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Post by Dale on May 8, 2008 19:21:17 GMT -5
The Hobbit Director
The Big X
Genre
Fantasy
Cast
Ian Holm as Old Bilbo
James McAvoy as Young Bilbo
Ian Mckellan as Gandalf the Grey
Andy Serkis as Gollum
Hugo Weaving as Elrond
Jason Isaacs as King Thranduil
Josh Brolin as Bard
Sean Connery as Radagast
Geoffry Rush as Thorin
Russel Crowe as Beorn
Plot
Once a quiet, easy-going, well-mannered hobbit, Bilbo Baggins wouldbe given the choice to become a hero or die trying. He sets off on a journey from his home in the Shire to the Lonely Mountain, where the ferocious dragon Smaug awaits him.
Release Date
May 9th, 2008
MPAA Rating
Rated PG-13 for strong fantasy violence and frightening images.
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Post by Dale on May 9, 2008 11:16:38 GMT -5
 adapted from the JRR Tolkien Novel by Robert “The Big X” O’Donnell Scene One – The Last Few Pages The classic LOTR opening theme plays. The words “The Hobbit” fade onto the screen. FADE FROM BLACK: We see a ship out at sea. The “Into the West” theme begins playing. GANDALF’s voice from Return of the King is heard. GANDALF (voice over): The gray rain curtain of the world pulls back, and all turns to silver glass. And then you see it: a far green country, under a swift sunrise. The camera moves closer to the boat and GALADRIEL is seen at the front of the ship. FRODO is seen coming through a door onto the deck. He walks toward Galadriel to join her, but stops in his tracks. The camera pans around and we see the shores of Valinor. The Undying Lands. FRODO: We’re here… GALADRIEL: Yes, Frodo. You are here, and I have returned. FRODO: You mean you’ve been here before? GALADRIEL: Yes. FRODO: Why would you leave a place like this to go back to Middle Earth? She smiles GALADRIEL: It’s a long story. Just then, GANDALF, ELROND, and miscellaneous members of the crew come up on deck and join them. FRODO: Gandalf, look! It’s -. GANDALF: I know! Don’t just stand there gaping, go get your uncle! As Frodo runs off, two elves are spotted on shore. Just then, all the wind stops and the ship stands still. Galadriel pulls something out of her pocket. It’s the phial she gave Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring. She holds it up in the air and it sparkles in the sunlight as a signal. One of the elves on shore nods to the other. The wind starts blowing again, moving the ship towards shore. CUT TO: Below deck, Frodo opens a door to a room and walks inside. At a small desk, we see a figure turned away from the camera. A close up of his hands reveals that he is writing in a journal. FRODO: Uncle Bilbo, we’ve arrived. He turns around and we get our first look at our title character. BILBO: Good. I’ll be right up. CUT TO: By the time Bilbo and Frodo come up on deck, the boat is passing through a harbor, over which an amazing elven city towers. CUT TO: The boat arrives and a large crowd is there to greet them as heroes. CUT TO: The arriving party is sitting in a room where many of the important elves of Valinor have gathered. Elrond is talking to one such elf. ELROND: Yes, the rumors you have heard are true. Sauron is dead, thanks to many of those who arrived with me. Of course, I had very little to do with it. GANDALF: I won’t lie to you; I did most of the work. ELF #1: If it’s not too much trouble, we’d like to hear the whole story. We don’t get much news here. All we’ve heard are rumors from the few elves who came here after the fall of Sauron. GANDALF: Well, if you want the whole story, you’ll have to ask Bilbo Baggins here. He is the one who found the Ring of Power. Bilbo is immediately in the storytelling mood. BILBO: Alright then. I’ll tell you the whole thing from the beginning. Elrond doesn’t seem to like this idea very much. ELROND: If you’ll excuse me I think I’ll, uh, go catch up with some old friends! He leaves the room in a hury. Bilbo watches, amused. BILBO: I lived in Elrond’s house for more than a year, and he’s listened to this story enough times to cure him of his love of lore for a millennium! GANDALF: So have I. He walks over to a chair in the corner, sits down, and lights up his pipe. GANDALF: I promise I’ll come back when I find myself to be the least bit interested! BILBO: Don’t mind him, he’s just cranky from the voyage. Now, where to begin…? ELF #1: Is it true that you killed the infamous Goblin King single-handed? ELF #2: And that you stole an untold amount of riches from the dragon Smaug in his sleep? BILBO: Oh no, of course not! People have a habit of exaggerating my adventures, which I don’t particularly understand, because in my opinion there are few tales as wonderfully entertaining (except of course the story of my nephew Frodo). FRODO: Which you have embellished quite a bit since it happened. BILBO: Hmm, true I suppose. But let’s not get sidetracked. I lived this story exactly as I am telling it 60 years ago, and since then I have entitled it: “There and Back Again”. FADE OUT Scene 2 – The Wizard’s Arrival FADE IN: The town of Hobbiton is seen from the air. The camera moves forward and we see various hobbits going about their business in the town below. Ian Holm’s voice is heard narrating. BILBO (voice over):One can’t start a story of this sort without explaining something of where the hero came from; my later deeds will no doubt seem trivial if you do not first learn of my rustic background. The camera swoops down into a village square where a farmer’s market is being held. BILBO (voice over):You won’t find the little hamlet of Hobbiton on many maps in Gondor, nor will it do you any good to ask for directions to it in the Grey Havens or Rivendel. But the people who live there, who are called “hobbits”, wouldn’t like it any other way. Some of you may be wondering, “What is a ‘hobbit’?” I’ll tell you. A hobbit is a very short person, generally three feet in height and -. Suddenly we hear Gandalf’s voice interrupt. GANDALF (voice over):Could you please get to the point? No one asked for a anthropologic study of hobbits! BILBO (voice over):Fine, though you seem to have a lot of interest in a story you are pretending not to listen to. The camera finally stops in front of a street sign. The sign reads: “Bagshot Row”. CUT TO: We get our first look at James McAvoy as the younger version of Bilbo. He is sitting in front of his hobbit hole smoking a pipe and reading a book. He looks down the street and sees someone walking towards his house. It’s Gandalf. Gandalf stops in front of Bilbo’s house as if he’s thinking of what to say. BILBO: Good Morning. GANDALF: Eh? What do you mean by that? Has something good happened this morning? BILBO: Well, nothing badhas happ-. GANDALF: Or are you wishing that I’ll have a good morning, or saying that it is good that it is morning, or that it is a morning to be good on? BILBO: Well, all of those at the same time, I suppose…I don’t wish to be rude, but is there any particular reason as to why you’re standing in my garden pondering the meaning of the phrase “Good Morning”? GANDALF: Yes, as a matter of fact. I’m helping a friend, or a few friends I should say. I’m looking for someone to take part in a little … adventure, let’s call it. I was told this was to place to look. Bilbo laughs. BILBO: An adventure? And you were told that this was the proper place to recruit adventurers? I’m sorry sir, but you’re “friends” must be playing a joke on you. You should try over in Tuckborough, or even outside of the Shire. Good day to you! He goes back to reading, but Gandalf doesn’t leave. Bilbo looks up. He’s very annoyed, but he manages to appear only slightly annoyed. BILBO: Will that be all, Mr.…? I’m sorry I don’t recall you’re name. GANDALF: Of course you don’t, I never gave it to you. But you should remember it, after all these years. I am Gandalf the Grey. Bilbo slams his book shut. BILBO: Of course! I thought you looked strangely familiar. Your fireworks were a grand obsession of mine as a child! I thought you went out of business. GANDALF: Oh, no. I’m still in business. Just perhaps not the business you expect. BILBO: People used to call you a wizard, but I never believed them. Such superstitious nonsense. What have you been up to all these years? GANDALF: Traveling, exploring, offering my counsel to kings, fighting in battles. General adventuring mostly. BILBO: There you go about adventures again. Each must go his or her own way, I guess, but I can tell you for sure that I’ll never take part in an adventure. I’d sooner go to a Sackville-Baggins family reunion. That’s my idea of an adventure! GANDALF: Please, Bilbo, I suggest you reconsider. BILBO: No thank-you! Why don’t you come for tea tomorrow? You can tell me about your adventure then. Good morning! Bilbo darts inside and closes the door. CUT TO: Inside the hobbit hole, Bilbo wipes his brow. BILBO: Too much excitement. Why on earth did I invite him to tea? “You can tell me about your adventure then”? Did I really say that? CUT TO: Outside, Gandalf laughs and walks over to Bilbo’s door. He scratches a strange symbol into a lower corner of the door. GANDALF: See you tomorrow, young chap! He walks away, whistling a strange tune.CUT TO: The sun rises the next day over Hobbiton and we see the town slowly come to life. OLD BILBO (voice over):The next morning came, and, not surprisingly, I had forgotten anything of my appointment with Gandalf that day. CUT TO: Bilbo steps out of his door. He sees another Hobbit walking in the street. BILBO: Hello, Gaffer! GAFFER GAMGEE: Good morning, Mr. Baggins. You’re not usually up this early. BILBO: Well, I just had breakfast, and I figured that by the time I walk over to The Green Dragon in Bywater it will already be time for second breakfast. Bilbo walks off down the road. CUT TO: Bilbo enters the Green Dragon Inn and walks over to the bar. As he sits down he hears another hobbit talking. HOBBIT: Yes, I agree, the beer here is exceptional! A wizard couldn’t make any better! Just then Bilbo remembers. BILBO: Oh, no. Gandalf! He jumps up and runs out the door. As he’s coming out he bumps into a dwarf. He looks surprised; you don’t see many dwarves in The Shire. DWARF: Excuse me, sir. Would you mind giving me the directions to –? BILBO: I’m sorry, I don’t have time! He runs off back down the road towards his house. The dwarf glares at him indignantly and proceeds into the tavern. CUT TO: Bilbo is still running towards his house, but he has to stop to catch his breath. He stops for a minute and then starts running again. CUT TO: Bilbo enters his house in a hurry and hastily makes preparations for Gandalf’s coming. He starts warming up some tea, sets the table, etc. As he does this he mutters to himself: BILBO: He should be here at any time, if he remembers anything of Shire customs, particularly those having to do with teatime. Just then there’s a knock at the door. Bilbo runs to the door and opens it. BILBO: Welcome! I’ve been waiting for you all morn–. He stops, seeing that the visitor isn’t Gandalf. It’s the dwarf he bumped into outside The Green Dragon. Bilbo looks embarrassed, realizing how rude he must have seemed. The dwarf simply grumbles: DWALIN: Hello. Dwalin at your service. BILBO: Um, well, thank you. I mean, why don’t you come in; I was just about to have tea. Dwalin doesn’t reply. He simply removes his coat and hand it to Bilbo as he enters. He sits down in the kitchen. Bilbo nervously tries to think of something to say. BILBO: Do you… want something to drink? I’m making some tea. DWALIN: Yes, tea would be fine. Just then the doorbell rings again. BILBO: Excuse me. That must be Gandalf. As he leaves for the door the dwarf mutters to himself: DWALIN: Good, at least now I’ll have some decent company! Bilbo opens the door. BILBO: At last you’ve arrived –! Again, it isn’t Gandalf. Another dwarf steps in. BALIN: Balin at your service! BILBO: Please come in. Are you a friend of Gandalf, or something? The dwarf begins to laugh. BALIN: Ha! Am I a friend of Gandalf’s! I’m beginning to like you already! He looks into the kitchen and sees Dwalin. BALIN: Good! I see they have begun to arrive already! BILBO: “They”? Uhm, well, would you like some tea, Mr. Balin? BALIN: A little beer would suit me better, if it’s all the same to you good sir. He sits down with Dwalin. Bilbo begins pouring Balin a drink. BILBO: Do you two know each other, or something? DWALIN: Well I should hope so. We are brothers. Bilbo serves them beer and some seed cakes. Just then there’s another ring at the door. BILBO: Gandalf for certain this time… More dwarves. This time it’s two younger looking dwarves. FILI: Fili and Kili at your service! BILBO: At yours and your family’s! Why don’t you come in and make yourselves at home. KILI: Look, Dwalin and Balin beat us here. Let us join the throng! The two enter, handing their coats to Bilbo. CUT TO: Two other male hobbits are sitting on their front porch, watching a group of five dwarves walking down the road. HOBBIT #1: Look, another party of dwarves! That’s the fourth one today! HOBBIT #2: Are they going to Bilbo Baggins’ house too? Wait… yes they are! I wonder what is going on up there. HOBBIT #1: That’s what I’m wondering as well. That young fellow should know better than to accept guests into his house who we don’t like! CUT TO: Bilbo’s door opens to five new dwarves (Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, and Gloin), and he’s immediately met with a bombardment of introductions and “At your service’s”. He invites them all in for tea. By now his small kitchen is getting crowded (much like a scene from a Marx Brothers movie), and the dwarves are overflowing into the den and hallway. BILBO: For the love of Bullroarer Took! Someone’s banging the door with a stick! The door opens and four more dwarves pile in (one of them, Bombur, is especially fat, and Thorin, who is older than the rest and obviously the leader), with Gandalf behind them. GANDALF: Greetings, Bilbo my old friend. I see they’ve all arrived now. Allow me to introduce Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and especially Thorin. BILBO How do you do? THORIN: Hmm… very well I suppose. So you’re the one Gandalf chose, are you? He walks away without waiting for a reply. Leaving a very perplexed Bilbo. All the dwarves order their food (as if Bilbo were a waiter). A montage shows the dwarves enjoying Bilbo’s food and then cleaning up afterwards. After they’re done, Bilbo stands up. BILBO: Now, I think we should get down to business… THORIN: Not so fast. We have practically all afternoon ahead of us. Now for some music! The other dwarves pull out various instruments. The ones with smaller instruments have been keeping them their persons. The ones playing larger instruments bring them in from outside. As they get ready to play, Gandalf turns to speak with Bilbo. GANDALF: To listen to dwarf music is a privilege few non-dwarfs, let alone hobbits, have ever had. You should hear the great dwarf orchestras of Moria when they echoed through those halls… The music begins to play. Music: Far over the misty mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere the break of day,
To seek the pale enchanted gold.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
For ancient kings and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught,
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.
On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light and moon and sun.
For over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.
Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they lay long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by man or elves.
The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
Laid low like torches blazed with light.
The bells were ringing in the dale,
And men looked up with faces pale,
Then dragon's ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.
The mountains smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
For over misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him! When it’s over, Bilbo and Gandalf clap. Thorin signals to the dwarves to put their instruments away, and the meeting begins. Bilbo stands up and walks toward the window. THORIN: What are you doing? BILBO: I thought I might open the curtains to let a little light in. THORIN: No, we like the dark. Dark for dark business! BILBO: Okay, however you like it. Bilbo sits back down, but knocks over the poker and shovel by the fireplace in the process, making a god-awful sound. GANDALF: Hush! Let Thorin speak. THORIN [clears throat] Gandalf, dwarves, Mr. Baggins, we meet here in the house of our friend and fellow conspirator to discuss out plans, our ways, means policy and devices. We shall soon before the break of day start on our long journey, a journey from which some of us, or perhaps all of us may never return (except perhaps our friend and counselor, the ingenious wizard Gandalf). At this point Bilbo completely loses it, faints, falls to the floor and begins babbling incoherently. Gandalf takes him out of the room and lays him on a sofa. He comes back in. DWALIN: So this is the man you’ve chosen for our mission? He looks more like a grocer than a burglar! GANDALF: He’s just excitable, that’s all. And he is a burglar. You yourself saw the sign on his door. THORIN: Burglar or not, he may prove a danger to our quest. GLOIN: Yes! What if he has a fit like that when we’re out in the wilderness? He would bring the dragon and all his relatives down on us in an instant! At this time, Bilbo returns to the room, this time with a little more composure. BILBO: Pardon me if I have overheard words that you were saying. I don’t pretend to understand what you are talking about, or your reference to burglars, but I think I am right in believing that you think I am no good. I will show you. I have no signs on my door – it was painted a week ago. I am sure you have me mistaken, but tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the Were-Worms in the Last Desert. GLOIN: But there is a mark on your door – the usual one in the trade, or used to be. It is usually read, Burglar wants a good job, plenty of Excitement, and reasonable Reward. GANDALF: Of course there is one; I put it there for my own reasons. You asked me to find you a fourteenth man for your expedition, and I chose Mr. Baggins. Just let anyone say I chose the wrong man or the wrong house and you can stop at thirteen and have all the bad luck you like, or go back to digging coal, for that matter. If I say he is a burglar, then he is (or soon will be when the time comes). You may all (possibly) live to thank me yet! He takes out a piece of parchment and spreads it out on the table, revealing this map:  GANDALF: This was made by Thror, your grandfather, Thorin. It is a plan of the entire mountain. THORIN: I don’t see how this will help us. I remember everything about the mountain and the surrounding lands. And I know where Mirkwood is, and the Withered Heath where the great dragons bred. BALIN: The dragon is marked in red, but we shouldn’t need any help finding him if and when we get there. GANDALF: There is one thing you haven’t noticed. There is a secret passage. See that rune on the West side? and the hand pointing to it from the other runes? They mark a hidden passage from a door on the slope of the mountain that leads to the Lower Halls. THORIN: It may have been secret once, but certainly not anymore. Old Smaug has lived there long enough to know every secret the mountain holds. GANDALF: He may, but he couldn’t have used it for years. It’s too small. He points to the runes on the left side of the map with his finger, and the camera follows it in close up as it moves as he reads. GANDALF: (reading)“Five feet high the door and three may walk abreast.” See! Smaug could never have crept through a hole of that size. Not even when he was a young dragon. BILBO: Actually it seems like a rather big hole to me. How could such a large door be kept secret from everyone outside? GANDALF: There are many methods the dwarves have perfected in order to keep their doors hidden, but we won’t be able to know which way (or ways) they used for this particular door until we get there. Most likely the door is disguised to look like the side of the mountain, and can only be revealed under the circumstances intended by the mason who carved it. Thorin replies cautiously, as if not to reveal any precious dwarf secrets. THORIN: Yes … that is the usual method. GANDALF: Also, I forgot to mention that this map came with a key. FILI: Most maps do, you know. GANDALF: No, not a map key. A key to a door! He pulls out a metal key and hands it to Thorin. GANDALF: Here, keep this safe until it is needed. THORIN: Of course. This is very good news, up until now we had no idea how to get in. We thought of going East, as quiet as we could, to the Long Lake. After that the trouble would begin… Gandalf laughs. GANDALF: A long time before that! If I know anything about the roads to the East. THORIN: From there we head North to the ruins of the town of Dale under the shadow of the mountain. And there we will find Smaug, and the gold. Oh, how I would like to see that dragon dead! GANDALF: That seems unlikely. Remember, we looked for a great warrior, but they were all busy defending other realms. So we settled on a burglar. THORIN: Yes, and perhaps now the time has come for the burglar to give us his expert opinion on how we should go about doing this. Any suggestions? BILBO: Well, first I would like to know a little bit more. I mean about the dragon, the gold, and how it go there, and who it belongs to. THORIN: What? Haven’t you got the map? Didn’t you hear the song? Haven’t we been talking about this for hours? BILBO: All the same, I would like to hear it all from the beginning. THORIN: Very well… Fade to black. Scene 4 – The Story of the Mountain Fade in on a sweeping view of the area around the Lonely Mountain. The mountain itself finally comes into view. THORIN: (voice over)Long ago in my grandfather Thror’s time, our family was driven out of the far North, and they settled in this mountain on the map. Cut to a bunch of dwarves chipping away the walls of a tunnel with pickaxes. A slow montage shows their progress as they construct great halls, treasure rooms, places to live, all inside the mountain. THORIN: (voice over)They mined and tunneled and made huger halls and greater workshops, in the process finding a great deal of gold and jewels. Another group of shots shows the dwarves finding huge amounts of riches. THORIN: (voice over)There was plenty of wealth to go around, but it came with a cost, because this is what brought the dragon… Cut to a shot moving towards a mist-covered mountain range in the Withered Heath. The camera moves over a steep, rocky slope. At the top there is a huge crater in which hundreds of dragons are living, fighting each other, being born in the heat of the inferno caused by their relatives. THORIN: (voice over)Dragons only have one love. They enjoy stealing gold and jewels from those who paid dearly to mine for them honestly. These creatures can’t make a thing for themselves, not even to mend a little loose scale in their armor, which is why they have taken to pillaging. Cut back to Thorin telling his story. THORIN: (voice over)But back then there was a dragon even bigger, even greedier than the rest of his kind. Smaug. He came down from the North like a hurricane, and set out to do what no other dragon had done. To take Erebor, our mountain. Cut to a dwarf in a tower atop the mountain watching Smaug approach from the skies. He begins to ring the bell frantically. The sound of the warning bell reverberates through the mountain, alerting the other dwarves. Immediately after this, Smaug flies over the tower, grabbing it with his feet and destroying it.
