How two cash-in prequels became a toxic trilogy.

Video essayist Lindsay Ellis delves into the making of the three The Hobbit movies. In a trilogy of her own, Lindsay begins by asking, as a fan, why these movies feel like lesser companions to the original The Lord of the Rings movies, and her line of inquiry ultimately leads her to New Zealand to uncover more about the machinations of the film industry and its effects on local laws and economy.

“It becomes exceedingly difficult to separate the merry adventures of Bilbo and his Dwarvish cabal from the fact that the films are a benchmark case in how to upend an entire film industry.” – Lindsay Ellis (3)

In part one, Lindsay’s book-versus-films analysis highlights story and character choices which raise questions about the intentions of the film makers and the studio:

In part two, Lindsay visits New Zealand to chat to actors, film makers and locals who offer insights into the troubled production of two films which became three:

In part three, Lindsay looks at how film studios took advantage of the New Zealand film industry’s labour dispute to produce to complete The Hobbit film trilogy:

There’s also bonus footage which Lindsay released exclusively via Twitter:

I couldn’t use this in the doc (as by John’s own admission, part of it was only hearsay and he didn’t tell me who the holdout was), but here’s John talking about payment for the third Hobbit film. pic.twitter.com/KkzKBzfPoO

— Lindsay Ellis (@thelindsayellis) April 20, 2018