BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Martin Freeman OWNS the role of Bilbo...

**Posted by Fetchinketch** July 15, 2012 2:20 am

Love this quote:

Bilbo smiles, sadly — Freeman really nails the weird mixture of emotions in this scene. "I was going to tell you." He reaches for the ring in his pocket. "I found something in the Goblin tunnels."

http://io9.com/5926047/martin-freeman-owns-the-role-of-bilbo-in-first-hobbit-footage

**Posted by sherlockskitty** July 17, 2012 5:23 am

I can't wait to see this movie. this makes me wanna see it MORE. I hate to ask but was Marin in the LOTR movies?

Last edited by sherlockskitty (July 17, 2012 5:23 am)

**Posted by KeepersPrice** July 17, 2012 11:10 am

"Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," says one dwarf. A dragon is a "furnace with wings. Flash of light, searing pain, then you're nothing more than a pile of ash."

Bilbo seems fine for a second, then he faints.

Sort of sounds like Sherlock when he turns his eyes and intellect full force on you.
Oh wait, Smaug is Sherlock! LOL.

**Posted by Fetchinketch** July 17, 2012 2:19 pm

No, Martin was not in LOTR.

**Posted by sherlockskitty** July 17, 2012 7:22 pm

I thot so. thank you!!

YES!!! I am so glad that they've filmed these movies back to back. And Smaug is Ben's voice-- I can't wait to "hear" their dialogues side by side. Hurry up an release these movies already!! When will the first come out again? this year?

Last edited by sherlockskitty (July 17, 2012 7:24 pm)

**Posted by Carol the Dabbler** July 25, 2012 2:18 am

The first Hobbit movie will be in theaters on December 14, and the second one about a year later. (There is also talk of a possible third (!) Hobbit movie.)

Jackson & crew were originally planning to film The Hobbit before LotR (logically enough, since the story occurs 60 years earlier), but they ran into a legal snag and finally decided to do LotR first. If they had not hit that snag, they would have begun filming The Hobbit in the late 90's, and whoever was cast as Bilbo would have played that role in all of the films. Martin Freeman was then in his late 20's, far too young to be Bilbo (who is about 50 in the book), and relatively unknown even in the UK. Possibly Ian Holm would have played the part, as he did so well in LotR, but he was approaching age 70, and Bilbo's role in The Hobbit is much more physical than in LotR. So who knows?

Last edited by Carol the Dabbler (July 25, 2012 2:25 am)

**Posted by hepzibah** July 26, 2012 12:07 pm

Martin is on the cover of the September edition of Empire Magazine

http://cumberbatchweb.tumblr.com/post/28017377725/fuckyeahmartinfreeman-martins-on-the-cover-of

Last edited by hepzibah (July 26, 2012 12:08 pm)

**Posted by JaneCo** July 26, 2012 2:38 pm

Thanks for posting hepzibah. I enjoyed the interviews too.

**Posted by Carol the Dabbler** July 26, 2012 7:53 pm

The E! website has some of Empire's material, plus apparently some additional material of their own, here.

Note that the cover of this issue says "The Shire's Biggest Movie Magazine" (rather than Empire's usual "World's Biggest").

**Posted by JaneCo** July 27, 2012 4:27 pm

New Hobbit production video

**Posted by Carol the Dabbler** August 19, 2012 4:08 am

The above-mentioned September Hobbit issue of Empire FINALLY arrived at the local Barnes & Noble (and presumably also at their other stores here in the U.S.).