Smaug, Sherlock, & Pterosaurs

So, guess who got a DVD copy of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug yesterday.

So I decided to continue my "Nerd Problems" series in honor of Smaug.

Confession time: I did not actually think those exact words when I first saw Smaug. Actually, I thought this: "Oh my gosh! He looks like an azhdarchid pterosaur! AWESOME!!!"

The better-informed nerd paleontologist afficiandoes on TVTropes, however, have stated that Smaug's body design is more reminiscent of an ornithocheiroid pterosaur, so I will follow their lead. Nevertheless, 'azhdarchid' is an infinitely cooler word than 'ornithocheiroid'. The Persian word for 'dragon' beats the Greek for 'bird hand' any day. Also, Quetzalcoatlus northropi is an azhdarchid, which makes that genus 20% more awesome.

Also, I found this highly amusing picture while looking up large pterosaurs:

That's right. Some artist seriously took the time to compare Arambourgiania philadelphiae to Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes, of Sherlock, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Seriously. They even drew his purple scarf! I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw it. "Surely not," I thought. "They wouldn't actually put Sherlock in a pterosaur diagram."

Nevertheless, I clicked on the image to enlarge it. Sure enough, it was Sherlock. I immediately knew I had to blog it. (Don't believe me? Go to the Wikipedia article.)

Since I've seen so many fanart of Smaug wearing Sherlock's purple scarf, it seemed only appropriate that these pictures should end up in the same post together.

Also, they are not 'pterodactyls'. That refers only to the members of one specific type of pterosaur. The name for all prehistoric flying reptiles is pterosaur - Greek for 'winged reptile'. Get your facts straight, people.

Yes, it bothers me every time I see 'pterodactyl' misused now.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Smaug - No and Yes

Me watching An Unexpected Journey for the first time. This is definitely not Smaug.

THIS is Smaug.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

About A Month Left, Y'All!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

It just sounds awesome. I need to say it out loud, full-length, more now. Oh, and, in case you're wondering, the gif is from a clip of the AUJ Extended Edition, which is available digitally now. I'm not sure if it's out on DVD and Blu-Ray yet. It probably is, in some places.

I'm not sure whether to get the EE's now, or wait until they do a Special Extended Edition (because you know they will). I have the SEE's for LOTR and would like the SEE's for TH as well. I may also be hoping that the SEE's will have cast commentary on them, because AUJ EE does not. Grr.

Oh, and news about the DOS soundtrack is coming out now!! *happy dance* It appears the cover will be purple. O.o. Whatever. I'm hoping that the cover for the TABA soundtrack is white and not teal, as some were suggesting, because I don't want the full TH set to look like Mardi Gras. Plus, if we do get a Battle of the Five Armies in the snow, a white soundtrack cover and movie case would tie in excellently with that.

Gargh. December 13th cannot come fast enough.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Smaug Behind-the-Scenes!

These pictures, courtesy of TheOneRing.net, appear to be from an upcoming video blog. Cannot wait for it! We get a sneak peek of Smaug behind-the-scenes, although it's probably not what you think it is.

It's Benedict Cumberbatch doing motion-capture.

How they managed to mo-cap a dragon off of a human, I'm not sure, but I am equally sure that the wizards at WETA are up to the challenge. What would have greatly helped them is if they did decide to make Smaug only four-limbed instead of six-limbed - i.e., with his wings and forelegs put together. While I would prefer a six-limbed dragon, the four-limbed layout has its scientific appeal: after all, there are no known vertebrates with six limbs.

I guess we'll find out.

Like Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch should win some sort of award for his facial expressions. Someone a while back on TORn started a thread about how *evil* and snake-like some of his expressions in Star Trek: Into Darkness were, and how perfect his Smaug is going to be. I agree whole-heartedly. He can be very scary when he wishes.

See?

That is, of course, provided you ignore the gray dots and red "REC" flashing at the top of the screen, LOL.

How do you mo-cap breathing fire? Hmm. Oh... Hey, WETA! Now I *really*, *really* want to see diagrams of Smaug's innards in your next book. Because I want to know what sort of biological processes you have theorized would lead up to his ability to breathe fire. In the trailer it looks like you can see some sort of 'pilot light' in the back of Smaug's mouth. Come on, I know you've given thought to this!!! ENLIGHTEN US!!!

Okay, not in the die-a-fiery-death way.

Now for a sane picture (cue fangirls squeeing):

I'd say he got off easy. He doesn't appear to be wearing the skin-tight suit that Andy Serkis had to wear to play Gollum ("complete with obligatory matching underpants", as one vlog from LOTR said). That, or they didn't want to release pictures of that lest fangirls across the world suddenly develop severe nosebleeds.

...You know, I'm not sure whether I was sarcastic or sincere with that last comment. Ah, well. Fangirls will be fangirls.

As for me, I'm just repeating my mantra: "Smaug is gonna be awesome. We've got a dragon, we've got a dragon, we've got the best dragon in cinematic history..."

Only 51 days!

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

My Fandom, People

Have I mentioned today how much I love my fandom?

TheOneRing.net, bless them, has assembled a collection of gifs from the new trailer and put them up for us to find here. For some reason, they work perfectly well on my computer itself, but not on the Internet. Go figure.

And then they devoted an article exclusively to THIS:

I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER.

Just look at that torrent of fire spewing out of his mouth! It spins around almost like a tornado... yeesh. I would not want to be the burglar caught in that inferno.

Even so... Smaug's voice. Oh, goodness, his voice. We're all going to spontaneously combust in theaters when he starts talking. I just know it.

I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

DoS Posters Are Out!

Several character posters were released yesterday in the hours leading up to the trailer. Feast your eyes upon the gorgeousness:

BLUE!

GOLD!

BROWN!

GREEN!

GRAY!

RED!

Had to save Smaug for last. It was the best. XD Can't help it, but I like dragons. Smaug not so much, since he's evil, but he's going to be undeniably awesome. I knew it all along.

Just look at the detail WETA put into his eye - look at the veins in the iris, the scelera (where does the iris end and the scelera begin, anyway?). Look at the scales around his eye. Look at Bilbo's reflection. Simply marvelous.

Oh, and now I feel the need to end with this:

Smaug is watching you...

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug TRAILER!

*wailing and flailing*

SMAUG TALKS! HE TALKS! JUST LISTEN TO THAT VOICE! IT'G GONNA BE TERRIFYING IN THE THEATER!

Bonus: I saw Bofur at one point! I could even see his face! Saw Fili's blond hair a couple of times (yay!) and Kili once.

Not terribly enthused about Thranduil or this subplot with Tauriel, but whatever. It's great to see Legolas in action, and he looks more real this time than in the first trailer. And he was using Orcrist to fight orcs in Laketown. Grr. Legolas, I hate to say this but do. Not. Mess. With. The. Majestic. Dwarf. Or. Take. His. Stuff. Grr.

The spiders are gonna be terrifying.

The Mirkwood Elves look cool.

Bard looks awesome.

Thorin is... uh-oh... getting scary... Can you say 'dragon sickness'? No, Thorin, don't!

And then did I mention that Smaug talks? *clamps hands over mouth to prevent hysterical screaming*

There's already YouTube comments from girls sarcastically thanking Benedict Cumberbatch for ensuring they're in love with a dragon. Knew it.

Sorry, I can't say much more because I'm still incoherent. I've watched it six times already!!!

In Pace Christi,

Elyse