indigozeal

I did end up going back to the bookstore and getting that Creatures & Characters artbook from the first Hobbit film for $10. It's nice to have, I guess, though I could have ultimately done without it: instead of lavish concept art, there's a lot of promo photography and quotes from the actors and on-set folks (makeup artists, dialogue coaches, etc.) about their roles. In theory, this really shouldn't be much different from hearing from the concept artists - the same insight into the creative process, etc. - but for some reason, it ends up devolving mostly into sound-bitey marketing patter: this person was perfect, just perfect for the role; this character is so unspeakably profound, etc. The images & text in this book are...slicker; they feel more like advertising. There's less about the rockier & less polished but, to me, more interesting process of how ideas & designs come to be. The people involved & production scenarios covered are too close to the actual movie & its spin machine, I guess. (Also, an inordinate amount of space is dedicated to Bret McKenzie explaining the whole Figwit thing again.) I'm glad to have it, and if you like this movie, it really isn't a bad purchase for ten bucks, but it's hardly an irresistible one.

(I do feel sorry for everyone involved in the design of the dwarves, though. It seems that the actors, artists, & everyone else put a huge amount of effort into distinguishing them & giving them their own backstories & character arcs, and from what I've heard, this doesn't seem to have translated to the screen.)
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