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The Hobbit (film series) - Wikipedia. This article is about the film franchise released between 2. For other films based on The Hobbit, see Middle- earth in film.

The Hobbit is a film series consisting of three high fantasyadventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the 1. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, with large portions of the trilogy inspired by the appendices to The Return of the King, which expand on the story told in The Hobbit, as well as new material and characters written especially for the films. Together they act as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2.

The Desolation of Smaug (2. The Battle of the Five Armies (2. The screenplay was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, who was originally chosen to direct before his departure from the project. The films take place in the fictional world of Middle- earth sixty years before the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, and follow hobbit. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is convinced by the wizard. Gandalf the Grey (Ian Mc. Kellen) to accompany thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon.

Many articles and online tracts promoting the KJV and arguing against the use of modern versions.

Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The films also expand upon certain elements from the novel and other source material, such as Gandalf's investigation at Dol Guldur, and the pursuit of Azog and Bolg, who seek vengeance against Thorin and his ancestors. The films feature an ensemble cast that also includes James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace and Luke Evans, with several actors reprising their roles from The Lord of the Rings, including Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis. The films also feature Manu Bennett, Sylvester Mc. Coy, Stephen Fry, Mikael Persbrandt, Barry Humphries, and Lawrence Makoare. Also returning for production, among others, were illustrators John Howe and Alan Lee, art director Dan Hennah, cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, and composer Howard Shore, while props were again crafted by Weta Workshop, with visual effects managed by Weta Digital. The first film in the series premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand on 2.

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November 2. 01. 2. One hundred thousand people lined the red carpet on Courtenay Place, and the entire event was broadcast live on television in New Zealand and streamed over the Internet. The second film of the series premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on 2 December 2. The third and final film premiered at Leicester Square in London on 1 December 2. The series was a major financial success, with the films classified as one of the highest- grossing film series of all time, going on to outgross The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Although critically considered to be inferior to The Lord of the Rings, it was nominated for various awards and won several, though not as many as its predecessor.[6][7][8]Development[edit]First stages of development[edit]Jackson and Walsh originally expressed interest in filming The Hobbit in 1. The Lord of the Rings). Frustration arose when Jackson's producer, Harvey Weinstein, discovered that Saul Zaentz had production rights to The Hobbit, but that distribution rights still belonged to United Artists (which had kept those rights, believing that filmmakers would prefer to adapt The Hobbit rather than The Lord of the Rings).[1.

The United Artists studio and its parent corporation Metro- Goldwyn- Mayer was for sale in 2. Weinstein's attempts to buy the movie rights from the studio were unsuccessful. Weinstein asked Jackson to press on with adapting The Lord of the Rings. Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings was produced by New Line Cinema, not the Weinsteins, and their rights to film The Hobbit were set to expire in 2. In September 2. 00. Metro- Goldwyn- Mayer expressed interest in teaming up with New Line and Jackson to make The Hobbit.[1. In March 2. 00. 5, Jackson launched a lawsuit against New Line, claiming he had lost revenue from merchandising, video and computer games releases associated with The Fellowship of the Ring.[1.

He did not seek a specific settlement, but requested an audit to see whether New Line had withheld money owed him.[1. Although Jackson wanted it settled before he would make the film,[1. New Line would still let him make The Hobbit.[1. New Line co- founder Robert Shaye was annoyed with the lawsuit and said in January 2. Jackson would never again direct a film for New Line, accusing him of being greedy.[1. MGM boss Harry Sloan halted development, as he wanted Jackson to be involved.[1. By August, after a string of flops, Shaye tried to repair his relationship with the director.

He said, "I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit."[1. The following month, New Line was fined $1. On 1. 6 December 2. New Line and MGM announced that Jackson would be executive producer of The Hobbit and its sequel.

The two studios would co- finance the film and the latter studio (via 2. Century Fox) would distribute the film outside North America—New Line's first ever such deal with another major studio.[1. Each film's budget was estimated at US$1. US$9. 4 million budget for each of the films in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. After completion of the merger of New Line Cinema with Warner Bros.

