Fans of Middle Earth are counting down to December 14.
True, there’s been some controversy about veteran Hollywood director Peter Jackson shooting The Hobbit at 48 frames per second which may become the norm soon especially in a hi-def / 3D world, but the fans and geeks who actually pay to go see the movie will always be the final judge whether it’s ultimately going to work or not.
So 12 minutes of footage were screened at Comic-Con 2012 in San Diego, with Jackson, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and Andy Serkis on hand to rap with the fans. As The Washington Post reported, the footage included a confrontation between Bilbo Baggins and Gollum, a scene with Gandalf and Galadriel, and the scene where Baggins finds the precious ring.
Interestingly enough, Jackson showed his footage at 24 frames per second at Comic Con, telling the audience that the best way to see a film at 48 frames per second is to watch the whole thing instead of bits and pieces. (And as we’ve reported here previously, you’ll be able to see it at both 24 and 48 frames at the theaters).
As far as reaction to the footage, The Hollywood Reporter told us the audience was “enraptured” by the footage. And the crowd not only received fan favorite Peter Jackson as their nerd king, but also gave standing ovations to Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood.
Now just to remind everyone, unless something really sucks, the geeks are usually very accepting at events like this, especially when someone they admire is there in person, so without seeing the 12 minutes of footage ourselves, you have to try and take all this stuff with a grain of salt.
Yet if this footage did in fact really suck, there would be some kind of outrage or revolt, because the geeks usually don’t hold back from telling it like it is. The real final test, when the movie’s out in the world, isn’t that far away now, so we’ll know for certain soon enough. (Hell, The Dark Knight Rises will probably be on Blu-Ray and DVD by then, and we’ll know for certain whether it delivers or not within days).
