The San Diego Comic-Con 2012 official began yesterday with Preview Night that gives a chance to tour the various booths and dealer tables being set up at SDCC to promote upcoming products and the like. One of the movies that will be on hand is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The Hobbit panel is scheduled for 2:30-5:00pm PST on Saturday July 14th. While it was assumed something would be shown from the movie, Peter Jackson has now confirmed to Hero Complex that he will screen a reel during the panel. Of note is the decision to run the film in 2D at 24 frames per second after the huge amount of negative press he received when a 3D at 48 fps clip was show at CinemaCon. His reasoning on this decision is hard to argue with. Hopefully the video will be put online shortly after the panel ends for those of us that could not go the convention.

HC: How would you frame the Hall H appearance as far as the stakes?
PJ: I think it’s more about protecting the downside, rather than helping the film in any significant way. There is a huge audience waiting to see “The Hobbit,” and any positive press from Comic-Con will truthfully have little impact on that. However, as we saw at CinemaCon earlier this year, with our 48 frames per second presentation, negative bloggers are the ones the mainstream press runs with and quotes from. I decided to screen the “Hobbit” reel at Comic-Con in 2-D and 24 frames per second, so the focus stays firmly with the content and not the technical stuff. If people want 3-D and 48fps, that choice will be there for them in December.

HC: If you had one sentence — a take-away message — for the Middle-earth fans who don’t get a seat in Hall H, what would it be?
PJ: We’ve all loved returning to Middle-earth and now look forward to fans stepping back into this world with us.

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