Other dwarves with arrows fire upon Smaug from fortified positions on the slopes of the mountain, other towers that can’t be reached except by tunnels inside the mountain. But the arrows just bounce off Smaug’s hard scales and make him angry. He starts destroying the towers, one he destroys with his claws, the next one with a swipe of his tail, the next he crushes with his jaws.
Inside the mountain, near the large cave-like entrance, all the dwarf soldiers are waiting behind the locked gate.
Cut to inside the king’s chambers, there we see Thror pacing as the mountain shakes from Smaug’s attacks. Thrain, Thror’s son, and an aid walk in. THRAIN: Father, we need to leave immediately! THROR: Where is Thorin? THRAIN: I don’t know. THROR: We can’t leave without him. The mountain shakes again, this time with a much greater intensity. AID: Your majesty, he’s destroying the gate! We need to leave now! THROR: Not without my grandson! Cut to the entrance area. The gate is breaking under Smaug’s attacks. The dwarves start shouting an ancient battle cry in their own secret language. The gate finally breaks. Someone shouts “Fire!”, and the archers release their arrows at Smaug. Smaug merely breathes a cloud of fire at the arrows, and the wood part of them burns away in mid-air, and the arrow heads bounce off his body.
The dwarves holding axes charge at him, but Smaug breathes out a river of flame upon them. When the smoke clears, all the dwarves are screaming and burning to death. Smaug crushes some and eats others.
One lone dwarf remains who isn’t dead or dying. He’s a very young dwarf, cowering in the corner with a bow and arrow, too scared to move. Smaug notices him, and turns to him with his mouth dripping with dwarf blood. SMAUG: You are a fool. I know because you come from a race of fools. This fortress fell as quickly as a lame dragon born with one leg. I will devour you, then I will move on to the women and children. And at last this place will belong to me. He lunges forward at the dwarf with his jaws open. Cut to black.
Cut to a younger Thorin outside, still far from the mountain. He is running towards home, seeing the smoke rising from the mountain. Suddenly he notices two figures scrambling down the lower slopes of the mountain. THORIN: (voice over)At first I had no idea how they had gotten out alive, but now I realize it was the secret tunnel. Cut to Thorin meeting the survivors, who turn out to be his father and grandfather. THORIN: (voice over)We agreed to head West and start a new life, but we also agreed to return. To avenge the fallen. To retrieve our fortune! Cut back to the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf, in Bilbo’s house. THORIN: I hope everything is now clear, Mr. Baggins. BILBO: Yes, I believe it is. THORIN: I was never told about the side door, but apparently they had made a map. I should like to know how Gandalf got a hold of it. GANDALF: I didn’t “get a hold of it.” I was given it. Your grandfather was killed in Moria by the goblin Azog, was he not? THORIN: Curse his name, yes. GANDALF: And soon after your father, Thrain, disappeared. THORIN: Yes. GANDALF: Your father gave me this to give to you. He hands the map to Thorin. THORIN: I don’t understand. Is my father alive or not? GANDALF: Your grandfather gave the map and the key to Thrain shortly before going to Moria. Thorin then decided to go and try the map himself. He never got near the mountain. I found him in the dungeons of The Necromancer. THORIN: And what on earth where you doing there? GANDALF: Finding things out, as usual. Your father was near death, he could hardly even remember who he was. He gave me the map and the key. I tried to save him … but I was too late. THORIN: Very well. I gave up all hope that he was alive long ago. At least now I know who is responsible. BILBO: Wait a minute. Who is The Necromancer? GANDALF: A strange sorcerer who lives in the South of Mirkwood. No one knows where he came from, but when I was there I got a glimpse of what he’s doing… Silence. They wait for him to say more, but he says nothing. THORIN: After we have our revenge on Smaug, this Necromancer is next. GANDALF: Don’t be absurd! He is more powerful than you and all the dwarves put together. Leave him to me and my allies. The mountain and the dragon are big enough tasks for you! BILBO: Well I guess that’s everything. We had all better get to bed. I’ll give you a good breakfast before you go. THORIN: Before “we” go, you mean. You’re the burglar, aren’t you? The dwarves disperse and go off to sleep in various rooms in the house. As Bilbo walks by Gandalf’s room, he overhears a conversation between Gandalf and Thorin. THORIN: Yes, yes, I know, but why a hobbit? GANDALF: I chose a hobbit for several very good reasons. If you or I were to enter Smaug’s home, he would immediately know we were there. He would smell us. Tell me, Thorin, do you think Smaug has ever smelled a hobbit? THORIN: No, but why this particular hobbit? He’ll never be able to keep up with us, much less steal a penny from the dragon. GANDALF: There’s a lot more to him than any of you might guess, and a great deal more than he has any idea of himself. Fade out Scene 5 – A Hasty Departure Cut to Bilbo sleeping in his bed. He’s woken by the sound of a tea kettle whistling. He walks into his kitchen and finds that it’s just Gandalf. BILBO: Are the dwarves not up yet? Or was that all just a dream? GANDALF: No to both questions. You missed them by about an hour. I believe you’ll find that dwarves are early risers. Of course you would know all of this had you gotten the message. BILBO: What message? What are you talking about? GANDALF: My dear Bilbo, you’re not yourself this morning. You haven’t even dusted the mantelpiece! BILBO: What does that have to do with anything? GANDALF: Had you dusted your mantelpiece you would have found this note. Gandalf hands Bilbo a note. BILBO: (reading quickly)“Dear Mr. Baggins, for your hospitality our sincerest thanks, and for your” – Etc. etc. – “Terms: Cash on delivery up to and not exceeding one fourteenth share of total profits (if any)” – Well it was nice of them to add that! – “As well as all traveling and/or funeral expenses.” Did they really need to mention funerals? GANDALF: Dwarves, very honest. BILBO: – “we have proceeded to make requisite preparations, and shall await you at The Green Dragon Inn at 11 am sharp.” GANDALF: I’ve already packed your things, so you won’t have to waste any time with that. BILBO: I’m wondering, Gandalf. Do I really want to do this? GANDALF: Come on, what could go wrong? Think of it as a short holiday. BILBO: Plenty could go wrong. For example, if I’m gone who’s to protect this house from my relatives? They both laugh. GANDALF: I must admit, I’ve never been able to fully understand you hobbits. A very peculiar group. BILBO: Is that why you left for so long? GANDALF: No, that’s why I stayed for so long. Bilbo takes the stuff Gandalf has packed for him BILBO: I guess I’m off then. He begins to walk out BILBO: By the way, what time is it? GANDALF: Ten till eleven. Maybe I should’ve told you that before I got all sentimental. Cut to Bilbo running down the street He finally gets to the inn, where the dwarves are waiting. DWALIN: Well here we are again, Mr. Baggins. BALIN: Bravo! Not a second to spare. BILBO: Sorry I’m late – well, almost late. I didn’t get your note until 10:45 to be precise. THORIN: Don’t be precise. Where we’re going it won’t help you much. The dwarves mount their ponies. They already have one saddled for Bilbo. THORIN: Come on, boys! Let’s move along before the good townspeople begin to stare! Montage of them beginning their journey and passing through parts of the Shire. After a while Gandalf shows up riding a white horse (not Shadowfax from LOTR). THORIN: You’ll be coming with us after all, then? GANDALF: For a good part of the way. I have my own business in the East. OLD BILBO: (voice over)And so it began: the journey of a lifetime. More montage of them on the road. OLD BILBO: (voice over)At first we passed through hobbit-lands, a wide respectable country inhabited by decent folk. But soon we came to lands where people spoke strangely, and sang songs I had never heard before. Cut to Bilbo talking to Ori on the road. BILBO: Soon we’ll be getting to Bree. Maybe Gandalf will let us stay at the inn for at least one night of sleeping near civilization. ORI: Little chance of that. It doesn’t matter to Gandalf if he sleeps in a rich hotel or in a ditch by the side of the road. He’s a nomad. He has the spirit of adventure in him. BILBO: I don’t really mind adventures as much as I said, but there’s nothing wrong with staying in a civilized area for at least one night. ORI: So I guess Gandalf was right about you enjoying adventures. BILBO: I don’t see how he could know that, can he see the future? I’m not sure if I’m ready to believe that he’s actually a wizard. Suddenly Gandalf rides up behind them. Apparently he’s been listening to their conversation. GANDALF: Of course not! That’s ridiculous! Now keep moving, we don’t want to be left behind. He rides on ahead BILBO: That’s odd, I thought Gandalf was riding ahead of us before! He and Ori keep riding OLD BILBO: (voice over)Soon we passed into the Lone-lands, where there were no people left, no inns, and the roads grew steadily worse. More shots of them traveling, now through open plains and wilderness. They even pass by Amon-Sul, the hill from Fellowship of the Ring. Soon it begins to rain, and the mood of the party has fallen considerably.
Finally they come to a stop near nightfall. Everyone is there except Gandalf. THORIN: We’ll camp here for the night. One of you start a fire. A couple of the dwarves try to start a fire, but it’s impossible with the wind and the rain. Eventually they give up. BIFUR: Where on earth is Gandalf? BILBO: He was with us on the road, wasn’t he? DWALIN: I haven’t seen him since before we camped here. BALIN: Wait, what’s that? Balin is pointing to a light (apparently from a campfire) far off in the woods. BOMBUR: Someone’s camping out there. We should go see them, anything’s better than staying here. GLOIN: Are you mad? Don’t you know where we are? Knowing our luck it’s probably highwaymen waiting for a stupid fellow like you to come along seeking graciousness and Bam!, just the opposite. OIN: Well, there are fourteen of us, we should be more than a match for some highwaymen. GLOIN: Yes, but like I said, knowing our luck –. OIN: Oh, stop with the luck nonsense! Didn’t we hire this burglar to change out luck? Our lucky number 14? Why not send him, after all he is a thief. He might as well earn his bread. GLOIN: Great, and get us all killed while he’s at it! Thorin steps in between them.[/center] |
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Post by Dale on May 9, 2008 11:17:54 GMT -5
THORIN:
Enough of this fighting! They’ll hear us, whoever they are, if this goes on any longer, and then we’ll lose the element of surprise. I’m sending Bilbo to find out who these people are. (to Bilbo) Now, if the people at the camp look friendly, tell them that there is a party of dwarves you’re with who wish to join them. If they look like a bad sort, get back here as quickly as you can.
Bilbo sneaks off through the woods towards the light. As he gets near, he sees that it is indeed a campfire. He moves closer and sees who is using it. Trolls.
Three of them sitting at a campfire eating roast mutton.
BERT:
Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey if it don’t look like mutton tommorer.
TOM:
Never a blinking bit of manflesh have we had for long enough! What the ‘ell has William thinking of to bring us to these parts at all beats me!
BILL:
What was that? A slick remark from yer mouth?
He tosses a bone he’s finished gnawing the meat off of at Tom’s head, and Tom retaliates by punching him in the jaw.
OLD BILBO: (voice over)
I may have grown up in the Shire, but I knew enough about trolls just from books to know I was looking at three of them. Furthermore I knew what I ought to do next: run as fast as I could back to the dwarves and tell them to get as far away as possible. But I couldn’t go back empty handed. I was the burglar, so I decided to see what I could steal from the trolls.
Bilbo looks around at the food, but shakes his head, thinking it would be too difficult to steal that. He looks at William’s back pocket, and decides to pick it. He reaches as carefully as he can into the pocket and pulls out a wallet. As he opens it to see what’s inside, a small explosion detonates from inside, blinding him temporarily.
We see from his point of view: everything is bright, but as the brightness begins to clear, he sees the three trolls turning and jumping on him. Fade out.
Fade in on Bilbo tied up near the fire
BILL:
Blimey, Bert, look what I’ve copped!
BERT:
What is it?
BILL:
Damned if I know’s. What are yer?
BILBO:
A bur– a hobbit.
TOM:
A burrahobbit? What in the ‘ell…
BILL:
And what’s a burrahobbit got to do with my pocket, anyways?
BERT:
And can yer cook ‘em?
TOM:
Yer can try!
BILL:
This one wouldn’t make a mouthful, not when he was skinned and boned.
BERT:
There any more of yer about?
BILBO:
Yes, lots. Wait! No! None at all! Besides, there’s absolutely no need to cook me. I could cook for you myself!
BILL:
Poor little blighter, let ‘em go!
BERT:
Not until he tells us what he means by “Lots” and “None at all”. That seems somewhat contradictably, don’t it, Tom?
BILL:
Look ‘ere, I caught the stinking thing.
BERT:
What a fat fool.
BILL:
Watch who you call fat.
Bilbo timidly speaks up:
BILBO: Well it seems to me that the polite thing to do would be –.
ALL THREE TROLLS:
Shut up!
Suddenly Balin steps into the light of the campfire. Apparently the dwarves heard the noise from a distance and sent him to see what the problem was. The trolls catch him and tie him up in a sack. The other twelve dwarves come one by one and are also bound similarly. Bilbo manages to sneak off in the melee and hides behind a tree. Thorin is the last to come, and he puts up a fight, grabbing a flaming branch and poking Bill in the eye with it. He’s eventually apprehended and tied up with the others.
BILL:
Aha, boys! I’ll make us a reg’lar burrahobbit soup!
Just then a voice interjects into the conversation. It isn’t readily obvious whose voice it is.
VOICE:
No use roasting them now, it’ll take all night!
Bill thinks Bert said it.
BILL:
Eh? And what do you know about burrahobbits to begin with?
BERT:
What’re you ‘arassin’ me for?
BILL:
Arguing won’t get us nowhere.
BERT:
And who’s a arguin’?
The voice returns.
VOICE:
No good boiling ‘em. We’d have to fetch the water.
BILL:
So now it’s you, Tom. Fine, how’d you like t’do it?
TOM:
I say we just roast ‘em over the fire. Turn ‘em on a stick, y’know?
VOICE:
Oh, no. You’ll overcook mine again!
BILL:
Quiet! I don’t see ya contributin’ any to the conversation!
BERT:
I didn’t say nothin’! But why don’t we just sit on them one by one and squash ‘em into jelly?
BILL:
Alright.
TOM:
Alright.
VOICE:
But which one do we sit on first?
BERT:
Better sit on the last one first.
BILL:
Quit talkin’ to yerself!
BERT:
I wasn’t! I was talkin’ to you!
BILL:
Ya were?
BERT:
Sure.
BILL:
I don’t know what’s goin’ on, but one thing’s sure. I smell tomfoolery, as the folks call it.
VOICE:
Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!
Just then the sun begins to rise and the trolls are turned to stone. Bilbo steps into the clearing and is joined by Gandalf.
BILBO:
That was you?
GANDALF:
Of course! Trolls are easy to disable; just keep them occupied until the sun comes up and they won’t be bothering you again.
Thorin starts yelling from inside one of the bags.
THORIN:
I know you’re not particularly concerned right now, but could you please release me from this undignified satchel!
They let the dwarves out.
GANDALF:
Trolls don’t travel far from their caves at night. Perhaps we can find it.
They move off in different directions looking for the cave. Eventually they find one, but it’s behind a locked door.
BILBO: Would this be of any help? I found it on the ground.
He gives Gandalf a large key, and it happens to be the key to the door. They enter the cave to find large stores of food and other items. They begin to rummage through the paraphernalia, and Bilbo finds two elven swords and one dagger.
GANDALF:
These are good blades, not made by any troll, nor by any smith among men. We’ll have to find someone who can read the runes on them to find out who made them.
BILBO:
You don’t know elvish, then?
GANDALF:
I know elvish, but not the form that is written here. Whoever made them, these swords were made long before my time.
Gandalf and Thorin take the swords and Bilbo takes the dagger, which is small enough to be like a sword to him.
GANDALF:
I’m worried.
BILBO:
About what?
GANDALF:
I don’t know … These trolls were not smart by any stretch of the imagination, but they could talk. I’ve never known a troll to talk.
THORIN:
What could this mean?
GANDALF:
We shall see.
Balin walks up.
BALIN:
There’s a fair amount of golden pots and whatnot that could be worth some money.
GANDALF:
We’ll bury it all and come back for it later.
They take as much of the food that they can carry and continue on the road. Thorin rides up next to Gandalf.
THORIN:
And now would you mind telling us why you left?
GANDALF:
To look ahead.
THORIN:
And what brought you back in the nick of time?
GANDALF:
Looking behind.
THORIN:
Exactly, but could you be more plain?
GANDALF:
I was meeting with some followers of my good friend Elrond some ways up the road.
THORIN:
(with recognizable animosity in his voice) Elves…
GANDALF:
Yes, and you can thank these elves for saving your life. They warned me of trolls in the area, waylaying travelers. You can thank them yourself when we get to Rivendel.
BILBO:
Where’s that?
GANDALF:
Don’t interrupt.
THORIN:
We don’t need the help of the elves. I would have sooner stayed with the trolls…
They continue on up the road.
Scene 6 – The Elf Lord
Fade in on the party entering a hidden valley.
GANDALF:
It will no doubt take some convincing for me to get them to accept 13 dwarves as guests, so I want all of you to keep your wits about you. Don’t do or say anything to upset them.
They continue up the path until two elves jump out in front of them with their arrows drawn.
GANDALF:
Don’t worry, it’s just me! I brought those friends I told you about.
ELF:
Sorry, we didn’t see you. (to the dwarves and Bilbo) My name is Glorfindel. I will be taking you to Rivendel to see Elrond.
The dwarves are silent. Finally Bilbo speaks up.
BILBO:
Hello, my name is Bilbo Baggins. I believe I can say with the utmost confidence that it is a pleasure to meet you!
Glorfindel smiles.
GLORFINDEL:
Very well, we’d better move along.
Cut to the party, now with its elf escorts, movie through the valley, and finally to the city of Rivendel. They finally get to Elrond’s house, where he greets them.
ELROND:
Welcome to Rivendel.
Cut to Gandalf, the dwarves, and Bilbo telling Elrond about their journey thus far.
GANDALF:
… and of course I did the sensible thing and kept the trolls arguing until daybreak. After that misadventure we came straight to you.
BILBO:
Um, aren’t you forgetting something?
GANDALF:
Oh, yes.
He pulls out his newly acquired sword and Bilbo does the same.
GANDALF:
The trolls had these in their cave. We would like to know where they came from, if you can read their runes.
Elrond takes Gandalf’s sword first.
ELROND:
I most certainly can…
He looks at the runes for a little bit and turns to Gandalf.
ELROND:
Certainly not troll swords. Rather, they were made by the High-Elves of the West, my kin. These were made in Gondolin, during the Goblin Wars. They may have come from a dragon’s horde or goblin plunder, because that city was destroyed long ago. This sword, Thorin, was Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver. And yours, Gandalf, was Glamdring, the Foehammer. Keep these safe.
THORIN:
I will keep this sword in honor. May it soon cleave goblins again!
ELROND:
A wish that is likely to be granted soon enough in the mountains! But show me now your map.
Thorin hesitates, but hands over the map.
ELROND
What is this? There are moon-letters here, beside the normal runes!
