More interesting stuff from the BOTFA Appendices
:
Dol Guldur was, in movie lore, an old Gondorian fortress that was built as a guard-post along the Anduin (something like the Argonath), maybe during the end of the Second or the beginning of the Third Age. However, it was apparently abandoned (probably due to the Great Plague) and taken over by something very evil (you know what
) a few centuries before the Hobbit, at which time it was repurposed and iron chains and spikes were added to the stone ruins to keep it all together from falling apart; also, sometime before it was reoccupied, the northern part of the Hill (opposite the bridge) took off, probably due to an earthquake, leaving the underground levels/pits of the fortress viewable (Dol Guldur is even referenced as having the overal look of a broken tooth because of this), this can be seen during the wide shot of the fortress in the Extended Edition.
Also, the Appendices have digital maps of both Dol Guldur and the city of Dale, as well as some additional drawings by Alan Lee of Gondorian buildings in Dol Guldur; there is also a drawing of Thranduil's wife, who was probably a Sindarin Elf like him.
All these images you can find in my gallery on ModDB (there are about 12 images) here:
http://www.moddb.com/members/thorinsnemesis/imagesThere was also some additional info about the palantir - it was a relic from the earlier script when the movies were just two, and it was intended to be the Ithil stone that either Sauron had stolen from the then-abandoned Minas Ithil, or when he revived the Nazgul they took Minas Ithil and brought him the palantir. Then, years after he was banished, when some of the Nazgul came to reclaim Dol Guldur the Ithil stone was transported to Barad-dur. In the movies the palantir would have been used to better establish the telephatic communication Sauron and Smaug had (and that's how Smaug knew about the 'Oakensheld' name and about the Dwarves' plan), and of course show the vision of Smaug leading the Orc armies. They really should have kept that in, as it fixes one of the big plot holes in the Hobbit.
Also, there was at one point the intention that Ori would give Bilbo his portrait (the one old Bilbo holds in AUJ when he says 'I'm not the same hobbit I once was...') during Bilbo's parting with the Dwarves, and Gloin and Nori would secretly tell Bilbo about the chest in the Trollshaws, but I don't know if these scenes were filmed.
And, the scene where Bilbo finds the treasure chest in the Trollshaws was filmed, you can actually see a shot of it during the screenshot slideshow at the end of the Appendices Part 12.
However, I wasn't able to find a particular thing: I learned from the One Ring Forums that somewhere PJ mentioned the closure to the Morgul Blade subplot - Gandalf had been carrying it when he went to Dol Guldur, and they shot a scene where, after Gandalf was defeated by Sauron in DOS, there was a 'frisking' scene before he was caged in, in which they found and took the Morgul Blade from him....
It's interesting how many nice scenes were filmed or planned but never included. The Hobbit is already a great trilogy (the best movies imho
) those scenes could have made the movies even more interesting.