February 2. 00. 8, the two parts were announced as scheduled for release in December 2. Producer Mark Ordesky, the executive producer of The Lord of the Rings, planned to return to supervise the prequels.[2. Jackson explained he chose not to direct because it would have been unsatisfying to compete with his previous films.[2. In February 2. 00.

Tolkien Estate (through The Tolkien Trust, a British charity) and Harper. Collins Publishers filed a suit against New Line for breach of contract and fraud and demanded $2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The suit claimed New Line had only paid the Estate an upfront fee of $6. The suit claimed the Estate was entitled to 7. Tolkien films, as established by prior deals.

The suit also sought to block the filming of The Hobbit. The suit was settled in September 2. However the Tolkien Trust's 2. New Line Cinema of £2.

US$3. 8 million). This amount was the Trust's estimated share in respect of the gross profit participation due for the films based on "The Lord of the Rings".[2.

Christopher Tolkien said: "The trustees regret that legal action was necessary but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed film of The Hobbit."[2.

Development with del Toro[edit]Guillermo del Toro was originally set to direct the film, but left because of ongoing delays. Jackson stated that del Toro's "creative DNA" would remain in the scripts and designs. Despite the legal suits, development proceeded and in April 2. Guillermo del Toro was hired to direct the film. Del Toro has said he was a fan of Jackson's trilogy and had discussed directing a film adaptation of Halo with him in 2. Though that project stalled, they kept in contact.[2. In a 2. 00. 6 interview, del Toro was quoted saying "I don't like little guys and dragons, hairy feet, hobbits, [..] I don't like sword and sorcery, I hate all that stuff".[2.

After he signed on to direct in April 2. Del Toro posted on The.

One. Ring. net forums that he had been enchanted by The Hobbit as a child, but found that Tolkien's other books "contain[ed] geography and genealogy too complex for my prepubescent brain". In taking the job of director, del Toro was now "reading like a madman to catch up with a whole new land, a continent of sorts—a cosmology created by brilliant philologist turned Shaman".

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late- night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2. January 2. 2, 2. 01.

NBC's long- running Tonight Show franchise. O'Brien previously hosted NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which followed The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 1. Leno. Many members of the Late Night cast and crew made the transition to The Tonight Show. The Max Weinberg 7, the house band from O'Brien's Late Night, served as the house band under the new name, Max Weinberg and The Tonight Show Band.

Andy Richter returned to the show as announcer, and also began resuming his role as sidekick, shortly before the show's conclusion. The opening and closing theme song from Late Night was also carried over to Tonight, in a slightly altered form. In January 2. 01. Watch Paradise Online. NBC was intending to move.

Jay Leno from primetime back to his original timeslot at 1. O'Brien's show starting shortly after midnight. In response to the announcement, O'Brien released a press statement saying that he would not continue as host of The Tonight Show if it was moved to any time after midnight to accommodate The Jay Leno Show. He feared it would ruin the long and rich tradition of The Tonight Show, which had been on after the late local newscasts from the beginning. After two weeks of negotiations, NBC announced that they had paid $4. O'Brien's contract, ending both his tenure as host as well as his relationship with NBC after 2. Conan O'Brien's final Tonight Show was broadcast on January 2.

Jay Leno officially resuming his role as host on March 1, 2. Winter Olympics. It later received four Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series, the first time The Tonight Show received a nomination for this particular award after 2.

At only 1. 46 episodes (1. The Tonight Show. The show followed the established six- piece format used previous hosts Jay Leno and Johnny Carson, as well as elements established by O'Brien during his tenure on Late Night. The first segment included a monologue by O'Brien, sometimes accompanied by altered news clips, or several brief comedy sketches.

Most episodes also included a second segment, immediately after the monologue, with a full comedy sketch. An interview with either one or two guests followed, as well as a musical or comedy performance. After the last performance segment, O'Brien walks on camera to thank the performers, and bids farewell to the audience, before recommending watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. For the first six shows, the credits ran in the right half of a split screen, a former NBC standard that Late Night continued to use long after the network abandoned it. After episode seven, NBC's current practice of running credits at the bottom third of the screen was employed.[citation needed] The Conaco and Universal Media Studios production tags are then shown in full- screen. Sketches and comedy bits[edit]New sketches included O'Brien posing for the paparazzi, known as "Conan's Tabloid Moment", and "Twitter Tracker", where an excited announcer reads mundane "tweets" by celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus, and Dennis Haysbert.