BILBO:
What are moon-letters?
ELROND:
Runes, only you can’t see them. Not most of the time, anyway. They can only be seen during a certain cycle of the moon… It is midsummer’s eve, so these runes must have been written on a midsummer’s eve under a crescent moon long ago.
THORIN:
But what do they say?
ELROND: (reading)
Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks … and the setting sun with the first light of Durin’s day will shine on the key-hole.
THORIN:
Durin! He was the father of the fathers of the eldest race of Dwarves and my first ancestor. I am his heir.
ELROND:
Then what is Durin’s Day?
THORIN:
The first day of the dwarves’ new year, which (as all should know) is the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of winter. This will not help us much, I fear, for it passes our skill in these days to guess when such a time may come again.
GANDALF:
That remains to be seen. Is there any more writing?
ELROND:
None to be seen under this moon.
He folds the map and gives it back to Thorin.
Cut to Gandalf and Elrond talking alone.
GANDALF:
There is one more thing that I think should mention. These trolls that captured my friends were very peculiar. They could talk.
ELROND:
Yes, very strange.
GANDALF:
Do you think this means anything?
ELROND:
Yes, but I’m not sure you want to hear it.
GANDALF:
Well?
ELROND:
I’ve had spies tracking them for days. It seems that they came here all the way from Mirkwood. From Dol Goldur.
GANDALF:
The Necromancer.
ELROND:
We believe so. He may be trying to breed a new type of troll.
Elrond pauses.
ELROND:
He’s the real reason you’re heading East, isn’t he?
Gandalf nods.
ELROND:
I thought so when I heard you tell how you found Thrain. You were scouting out Dol Goldur, making plans. Plans of war?
GANDALF:
Very impressive. I thought for once I had kept a secret from you.
ELROND:
You could get farther without the dwarf party.
GANDALF:
And then they wouldn’t get far at all. I need them to succeed. Our two quests are more connected than you may think. But I will say no more. Good night.
ELROND:
Until tomorrow morning, then.
Scene 7 – Leaving the West
Fade to the party leaving Rivendel. They’re passing through a more rocky landscape now, the Misty Mountain range now clearly visible in the distance. As they get closer, it begins to loom over them menacingly. They begin to take a route up into a mountain pass. Soon a storm sweeps in and it brings lightning and thunder.
As they pass over the mountain in the storm, they come to a valley. Below they see stone giants hurling boulders at each other.
[/I] BILBO: Gandalf, I really hope you don’t mean for us to go down there. GANDALF: That path through the valley could shave days off our journey. KILI: … or years off our lives! BALIN: Great, now if we don’t get struck by lightning or plummet to out deaths we run the risk of being tossed by a giant! THORIN: A giant tossing a dwarf, how ironic that would be. GANDALF: At any rate, we can’t stay up here in the rain. Fili and Kili, I want you two to find us a cave of sorts where we can camp. They go off looking for a cave while the rest of the party remains and tries to stay as dry as possible. Eventually the two younger dwarves return. FILI: Wouldn’t you know it? There’s a quite comfortable cave just around the bend. GANDALF: Did you explore this cave thoroughly? KILI: Yes, it’s not that big, just big enough for all of us to lay down and for the horses. Fili and Kili lead them to the cave. It is as they said, big enough but not too big. OIN: Great! I’ll light us a fire. GANDALF: No! Best not to advertise our position. OIN: You afraid of those giants out there? GANDALF: No. Goblins could live in these mountains. With that they all lay down and try to sleep. Bilbo is lying in the corner. OLD BILBO: (voice over)I tried to sleep that night, but somehow I could not. Perhaps it was the noise. Even a cave that small has a way of echoing the sound of thirteen snoring dwarves to the point at which it becomes absolutely unbearable. But it was something else. Some strange feeling I couldn’t explain. I think Gandalf felt it too. Bilbo looks over to where Gandalf is lying, and sees him gripping his sword.
Just then the back wall of the cave begins to open outward, parting in the center. Something is pulling their ponies into the hole in the wall. Bilbo screams, waking up the dwarves.
Goblins burst out of the hole, and surround the dwarves. Gandalf jumps up, raising his staff, and in a burst up light he knocks several of the goblins to the ground. As the light goes away, the dwarves and goblins are both surprised to see that Gandalf has disappeared.
They take the dwarves’ and Bilbo’s weapons. One of the goblins (clearly the leader) addresses them in a sinister voice. He is much taller than the others (about 5”5’) and much more muscular. He’s really more of an orc than a goblin (in fact is actually a mix). GOBLIN CAPTAIN: Loitering on our front step are we? Or are we spying? We shall soon find out. (to his men) Alright, boys. Bring ‘em downstairs! The dwarves and Bilbo have their hands bound and are forced into the hole in the wall, which closes behind them. Trapped.
The pass down a series of stairs. As they pass by one flight of stairs that connects perpendicularly with the one their using, the captain turns to a new recruit. GOBLIN CAPTAIN: You, you’re new here, eh? Get up those stairs and fetch us some grog! The naïve youngster scrambles up the stairs and steps on a loose stone. Spikes come out of the walls and impale him. It’s a booby trap used to kill intruders. The other goblins laugh evilly at the kid’s fate and continue on.
They continue downwards until they reach a huge chasm, in the middle of which is a giant goblin city, illuminated by a sinister glow.
They’re brought before the Goblin King, who is old and wrinkly and has white hair (a particularly grotesque use of prosthetic makeup). GOBLIN KING: Dwarves? You bring these sorry pieces of filth before me? You should’ve killed them on sight. What crime have they committed, other than belonging to their pathetic race? GOBLIN CAPTAIN: They dared to sleep at our Western Gate, like a pack of worthless vagabonds. GOBLIN KING: Up to no good, I’ll warrant! Spying on the private lives of our people! Thieves I shouldn’t be surprised to learn! Murderers and friends of elves! What have you to say? THORIN: Thorin the dwarf, at your service. I apologize for and inconvenience and for sitting outside your door. The honest truth of the matter is that we had no idea that your front step was anything other than a simple cave in which we could be sheltered from the storm. I suppose many travelers make that mistake. What do you do to them? GOBLIN KING: For those who dare to trespass in our lands there is only one fate: a death of unspeakable torture. But if you tell me why you and your allies are passing through my dominion, I may consider a more humane form of execution. Perhaps a lance through the heart, as opposed to dismemberment, for example. THORIN: Please, you excellency! Have mercy on us! We are only visiting our relatives on the other side of the mountains! GOBLIN CAPTAIN: Liars! My lord, several of our bravest warriors were struck down by … some sort of lightning at the mouth of the tunnel! The perspective on the scene changes to someone looking down on the trial from behind some rocks overhead. GOBLIN CAPTAIN: (continued)These are no ordinary dwarves. They have some fell sorcerer with them. And they had this! He gives the Goblin King the sword Thorin got from the troll cave. It is glowing blue. The King screams. GOBLIN KING: You dare enter my halls with your mock courtesy, dwarf scum, while bearing this sword, this abomination!, with you? There is no number created in our language yet to express the countless masses of goblins that were hewn by it! This has obliterated any good opinion I had of you! Throw them into the deepest pit of snakes under these mountains! Make them a feast for the devilish crawlers under the earth! He hands the sword to the Captain. GOBLIN KING: (continued)And send this desecration to the blacksmiths to be destroyed! Just then a figure jumps down from above in a white, blinding light. The figure slices off the head of the Goblin King, splattering black blood everywhere. When the light goes away, we see the figure is Gandalf. The ropes around the dwarves’ and Bilbo’s hands are magically untied, and they attack their captors. Gandalf turns and starts fighting the Goblin Captain, who is using Thorin’s sword.
They fight their way onto a flight of stairs, much like the ones they came down on. Gandalf slashes and the Captain’s legs. The Captain only winces slightly and punches Gandalf to the ground. He picks up Gandalf and throws him onto another stairway. This triggers another booby trap: a grid of spikes swings down from the ceiling and swings towards Gandalf. Gandalf sees it in time, and jumps down off the stairs into a goblin weapons plant.
Back at the throne room the dwarves and Bilbo have gotten their weapons back and are still fighting. BILBO: (To Thorin) Hey, look! My sword is glowing! THORIN: Lucky you, now keep fighting! Back in the weapons plant, Gandalf seems to be winning the fight. The Goblin Captain kicks Gandalf back and lets out a growl. He comes back at Gandalf with a sudden fury of attacks. He holds Gandalf’s sword to the ground with Thorin’s sword and pulls out his own dagger. Gandalf knocks the dagger out of his hands with his staff and knocks the Captain upside the head with it. He backs away quickly (leaving his sword), and shoots a destructive stream of light at a chain, holding up a huge slab of metal. The metal falls on the captain, slicing him in half from the head to the crotch.
Cut to the dwarves and Bilbo in the throne room. They’ve driven the goblins out of the room and are trying to keep them from coming through the door, which they’ve braced.
Gandalf runs down the stairs, and he shouts a spell that keeps the door shut. GANDALF: That should keep them from following us for a while. We need to find a tunnel to the Eastern side of the mountains. Come on! Gandalf throws Thorin his sword (which he got back from the Captain), and they run down a tunnel heading East. The dwarf Dori offers to carry Bilbo on his shoulders so they can run faster.
Cut back to the door, which they finally knock open with a battering ram. Goblins swarm through it and take off after the party.
Gandalf, Bilbo, and the dwarves are now on a path with a rock wall on one side and a sheer drop on the other. Suddenly goblins drop down off of the wall on the right and attack. Dori loses his grip on Bilbo, and Bilbo falls off his shoulders and off the cliff into the abyss…
Fade to black. Scene 8 – Riddles in the Dark[//b]
As Bilbo falls, he manages to catch onto a part of the cliff. He breathes a sigh of relief, but then the part he’s holding onto breaks off, and he falls some more, finally hitting the rock floor. He’s hurt, but not as injured as he would’ve been had he fallen all the way. He gets up achingly and looks around. It’s pitch black, so he pulls out his sword, its blue aura offering some illumination. Suddenly he sees a golden ring lying on the ground. He picks it up.
BILBO:
Well, now at least I’ll have something to show them when I get out of here.
He looks around.
BILBO:
Obviously I can’t go back, I’ll break my neck climbing that wall. The only reasonable thing to do is keep going forward, with the wall to my right, in the direction Gandalf was leading us.
He does this, but eventually he enters a winding tunnel that doesn’t seem to follow the route Gandalf chose at all. He keeps going, nonetheless, seeing where it leads. He eventually puts his sword back in its scabbard.
BILBO:
Too much light and they’ll know where I am. It’s better to just let my eyes get used to the darkness.
He keeps going until he steps into a pool of water. He soon finds out that it isn’t a pool, but a subterranean lake.
Cut to an island in the middle of the lake. We seem to be looking through the eyes of some underground creature, because the image is brighter, though slightly distorted. We see Bilbo stumbling around on the edge of the lake. Then suddenly the voice of Gollum is heard.
GOLLUM:
Mmm… Yes, a meal for us, my precioussss!
Then Gollum is seen for the first time, crawling into a makeshift boat and rowing over to where Bilbo is, using his foot as a paddle. He is a short, lanky creature with big eyes that can see in the dark. He could almost look human, but he acts like a wild animal. Bilbo doesn’t see him coming.
GOLLUM:
Bless us, splash us, my precioussss! I guess it’s a choice feast, at least a tasty morsel it’d make us, gollum!
Bilbo nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears this. He pulls out his sword and sees Gollum for the first time.
BILBO:
Who are you?
GOLLUM:
What iss he, precioussss?
BILBO:
Okay, I’m Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit. I was traveling with a party of dwarves and a wizard and I got lost. I have no idea where I am and I just want to get out of here.
GOLLUM:
Not so fast. Aghh! The light burns us, preciousss! What is it it got’s in it’s hands?
BILBO:
A sword, a blade that came out of Gondolin!
Gollum makes a hissing sound.
GOLLUM:
Perhaps we sits here and chats with it a bit, my precioussss. Does it like riddles?
BILBO:
Why, yes. I like riddles quite a bit.
GOLLUM:
Good, precioussss. We’ll play a game with it then.
BILBO:
Fine, but let’s make it a short one. I have to catch up with my friends. You ask first.
GOLLUM:
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
And never it grows?
BILBO:
Simple, a mountain.
GOLLUM:
Guess easy, does it? Let us make the game more interesting.Take turns we will, each asks the hardest riddle in our brainses. If it asks and precious doesn’t answer, we show it the way out. But if precious asks and it doesn’t answer – (he lets out an evil cackle) – then eat it we shall.
Bilbo is disgusted, but he realizes it may be his only way out.
BILBO:
Fine, we have a deal. My turn:
Thirty white horses on a white hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.
GOLLUM:
Teeth! Teeth! But we only have six. Gollum:
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless it flutters,
Toothless it bites,
Windless it flutters.
BILBO:
Half a moment… Wind of course.
An eye in a blue face,
Saw an eye in a green face,
“That eye is like to this eye,”
Said the first eye,
“But in a low place,
Not a high place.”
GOLLUM:
Umm… Err… Tricksy little hobbit… Sun on the daisies it means, I suppose.
BILBO:
Yes. Your turn.
GOLLUM:
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills, precioussss,
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter.
BILBO:
Ah, I’ve heard this one before. Dark!
A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
(Pause). Well, what is it?
GOLLUM:
Give us a chance, preciousss! Give us a chance to think!
Another long pause.
BILBO:
Well?
GOLLUM:
Eggses! Eggses it is!
Alive without breath,
Cold as death,
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.
Bilbo struggles for the answer.
GOLLUM:
Haste! Must make haste! I wonder what it tastes like, precioussss!
BILBO:
Quiet! I gave you time enough to think! What is it…
Just then a fish jumps up out of the water and lands on Bilbo’s leg.
BILBO:
Ugh! Wait a minute. Fish! The answer’s a fish!
Gollum growls, trying obviously to think of something else it could be so he can eat Bilbo.
GOLLUM:
Yes, of course, it is fish. Now your turn.
BILBO:
I know whose turn it is.
He struggles to think of a riddle.
GOLLUM:
Must think of another, precioussss. It must ask us or lose it does!
BILBO:
What do I have in my pockets?
GOLLUM:
Not fair! It’s none of our business what it’s got in its pocketses!
BILBO:
I asked you a question, what do I have in my pockets? I’ll give you three guesses if you like.
GOLLUM:
Uh, hands?
BILBO:
No.
GOLLUM:
Some string?
BILBO:
Nope.
GOLLUM:
A knife, er nothing!
BILBO:
Both wrong. Now, I would appreciate it if you would show me the way out of here.
Gollum glares at him.
GOLLUM:
Yes, yes, precioussss. We will show them the way out. But first it must tell us what it’s got in its pockets!
BILBO:
That’s none of your business. Now hold up your end of the bargain.
GOLLUM:
First you must wait. Mustn’t go into the tunnels so hasty! We must go get some things. You stay right here.
Gollum gets back in his boat and rows back to the island. While he’s gone, Bilbo reaches into his pocket and pulls out the ring he found.
BILBO:
I guess you turned out to be good luck after all.
Suddenly we hear Gollum scream.
GOLLUM: (off screen)
GONE! Gone it is! Aghh, precioussss, precioussss!!!
BILBO: (shouting)
What are you babbling about now? I’m still waiting for my guide!
GOLLUM:
My birthday present! Someone has stolen it!
Cut to Gollum on the island. He’s looked everywhere.
GOLLUM:
(to himself) That nasty little hobbit! He has it. He won’t see us, no, that nasty little sword will be quite useless!
He rows back over to Bilbo, going in a roundabout way so as to remain unnoticed. When he reaches the shore he jumps out and runs towards Bilbo, who is still holding the ring. Bilbo sees him just in time and dives to the side, accidentally putting on the rind in the process. He turns invisible.
Suddenly he’s in a bright, windy environment. He can see Gollum looking around and scratching his head, but Gollum can’t see him.
GOLLUM:
He must’ve gone down the tunnel. There’s only one way out of here, we’ll wait for him there and when he comes, we’ll pounce on him, preciousss!
He runs off into the tunnels, inadvertently showing Bilbo which way to go. Bilbo tries to follow as quietly as he can, still wearing the ring. The tunnels are a complete maze, but Gollum has lived there long enough to know which tunnels lead to the surface. He eventually gets to the last tunnel that leads to the exit.
GOLLUM:
Yes, here we are, preciousss. Now we wait for him.
He sits down at the entrance to the tunnel, so Bilbo can’t pass without him knowing. Bilbo puts his hand on his sword, contemplating whether or not to kill the creature. But he decides not to. He takes a running leap over Gollum. Gollum senses him and tries to grab his feet in midair, but Bilbo make it over.
Gollum begins screaming hysterically.
GOLLUM:
Thief! Theif! Theif! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!
Bilbo keeps running until he reaches a room full of goblins guarding the door out.
GOBLIN #1:
Do you think it’s true that the king is dead?
GOBLIN #2:
Yeah, he’s dead alright. I got a friend in the king’s personal guards. And those cursed dwarves and their wizard friend got away.
Bilbo breathes a sigh of relief that they’re alive.
GOBLIN #1:
Wait. I smell something.
GOBLIN #2:
Do you think one of them is still here?
GOBLIN #1:
I don’t know, let’s look around. It’s coming from that tunnel.
Bilbo makes a run for the door and they hear him.
GOBLIN #1:
Quick! Close the door!
They try to catch Bilbo by hearing, but he dodges them. The door begins to close. Bilbo ducks underneath two goblins as they collide trying to catch him. Bilbo gets to the door when it’s nearly fully closed. He just barely manages to squeeze through. He keeps on running on the other side, hearing the goblins yelling on the other side.
Once he reaches the base of the mountain, he looks back and sees the sun setting over the mountains.
BILBO:
Good, I’m on the Eastern side of the mountains.
Scene 9 – Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
Bilbo keeps heading down a stony path until he hears a noise. He investigates, seeing Gandalf and the dwarves’ camp.
BILBO:
Time to surprise them.
Cut to the dwarves and Gandalf at the camp.
GANDALF:
Who on earth was supposed to be watching Bilbo?
DORI:
Well, I had him on my shoulders. I guess he must’ve slipped off somehow when we were ambushed by those goblins.
DWALIN:
Good work. Now we’ll have to go back and find us another burglar.
BILBO: (off screen)
No you won’t!
Bilbo suddenly appears in their midst. They all jump up surprised to see him alive. They all congratulate him on making it out. Gandalf calls Balin, who was keeping watch.
GANDALF:
Balin! Why didn’t you tell us that Bilbo was coming?
BALIN:
I didn’t even know he was here! How did you get by me?
BILBO:
Oh, you know, just crept along quietly.
BALIN:
How on earth did you escape?
OLD BILBO: (voice over)
I told them the whole story, except for the parts concerning the ring, which I thought would best be kept secret for the time being.
BILBO:
… and after that I came to the room near the door and was confronted by several large goblins, but I still got out. I just ran and dodged ‘em.
THORIN:
Dodged? You make it sound awfully easy. They didn’t try to kill you?
BILBO:
Oh, they did their best. They even tried to lock me in, but I managed to squeeze through the door in time.
GANDALF:
Very impressive. Now that we’re all out alive we can continue on. Elrond and I both knew of the presence of goblins in the mountains, but I assumed we could get through unscathed. When we get back I’ll have to convince a more or less decent giant to block up that cave, so no more travelers are captured.
THORIN:
But back to the here and now. Will the goblins follow us?
GANDALF:
Oh, naturally they must. We killed their king, didn’t we?
He picks up his gear to leave.
GANDALF:
In fact, we’d better get started now!
They pack up and leave. After some traveling they reach a wooded area.
GANFALF:
Someone climb up a tree and see if you can spot where the orcs are.
FILI:
I’ll do it!
Fili climbs up the tree.
THORIN:
Do ‘ya see anything from up there?
FILI:
Yes, hundreds of torches! They must be sending every goblin they have after us!
Cut to a view from above the tops of the trees. Goblins are pouring out of every hole and cave in the mountain, some are riding on wolves and wargs.
FILI:
Should I climb back down?
GANDALF:
Quiet! I need to think.
Just then they hear howling and the sound of paws.
GANDALF:
Everyone up in the trees!
They scramble up into the trees. Bilbo is left down on the ground because he can’t reach the lower branches.
NORI:
Dori! You’ve left the Burglar behind again!
DORI:
Why is it that I have to help him everywhere? What am I, a porter?
Dori climbs down and holds his hand out to Bilbo. Just then a pack of wolves come into view, and Dori lifts up Bilbo just before one clamps his teeth around his ankle. The area around the tree is now filled with wolves and a few wargs (mutated wolves goblins and orcs use for riding). They circle around the trees, but are unable to do anything about the people in them.
Gandalf and Thorin are in different trees, and they yell to each other about what to do next.
THORIN:
Well, Gandalf. What do we do now?
GANDALF:
I’m thinking!
The Wargs down below are growling at each other in their own language.
THORIN:
Are they talking to each other?
GANDALF:
Yes, and what they’re saying is even more interesting.
THORIN:
You can understand them?
GANDALF:
Yes. There seems to be a settlement of woodsmen that they were planning on raiding tonight … with the help of the goblins. This seems to be their meeting place, and it would be an understatement to say that they’re slightly annoyed at our presence.
THORIN:
Luckily wolves can’t climb trees.
GANDALF:
No, but goblins can, and they shouldn’t be too far behind.
THORIN:
Then, once again, what do we do?
GANDALF:
I say it’s time for some target practice.
Gandalf cups his hands and magically forms a ball of blue fire, which he throws down at the nearest warg, which bursts into flames and starts to run around yelping in pain and attacking the other wolves madly. Gandalf starts making dozens of fireballs and throwing them at the wolves, setting them on fire one by one. The dwarves and the hobbit start cheering for Gandalf, but their celebration is short lived.
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Post by Dale on May 9, 2008 11:18:37 GMT -5
The fires begin to spread to the nearby foliage, and then to the trees. [/I] THORIN: Perhaps you were a little overeager with the fireballs, my friend? Just then, goblins rush into the clearing, ready for a fight. GOBLIN #1: Where are they? GOBLIN#2: Look! There they are, up in the trees! Gandalf shoots a fireball at the main goblin, but he blocks in with this shield. One of the goblins with a bow starts shooting arrows at Gandalf, who knocks most of them away with his staff. One of the arrows grazes Gandalf’s shoulder and he loses his balance.
Everything goes into slow-motion as Gandalf falls out of the tree and into the fire below. Just before he falls into the fire, two huge bird talons reach down out of the sky and grab him and he’s carried off, leaving the goblins (and the dwarves and Bilbo) stunned.
Cut to many eagles swooping down out of the sky. Each one picks up a dwarf and carries him off. They nearly leave Bilbo behind, but he manages to grab hold of Dori’s legs as he is liberated. DORI: Aghh!! Next time someone else gets to save the burglar! The goblins don’t let them get away so easily. They open fire on the eagles with arrows. They only hit one (not carrying anyone). It falls to the ground, and the goblins start to hack it to pieces. GANDALF: Wait! Bring me back towards those goblins! The eagle carrying Gandalf turns around. Gandalf produces a huge fireball, bigger than any of the others, and hurls it down on the goblins. He hits on of the trees, and knocks it down onto the goblins who killed the eagle.
The eagles carry the party to their eyrie high up in the Misty Mountains and put them down. One of the eagles flies in carrying a large dead cow in his beak and drops it on the ledge of the cliff.. EAGLE #1: I brought you some dinner. He flies off. The dwarves look at the dead saliva covered animal disgustedly. GANDALF: Well at least we’re past the mountains. THORIN: I suppose these eagles are friendly? GANDALF: It’s a possibility. Or they may decide to eat us. BILBO: Wait, you’re joking, right? Another eagle flies up. EAGLE #2: The Lord of the Eagles bids you to bring your prisoners to the Great Shelf. As the eagles begin to pick up the dwarves, etc. to fly them to their next destination, Bilbo begins to panic. BILBO: What? Did he just say prisoners? Cut to the “prisoners” in front of GWAIHIR, who is slightly larger than the other eagles and more lordly looking. He and Gandalf are talking and laughing like old friends. GANDALF: So, by “prisoners” he must’ve meant “the prisoners rescued from the goblins?” GWAIHIR: Yes, but that didn’t stop you from having any fun, did it? I heard about you telling them that we might eat them! GANDALF: Well we’ve had many creatures try to devour us on this journey, so I figured they’d be used to it by now! GWAIHIR: Now, down to business. Where would you like to be taken? GANDALF: I suppose we shouldn’t ask to be taken all the way to Erebor… How about just down to the plains? GWAIHIR: Now, there are men living down there who wouldn’t hesitate to shoot us, somewhere else. GANDALF: Then perhaps you can take us as far as you will. Cut to the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf getting ready to sleep on a high perch in the mountains. BOMBUR: This won’t do at all! I just know one of us it going to roll over during the night and fall right off this cliff. BOFUR: I have a suggestion. Shut up and don’t sleep near the edge! Thorin, Bilbo, and Gandalf are talking off to the side. THORIN: After that whole fiasco we’ll need food, supplies, and most of all rest. GANDALF: I think I know someone who can help us, but we’ll have to walk part of the way there. The eagles won’t be able to fly us all the way. BILBO: Can’t we get all of those things here? GANDALF: We can’t live long on raw meat like the eagles, and we’ve lost all our materials to make a fire to cook with. The eagles have no supplies to offer, they survive with only their beaks and their talons. And I don’t think the dwarves will find rest here. They thrive below ground, not high above it. THORIN: Yes, we must move along quickly. I want to get to the Lonely Mountain before Durin’s Day. We’ll see if this map is accurate. GANDALF: Good, then we’ll be on our way at daybreak. Scene 10 – The Skin Changer Cut to the party being carried by the eagles again, this time at sunrise. As they’re flying, Gandalf sees smoke rising from the South. GANDALF: Gwaihir, are there any goblins in that area? GWAIHIR: Yes, they’ve set themselves up by the Anduin river. We don’t know what they’re doing, probably robbing travelers on the river. We’ve been meaning to do a little raid on them for a while now. The eagles let their passengers down in a field. GWAIHIR: This is as far as we can take you. Farewell, wherever you fare, till your eyries receive you at journey’s end. The Eagles fly off and the party continues on. They eventually get to a river (the Anduin) and cross over at a ford. GANDALF: This place is called the Carrock. BILBO: Why is it called that? GANDALF: He called it the Carrock, because Carrock is the word for it. He calls things like that carrocks, and this one is the Carrock because it is the only one near his home and he knows it well. BILBO: Who is “he”? GANDALF: The somebody I spoke of – a very great person. You must be very polite when I introduce you. I’ll introduce all of you two by two, I think; and you must be careful not to annoy him, or heaven knows what will happen. DWALIN: Not very well tempered, is he? GANDALF: Oh, he can be appalling when he’s angry, but he’s decent enough if humoured. BILBO: Is that the person you’re taking us to now? Couldn’t you find someone more easily tempered? GANDALF: Yes it is! And no, I could not. His name is Beorn. He is very strong, and he is a skin-changer. BILBO: What! A furrier, a man who calls rabbits conies, when he doesn’t turn their skins into squirrels? GANDALF: Good gracious heavens, no, no, no, NO!! Don’t be a fool, Bilbo Baggins, if you can help it! And in the name of all don’t mention the word furrier again as long as you are withing one-hundred miles of his house, nor rug, cape, tippet, muff, or any other such unfortunate word! He is a skin changer, as in he can change his own skin. Sometimes he is a huge bear, and sometimes he is a great strong black haired man with huge arms and a great beard. He is not the sort of man to ask questions of. BILBO: Okay, okay. Sorry. They continue on until they reach a small field of bee hives. GANDALF: These hives belong to him. We’re getting close. They come to a big house with various farm animals locked up in pens. GANDALF: Here we are. Bilbo and I will go in first. Send another pair of you in every five minutes or so. Gandalf and Bilbo walk into the yard. Some horses see them and canter off quickly neighing. GANDALF: They’ve gone to inform their master of the arrival of strangers. They get to a courtyard, where they see Beorn for the first time in his human form, very much the way Gandalf described him. He has a bunch of tools out and he’s building what looks like a table. BEORN: (to the horses)You can go now, they look innocent enough! (to Gandalf and Bilbo) Who are you and what do you want? GANDALF: My name is Gandalf. BEORN: Never heard of him. And what’s this little fellow? GANDALF: That would be Mr. Baggins, a hobbit of good family and unimpeachable reputation. I, on the other hand, am a wizard. Even if you haven’t heard of me, perhaps you’ve heard of my good cousin Radagast who lives on the Southern borders of Mirkwood. BEORN: Yes, not a bad fellow as wizards go. So what brings you to my house? GANDALF: We had some trouble crossing the mountains. We were attacked by goblins. BEORN: Goblins? What did you go near them for? GANDALF: It was unintended. They surprised us one night in a pass which we had to cross. We barely fought our way out alive. BEORN: Now that sounds like a good story to hear. GANDALF: Well I’ll see if I can remember it all. Now, I was coming over the mountains with a friend or two… BEORN: Or two? This fellow’s hardly enough to be considered one! GANDALF: Well, to tell you the truth, we didn’t want to trouble you with us all at one time. I’ll go ahead and call them in. BEORN: Go ahead! Call away! Gandalf whistles, and Thorin and Dori walk in. BEORN: Those aren’t hobbits, they’re dwarves! THORIN: Thorin Oakenshield at your service. DORI: Dori at your –. BEORN: I don’t need your service, thank you! Though I suspect you need mine. Continue. GANDALF: Okay, where was I? There was this terrible storm, and we were forced to take refuge in a cave, which was just big enough for me, the hobbit, and several of our companions… BEORN: You call two several? GANDALF: Um, no. I suppose they all didn’t come when I called the first time. I’ll try again. BEORN: Make it quick! I’m in for a party it seems. Nori and Ori come this time and bow and offer their service.
BEORN:
Thank you! When I need your service I’ll ask for it!
GANDALF:
Alright, so we were in the cave sleeping, and a crack started to for at the back of the cave. It opened up and goblins came out, who proceeded to grab the hobbit, the dwarves and our troop of ponies…
BEORN:
A troop? I would hardly call six a troop. Unless you had many other ponies carrying supplies.
GANDALF:
Oh, no. We have no such luxuries, but we do have more dwarves.
BEORN:
Oh, yes. There are always more dwarves. So what happened to them? Killed? Captured by goblins?
GANDALF:
Perhaps they got lost on their way in here. I’ll call them again.
He calls again. This time Balin and Dwalin come in.
BEORN:
A troop was right. A fine comic one at that. Go on.
GANDALF:
Well, I didn’t let them capture the dwarves without a fight. Instead I hit them with a blast of lightning.
BEORN:
Good job! That should teach ‘em!
GANDALF:
Well, I followed them into the heart of the mountain where I found they were about to be executed. I couldn’t let that happen, so I jumped down and cut off the goblins’ king’s head!
BEORN:
Now that must’ve been a sight worth seeing! If half of this story is true I think we’ll get along just fine.
GANDALF:
A battle ensued and we had to retreat through the tunnels, where they ambushed us. We barely fought our way out of the caves alive, but when we reached the Western entrance we realized we had left Bilbo behind. There were only fourteen of us!
BEORN:
Now hold on! There are only nine of you here!
GANDALF:
So there is! I’ll just call them again.
BEORN:
Never mind! I’ll get them myself!
He stomps out of the courtyard to the front of the house.
THORIN:
Great, now you’ve made him angry!
Cut to the other five dwarves in front of the house.
OIN:
Who do you think should go next?
GLOIN:
You and me. Best to save Bombur for last.
BOMBUR:
Why, just because I’m fat?
Just then Beorn comes around the side of the house. He starts yelling.
BEORN:
All of you get back here! I won’t have any more numerical fallacies interrupting this particularly wonderful story!
They don’t get up immediately, because they’re too busy cowering in fear.
BEORN:
NOW!
They all jump and do what he says, trying to stay keep from getting to close to him, of course.
Cut to Gandalf finishing the story.
GANDALF:
So then the eagles agreed to take us part of the way to your house, and we ended up here.
BEORN:
So that’s it, then?
GANDALF:
No, there’s one more thing. I think it’s worth noting that Gwaihir believes that there’s goblin activity along the Anduin River.
BEORN:
Not in my territory?
GANDALF:
Awfully close to it, it seems.
BEORN:
I’ll look into it personally. But for now, I’ve determined that you are not enemies and you’re welcome in my house. If more beggars could tell such a tale, they might find me kinder.
GANDALF:
Thank you, we won’t trespass too long. Just long enough to acquire the necessary provisions, supplies, etc.
BEORN:
Very well.
Cut to the party and Beorn sitting at a massive table in his dining room, eating a roasted calf Beorn killed.
BEORN: There’s just one more thing. Before I contribute to this mission of yours, I’d like to know what your trying to do. I’ve notice that you’ve been avoiding that subject the whole time.
THORIN:
That is our business, sir, and we would like to keep it that way.
GANDALF:
Thorin, please be polite. I see no harm in telling Beorn. He wants to help us out.
THORIN:
Oh, alright. I am the grandson of Thror, the former king under the mountain. We are heading to Erebor to retrieve our treasure.
BEORN: So you mean to kill Smaug?
THORIN:
We haven’t decided on that course of action yet. What we’re after is the treasure.
BEORN:
Which you won’t get at while the dragon is alive. Dragons are stubborn; they have no use for their spoils, but they’ll die to keep them from being taken.
THORIN: There’s no need to lecture me, good sir. I know very well the tales of dragons and their habits. That’s why we hired this expert burglar.
Beorn looks at Bilbo as if he doesn’t think he can do it.
BEORN:
I wouldn’t take you for a burglar just by looking at you.
BILBO:
Perhaps that’s my advantage.
BEORN:
Perhaps. You aren’t thinking of stealing from me, are you?
BILBO:
Actually, I already have!
He pulls out some of the tools Beorn had been using earlier.
BILBO:
I took them while you and Gandalf were talking, with every intention of giving them back of course.
Gandalf looks down and covers his face, expecting Beorn to be angry. But instead Beorn laughs.
BEORN:
Ha! Perhaps you’ll do good after all!
Cut to the dwarves and Bilbo getting ready to go to bed. They’re all sleeping in various rooms in the house. As they go to bed, Gandalf and Beorn sit by the fire, Beorn beginning to doze off. When he falls asleap, Gandalf gets up and puts on his cloak and hat. He also gets his staff and sword and then leaves.
He walks swiftly through the fields, heading East towards the river at night. Suddenly he hears a loud sound of running and growling behind him. He turns back to see a large bear running towards him.
GANDALF:
Beorn, is that you?
Suddenly another, much larger bear charges in from the side and tackles the first bear. They circle each other, growling, but the first bear realizes he is no match for the other, bigger one, so he backs down. The second bear heads towards Gandalf, and suddenly changes into Beorn.
BEORN:
Why did you leave? These parts are safer than most, but that’s no reason to wander about at night alone.
GANDALF:
I can’t stop thinking about those goblins. What are they doing down at the river?
BEORN:
I don’t know… I guess you’re right. We had better investigate.
Beorn changes in a bear once again and they head towards the river.
Scene 11 – The Dark Forest
In the morning, Gandalf walks back into Beorn’s house. Beorn is nowhere to be seen. Bilbo meets him at the door.
BILBO:
Where have you been? We’ve been worrying all morning.
GANDALF:
Never you mind. Beorn and I were just handling some business.
BILBO:
And where is he?
GANDALF:
He should be back soon.
OLD BILBO: (voice over)
He wasn’t. We spent three more days in Beorn’s house, but no sign of him. What happened to him was a mystery to us.
Cut to Bilbo and Thorin confronting Gandalf in the kitchen.
BILBO:
Gandalf, it’s time to come clean. Is Beorn dead?
GANDALF:
He wasn’t the last time I saw him.
THORIN:
And what exactly were the two of you doing then?
GANDALF:
Blast it! I don’t have to answer to the two of you! Will you not learn that it is not wise to meddle in the affairs of wizards? You forget that I am on a mission of my own. I will be leaving this party soon and going my own way.
BILBO:
Wait! We’re sorry! We won’t bother you again –!
GANDALF:
It isn’t anything the two of you said. I’ve been planning to do this for a while, in fact I told you it would happen from the beginning.
THORIN:
We’ll offer you anything you want just to stay! We’re about to enter Mirkwood, the most dangerous part of the journey!
GANDALF:
And my mission will take me to the Southern borders of Mirkwood, so entering it won’t help me much. Tell the others that we’re leaving in the morning. I wanted to say goodbye to Beorn, but I think we’ve tarried here long enough.
Cut to the party loading up some of Beorn’s ponies.
GANDALF:
You must set these ponies free when you reach the forest, for Beorn will not allow them to enter it.
BALIN:
What about that horse you’re taking.
GANDALF:
I think Beorn will forgive me for keeping it a bit longer. Let’s move!
They ride off and are soon on their way.
GANDALF: (voice over)
Now we head Southeast towards the Old Forest Road into Mirkwood, and there is where I shall say goodbye to you, for now.
Cut the party camping at night. Bilbo and Gandalf are the only ones awake by the campfire, and Bilbo sees two glowing eyes in the woods and then the face of a bear.
GANDALF:
I guess he made it out alive after all. There’s no need to keep a sentry tonight. Not while he’s around.
Cut to the party on the road again. As they ride along, some of the dwarves notice a bear running parallel to their path in the woods to the side.
They finally get to the Old Forest road into Mirkwood. The trees and foliage around the path are so dense that it looks more like a tunnel than a road. Bilbo stares into the opening in the forest; you can’t see far inside before everything becomes pitch black.
GANDALF:
Here, I’m afraid, I must leave you. But I will leave with some words of advice. If you respect my guidance, if you heed my words at all, you will not stray from the road. This is unlike any forest you have ever seen, and your departure from it alive depends on your ability to keep from getting lost. And also, if you should come to a stream that crosses over the path, don’t drink from it! Don’t even get the water on you. If you heed my advice, you should come out alive. Perhaps we’ll even see each other on the other side.
BILBO:
But isn’t there any way around?
GANDALF:
Of course there is. But you would be traveling so long you would never get there by Durin’s Day (if you make it there at all). Go to the North and you’ll have to pass under the Grey Mountains, which are inhabited mostly by goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description. Then you could always go South, but that would lead you into the lands of the Necromancer; and even you, Bilbo, don’t need me to tell you tales of that evil sorcerer.
THORIN:
This side of the world isn’t as hospitable as it used to be.
GANDALF:
With any luck we can change that. Good luck, and may we meet again!
He rides off, leaving them at the entrance to the forest. Thorin lights a torch and enters reluctantly. The rest of the dwarves and Bilbo follow, guided by Thorin’s single torch.
The journey continues uneventfully until the group begins to feel more at ease. They begin to sing marching songs.
BOMBUR:
Hey, this forest isn’t really that bad!
Just then something big jumps out and collides with Bombur, knocking him over. He rolls on the ground wrestling with a huge black squirrel, almost as big as him. Thorin shoves his torch at the animal, singing its fur, and sending it growling off into the forrest. Everyone is pretty spooked.
THORIN:
Everyone stay calm! That thing won’t be coming back after that!
Just then a whole pack of the gigantic squirrels runs across the path. One knocks Thorin down and the torch goes out. Suddenly everything is pitch black except for hundreds of glowing, insect-like eyes all around them. Bilbo and several of the dwarves scream as Thorin desperately tries to light the torch again. He does, and everyone is lying on the path, panting.
BILBO:
This is insane!
