The Hobbit actor Jed Brophy, who played dwarf Nori, reveals Warner Bros. hindered director Peter Jackson's vision throughout the trilogy. In the early 2000s, Jackson brought J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy to the big screen in epic fashion, crafting three films that were widely praised for their impressive scale. Since The Lord of the Rings was such a success, it felt like a no-brainer to have Jackson adapt Tolkien's prequel novel The Hobbit as well. The Hobbit centers on Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he's reluctantly pulled into a quest by Gandalf (Ian McKellan) and a team of dwarves seeking to reclaim their home.
Opinions on The Hobbit trilogy vary from person to person, but the general consensus is that it was inferior to The Lord of the Rings. Jackson turned one book into three movies, and though they were financial successes for Warner Bros., many thought the story suffered as a result. In an effort to tie into The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit featured numerous subplots that had little to do with Bilbo's story. Some fans were delighted with the deeper look into Middle-earth, but others were displeased with the liberties Jackson took.
Evidently, the issues with The Hobbit stretch beyond just that. Brophy, a New Zealand actor who also had roles in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, appeared on Kiwi Talkz to discuss a whole slew of topics. At one point, Brophy touched upon the behind the scenes issues with The Hobbit when talking about the freedom that comes from not working with a major studio. "They [studios] get in the way," Brophy began. He then turned towards The Hobbit by saying, "I may be speaking out of turn here, and probably if those people ever find me I'll get slammed, but I think that Warner Brothers kind of got in the way of Peter and The Hobbit." He went on to say:
None of them are people that can actually look at a script and in their head imagine how you can actually get the best drama out of that. And if you get in the way of that process you're actually stopping someone from actually getting a flow on, and that's what I think happened, that's what I could see happening is that there was not that same flow. Now, Peter would see stuff on Lord of the Rings and get this amazing idea about how he could shoot the next scene from stuff that was already happening on set, but if you've got people dictating what your day is going to be then that stops it.
When it comes to major franchises, stories of studio influence are all too common. In fact, Warner Bros. is starting to gain a reputation for this, as it's become clear they greatly altered David Ayer's Suicide Squad years ago. With a property as beloved as Tolkien's Middle-earth, it's no surprise that Warner Bros. might feel a bit more protective about the work. However, Jackson had already proven himself to be capable of working within the world of The Hobbit; perhaps Warner Bros. would've been better off giving him his freedom.
The biggest issues with The Hobbit's production seemed to stem from a rushed timeline, and Brophy's comments indicate Warner Bros. didn't give Jackson enough time to explore everything he wished to. Though The Hobbit had been in development for years, at one point even with Guillermo del Toro attached, it underwent so many changes that Jackson likely needed more time to settle into the new normal. Unfortunately, that's not what happened, and The Hobbit movies suffered as a result.
Source: Kiwi Talkz