of props, costumes, and production used elements from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy — located at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills.

Julien's Auctions Props - Collage #2

In Middle Earth, the Dark Lord Sauron, creator of the “one ring”, inscribed this on it: “One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them… One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them” — this echoed in my mind when viewing this exhibit — as it truly was Tolkien’s “creation” of the “one ring” that ultimately manifested this collection.

Julien's Auctions Props - Collage #3 copy

The items were auctioned the following day, December 5th — with such notable pieces as the sword “Sting”, used by Frodo (Elijah Wood), selling for $156,000 — Gimli the Dwarf’s (John Rhys-Davies) battle axe sold for $180,000 — and Sauron’s (Sala Baker) helmet sold for $41,000.

Book of New Zealand - collage #1

I ventured further into Middle Earth by visiting actual set elements used in the new Hobbit film: walking in the footsteps of Bilbo and the dwarves… through a massive, fifty foot “pop up book” set-up located in Beverly Hills at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on December 4th — via an exhibit entitled: The Book of New Zealand. I encountered the giant dwarf bust of Thror, approximately twenty feet in height, from Lonely Mountain — and the arrow riddled barrels used by the dwarves to escape the elves, and a plight of pursuing orcs, in a Mirkwood Forest river. I then entered the home of the giant bear/skin-changer Beorn, all the while feeling quite diminutive in size — and ultimately wound up in the all wooden construct of Laketown, which lies on Long Lake, in the shadow of Lonely Mountain. These settings were also reflective of filming locations in New Zealand:

Hidden Bay – Turoa, Ohakune
Forest River – Pelorus River Marlborough
Laketown – Lake Pukaki, Mt. Cook
Beorn’s House – Paradise, Queenstown

Book of New Zealand - collage #2Book of New Zealand - collage #3

Book of New Zealand - collage #5Book of New Zealand - collage #6

There and Back Again* – taking a cue from Tolkien’s subtitle for The Hobbit — these words could readily sum up this finale for my journey through Middle Earth. I returned for a second viewing of the The Desolation of Smaug at its midnight opening on December 12th at the TCL Chinese IMAX theatre in Hollywood. Like the premiere, the film here was also shown in HFR 3-D.

12/12/13 midnight opening of "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" at the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre in Hollywood -- where the film was shown in HFR 3-D. Some cosplayers who'd attended grouped together after the film: one picture is of them standing in front of the theatre -- in another, they're taking pictures of R2-D2's, C-3PO's, and Darth Vader's footprints in the historic courtyard.

The 932 seat theatre, the largest IMAX Theatre in the world, was near capacity — and the audience was certainly fun to watch the film with. Cheers and applause occurred throughout — and afterwards, many gathered in the lobby and in the historic courtyard outside to discuss the film. Screen used costumes from the film were also displayed in the theatre’s lobby — those worn by Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel), and Aiden Turner (Kili).

A Gandalf cosplayer sits upon the Erebor (Lonely Mountain) Throne in the courtyard of the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre in Hollywood -- after watching the midnight opening of "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" 0m 12/12/13. Note that the trailer for the film is playing in the background, displaying an image of Gandalf (Ian McKellen). Also depicted: screen used costumes from the film -- Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), Kili (Aiden Turner) displayed in the theatre's lobby.

Cosplayers were in attendance as well: including persons dressed as Gandalf the Wizard, the Dwarf King Thorin, the Ranger/King Aragorn, and a bevy of Hobbits and Elves — in one of my above pictures, some grouped together at the entrance of the theatre — in another, they’re taking pictures of R2-D2’s, C-3PO’s, and Darth Vader’s footprints in the historic courtyard. The Gandalf cosplayer also sat on the Erebor (Lonely Mountain) Throne in the courtyard (seen above): an image of Gandalf (Ian McKellen) appeared from the film’s trailer at that moment… via the trailer playing just a few feet behind — perhaps a bit of wizardry was afoot…

It’s fitting and serendipitous to have the film shown in the newly renovated, classic TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre — as a massive dragon adorns the tower just above the entrance — Smaug would be pleased…

Navaer… 

– Jay West

* This will also be the title of the third and final Hobbit film, which will be released in December 2014.

 

 

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3 Responses to “EXCLUSIVE: The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug: Premiere, Props, Sets, Review & Opening!”

  1. R. Williams says:

    Excellent article, this was very comprehensive. Reading it, I felt like I went on this journey with you!

  2. Dave says:

    Great article and photos. Thanks for sharing.

  3. Alex says:

    Very cool!

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