[Fade to them walking once again, this time more cautious and quiet. They come to the stream Gandalf told them about, which is more like a river.
DWALIN:
How are we supposed to get across that with out getting wet?
BALIN:
Gandalf never said what would happen to us if we did. I say we take a risk and try to swim it.
THORIN:
No! We can find another way to get across.
BILBO:
Wait! I think I see something! A boat on the other side!
Bilbo is right. There’s a small rowboat resting near the opposite shore.
DWALIN:
I fail to see how that helps us.
BILBO:
Don’t we have any rope? We can tie it into a loop and try to catch it and pull it over here.
THORIN:
Yes, I have some rope. How far across is it?
BILBO:
I’d estimate it to be about twelve yards.
THORIN:
I think we can manage that.
Cut to Fili about to throw the rope. He throws and they hear it splash into the water.
BILBO:
Try it again! You were close on that try.
FILI:
But now the rope’s wet!
BILBO:
A little bit shouldn’t hurt.
He pulls the rope back in and tries again. This time when he throws it, they hear the sound of it hitting wood. Fili pulls the rope back slowly, hoping it’ll catch on a part of the boat It does, but when he pulls the rope back the boat won’t move.
THORIN:
The damn thing’s tied to something! Everybody pull!
They all grab hold of the rope and pull until they hear wood breaking and they fall to the ground. Fili pulls the boat in.
FILI:
I hope we didn’t damage it…
The boat becomes visible in the torchlight.
BALIN:
No oars! Now how do we get to the other side?
THORIN:
Get another rope and a hook! We’ll catch it on something on the other side and pull ourselves across!
They do this, pulling themselves across in small groups. Bombur is the last to cross. As he gets into the boat he yells:
BOMBUR:
I don’t think this discrimination is fair! I may be fat, but I don’t deserve to go last all the time!
BIFUR:
Oh, shut up and get in the boat!
As they pull him across, they hear a sound coming up the path after them, the sound of hooves. A strange looking deer with wings (very much like a Pegasus) runs up the path and jumps over the creek.
The dwarves and Bilbo scatter, trying to avoid getting hit. The deer barely clears Bombur’s head, and trips on the rope, capsizing the boat with Bombur in it. Bombur grabs the rope as he goes under and the other dwarves pull him in. Thorin pulls out a bow and takes aim at the deer, but it has already disappeared into the forest.
THORIN:
(sighs) How’s Bombur?
BILBO:
He’s dead!
BALIN:
No, can’t you see him breathing, you fool? He’s unconscious.
They try everything they can to wake him up: shaking him, yelling at him, kicking him.
KILI:
Bombur! Wake up! It’s dinner time!
He doesn’t move.
FILI:
Well, it was worth a try.
THORIN:
We’ll camp here. When the sun comes up… well, when it’s morning we’ll see if he wakes up. If he doesn’t… then we’ll have to carry him.
They all groan at the prospect.
OLD BILBO: (voice over)
No one slept that night. No one wanted to risk being asleep when another terrifying event occurred. But the one question I couldn’t keep myself from asking, the one we couldn’t get out of our minds, was “Where on earth is Gandalf?”
GANDALF: (voice over)
I believe I can answer that!
Cut all the way back to, Gandalf, Frodo, Galadriel, and the elves in Valinor listening to Bilbo tell his story. Gandalf stands up from his seat in the corner where he’s been smoking the whole time. He waves away the fumes he’s produced and walks over to the storyteller and his listeners.
GANDALF:
While Bilbo and the dwarves where traveling through Mirkwood, I was on my way to a meeting with some old friends.
Scene 12 – The White Council
Cut to Gandalf on horseback riding South. He eventually meets up with another rider, Radagast.
GANDALF:
Hello again, Radagast!
RADAGAST:
Gandalf, it’s been a long time.
GANDALF:
Indeed it has. I think Saruman has a surprise for us.
RADAGAST:
You mean other than the fact that we’re going to start an uprising among the woodsmen against the Necromancer?
GANDALF:
Yes, and I have some startling news for him as well. Do you know who else will be at the meeting?
RADAGAST:
Galadriel for sure. The other two of our order are still missing. I fear the are dead.
GANDALF:
Yes, I fear that too. Let’s ride on ahead!
They keep riding until they come to a village of woodsmen along the borders of Mirkwood. They ride up to a house where they are greeted by Saruman.
SARUMAN:
You’re late, Gandalf. I had to send Radagast here out looking for you.
GANDALF:
I apologize. We had some trouble crossing the mountains.
SARUMAN:
“We”? Oh, yes. That party of dwarves you were traveling with. Now we shall get to the business at hand. Galadriel is waiting inside.
They enter the house, where Galadriel is waiting.
GALADRIEL:
Hello, Gandalf.
GANDALF:
Hello. You must be glad you already live on this side of the mountains.
GALADRIEL:
You’re journey must have been difficult. I saw parts of it in the mirror back in Lorien. But I knew you would get here safely.
SARUMAN:
I suppose the meeting can now begin. As you all know, the Necromancer has been using this region for many years as a base for his evil doings. We’re here to drive him out. This will be accomplished with the help of several villages of woodsmen who have agreed to fight against him.
GANDALF:
How many of them are there?
SARUMAN:
About 500.
RADAGAST:
And how many soldiers does the Necromancer have, and of what variety? Goblins? Orcs? Mercenaries from the East?
GANDALF:
I believe I can answer that. Only a year ago when I infiltrated his fortress of Dol Goldur I only counted about 200 orc workers. The number could’ve risen since then, but that is highly unlikely. He isn’t building an army, he’s more concerning with carrying out his perverted experiments. He’s trying to create new orcs, new trolls. In my travels with a dwarf party we ran into three trolls, supposedly escaped from Dol Goldur. They could talk.
SARUMAN:
Are you sure? This could mean that Saur- er- I mean the Necromancer has succeeded in making a new breed of trolls.
GANDALF:
Not quite, they could talk, but they couldn’t reason. That’s why Sauron let them loose.
Galadriel and Radagast are surprised.
GALADRIEL:
You mean the Necromancer is actually Sauron?
SARUMAN:
Yes, Gandalf and I are afraid so. Couldn’t you see that in your mirror?
RADAGAST:
But Sauron is dead! What are you people talking about?
SARUMAN:
He is not dead. He has lost his body, but his spirit is still capable of enough malice. We can only hope that he doesn’t recover the Ring of Power.
GANDALF:
Excuse me, I have something to say. It may not seem relevant right away, but it must be said. I assume everyone here has met or at least heard of Beorn? I was at his house not too long ago. One night we went to investigate goblin activity by the river…
Flashback to Gandalf and Beorn (in bear form) climbing over a hill at daybreak. Down below they see the goblins. Beorn changes back into a human.
BEORN:
Oh my…
The goblins are searching the river for something. They’re diving under the water and searching the riverbed. As the sun rises they jump out of the water and retreat to their cave nearby.
BEORN:
What are they searching for?
GANDALF:
Isildur’s Bane.
BEORN:
What?
GANDALF:
The One Ring.
BEORN:
We can’t have that! You go back to the dwarves. I’ll meet up with you in a few days.
GANDALF:
What are you going to do?
BEORN:
Destroy their boats and equipment. If they want to come out to face me and the sunlight then they may, it’ll just save me the trouble of coming in after them! Then I’ll search the river for more of these goblins, and I won’t stop until I’ve driven them out of these lands!
Gandalf wishes him luck, and walks off. Beorn jumps down the hill, and Gandalf hears a loud roar and crashing as he destroys the Goblins’ camp.
Cut back to the wizards’ meeting.
SARUMAN:
So these goblins, supposedly under the command of Sauron, are searching for the One Ring?
GANDALF:
Were searching. I have no doubts that Beorn took care of them all.
SARUMAN:
He could have saved himself the trouble. They won’t find the Ring. Of course it must have fell in when Isildur was killed, but it has since floated down the Anduin and has washed into the sea.
GANDALF:
Perhaps…
GALADRIEL:
Now that we’re all here, why don’t you tell us why you’re so interested in these dwarves’ quest?
GANDALF:
Their quest is more important to ours than you may initially believe. They have a chance to rid the world of Smaug, the dragon.
RADAGAST:
Smaug has caused much evil, but really, Gandalf, why should we worry ourselves about a sleeping dragon? He doesn’t seem to be causing any trouble now. Marching in there and stealing his gold will only make him angry.
GANDALF:
He may be sleeping now, but soon he may be forced to awaken. Has anyone here considered how catastrophic the consequences would be if Smaug became a pawn of Sauron?
They’re all silent.
SARUMAN:
I believe your point is proven. Everyone prepare for battle once the woodsmen are assembled.
Scene 13 – Flies and Spiders
Cut to the dwarves and Bilbo trudging through the forest carrying a still sleeping Bombur.
BILBO:
When is this going to end?
BALIN:
A very good question. We’ve been traveling for days now.
THORIN:
It seems the only way to find out is to get a bird’s eye view. Bilbo! Climb up one of these trees and see how high up you can go!
They hoist Bilbo up into one of the trees and he begins to climb, trying to avoid hitting branches and getting entangled in vines. He eventually breaks through the upper canopy of the forest and he can see 360° around. There’s nothing but trees in every direction.
Bilbo climbs back down.
BILBO:
It’s no use. All I can see is trees.
They all groan.
BILBO:
But it may not be as far to go as you think. The only reason it looks like the trees go so far is because we’re in some sort of bowl-shaped valley! We may even be halfway across.
THORIN:
Let’s hope you’re right. We’re running out of food.
DWALIN:
And we’re traveling twice as slow carrying this idiot.
BILBO:
Well the only thing we can do (besides staying here to sulk) is to continue forward. Just remember what Gandalf said: “Stay on the road.” He said if we just did that we would make it through Ok.
BALIN:
True. Gandalf knows these parts, and he wouldn’t send us in here to die.
THORIN:
Then lets keep moving.
Fade to them setting up camp again. Kili picks up a bow and walks off into the woods.
THORIN:
Don’t go to far! Stay in sight of the campfire!
Kili eventually comes back with a dead squirrel (one of the big ones). They cook it and see if it’s any good.
BILBO:
Ugh! It’s horrible!
Everyone else agrees. Just then Bombur begins to stir from his sleep.
BOMBUR:
Heh? What’s that? I smell something cooking!
They all look over at him as he sits up.
BOMBUR:
I just had the most wonderful dream! Oh, I wish I hadn’t woken up!
ORI:
Good for you. We’ve had to carry you since the stream.
BOMBUR:
So I didn’t drown, then? Good, I was worried.
DWALIN:
Just out of sheer boredom, what did you dream?
BOMBUR:
Oh, I’m glad you asked! There was a huge feast, with lots of guests seated around a table. And there were steaks, bread, beer, ham, and singing, and – !
BALIN:
Be quiet! Can’t you see us here starving?
BOMBUR:
I’m starving too. Dream food doesn’t quite stick with you. Pass me some of that meat.
BILBO:
Here, you’ll love it.
Bombur takes a bite, immediately spits it out, and falls to the ground coughing. Just then they hear a sound coming from far off in the woods. It’s singing.
BILBO:
What could that be?
OIN:
Elves live in these woods.
THORIN:
Best not to meet up with them.
BILBO:
But we stayed with the elves of Rivendel, and they didn’t seem that bad. I think you dwarves are just prejudiced.
DWALIN:
Those were different elves! These ones are far worse. How good can they be if they live in a place like this?
BILBO:
But they could have food.
BOMBUR:
Yes, that’s right! They could have food!
THORIN:
Alright, but we’re all going this time. Although I don’t think trolls can sing like that, this still seems all too similar to the last time we went looking for help in the woods…
They walk towards the sound of singing until they come to the edge of a clearing. Inside the clearing they see a bunch of elves having a feast around a huge fire. Fans of the Lord of the Rings movies will notice that Legolas is one of the partiers.
BOMBUR:
This is just like in my dream!
BALIN:
Quiet! Don’t let them hear us!
They watch for a while, wanting to partake.
BILBO:
They don’t seem that bad. Why don’t we ask them for some food.
THORIN:
I know I’ll regret this, but fine.
Thorin steps into the clearing.
THORIN:
Hello, I’d like to request – !
Just then the fire goes out, and everything disappears. The only thing heard is the dwarves and Bilbo yelling, trying to figure out where they all are. Eventually they light a torch, and see that the elves are gone. They hear the singing again, this time in a different area.
DWALIN:
There they are. Let’s try again.
BILBO:
But we’re too far from the road as it is. “Just stay on the road,” remember? We can make it through by traveling light and living on squirrels – .
DWARVES:
NO!!
They head off towards the sound. They come to another clearing, seeing the same sight as before.
DORI:
They sure relocated quickly.
THORIN:
Bilbo, you try going this time. They may be less … disturbed by you.
Bilbo walks slowly into the clearing with his hands raised in an unmenacing way.
BILBO:
Hello. My name is Bil– .
Same as before: the fire goes out, and the dwarves are left alone and confused. They hear the singing again.
BOMBUR:
There it is again! Let’s – !
BILBO:
Wait!
BOMBUR:
”Let’s wait”? That’s not what I was going to say! I was going to say let’s keep bothering them until they feed us![/center] |
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Post by Dale on May 9, 2008 11:19:13 GMT -5
BILBO:
No. I have a better idea. Let me go in alone. I might be able to steal us some.
THORIN:
Steal? They won’t even let us in the clearing!
BILBO:
You forget I’m a burglar.
THORIN:
Fine, we’ll have to find go back and find the road, though, if you fail.
Bilbo runs off towards the singing, this time putting on the ring once he’s out of the dwarves’ sight. He enters the elves’ new clearing, and no one sees him.
ELF #1:
Those bothersome dwarves, I wonder what they wanted.
ELF #2:
And more importantly what they’re doing here.
ELF #1:
We’ll have to bring them in for questioning if they show up again.
Bilbo creeps up to a table and reaches for a drumstick of chicken. He tries to carry it off in such a way as not to be noticed, but it very hard to not notice a floating piece of chicken.
ELF #3:
Look! What’s that?
ELF #1:
Someone get the fire!
The fire goes out and the elves run off. One of them knocks Bilbo to the ground and takes the chicken from him. Bilbo takes off the ring and stumbles back towards where the dwarves where.
He only finds a torch left on the ground. He calls all of their names, but there’s no answer. [/I] BILBO: What on earth could’ve happened to them? He looks at the ground and sees signs of a struggle in the dirt. There are strange tracks leading off in one direction. Bilbo decides to follow them.
He follows the tracks for a while. He eventually comes to a small cliff, which he nearly falls off of. As he tries to regain his balance he drops the torch off the cliff. Suddenly a giant spider becomes visible where the torch fell, and it jumps up, snarling at Bilbo. Before it can attack him, he quickly puts on the ring.
He can see that the cliff is the edge of a huge crater, covered with spider webs and filled with hideous spiders, of all sizes and types. The spider can still sense Bilbo’s position, and it tries to stomp on him. Bilbo falls back and pulls out his sword. We see from the spider’s view, and he sees a blue glowing sword swinging by itself.
The spider moves forward and Bilbo stabs it in the eye. It begins to contort and screech in pain. Bilbo swings the sword around and stabs it in the abdomen, killing it.
Bilbo pulls out the sword and looks at it. BILBO: I shall give you a name. I shall call you Sting. By now the other spiders have come to investigate. Bilbo puts his sword away so he can’t be seen and hides behind a tree. While the spiders crowd around their comrade’s body, Bilbo sees thirteen sacks of web hanging down inside the crater. They appear to be moving.
Bilbo picks up a stone off the ground and throws it at one of the spiders, who are now eating their fallen ally. BILBO: Hey! Why don’t you try to catch me? I taste much better! The spider turns to see where the stone and the noise came from. It turns back, like it doesn’t care anymore, and another rock hits it in the back. It turns back around, furious, and charges in the direction of the rocks. As it charges, Bilbo whips out his sword and slashes its belly, killing another one.
He repeats the process over and over, each time movie to a different location, until the spiders realize what’s going on and don’t follow the rocks. Then he jumps out without the ring on. BILBO: Here I am! The spiders run towards him and he leads them off into the woods. He leads them a good ways away from the crater until he slips on the ring and rolls off the path. They stop, confused, and then keep on trying to find him.
Bilbo heads back to where the dwarves are tied up and cuts them all down. THORIN: Thank you, Mr. Baggins. What did you do with the spiders. BILBO: I killed some of them, but I led most of them away. Just then they hear a rock falling. Suddenly they see spiders all around on the cliffs on the edge of the forest crater. BILBO: When I say “go”, make for the cliff directly behind us. Run as fast as you can into the forest, but stay together. I’ll fight off the spiders as you get away. BALIN: Are you mad? We won’t let you die! We’ll all fight them! BILBO: No, I can do it! They won’t be able to see me. I’ll explain later. Just go, now. Go! They turn around and start to scale the cliff. The spiders jump down and chase after them. They run into the woods, with no clear sense of where they’re going and the spiders close behind.
Bilbo turns back and faces the spiders. The dwarves watch for a moment, but Thorin urges them to keep going. Just before the spiders reach him, Bilbo disappears and his sword flashes out. The spiders falter for a moment and Sting strikes, killing them one by one. Soon there’s only one Spider left, but it’s catching on quick. The floating sword and the spider circle each other, but suddenly the sword thrusts into an invisible scabbard, extinguishing the light, reappears on the other side of the spider and thrusts into it’s back. Bilbo reappears as the spider dies and pulls the sword out. BILBO: Now to get back to the dwarves. Bilbo meets up with the dwarves at the elves’ clearing. THORIN: Here he comes! Get ready to fight the spiders! BILBO: Relax, they’re all dead. BALIN: What? You killed them? BILBO: Yes, I said I would, didn’t I? THORIN: But how? BILBO: With this. He shows them his ring. He slips it on and disappears, then he takes it off. They all gasp. BILBO: I got it from Gollum, that’s how I really escaped from him and the goblins. DWALIN: I guess Gandalf was right, there really is more to you than we thought. THORIN: And more importantly, now we have just one more advantage against Smaug, if we can get to him. BILBO: Speaking of which, we’d better get to sleep. In the morning we have to find the road. Fade to them asleep in the elves’ clearing. Everyone is sleeping except Balin and Bilbo. BALIN: Well I’ll be darned. A magic ring? So that’s how you sneaked past me that day and surprised us. You gave us quite a surprise today, too. BILBO: Yes, I dare say even Thorin was astonished … Wait a minute! Where is Thorin? They look around and realize he’s gone. They wake up the other dwarves, and they look around for him. DWALIN: It was those damned wood-elves! BILBO: We don’t know that… DWALIN: Of course we do! They captured him just because we came and asked for food! FILI: There’s no sign in the dirt of a fight or a struggle. They just came and tied him up and took him off. BALIN: Now we have to decide what to do about it. Cut to Thorin being pushed along by his elf captors. They reach a river and follow it upstream to where it begins in a cave in the mountains. The cave entrance is actually the entrance to the wood-elves’ underground fortress.
