The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Anatomy of a Movie

In this show, AOM hosts Phil Svitek, Sara Stretton and Demetri Panos discuss the 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, an epic fantasy adventure film co-written, produced and directed by Peter Jackson. It is the second installment of a three-part film series based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel The Hobbit, beginning with An Unexpected Journey (2012) and set to conclude with There and Back Again (2014). The three films together act as prequels to Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film series. The storyline continues the events of An Unexpected Journey, in which the hobbit Bilbo Baggins travels with the wizard Gandalf and a company of thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield into the Kingdom of Erebor, taking them through Mirkwood, Esgaroth, and Dale to combat with the dragon Smaug. The film stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lee Pace, Hugo Weaving, Sylvester McCoy, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, and Evangeline Lilly. The hosts discuss everything from filmography, to casting/acting, directing, cinematography, editing, score, sound editing, etc. HELPFUL LINKS: IMDB Page – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170358/ Official Website – http://www.thehobbit.com/ Hobbit Wikipedia Page – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit:_The_Desolation_of_Smaug Hobbit 2 Trailers – http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbitthedesolationofsmaug/ Huffington Post Article on Box Office Numbers – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/22/the-hobbit-box-office_n_4490038.html Hobbit 2 Behind the Scenes – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvU9PvLiS7Q Hypable Companion Book Recommendations – http://www.hypable.com/2013/12/21/the-hobbit-desolation-of-smaug-book-review/ New York Times’ Article on Making of Spiders – http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/movies/the-spiders-of-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug.html?_r=0 Screen Rant’s Examination of Hobbit 2’s Score – http://screenrant.com/the-hobbit-desolation-of-smaug-production-diary-musical-score The Setonian’s Review of Hobbit 2 – http://www.thesetonian.com/pirate-life/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-is-exhilarating-thrill-ride-1.3129270#.Urfwi2RDuv0 Smithsonian’s Nerd Guide to Hobbit 2 – http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/The-Tolkien-Nerds-Guide-to-The-Hobbit-The-Desolation-of-Smaug–236566281.html The One Ring Reviews Hobbit 2 – http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/12/21/85241-aragorn-the-elfstone-reviews-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug/