After some nerd tears were shed over the lackluster debut trailer for Peter Jackson‘s first prequel to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the director is quick to return with a new production featurette. This is the fifth in his series of video blogs, and after shooting 110 days in a studio, Jackson takes us into the New Zealand wild on location. The first half of the video discusses the many logistics of moving around such a massive crew, including everything from toilet paper to wigs to much-needed alcohol.

We then venture into Hobbitton, where we see a bit of Elijah Wood reminiscing over his first experience here nearly 12 years ago and then some insight to how they are building a living, breathing town. These technical pieces do much more for me than the trailer and make for a great holiday treat. Check it out below via the official Facebook page, followed by the trailer if you missed it. Jackson also promised a sixth video to follow early next year, so check back when that arrives.

Production Video #5:

Trailer:

The cast includes Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood , Andy Serkis , Richard Armitage, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, Aidan Turner, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, and Brry Humphries .

Synopsis:

“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever… Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens on December 14th, 2012, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again will be released on December 13th, 2013.

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