They take Thorin in through a huge gate and into the Elvenking’s great hall. There they bring him before Thranduil, king of the wood-elves. THRANDUIL: Ah, so finally you’ve brought him to me. You are the leader of the pack of dwarves who thrice last night disturbed the merrymaking of some of my subjects? THORIN: Please, your gracious majesty, me and my companions only wanted some food, we were starving. I’m sorry if we disturbed your grace… THRANDUIL: You did disturb me! I’ll have you know that one of the elves you harassed last night was my own son Legolas, who the party was in honor of. THORIN: We weren’t trying to harass anyone. Me and my friends had lost all our food traveling through your beautiful forest! THRANDUIL: And why on earth were you traveling through it to begin with? You have no friends on this side of the earth to go to, so you must have some other, hidden purpose. THORIN: I will not divulge any of my secrets to you, not after you and your people’s treatment of me! I have tried to be civil through this whole distasteful proceeding, but you’ve gone too far in trying to pry into my business! THRANDUIL: Fine, you may have it your own way. Since I cannot trust you without knowing your purpose in being here, you will have to remain here until you wish to cooperate. Guards! Show Thorin Oakenshield to his cell! Cut back the rest of the party trying to find their way back to the road. BILBO: I don’t feel right about leaving Thorin all alone here. BALIN: None of us do, but what can we do? We can’t even get back to the path, and we’ll all probably starve to death. And on top of that, we don’t even know where the wood-elves’ fortress is, and even if we did, what are we supposed to do? Storm in and demand to have our leader returned? Just then about ten elves appear out of the darkness and draw their arrows at the dwarves. ELF #1: If you want to see the fortress, we would be happy to show you. Bind their hands! The dwarves and Bilbo are taken to the fortress. On the way, one of the elves is looking at Bilbo strangely. BILBO: Since I know what you’re going to ask, I’ll tell you. I’m not a dwarf, but a hobbit. ELF #2: I know what you are. I’m just curious as to why a hobbit is in this part of the world, and in the company of dwarves. BILBO: Well I’ll tell you. I’m their bur– . DWALIN: Quiet! Thorin wouldn’t want us telling every elf in Mirkwood every detail of our plans! They stop to rest for a moment. While the elves are looking away, Bilbo (whose hands are tied like the rest of them) gets closer to Balin. BILBO: (whispering)Hey, Balin! Try to reach into my pocket and see if you can hand me my ring. BALIN: I’ll do my best. He gets it out, but it falls out of his hands to the ground. Bilbo falls down on the ground, slips on the ring, and disappears. The elves draw their bows, but he’s already gone. Bilbo finds a more or less sharp rock in the forest and cuts the ropes around his hands.
The elves send two bowman into the woods to look for him, but he just circles around them and returns to the road where the elves and their dwarf prisoners have continued on.
The elves take them to their fortress. The gate opens for them, and closes immediately after they enter (the still-invisible Bilbo barely manages to get in as the door closes). The elves meet up with Legolas in an inner chamber. LEGOLAS: My father doesn’t want to be troubled with any more interrogations today. Take them all to the dungeons and put them in separate cells, as far apart as possible. DWALIN: That’s it? You’re not going to try us? Not even tell us what we’re accused of? Is it a crime to be lost in the forest? To be starving? To be trapped by spiders? Are the spiders your tamed pets, and killing them makes you angry? LEGOLAS: We’ve already tried your leader and found him guilty, and that should suffice for a trial for you. As for your accusation, you’re accused of disturbing the peace of the elven kingdom and of espionage. Guards. The dwarves are taken off and locked up. OLD BILBO: (voice over)I was there for a long, weary time. Always in hiding, never daring to take off the ring, nor to sleep. I would wander around the fortress just to have something to do. Cut to Bilbo looking at the gates to the fortress. OLD BILBO: (voice over)The gates were opened and closed by magic, and no one could enter or leave with out the elves doing so. Cut to Bilbo stealing food from the kitchen. OLD BILBO: (voice over)I had to steal food when no one was looking, but all I could think of when I was doing this was what my friends must have been eating at the same time (if anything). I had to think of a way to save, or else be caught there underground forever. Cut to Bilbo at the door to Thorin’s cell. BILBO: Thorin! Can you hear me? THORIN: Bilbo? Is that you? Yes, yes, I can hear you! Thank goodness you’re here! Now we can find a way out. I assume you’re still invisible – . BILBO: Wait! Someone’s coming! The Jailor walks by and stares into the barred window of the cell (which Bilbo wasn’t tall enough to see through). JAILOR: Talking to someone, dwarf lord? THORIN: Only to myself. It’s not like you give me anything else to do. JAILOR: Well I asked Thranduil personally if we could get you miserable creatures out more to exercise – idle hands are Morgoth’s workshop, you know – but he won’t have it. You might as well wise up and tell him what you’re doing here. THORIN: I will! When Angband freezes over! The guard walks away. When he’s out of sight, Bilbo resumes his conversation with Thorin. THORIN: Bilbo, do you know where all the other dwarves are locked up? BILBO: Yes, and I’ve talked to them myself. THORIN: Good. We’re depending on you to think of something. Tell them not to tell Thranduil anything! Cut to Bilbo wandering the halls aimlessly. He sees some elves coming, and he flattens himself against the wall as they walk by. ELF #1: You know the king’s Fall Feast is tonight. ELF #2: Yes, in fact we just got the wine from Laketown delivered. It’s down in the wine cellar. ELF #1: Why don’t we test some of it first? ELF #2: Sure. I’ll see if the jailor can join us. He’s never doing anything. It’s not like those dwarves are going anywhere. Bilbo follows them down to the wine cellar, where the two elves and the Jailor proceed to get drunk and fall asleep. Bilbo notices that there are trapdoors in the floor that the elves use to drop empty wine barrels into the river. Bilbo manages to steal the Jailor’s keys, and runs off towards the dungeon.
He unlocks the dwarves, one by one. BILBO: Follow me! I think I’ve found a way out of here. There’s no time to explain! He leads them to the cellar, where they find the elves still asleep. Bilbo gathers up all the empty wine barrels he can find. BILBO: I need everyone to get into one of these. THORIN: Why? BILBO: There’s no time to explain, just do it! DWALIN: You don’t mean to drop us into the river, do you? We’ll be smashed to pieces or drowned for sure. All because of your mad plan! BILBO: Fine by me. If that’s your opinion, then I’ll just have to lock you all back up in your cells again. None of them can argue this. One by one they get into the barrels and Bilbo hammers the wooden, circular lids on. Then he rolls the barrels into one of the trapdoors and into the river.
Soon he’s the only one left. He takes out the keys and puts them back on the Jailor’s belt. BILBO: That should save him from the trouble he would get into. He wasn’t a bad fellow, quite decent to the prisoners. Just then some more elves come into the wine cellar, and Bilbo puts on the ring. ELF #3: Here’s that lazy jailor! Get up you buffoon! Don’t you realize the prisoners are gone? Vanished right under our noses! The Jailor wakens slowly from his drunken slumber as Bilbo inches towards the open trapdoor quietly. JAILOR: Hwa? How could that happen? My keys are right here? Bilbo dives through the trapdoor and into the rushing river. He sees the dwarves’ barrels floating off down the river, and he swims towards one of them and hangs on to it. OLD BILBO: (voice over)We had escaped from the elvenking’s fortress, and, more importantly, we were finally on our way out of Mirkwood. GANDALF: (voice over)Yes, but remember, Bilbo, there was much more going on in the world at the time than just your seemingly miraculous escape. Cut to Gandalf and Saruman watching from a field as their army of woodsmen appear from out of the forest. GANDALF: Hopefully this will catch Sauron off guard. SARUMAN: Don’t worry, my friend. It will. You and I will be leading the attack on Dol Goldur. Radagast will assist us by caring for the wounded during the battle. GANDALF: Which shouldn’t last too long, if my information is accurate. Cut to the soldiers setting up their tents in the field. Inside one tent, a man is writing a letter. MAN: (as he writes)“My Most Ingenious Master, The wizards have amassed an army to destroy your fortress. They will be marching in a day.” The man ties the letter to the leg of a pigeon and lets it fly off. The camera follows it on its journey as it flies over Southern Mirkwood and approaches a huge castle clouded mysteriously in fog. Scene 14 – The Men of the Lake Bilbo and the barrels are still floating downstream, Bilbo trying to stay afloat on one of the barrels. They float into a huge lake with a town constructed in the middle of it on barges and docks. Laketown.
The barrels float down to where they’re tied together by the men of Laketown and hauled in to be reused. MAN #1: My, this is a heavy load! MAN #2: Do you think those elves drank it all? Now there would be an insult, only drinking half of our famous wine and sending half of it back! Cut to the pitch black inside of a barrel as the men open it up. Out crawls Ori, squinting in the sunlight he hasn’t seen for days. They’re now up on a dock, and the men are opening all the barrels. MAN #3: Nope, no wine. Just a bunch of dwarves. THORIN: Thorin Oakenshield, at your service! I apologize for smelling like a drunkard, but I wasn’t the one who chose this mode of transportation. Speaking of which, where’s that dastardly burglar? Just then Bilbo crawls onto the dock, sopping wet. BILBO: What? Did I miss anything? By now there’s a good deal of people gathered around the dwarves and Bilbo. A man, Bard the Bowman, pushes his way through the crowd. BARD: Did you just say your name is Thorin Oakenshield? THORIN: Yes, you have no doubt heard of my father and grandfather. BARD: Yes, of course. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Laketown, Thorin, grandson of the King under the Mountain. THORIN: I have returned, and I wish to see the master of your town. BARD: He is at feast. FILI: All the more reason to bring us to him! THORIN: We haven’t been able to eat all the way down here, and we’re starving. Cut to them in the house of the master of Laketown. Thorin bursts into the master’s dining room, planning on making a big entrance. THORIN: I am Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror King under the Mountain. I have returned! It turns out that there are two elves of Thranduil there with the master.ELF #1: Arrest him! He is one of the dwarves we were talking about! ELF #2: Yes! He and his companions attacked us three times in the woods and escaped from our dungeons! MASTER: What? Is this true? THORIN: It is true that we were wrongfully waylaid by Thranduil’s elves while we where starving in his very woods and seeking help. But no lock nor bar will hinder the homecoming spoken of old. The master looks at the elves and the dwarves, unsure of what to do. MASTER: Uhm, Ehrm, well of course I’ll let you take these prisoners back with you. I wouldn’t want to hurt our trade relationship. At this the people in the hall begin to protest loudly. BARD: You can’t deliver these dwarves back to the elves! Look! This dwarf must be Thorin! He is the exact likeness of his grandfather! He is here to rid us of the dragon! The master, fearing an uprising, changes his mind. MASTER: Well, if he is indeed the grandson of Thror, then he is welcome in this house. (to the elves) And as for you, please tell Thranduil that I believe he has judged these dwarves too harshly. The elves storm out of the room. MASTER: So, you had trouble with the elves, then? THORIN: Yes, but we escaped thanks to Mr. Baggins here, who came here with us out of the West. MASTER: (to Bilbo)You are not a dwarf. BILBO: Certainly not. I happen to be a hobbit, your lordship – . The master waves at him disinterestedly. He turns back to Thorin. MASTER: And you’ve come here to … take back your fortune, as it were? THORIN: Yes, from the dragon Smaug. MASTER: Then we will help you in any way we can. But first let’s eat, and you can tell us of your adventures thus far. The dwarves and Bilbo sit down at the table.
Fade to Bilbo and Thorin on a balcony of the Master’s house, where they are staying, and looking out upon the charred wasteland of the North. THORIN: The Desolation of Smaug. No vegetation will ever grow there. no man, elf, or dwarf has dared go to come back alive. And there, in a mountain, sleeps the dragon with the treasure we seek. BILBO: It’s hard to believe we’ve gotten this far. THORIN: There’s still a bit to go. Now we must travel upriver and see if we cannot find this hidden door. Cut to them preparing to leave Laketown in boats. The dwarves and Bilbo push off and head up the river. They pass through the Desolation, which Bilbo and Thorin saw from a distance. They travel for many miles until the Lonely Mountain, Erebor, comes into view. THORIN: There it is! We’ll be heading straight for the mouth of the cave, so no talking from this point in! BILBO: We’re not going inside the cave, are we? THORIN: No! We’ll come ashore close to the mountain. They pass the rest of the journey in silence until the dark mouth of the cave is dead ahead of them. They go ashore and unload the boats. BILBO: Okay, let’s look at the map. Thorin pulls the map out. THORIN: We need to head around the Western side of the mountain. There we should find a path up the side of the mountain. Cut to them circling the mountain. BILBO: I think we’re on the Western side by now. THORIN: Yes, but where’s the stair? FILI: Wait! I think I see some sort of path up there, but there’s no way for us to get to it. Above them they see what Fili is talking about. There’s a stair-like path going up the side of a mountain, but it starts from on top of an unscalable cliff. THORIN: Wait, there must be a way up. Let me stand back and have a look at it. As he does so, he steps on a part of the ground that sounds hollow. Surprised, he feels around on the ground and finds a wooden door. He opens it and finds a passage. THORIN: Well, this could be a way up there, of it could be a storage room for 50 year old rotting potatoes. I suppose there’s only one way to find out. They all go down and enter a long tunnel that heads in the direction of the cliff. At a certain point they reach a stair that leads them to the top of the cliff, and to the path to the secret door.
They begin to climb up the side of the mountain, until the path comes to an end at a rock wall. There’s no sign of a door, or a hole for the key. BALIN: This is it: the secret door. THORIN: Let me read what the moon-letters said (I wrote them down after Elrond translated them, so I wouldn’t forget). “Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks and the setting sun with the first light of Durin’s day will shine on the key-hole.” BILBO: And how close are we to Durin’s Day? THORIN: Like I said before, there’s no way we can tell. We are nearing the end of Fall, so it must be coming soon. BILBO: I’d say the best thing to do would be to have someone stay up here every afternoon until Durin’s Day (whenever it is). If they see a keyhole appear, or if anything strange happens, he can easily call everyone up from below. THORIN: Good idea. In fact it sounds like a good job for you. They all walk off and leave him there. He sits down on a rock and starts to wait. OLD BILBO: (voice over)So there I stayed, sitting on Smaug’s doorstep. Soon the month of November dwindled down, and still I sat, waiting for that glimmer of hope, that keyhole into Smaug’s dark realm… Scene 15 – The Necromancer’s Forest[/I] Cut to Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast loading up their horses and getting ready to ride to war. The army of woodsmen has assembled in columns behind them. RADAGAST: I suppose we should say a few words to the troops. GANDALF: Leave that to Saruman, he’s the one with a way with words. SARUMAN: (speaking to the soldiers)Brave men of Mirkwood! Today we march to rid you and this forest of the evil Necromancer. You do not need me to tell you of all he has done to you. His orcs have killed many whom you know, destroyed your crops, and stolen from you! You are forced to live in fear, not knowing what devilry he is creating inside that dark castle! My colleagues and I have come out of the West with one goal in mind: to stop this monster! The men cheer. SARUMAN: My friends, the woodsmen, follow us to Dol Goldur and to your freedom! The army moves out and travels many miles South before entering Mirkwood. The main part of the army travels by foot and the wizards ride on horseback.
Once inside the woods, the men continue on fearfully. The camera moves along through the woods following the soldiers as if something’s watching them, and soon they hear the sound of goblins.
Some of the men freak out, but the rest keep moving. The wizards try to keep the soldiers in their ranks to avoid chaos.
Suddenly several goblins appear out of nowhere and start hacking soldiers violently with their swords, and just like that, before anyone can react, they scurry off into the trees. Some of the men start screaming. GANDALF: Stay calm! Do not give in to fear! Another bunch of goblins appear from another area and launch another hit and run surprise attack. Gandalf yells for the woodsmen to take aim with their bows, and they fire a storm of arrows after the goblins as they retreat into the woods.
Just then a goblin comes up behind Radagast and grabs him by the neck. Gandalf turns around and hits the goblin with a powerful but thin beam of light from his staff that blows the goblin’s head clean off.
Just then Saruman rides up (he was with a different portion of the army). SARUMAN: I thought I told everyone to keep quiet! GANDALF: It doesn’t matter, Sauron knows we’re here already! Saruman pulls Gandalf aside. SARUMAN: Hold your tongue! We can’t use that name in front of the men! GANDALF: Sorry, but it’s true! These goblins appeared out of the forest, they were waiting for us! RADAGAST: I think they’re gone now. SARUMAN: We have to continue with the mission. Even if Sauron knows we’re coming, he doesn’t have the power to stop us. GANDALF: I’m sure he knows this, which is why he won’t hesitate to using brutal tactics like this. SARUMAN: Has he ever? GANDALF: No, I suppose not. SARUMAN: Then let’s keep the army moving. (shouting to the men) March! The army begins to move forward again.
Cut back to the Lonely Mountain, at the base of which is the dwarves’ new camp. The dwarves are sitting around, some doing work and some doing nothing. BALIN: We’ve been sitting here doing nothing for days! This is enough to make me want to march right in through that cave and take on Smaug myself! THORIN: I would strongly advise you not to take that course of action. BALIN: I didn’t say I was going to do it. I just – . Just then they hear Bilbo’s voice shouting from up by the door. BILBO: Everyone, come quick! Make sure you bring the key! THORIN: Finally! This is the day! They climb up the path to the door, where they see the light of the setting sun shining on a now visible keyhole. Thorin takes out the key Gandalf gave him and inserts it into the keyhole. It fits.
They turn the key, and the outline of the door appears, along with a rush of air from inside that blows out a cloud of dust. They push on the door and it opens inward. THORIN: Congratulations, my fellow companions. We have found the secret door into Erebor. BILBO: So, what now? THORIN: What now? Now you must earn your reward. Go in and see what you can find. BILBO: But, who’s going in with me? None of them volunteer, so he is forced to go in by himself.
He enters the tunnel. It’s dark. He keeps heading down the tunnel until he reaches a long hallway of pillars, which he sees glow at the end of. As he gets closer to the source of the glow, he realizes he’s heading towards some sort of great hall.
He reaches the hall and sees enormous mounds of golden treasure all around him. There is an especially large hill of gold and jewels in the center of the room, on top of which is sleeping the dragon Smaug.
Smaug looks similar to the way he looked at the beginning, only slightly aged. He is clearly asleep, but one of his eyes is kept partially open and a ray of red light shines from it.
Bilbo slowly walks in among the mounds, amazed. He approaches one of the piles of treasure and reaches for a golden vase. BILBO: Real dwarf treasure… As he picks up the vase, a mouse scurries out of it and startles him. He is startled, and he slips and tumbles off the pile of treasure, dropping the vase with a clang. The dragon begins to wake up from the sound. Bilbo quickly kicks the vase towards the exit and slips on the ring.
