If we really are getting #ReleaseTheSnyderCut and #ReleaseTheAyerCut - two auteur filmmakers working at the top of their game whose franchise films were altered beyond recognition by Warner Bros studio execs - then we need to have a frank conversation about THE HOBBIT.
Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT was probably the first tentpole that WB studio execs meddled in to ruin. Everything you hate about the film is from studio notes. When they got away with it on The Hobbit, #JusticeLeague and #SuicideSquard were next. Execs drunk with power.
There was no love triangle in The Hobbit script at any stage. Studio execs forced reshoots to include it. Director Peter Jackson fought against it as did star Evangeline Lilly. She was furious they did something new to her character that she didn't sign up for. And she was right
Fans reacted accordingly. The love triangle is just one of many things added during reshoots - per studio notes - that gave us the Hobbit trilogy as it currently exists. It's so antithetical to Tolkien that fans were offended. Whatever DC Comics fans have felt recently, WE GET IT
WB execs damaged The Hobbit long before reshoots. Guillermo del Toro's story hasn't been told yet. It's still the most painful loss of his career. He was so committed to The Hobbit he moved his family to another country, including his school-age kids. His passion was unmatched.
This wasn’t “turnaround hell.” GDT and Weta Workshop artists labored for 3 YEARS to develop the entire world and characters, then to not have the full confidence of WB studio to complete his vision is a curse in Entish. Then they did it again with Zack Snyder!!
A saving grace that Peter Jackson got, versus Snyder & Ayers, was The Appendices showing development of the film. Fan reaction turned from anger to empathy when PJ's stress was on full display behind the scenes. DC fans only got cryptic tweets from directors.
The Hobbit changed in the edit room. It had a fun script, an incredibly funny cast (with more comedians than a Judd Apatow film), over the top MoCap from Cumberbatch and Dame Edna, and was shot for laughs by Andrew Lesnie... then edited as an action film with no comedic pacing.
Comedies and children’s books don’t make a billion dollars. 3D films are the future!
- some studio exec, probably.
- some studio exec, probably.
It's obvious Peter Jackson lost control to the studio after the first hour of the The Hobbit. The entire bag end sequence is perfect and true to Tolkien. There's 2 songs! And they work in context of a tentpole film! He was fighting so many battles just to complete the work.
Battle of the Five Armies was a warning sign to the entire DC film universe that the studio execs knew the control they wielded and had no problem flexing. We're very happy for @ZackSnyder and hopefully @DavidAyerMovies getting their films back.
There isn't another cut inside of Peter Jackson. He's exhausted. The Hobbit still made a billion dollars three times. Ringer fans will not get his complete vision, and more regretfully will never get Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece. But we have so much to be thankful for already
If there's anything Amazon @LOTRonPrime can learn from all this is Middle-earth is different. You need a creative team at the top of their game with an undying passion for Tolkien's writings. You need strong producers on both sides of the table to protect the creatives & source.
PS. The Hobbit trilogy is a fun series! You don’t make a billion dollars with a bad film! But choices were made that impacted the core themes of Tolkien and flabbergasted the core audience. Many LOTR die hards saw it and forgot it, not even giving the Extended Editions a watch 🤕
TRUST THE PEOPLE YOU HIRE. New Line Cinema did it best before WB dismantled it.