Sketches from Late Night reintroduced include "In the Year 2. Watch The Others Online The Others Full Movie Online. In the Year 3. 00. Richter once again assisting Conan on the sketch, and "Celebrity Surveys".

Popular Late Night character Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog appeared on Tonight for the first time on June 1. Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee.

Another favorite character from Conan's old show, the Masturbating Bear, was also reintroduced on January 2. Conan's third- to- last show.[4] O'Brien originally retired the Masturbating Bear at the end of his Late Night run due to concerns about its inappropriateness in the 1. Late Night character The Interrupter made his first appearance on The Tonight Show on September 3, 2. Musical/comedy guests[edit]As is the format on other late night talk shows, the last segment typically featured a performance by either a musical guest or a stand- up comedian, preceding the closing credits to the show. An avid guitar player, O'Brien has been given many guitars as gifts from several musical guests and on occasion, featured himself on acoustic guitar in a comedy sketch. He also played electric guitar during the final episode's cover performance of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird".

Production[edit]The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien originated from Stage 1 at Universal Studios in Universal City, California, a stage that was specifically built and constructed for O'Brien's version of The Tonight Show.[2] The studio was previously used for Jack Benny'stelevision show. This was the first time since before May 1. Johnny Carson served as host, that the show was not shot in Burbank, California. As with a majority of television shows produced and broadcast by NBC Universal, the show was shot in 1. O'Brien's entire tenure on the show was the first version of The Tonight Show to be recorded, taped, and broadcast exclusively in high definition. Unlike Leno's Tonight Show, the studio audience was several feet removed from the stage, in a similar fashion to Carson's original set. Leno retained Carson's original configuration (and set design) until he changed studios in 1.

The stage layout was opposite of the structure used on Late Night. Where Studio 6. A was arranged with the house band on the far left, followed by the performance area and then the interview set, the house band was moved to the right of the performance stage on Tonight, with the interview set now on the far left. From 2. 01. 2 until 2.

Stage 1 was the home of Chelsea Lately, which aired on E!, a channel owned by NBCUniversal.[6]History[edit]In a high profile announcement by NBC on September 2. Conan O'Brien would take over as host of The Tonight Show in 2. Jay Leno, ending a seventeen- year run by Leno. This was accompanied by reports that Jay Leno had told Jeff Zucker, the President of NBC Entertainment, News & Cable Group, of his plans to retire that same year.[7] Leno immediately explained on his show the following night that in having Conan take over the show, and announcing it years before the transition would take place, that he wanted to avoid the hardship that he had experienced in the dispute over retiring Johnny Carson's hosting duties between him and David Letterman in 1. Further commenting about the announcement, Leno made it clear that Conan was "certainly the most deserving person for the job." However, in 2. Leno was beginning to bring his show to a close, it was announced that Leno had changed his mind about retiring and would instead host a new prime- time variety show on NBC.

The Jay Leno Show aired weeknights at 1. September 1. 4, 2. February 9, 2. 01. The first show[edit]The guests for Conan O'Brien's first week as host were announced on May 2. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien including actor and comedian Will Ferrell, in addition to a musical performance of the song "Got Some" by guest Pearl Jam.[9]Will Ferrell was O'Brien's first and last guest during the show's run.

The show's opening began with a nod to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,[1. Laramie Peacock" logo used during the 1. NBC", a slogan that would be readopted by NBC soon after. In the cold open, O'Brien was shown preparing to host his first episode of The Tonight Show, going over a list of things that needed to be done, but realizing he was still in New York and had forgotten to move to Los Angeles.

After trying, and failing, to catch a taxi cab, Conan ran across the country through such places as Amish Country, Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the Teton Range, Las Vegas and the deserts of Arizona before arriving at Universal Studios Hollywood to host the show. Upon arrival, Conan realized he left the keys to the new studio in New York and then drove a bulldozer through the door and wall of the studio to get in.

The Cheap Trick song "Surrender" was played over this sketch.