He does so just in time. The dragon awakes and both his eyes are shining with a fiery light, like to red searchlights. As the light passes Bilbo, his invisible body still casts a shadow on the ground. When he sees this, Bilbo gasps and hides behind a pile. SMAUG: I know you are there. I’ve lived here long enough to know what this room feels like when I’m the only living being in it. And in addition I’m not stupid. I can hear your every breath and the vibration of your extremely large feet hitting the floor… Bilbo looks down at his feet and rolls his eyes in anger. SMAUG: (continued)I may have even smelled you in my sleep. At any rate I can smell you now. You are not a dwarf. No doubt you are a looter. Come along and take some, there’s plenty down here for both of us! Bilbo knows he’s just trying to get him to come out, so he stays where he is. He speaks up, fearfully at first. BILBO: No thank you, O Tremendous Smaug! I have only come to see if the tales about you are true! I did not believe them. SMAUG: You didn’t, eh? Do you now? BILBO: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Truly the songs and poems of your splendor fall short of the reality, Smaug, the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities! SMAUG: You have nice manners for a thief and a liar. You seem familiar with my name, but I have not smelled you before. Tell me your name and where you come from! BILBO: I come from under the hill, and under hills and over hills my paths have led. And through the air. I am he who walks unseen. SMAUG: So I can well believe, but that is hardly your usual name. BILBO: I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number. SMAUG: What lovely titles. But you are a fool if you think luck will save you. It disappears in this place! All there is now is you and me. BILBO: Perhaps, but I go by other names as well. I am he who buries his friends alive and drowns them, only to draw them alive again from the water. SMAUG: Hmm. This one doesn’t sound so creditable. BILBO: I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am the Ringwinner and the Luckwearer; and I am the Barrel-rider. SMAUG: Very well. Maybe Barrel was your horse’s name, maybe not. I suppose you intend to fetch a fair price for that vase you have waiting for you at the door? Yes, you may it you get out alive. A trinket from the famous mountain of Smaug would make you a small fortune indeed. BILBO: You don’t know everything, O Monstrous Smaug. It was not gold alone that brought us to your mountain. SMAUG: “Us”, you say? Then I have a band of conspirators outside on my back doorstep! Do you realize that even if you had not clumsily revealed yourself to me there is no way you and your friends would ever steal a large enough portion of the treasure? He laughs at Bilbo. SMAUG: There is enough loot down here to keep you coming down again and again for years. One load at a time. Each time saying to yourself, “This is the last load.” But there are still untold riches waiting below! And you keep robbing until you and your friends die of disease or from fighting over shares of the treasure, or until I finally notice what you are doing … AND STRIKE!! His tail whips out from under him and hits the mound of treasure Bilbo is hiding behind, sending golden coins and artifacts flying in all directions. Bilbo screams and scrambles for another hiding place. Smaug chuckles evilly, and the sound reverberates through the treasure hall. SMAUG: Ha! This is almost too much fun. You were blind enough to think you could steal from Smaug. Bilbo begins to crawl as silently as he can towards the door. BILBO: Surely, O Smaug the unassessably wealthy, you must realize that your success has made you some bitter enemies? SMAUG: Oh yes, my enemies are numerous indeed, and I wear them like trophies on my belt. Those men down on the lake for example. They hate me because I eat their animals (and even them sometimes) and there is nothing they can do to stop me. It is an invigorating feeling to be hated by so many, almost better than all the riches in this room. BILBO: Do you want the truth? We don’t care about the gold, it was only an afterthought to us! We have come here for something much more valuable, something no one can ever steal from us. Revenge. SMAUG: Revenge! The King Under the Mountain is dead, and where are his kin who seek revenge? Girion, Lord of Dale is dead, I have eaten his people like sheep, and where are his son’s sons to oppose me? I kill where I wish and none dare resist! Bilbo (still invisible) is about halfway to the door, where the golden vase is still waiting for him. SMAUG: (continued)I did all those things when I was young and tender, but now I am old and strong, Thief in the shadows! My armor is like tenfold shields! My teeth are swords! My claws spears! The shock of my tail a thunderbolt! My wings a hurricane! And death is on my very breath! He leans his head back in anger and breathes a pillar of fire up towards the high ceiling. BILBO: You are impressive to say the least, but I’ve always hear that dragons have a soft belly underneath. SMAUG: Your information is antiquated. I am armored above and below by sharp scales and hard gems. See for yourself! He rolls over and Bilbo sees that his belly is covered with diamonds. Bilbo reaches the door and looks back. He notices something unusual. BILBO: Old fool! Yes, it is rare and wonderful, indeed, but there is a large patch in the hollow of your left breast as bare as a snail of its shell! He quickly picks up the golden vase and starts running down the hall. Infuriated, Smaug quickly crawls off the mound and rams his head through the wall around the door and into the hall and blows a cloud of fire after Bilbo.
Bilbo has entered the tunnel to the surface, running as fast as he can, but the fire is coming up behind him. He sees the light of the exit just as the fire begins to engulf him.
He bursts out of the tunnel with the explosion of fire. He’s partially in flames, and he rolls on the ground to put the flames out. It’s night time now, and the dwarves are still all there. DWALIN: What on earth happened? BALIN: Are you hurt? THORIN: Quiet! I hear something. There’s a loud rumbling coming from the tunnel. They see a speck of red-orange light inside getting closer and closer. THORIN: More fire! Everyone down! They all dive away from the door as another cloud of fire explodes through the entrance. As they all recover from the shock, Thorin notices the vase Bilbo stole. THORIN: Did … did that come from in there? BILBO: Yes, there’s mountains of treasure in there, but we’ll never get it all out, especially now that he knows we’re here. But there is some good news, I think I know his weakness… Just then they hear a loud roar from inside the tunnel.
Cut to Smaug inside. SMAUG: Barrel-rider … a clever riddle. He is one of the Lakemen! It seems they are in need of a lesson. A lesson concerning who is the real King Under the Mountain! Smaug makes his way to the mouth of the cave and takes flight. Before heading South, he circles the mountain and breathes fire down on the slopes, burning all the vegetation.
The dwarves and Bilbo barely escape the flames by hiding inside the tunnel. Thorin realizes that he left the map outside, and he runs out to get it. He barely gets back in before Smaug sets that area of the mountain on fire. They take the key out of the door and close it.
Up in the sky, Smaug is pleased with his work, and he finally turns South towards Laketown.
Scene 16 – Two Battles
Cut to the hundreds of woodsmen charging through the forests of Mirkwood, Gandalf and Saruman leading them. The camera shoots up through the trees and we see Sauron’s fortress of Dol Goldur at night time.
Inside we see goblins and orcs running to their defensive positions along the interior walls of the fortress. They fire upon the woodsmen below with arrows. One arrow flies at Gandalf and he knocks it away with his staff.
GANDALF: (shouting)
Bring up the battering ram!
Several soldiers come out of the forest carrying a heavy battering ram. Gandalf runs with them to the gate at the top of a causeway and they try to knock it down.
Saruman is with the archers, who are now shooting at the orc archers in the windows, but as they kill the orcs more come in from behind to take their place, and the woodsmen are receiving heavy casualties.
SARUMAN:
Gandalf! We need that door open!
GANDALF:
Give me a minute!
Just then one of Gandalf’s soldiers gets shot through the face with an arrow. Gandalf raises his staff and a blinding light come from it. Several more arrows are shot at them, but they just bounce right off the soldiers thanks to Gandalf’s magic.
Gandalf takes the fallen soldier’s place holding the battering ram.
GANDALF:
This may take longer than I imagined…
Cut to a couple of soldiers standing guard at Laketown at night. They’re sitting in a wooden watchtower watching a giant fire far in the distance. It’s the Lonely Mountain in flames.
SOLDIER #1:
You know what this means, don’t you? Those dwarves and that midget failed!
SOLDIER #2:
We don’t know that. There’s only one thing we know for sure (and it ain’t good), and that’s that Old Smaug got angry enough to leave his lair and set the whole bloomin’ mountain on fire.
Just then Bard climbs up.
BARD:
Nothing new to report, I suppose?
SOLDIER #2:
Nope.
SOLDIER #1:
Other than the fact that it stinks to high heavens! There’s a South-bearing wind carrying all that smoke down to us.
BARD:
Wait! Quiet! I hear something.
All of a sudden we hear a far off sound of flapping wings.
BARD:
You’re right, soldier. Smoke is coming, but not from the wind…
He hurriedly climbs down the ladder and runs towards a large bell in the middle of the town. He rings it repeatedly, waking up the other citizens.
BARD: (shouting)
Wake up! Wake up! Smaug approaches!
Cut to the soldiers back in the tower. They see the dark shape of a dragon approaching quickly. About ten seconds before he reaches the town, Smaug lets loose a torrent of flame from his throat into the water, making steam shoot up. He reaches the town with a roar, the beating of his wings fanning the cloud of steam towards the town, and he soon covers the entire town with a heavy covering of steam.
The townspeople are now stumbling around in the hot cloud of steam. Some of the townsmen come out carrying bows and arrows. They aim upwards, waiting for several quiet seconds. Then, suddenly, they’re all engulfed in flames.[/center] |
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Post by Dale on May 9, 2008 11:19:58 GMT -5
Cut back to the battle at Dol Guldor. The soldiers and Gandalf are still trying to knock down the gate, and it looks like they’ve made no progress.
[/I] WOODSMAN: This is useless! We’ve hardly dented it! GANDALF: I’m going to try something! They heave the ram back one more time, and just before it hits the door, it glows blue. It the ram hits the door open, flies out of their hands and through several orcs, and sails into a back wall, embedding itself in the wall several feet.
The army pours inside, along with Saruman and the archer. Once inside they’re met with Sauron’s best fighting orcs, but not with the main force. The garrison is as small as Gandalf predicted, but most of the orcs are shooting arrows from a distance.
A battle ensues inside the courtyard, and goblins on top of a stone balcony pour down cauldrons of boiling oil on the woodsmen, who scream in pain. Gandalf and Saruman fight their way up the stair to where the archers are and start fighting them. SARUMAN: You didn’t tell me these creatures had pots of oil at their door! GANDALF: That’s because last time I was here I came in through a chimney! Cut back to Laketown, which is in flames by now. The soldiers are shooting aimlessly up through the steamy cover. We hear a roar as Smaug’s head comes down out of the mist and bites onto a soldier. The soldier is pulled up into the mist as his blood rains down on his terrified companions.
Bard is running through the town, jumping from one dock to another. As he runs, Smaug’s tail comes down out of the mist and whacks through a building. Bard tumbles through the debris and keeps moving. He shoots up an arrow at the sound of Smaug’s roars. He hears it bounce off something hard and it falls down into the street in from of him. BARD: Well at least I hit something! Cut back to the woodsmen fighting in Dol Goldur. The soldiers have separated into groups and are fighting the orcs and goblins in the hallways. One group of soldiers in ambushed by goblins who drop down out of trapdoors in the ceiling.
Cut to Radagast, who is tending to the wounded in the courtyard. He’s currently trying to heal a soldier who’s been seriously burned by the vats of oil. He pulls out his pipe and lights it. RADAGAST: This is going to be a long night! ]Cut to Gandalf, Saruman, and a group of soldiers heading down a hallway. They reach a large, bolted door. Saruman blows away the door with a blast of magic.
They walk in, finding themselves in a room filled with trolls in cages. GANDALF: No … not more trolls! Their orc masters unlock the cages and they burst out, some of them coming out so fast that they crush the orcs. The wizards and the soldiers start fighting them.
One troll tries to smash Saruman with his fist, but Saruman merely kneels down, holding his staff against the ground right under the hand. The trolls hand comes down on the spiky staff, and the trolls howls in pain. Saruman finishes off the troll with a sword through its heart.
Gandalf and Saruman fight side-by-side as the trolls rush at them. Their some of their soldiers are killed quickly, but many of them bring down some trolls of their own.
Cut back to Laketown. Women and children are being rowed off in boats. The master of the town pushes through the crowd with his own guards and commandeers a boat. MASTER: I’m going to find help! My thoughts and prayers go to the survival of this town in my absence! WOMAN IN CROWD: Coward! Why don’t you take up a bow and fight with your brave subjects! WOMAN #2: Don’t bother with him. He was a craven from the beginning! He always needed Bard to tell him what to do! The master rows off onto the lake.
Cut to Bard still running through the streets. He reaches a large boat with tall masts. He jumps into the boat and climbs up the masts until he’s above the layer of steam. He sees Smaug flying above the town, breathing fire down on it. Bard pulls out an arrow and screams. BARD: Come here! He shoots the arrow at Smaug, it hits him in the back of the neck and bounces right off. This only makes him mad, and he changes course and heads towards Bard’s boat. Bard shoots off two more arrows, but neither of them hurt Smaug, who’s getting closer. Smaug passes over Bard, who whips out his sword and tries to stab Smaug’s belly, but it just drags along his underside and shoots off sparks. This nearly throws Bard off the mast of the ship.
Smaug flies out onto the water and turns around towards Bard, his nose snorting with breaths of fire. Bard pulls one last arrow out of his quiver, a black one. BARD: Black Arrow, I have saved you for last. If ever you came from the forges of the true King Under the Mountain go now and speed well! He draws it as Smaug comes back towards Bard, fire curling around his grinning teeth. Everything goes into slow-motion as Bard notices the bare patch on Smaug’s chest. Just as Smaug is about to reach him he leaps off the mast of the ship with his arrow aimed upwards. He lets go of the arrow and it flies upwards into Smaug’s heart.
Smaug roars and flips over in mid-air. He crashes into the town, sliding through several buildings. The docks that the town is built on aren’t enough to support his weight, so he body crashes through and his wings stay above, holding on to the docks even in death. Bard lands in the water and looks back at Smaug’s massive body lying in the town with the soldiers crowding around it.
Cut back to Dol Guldor. Gandalf, Saruman and the soldiers are still in the room with the trolls, only the soldiers now outnumber the trolls. Soon there’s only one left standing. He tries to punch through the wall and escape, but the soldiers stab him repeatedly in the back and he dies as well.
They notice one of the orcs cowering in the corner. They raise their weapons to kill him too. ORC: Wait! Let me live and I’ll lead you to the prisoners! WOODSMAN: Gandalf, it’s true that Sauron has many of our men captive. SARUMAN: Go with this orc, Gandalf, and free the prisoners! The orc leads Gandalf up some flights of stairs to a dungeon tower. There they find a room full of yelling prisoners in cells. Gandalf walks through, blowing off the locks of the human prisoners with magic (there are orcs in some cells, who he passes by). When he reaches the last cell, he finds a sick old man lying on his mat, wearing an ancient-looking crown and a black cloak. Gandalf seems to recognize him as he opens the cell door. GANDALF: I didn’t expect to see you here. OLD KING: I … I shouldn’t have taken it. It has brought nothing but misery! GANDALF: You are sick, but don’t worry. We have a healer here with us. OLD KING: You have no cure for me, you have no cure for THIS! He holds out his twisted right hand, in which is a ring. OLD KING: He gave them to us … he gave them to us freely. We took them greedily, hungry for power, and one by one they were taken by shadow. I am the last one who is still human, the other eight are gone. GANDALF: You are one of the nine kings who received the rings of power from Sauron! OLD KING: Speak his name no more! Agh! I feel myself slipping away! You have defeated us now, sorcerer, but Sauron has more planned than you know. He has learned much here, and when he finds a new hive for his soul to inhabit, he will prepare an offensive to crushing, so powerful, that Middle Earth will be crushed like a spider under his feet! Just then the man begins to slowly transform into a thing of shadow, a Nazgul. His head disappears, and he pulls the hood of his cloak up over his head. He leaps at Gandalf and throws him to the ground.
Just then Saruman appears out of nowhere and throws a torch at the Nazgul, setting it on fire. The flaming Nazgul shrieks and jumps out the window, hitting the ground below and disappearing into the forest. GANDALF: Saruman! He told me of Sauron’s plans! SARUMAN: Yes, I heard. There is a war coming, a War for Middle Earth. And we may have to fight for the losing side… Scene 17 – Not Over Yet Cut to a black screen. It soon becomes apparent from the sound of the voices that it is the dwarves and Bilbo inside the tunnel in Erebor. BILBO: Do you think it’s safe to go outside yet? THORIN: Quiet! We’ll never know if we can’t hear what’s going on! DWALIN: We’ve been sitting here for hours and Smaug still hasn’t come back. BALIN: What if he’s dead? NORI: That seems unlikely. BALIN: Why not? Bilbo spotted Smaug’s weak spot; maybe someone else did to and exploited it. FILI: Why don’t we all go down and inspect the treasure? If Smaug is dead we might as well be able to see our spoils. THORIN: And if he isn’t he’ll come back and eat us before we can escape! BILBO: But if he is and we’re too afraid to go downstairs, then we’ll just rot up here in this stinking tunnel. DWALIN: I’ve had enough of this bickering! I’m going down on my own! KILI: Hey, wait for me! Cut to all of them entering the treasure hall. They all look at the treasure in wonder. BALIN: Bilbo, we thought you had exaggerated the size of the treasure! THORIN: I knew he hadn’t. You forget that this all was mine once! They all walk around and start picking up pieces of the treasure, impressed with their achievement. Bilbo wanders off on his own. BILBO: To think a fourteenth share of all this is mine … how will I explain all this wealth to my neighbors? He notices a large, clear jewel at the top of a pile of treasure. He climbs up to it and picks it up. It’s actually a huge diamond, larger than his hand. BILBO: This must be worth at least a fourteenth of everything! He puts the jewel in his pocket and meets up with the dwarves. BALIN: We’ll have to send word to our relatives in the North that the mountain is ours again! We can rebuild Erebor to its former splendor! THORIN: Yes, we’ll do all that just like we planned … Has anyone located the Arkenstone yet? FILI: What’s that? THORIN: No one has told you of the Arkenstone yet? Ugh, they don’t teach you young dwarves anything anymore. The Arkenstone has been the greatest pride of my family for generations. It is the largest and finest gem ever mined from here in Erebor. There’s no use describing it, you will recognize it the second you see it. Has anyone seen it? You, Bilbo, did you find it when you went off alone? BILBO: Oh, uhm, no. I’ve seen lots of jewels but nothing like that. BALIN: No doubt it’s buried under all this treasure. These cursed dragons do not care to put important things in a place of honor! THORIN: We’ll find it eventually. First let’s take one of these stairs up the surface and see if we can find out what’s going on from atop one of the towers. The go up one of the staircases (Thorin apparently remembers the way) to a tower that wasn’t destroyed by Smaug. They stare out over the landscape below the charred (and partially still-burning) mountain.
Suddenly they see an army approaching. THORIN: Oh no. Four of you head below and close the main gate! We have visitors! FILI: But you said that the main gate was destroyed by Smaug. And who are they? THORIN: The Lakemen! And they can’t be here to wish us luck with our new dwelling place. And there should be an inner-gate that wasn’t destroyed. Quickly! We can answer whatever questions they have from up here. Cut to the Lakemen army marching toward the mountain. They reach it and Bard looks up and shouts. BARD: Hello! Is there anyone still alive in there? Thorin stands on the edge of the tower and shouts down. THORIN: Yes, we’re all just as you saw us last, only richer. BARD: Good, then perhaps you wouldn’t mind sharing that newfound wealth with the warriors who slew Smaug for you! THORIN: Smaug is dead then? Good, that’s one complication taken care of. And what portion of the treasure do you have the audacity to request? BARD: We’ll need a great deal to rebuild. Ten percent I should imagine. We’re entitled to more than that, I daresay, but we should get by on that. THORIN: You are entitled to nothing! Do you need a reward for doing what you ought and protecting your town from evil? Did your ancestors give their sweat to gather this treasure? No! BARD: Thorin, New King Under the Mountain, if only you were as just as your grandfather. Can you not see that we’re starving? Our town is in shambles (that parts that aren’t sunken, that is). Our women and children have no place to sleep! How can you turn us away when we took you in when you were under similar conditions? BILBO: He has a point. THORIN: Quiet! I’ll take care of these negotiations. Your task is over. BILBO: But there’s more than enough treasure down there for everyone! Thorin ignores him and starts shouting down at Bard again. THORIN: I am unmoved! Might I suggest asking assistance from your friend the elves. When our brethren from the North arrive, some of them can help you rebuild, but what you ask for in preposterous! BARD: You greedy fool! As long as we have no place to go, we will stay here and (if necessary) take what belongs to us by force! THORIN: To the grave with you, then! And leave us in peace! They all go back downstairs. Thorin is furious, and he starts tearing apart the giant mound of treasure, looking for the Arkenstone. THORIN: Where is it? Where is that damned rock? If those vagabonds dare to desecrate this treasure I will at least make sure they don’t rob me of my family’s legacy! Balin pull the hysterical Thorin aside. BALIN: Thorin! There are more important thing to think of! There must be a way we can call upon our allies! Thorin stares blankly at Balin, then he looks embarrassed. THORIN: Why, yes, there might be a way to alert them. Cut to the dwarves pulling on a rope attached to a pulley. The rope raised a giant boulder. When they pull it high enough, it falls down of a slab of metal sticking out of the wall, creating a reverberating metallic ringing. THORIN: This runs all the way North to our relatives. If there are any among them who remember this primitive warning system, they should know enough to send us help. Cut to outside, where the men have set up camp by the hundreds. Just then, another army comes into view. It’s the elves. The march up to where the men are. Legolas is leading them. LEGOLAS: Men of the East, who is your commander? Bard steps forward. BARD: I am. The master of Laketown fled during the attack. What do you elves want? LEGOLAS: We heard that the dragon Smaug is dead. BARD: Yes, I killed him. LEGOLAS: Congratulations, and many thanks for your bravery. We have come for a share of the treasure. As you may know, not all of the treasure down there is dwarf-made. When Smaug was a young dragon he used the mountain as a center where he could store his spoils. He stole from us elves many a time, forcing us to withdraw to the forest. We wish to take back only what belongs to us. BARD: Well, I’m sorry, but his Pompous Majesty Under the Mountain seems to think the treasure is all his. He and his followers have locked themselves inside and can’t spare a penny for us in our darkest hour, even when we did all the work in killing the dragon. LEGOLAS: I see that dwarf is as obstinate as ever. What do you say to waiting until they all starve to death and then splitting the treasure as we see fit? BARD: No objections here. Scene 18 – A Thief in the Night Cut to the dwarves and Bilbo sleeping at night. Bilbo is turning on the ground, unable to sleep. Balin starts talking to him. BALIN: Is something wrong? BILBO: (sighs) Have you ever been so tired that you can’t fall asleep? My eyes feel like lead weights, but sleep won’t come. BALIN: Sometimes that happens to me. Why don’t you take a walk? Just take care not to get lost. BILBO: You know what? I think I’ll do that. He walks out into the treasure room. He looks around to make sure he’s alone, then takes the Arkenstone out of his pocket. BILBO: How can I sleep with Thorin’s family’s greatest heirloom in my coat? I know I ought to give it back to him … but maybe I can put it to good use. Cut to Bombur up at the secret door keeping watch on the armies below. Bilbo comes up through the tunnel. BILBO: I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I might as well put myself to good use. Would you mind if I took your place? BOMBUR: Yes, of course! But, uh, do you think Thorin would mind. BILBO: Yes, I think he would. That’s why I’m not going to tell him. Bombur walks off yawning. BOMBUR: Thanks a lot, Bilbo. You’re a great fellow. Once Bombur’s gone, Bilbo takes off down the path leading to the base of the mountain. Cut to Bilbo heading towards the elves’ camp. As soon as he comes within the area lit by fire, he slips on the ring.
