The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies [2014] (1 disc)

Random Trivia For This Title:

• As of 2014, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom are the only major Elf actors not to appear in a Marvel film:
  • Hugo Weaving (Elrond) had starred as the Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger
  • Liv Tyler (Arwen) played Betty Ross in The Incredible Hulk
  • Lee Pace (Thranduil) plays Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy
  • and Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel) stars in Ant-Man
• In the novel, Fili and Kili died to protect Thorin Oakenshield. In the film they die for different reasons: Fili is murdered in battle by Azog and Kili is killed trying to save Tauriel while Thorin is actually trying to protect them.
• Cameo: Dominic Monaghan: "Merry" from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, can be briefly seen during the auction scene.
• Lee Pace's parents visited him on set and subsequently Peter Jackson offered them to be extras in the film. They were given roles as Laketown villagers and filmed a scene with Ian McKellen. However, according to Pace, they were cut out of the film, because his father was "hamming it up" during his scene.
• Both Ian Holm and Christopher Lee filmed their scenes at London's Pinewood Studios because health concerns left them uncomfortable with flying to New Zealand.
• The five armies in the movie are: The Dwarves, the Elves, the men of Laketown, the Eagles, and the Orcs led by Bolg under the command of Azog. In the book, the Five Armies are the Elves, the Men of Laketown, Dwarves and Eagles for the good side, and the Orcs
• Billy Boyd, who played Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, co-wrote and performed the song "The Last Goodbye" for the end credits of this film.
• The elk that Thranduil rides on is played by a horse, named Moose.
• Several cast members kept props from the film when shooting wrapped. Martin Freeman kept his sword and prosthetic ears, while Richard Armitage kept the original Orcrist-sword. Finally, Lee Pace kept his elven-sword, which he keeps in his umbrella stand.
• In the book, the whole Battle Of The Five Armies takes place in just one chapter, and is described to the reader after the fact, while in the film, the battle takes up nearly half of the running time.
• Despite appearing in all three films of the trilogy, Cate Blanchett was on set for only eight days of the production.
• The oak tree on the hill over Bag End is from the acorn Bilbo gathered from Beorn's garden, which is the one he shows to Thorin; for him to remember his adventure.
• Despite playing his father in the trilogy, Lee Pace (Thranduil) is more than two years younger than Orlando Bloom (Legolas). Bloom is 38 whereas Pace is only 35.
• In the novel, the Master of Lake-town made a getaway with whatever gold he could carry. He gets killed in the film, so that fate goes to Alfrid.
• This is the only movie in The Hobbit trilogy as well as the Lord of the Rings trilogy where Legolas blinks normally. In all the other movies, he only blinks when he is surprised or injured.
• When the movie was promoted with a panel at San Diego Comic Con, several fans camped outside hall the day before the panel, in order to get seats. In the middle of the night, the fans were woken up by cast members Lee Pace and Andy Serkis who greeted the waiting fans and delivered autographs and photos for hours. In the end, Pace passed out from exhaustion and shared a mattress with a fan.