Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Still Stirring Up Controversy

The Hobbit isn’t even due out for months yet but thanks to an appearance at CinemaCon director Peter Jackson has been having to defend the movie after a ten minute trailer for the movie divided opinion. The thing is though it’s not the actual movie itself that is racking up the column inches but the fact that Jackson has chosen to film the whole thing at 48 frames per second double the 24 that we have been used to seeing since the dawn of the film industry.

Studio Daily have a great article examining the bru-ha-ha and why 48fps can work in certain circumstances.

And it wasn’t just a few cranks having a bad reaction. Across the Internet, the feedback from fans who had been expecting to have their socks knocked off could best be described as perplexed. Some speculated that audiences would get used to the look of 48fps footage over the course of an entire feature film, rather than while looking at brief outtakes. Others wondered if post-production magic might “fix” the problem. Warner certainly didn’t get the response it was looking for, just as it’s set to crank up efforts to get movie theaters to upgrade their equipment to show the film at 48fps when it opens December 14.

Meanwhile Jackson himself has been quick to add his voice to the “discussions” – getting straight to the point in an interview this week with The Hollywood Reporter.

“It does take you a while to get used to,” he said. “Ten minutes is sort of marginal, it probably needed a little bit more. Another thing that I think is a factor is it’s different to look at a bunch of clips and some were fast-cutting, montage-style clips. This is different experience than watching a character and story unfold.”

Because of that, he isn’t planning to release a 48 fps trailer for the movie. “I personally wouldn’t advocate a 48-frame trailer because the 48 frames is something you should experience with the entire film. A 2 1/2 minute trailer isn’t enough time to adjust to the immersive quality.”

Lord of the Rings completely changed what we expect from our big epic movies so there is no doubt that Jackson will to make The Hobbit an even bigger and better spectacle.

Sources: Studio Daily | The Hollywood Reporter