He comes to a group of elves eating dinner. ELF #1: Well this is a fine little trip for us. All we have to do is eat and sleep until those stubborn dwarves are starved out of their mountain. ELF #2: Good thing we brought enough food for the Lakemen. Can you believe those dwarves, refusing to feed their starving neighbors? ELF #3: Their manners have not improved much! Suddenly one of the pans they used to cook dinner with begins to shake for no apparent reason. ELF #1: What on earth - ? He grabs the pan, but then another starts to shake. Then two at once. Then the pans start being thrown in different directions. ELF #2: Whoever you are, show yourself! Bilbo takes off his ring, and they all aim their bows at him. BILBO: Relax! I was just playing a joke on you. In all seriousness, I would like to have a meeting with whoever is leading this army. ELF #1: Alright, let’s take him to Legolas. Don’t bother tying his hands, he shouldn’t be able to escape. Cut to Bilbo being brought before Legolas. LEGOLAS: The men told me that the dwarves had a … person of short stature traveling with them. I assume that they were talking about you. BILBO: Yes, and I would like to thank your men for treating me civilly, although my friends were treated much differently by your father in Mirkwood. LEGOLAS: All that is behind us now that we know that you weren’t a threat to our kingdom. BILBO: Uh … you do? LEGOLAS: Now we know of your mission to defeat Smaug, and we would be happy to let you return home through our forest, as long as you return certain elven artifacts that are among the treasure of Erebor. BILBO: That’s the reason I came here. Although Thorin seems quite content to do so, I’m not so eager to starve to death sitting on top of that stinking treasure. I hate the sight of it now. LEGOLAS: So you want to join us? (laughs) We have no use for a hobbit. We would have to take you as a prisoner of war. BILBO: No, I haven’t come to join you. Instead I’ve come to give you the means with which to bargain with Thorin. He takes the Arkenstone out of his coat pocket. The elves gasp. BILBO: Behold, the Arkenstone of Erebor! LEGOLAS: We have heard of this great jewel. Thorin will no doubt give us anything we want to get it back, but how did you get it? BILBO: Thorin told me I could take one fourteenth share of the treasure, so I took this (without him knowing, of course). Perhaps I was wrong in doing so, but I hope I can use that wrongdoing to create a peaceful outcome. He hands the stone to Legolas. LEGOLAS: Tomorrow we’ll meet Thorin at the gate with this stone. Perhaps he’ll have a change of heart. BILBO: Do not get him wrong. He isn’t as cold-hearted as he seems. It’s just his pride. Cut to Bilbo walking out of the tent alone. Some of the elves sitting around the campfires stare at him as he walks back towards the mountain. Suddenly a figure in the background stands up from one of the fires and walks up beside Bilbo. GANDALF: Well, my boy, it seems you’ve become quite the negotiator! BILBO: Gandalf! How did you get here? GANDALF: By horse. I came as fast as I could after wrapping up that business. Not a bad trip all in all. Congratulations on making it through Mirkwood. The elves tell me you gave them quite the surprise. Imagine waking up from a drunken sleep to find thirteen empty cells! It will be interesting to hear your side of the story. The two walk off towards the mountain. Cut to the dwarves and Bilbo welcoming Gandalf back in the mountain (Bilbo pretending to act surprised at his return). THORIN: This is quite a sensation! Now we’ll have an extra edge when we have to fight those elves and men! GANDALF: Uh … no you won’t. Sorry, my friend, but I’m afraid I must remain neutral for this one. I’m a friend of both races, so I’m afraid I can only provide the smallest amount of help. In fact I believe the elves said something about coming here in the morning to negotiate. They’ll probably bring Bard along too, for good measure. THORIN: Ugh! I can’t stand the sight of that man! GANDALF: Well … I’m afraid you’ll have to. Scene 19 – The Clouds Burst Bilbo is in one of the mountain’s armories. He picks up a dwarven helmet. Thorin walks in, and he is holding a strange looking coat of chain mail. THORIN: This is for you, Bilbo. A mithril vest. One of the hardest substances know to dwarf-kind. This will stop almost any blow to your body, even one from a sword or a spear. BILBO: Thank you. I realize these are very difficult to make, and much more difficult to acquire. THORIN: Don’t mention it. This is the least I could give to repay you for all you have done for us. As Thorin leaves, Bilbo looks slightly guilty for having sold Thorin out.
Cut to Legolas, Bard, and some elven guards riding up to the front gate of Erebor. Thorin, Gandalf and Bilbo are standing in front of the open gate. BARD: The gate wide open? What’s to stop us from killing you and going in to take the treasure? THORIN: Your honor, if you have any left. Plus the fact that I’ve ordered my men to pour molten iron onto the gold if you do so, polluting the gold. LEGOLAS: There’s no need to bluff, Thorin. I won’t allow my men to kill you and your friends under a flag of truce. THORIN: Hurm, the prince of Mirkwood. I suppose you’re here to demand the return of certain elvish artifacts? Well, I would rather not. They’ll make a fine addition to my family fortune. I owe Mirkwood nothing after your people’s treatment of me and my men. BARD: So you are still of the same mind? THORIN: My mind does not change with the rising and setting of the sun! Why do you come here asking idle questions? LEGOLAS: Unable to negotiate? I’m sorry to hear that. Especially since I know how much you want this back… He holds out the Arkenstone. Thorin runs forward and tries to grab it. THORIN: How did you get that?! Give it to me now! Legolas’ men hold Thorin back, otherwise he probably would’ve killed Legolas. THORIN: I demand to know how you got that! BILBO: I gave it to him! Everyone looks at him in shock. BILBO: I found it the day when we all went down into the treasure room. I took it for my share, and I gave it to the elves in order to put a stop to all this. THORIN: You fool! Damn furry-footed fool! Do you realize what you have done? Do you have even the slightest idea what you’ve done to me? Thorin slaps Bilbo. Gandalf grabs his hand before he can hit him again. GANDALF: If you dislike my burglar, please don’t damage him! Let him go and hear what he has to say. Thorin stands back and glares at Bilbo. THORIN: Fine. You all seem to be against me! Say what you will, descendant of rats! BILBO: My, we’ve stooped to cheap insults, have we? I suppose that’s all the thanks I have coming to me for saving us all. I’ve always heard that dwarves are more polite in word than they are in deed, but I suppose even that’s a lie too. A descendant of rats indeed! All that I have to say is that I have taken my share and disposed of it as I wished, and I will let it go at that. THORIN: And I will let you go at that! May we never meet again! Bilbo walks over to the side of the elves and Bard. BARD: Now, what will you give us for the Arkenstone? THORIN: I can’t continue with this negotiation. Not after I’ve been betrayed. Thorin goes back into the mountain, and Bilbo leaves with the elves.
Cut to the dwarves inside when Thorin returns. BALIN: Where is Bilbo? THORIN: He has betrayed us and given our enemies the Arkenstone! Our only hope is to get it back somehow. DWALIN: Wait! Why should we risk our lives for one jewel? That would be like following in the footsteps of the elves! Remember the elven Silmarils? THORIN: They risked their lives for three jewels, not one. And besides, they were up against Morgoth himself, we’re up against some elves and men and one backstabbing hobbit. We can do this! Just then Fili runs down the stairs from one of the towers. FILI: Thorin! There’s something you must see! Cut to the dwarves running up into a tower facing North. They see an army of dwarves coming out of the North. THORIN: Luck has turned our way, gentlemen! It is my relatives, the people of Dain from the North! Get on your armor and sharpen your weapons! When they get here, the battle will begin. Cut to a montage of the dwarves, the men, the elves, and finally Bilbo preparing for the upcoming battle. All through this we see the oncoming dwarven army getting closer.
Cut to the army of dwarves nearing the mountain. Thorin’s party exits the front gate and meets them. Thorin speaks with Dain. THORIN: My friend, the treasure of Smaug is ours again! DAIN: Very good! But why did you call us to war? There are very few of us who remember the old signal you used, but they managed to get us to march here to war. THORIN: And war there is! Elves from Mirkwood and Men from Laketown have claimed the treasure for themselves! DAIN: Elves and men? The treasure doesn’t belong to them! Come on men, let’s show them the fury of the Northern dwarves! The army swings around the mountain towards the other two armies. They start to charge towards the elves and men, and they start to charge towards the dwarves.
Just as the three armies are about to meet, a blinding light appears between the two factions. It’s Gandalf. GANDALF: Stop! Put away your swords (but not for long)! Legolas, Bard and Thorin step forward to hear what he has to say. GANDALF: All of you have heeded my words before, now heed them or perish! Two more armies come out of the North! The Goblins and Orcs, led by Bolg, who’s father you killed in Moria, Dain! THORIN: But what of the treasure? GANDALF: None of you will live to spend it if you don’t join together and face the enemy! LEGOLAS: I will be willing to join with Thorin. BARD: And I as well. DAIN: Very well, I would rather kill goblins than civilized folk any day! THORIN: Fine. My men will gladly fight to keep safe their mountain. The three armies join together and face north. GANDALF: We have hope to win if we cling to the Southern side of the Mountain, then we have the high ground! The armies move up onto the mountain. The elves took the Southern spur of the mountain, near its lowest edges. On the eastern spur the men and dwarves stand, waiting for the goblins. And Bard, Legolas, and some of the best archers from both their armies climb to a high vantage point along the Eastern side of the mountain.
Gandalf turns to Bilbo (they’re both standing with the elves on the Southern side. GANDALF: Bilbo, you may want to leave the battle at some point. I know of your … item of power. Don’t hesitate to use it. This has become a battle of five armies, and I suspect there will be many casualties. Hopefully most will come from my sword! BILBO: So I’m guessing you’ve decided against neutrality this time? Gandalf simply smiles and nods.
Suddenly they hear the sound of hundreds of feet running towards them. Then, suddenly, a huge army of goblins riding on wargs appears, charging around the side of the mountain. Cut to Bolg, the leader of the goblins. He’s much taller than the other goblins, in fact he is running alongside his soldiers.
As they come within range the elves prepare to shoot their arrows. LEGOLAS: Fire! They let go, and the arrows fly in an arc straight into the goblins’ ranks. The orcs finally reach the front lines of the elves on one side, and the men on the other, who are holding spears out to try to stop them. Some of the Wargs gets speared through the chests, stopping all the wargs and goblins behind them. Bolg pushes his way to the front line and pulls the spears out of the wargs while the elves are still holding them. He picks up the spears (along with the elves) and throws them behind him onto his army, where the two elf warriors fall onto the waiting swords of the goblins.
By now the battle is in full swing. Shots of various elves, men, dwarves, goblins, and wargs in a complete melee flash by. Gandalf is in a fury, killing goblins and wargs left and right with his sword and staff. Thorin fights his way over to where Gandalf is, and they start fighting together.
Meanwhile, Legolas and Bard are shooting off arrows with great succession. Suddenly the hear goblins trying to climb up to their lookout from below to the left. Legolas aims his bow up the mountain, shoots, and the arrow he shoots starts a landslide, killing the goblins.
Bilbo is dodging goblin attacks right and left. BILBO: This is nuts! He puts on the ring and disappears. He’s still in danger from being hit accidentally, but at least now no one is trying to kill him
An overhead view of the battle shows just how big the goblin army really is. It’s large enough to rival the elves, men, and dwarves put together, and it’s slowly working its way up the slope.
Gandalf and Thorin are still fighting together, but they’ve been surrounded by goblins on all sides. The goblins are closing in, so Gandalf hits the ground with his staff, and all the goblins within a certain radius are thrown in the air by a flash of light. THORIN: It has been … (He stops talking as he has to kill an oncoming goblin) … It has been a pleasure fighting with you, Gandalf!
GANDALF:
Don’t worry, we’ll be getting out of here soon!
Just as he says this, the elves charge down the mountain, and soon the men and dwarves follow. The charge is so violent and sudden, that the much-larger army of goblins is forced back into the valley.
Suddenly we cut to the goblins near the back of the line. They hear something coming from the East and they turn around. When they see what’s coming, they flee in terror. Cut to Beorn, in bear form, charging towards the lines of goblins. He tears through their back lines, and starts crushing any goblin or warg who comes near him.
Cut to Bilbo, who is still invisible and trying to get away from the madness. He sees elves, men, dwarves, and especially goblins everywhere, and it seems like there’s no escape. Suddenly he hears a great noise coming from the sky. A huge cloud descends from the heavens, which is revealed to be hundreds of bats, under the command of the goblins. They fly down and cause fear among the men, elves, and dwarves. The goblins aren’t bothered, in fact Bolg even snatches one of the bats out of the air and eats it. Gandalf shoots a gigantic bolt of light out of his staff, killing many of the bats and confusing the rest of them.
But the goblins have won back the advantage. They’re slowly forcing the three good armies to the side, and slowly they’re being forced into the river. Then, when it seems like the battle has turned towards the side of the goblins, a great eagle swoops down out of the sky and into the ranks of the goblins, grabbing one goblin in its mouth and several in its talons. It flies back up into the sky and drops the goblins to their deaths. More eagles swoop down out of the sky.
Between Gandalf, the archers on the mountain, Beorn, and the eages (not to mention the brave soldiers in the armies), the forces of good soon take the upper hand.
But Bilbo is still caught within the melee. Suddenly, a man’s sword comes back and hits his helmet. He falls to the ground unconscious, and the screen fades to black.
Scene 20 – The Road Goes Ever On The screen stays black for about half a minute, all the while sounds of the battle are heard, and finally the victory cries of the men, elves, and dwarves. Finally, silence.
Fade to Bilbo, still asleep and invisible on the battlefield. He wakes up and begins to call for help. BILBO: Hello! Is there anyone here? A man is walking alone through the battlefield and hears Bilbo. MAN: Who’s that? Do you need any help? I can’t see you. Bilbo realizes that he still has the ring on, and he takes it off. The man is startled to see him appear out of nowhere. BILBO: In answer to your questions: my name is Bilbo Baggins, the burglar. No, I think I’m fine, just a nasty bump on the head. What I really want to know is what happened. MAN: We beat the goblins and sent what’s left of them back to the mountains. We suffered many casualties though, including … Thorin Oakenshield. BILBO: Thorin? Thorin is dead? MAN: No, not dead. But it doesn’t look like he’s going to make it. He’s said he wants Dain to rule the mountain after he dies – . BILBO: Take me to him, please! I have to apologize to him before he dies. Cut to the man leading Bilbo among the tents where the armies are camping. We see groups of men, elves, and dwarves all relaxing when only hours ago they were ready to kill each other.
Bilbo enters Thorin’s tent and sees Gandalf standing over Thorin’s bed. GANDALF: Bilbo! Thank God you’re alive! I was hoping you didn’t … didn’t end up like Fili and Kili. BILBO: What, they died too? Gandalf nods solemnly. Thorin looks up at Bilbo. THORIN: So the Burglar has returned? Bilbo walks over to Thorin. BILBO: I’m sorry, Thorin. I can’t believe what a fool I was. THORIN: Fool? Don’t be absurd! Bilbo the Hero a fool? That’s what they’re calling you now. You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who should be sorry. To think it took a thieving hobbit and a goblin attack to show me the truth. I’ve ordered that all of the elvish items under the mountain will be returned to their rightful owners. And Gandalf, I want you to ask Bard how much he needs to rebuild his city, and I want you to give him double that. And of course, you will have as much as you wish. Farewell, good thief. I go to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed. BILBO: This has been a bitter adventure, if it must end in this way. Yet I am glad I shared in your adventure, which is more than any Baggins deserves. THORIN: No! There is more in you of good than you know, Mr. Baggins. If everyone were more like your folk – valuing food and cheer above war and riches – the world would not be bad off. But sad or merry, I must leave now. Farewell! Thorin lays his head back and dies.
Cut to Gandalf, Bilbo, Bard, several elves, and the surviving dwarves at Thorin, Fili, and Kili’s funeral. They watch as three stone caskets are entombed within the halls of Erebor.
Fade to Gandalf and Bilbo leaving Erebor by a cart drawn by horses. GANDALF: We don’t have to go through Mirkwood this time. I think a trip South wouldn’t hurt. BILBO: But you said that way was dangerous. GANDALF: Hmm, well all ways are dangerous now, but that one is slightly less perilous since I came that way. The camera pans back to the back of the cart, where we see several treasure chests covered with a tarp.
Cut to Bilbo arriving at the Shire. OLD BILBO: (voice over)It was finally over. I had gone there and back again, and lived to tell the tale. Cut to Bilbo walking into his house and finding a crowd of people inside. OLD BILBO: (voice over)I returned to find that my relatives had me declared dead, and all my possessions were being auctioned off. Cut to Bilbo sitting on his front porch smoking like he used to. OLD BILBO: (voice over)I wondered if I could be like I was, if anything would seem normal again after the wonders (and nightmares) I had lived through. Life back home was so monotonous, so … normal. But soon, all that changed… Fade to black.
Fade in on a cart being pulled by ponies through Hobbiton. In it are two male hobbits, one very old and one very young. The younger hobbit looks sad. They pull up to Bag End, where Bilbo stands up from his porch. The older hobbit steps down from the carriage and talks to Bilbo. BILBO: How was the rid in? HOBBIT: Uneventful. The poor little guy has been asking where his parents are. I don’t think he fully understands that they’re… BILBO: Dead? The older hobbit nods. HOBBIT: How do you tell a kid something like that? BILBO: Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him. Bilbo lifts the kid off the cart and sets him on the ground. BILBO: So, you’re my cousin Frodo. Weird, I’m old enough to be your uncle. Frodo is silent. The older hobbit gets in the cart and it pulls away. BILBO: Not in the mood to talk? That’s alright. Why don’t you go inside and … maybe I’ll tell you a story? The young Frodo smiles. FRODO: Okay. They walk inside. As the door to the hobbit hole closes, we fade to black and the credits roll. Written and Directed by The Big X Based on the Book by J.R.R. Tolkien Starring James McAvoy Ian Mckellan Geoffry Rush Javier Bardem Josh Brolin Russell Crowe Jason Isaacs Cate Blanchet Elija Wood Ian Holme Orlando Bloom Hugo Weaving Christopher Lee and Sean Connery[/center] |
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Post by Dale on May 9, 2008 11:20:44 GMT -5
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