“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…” and so starts not only the beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous ‘The Hobbit’ book but also the beginning of the first TV spot of Peter Jackson’s adaptation, ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”
The TV spot is a sight to behold for any ‘Hobbit’/’Lord of the Rings’ fan as it has footage not seen in the trailers that have already been released. Not only do we see Gandalf encourage Bilbo Baggins to leave Bag End, there are also trolls, dwarves, Gollum, sword fights and the beautiful imagery of Middle Earth.
Along with the TV spot, Empire Magazine will be releasing five 3D lenticular covers for their ultimate ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ issue which will be on the shelves October 25th. The covers include Martin Freeman as Bilbo, Ian McKellan as Gandalf, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield and, of course, Gollum. Unfortunately, we only have the 2D version of the covers to show, so if you want to see it in all its 3D glory, you will have to get the magazine.
Those who have seen ‘Lord of the Rings’ know that Jackson’s films tend to run at tad longer than your average movie showing. Empire was able to ask Jackson about the running time for ‘The Hobbit’ and surprisingly, it’s shorter than expected. “It’s looking like it’s going to be about ten minutes shorter than Fellowship was,” says Jackson. “So it’s going to be officially our shortest Middle-earth yet. I mean, Fellowship was just under three hours and this is about 2 hours 40 minutes at the moment.” If the “short” running time has got you a little down, don’t forget that Warner Bros. has already announced that there will be an extended version of the movie when it is released on Blu-ray next year.
So get ready to settle in your theater seat when ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ comes out on December 14th!
‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ TV Spot:
Empire Magazine Covers:
