Sage Hobbit movie advice for PJ?

[the phantom]

I should imagine that it will be the non-purists that they will primarily aiming to entice into the theatres. It's all about bums on seats, my dear boy.

You don't think previews showing giant spiders, goblins, and trolls will get people into the theater?

And that's not even counting the dragon. Toss in a little Smaug action- I think the seats would fill up just fine.

But if it's aimed at a wider audience (which seems more likely given the incredible success of the LotR films) they will undoubtedly look for a love interest.

I disagree with this notion. I have never sat down to watch a movie and thought "There'd better be a love interest." If people don't know the story then they don't know what to expect and if the movie is good I doubt the idea of a "love interest" will even occur to them.

Like I asked before, did any of you, while reading Bilbo's tale, actually stop and notice that there was no love interest? If you didn't, why would you assume other people will?

Does anybody really go into a movie with a checklist?? 1)must have a love interest 2)must have a major battle 3)main characters all must have a major flaw 4)must have a prominent female character 5)must have a crazy surprise at the end- etc.... I know I don't. I go and watch the movie and if it's good then it's good. Who cares if some things weren't included? Every story/movie isn't the same so why should every one of them need to include the same stuff?

When you take a perfectly good story and try to add unnecessary things it just ruins it because the additions rarely mesh cleanly with the original (just like my example of me trying to add to a Bach concerto).