From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second of a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The three films tell a continuous story set in Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, we follow the next stage of the journey of Bilbo and Thorin's Company of Dwarves as they escape to the shapeshifter Beorn's house then travel through the malignant forest of Mirkwood and suffer the perils of Thranduil's kingdom of the Wood-elves, before eventually making their way to the human settlement of Lake-town, from where they finally gaze upon their goal, the Lonely Mountain of Erebor, lair of the Dragon Smaug.Chronicles III is the third in a series of lavish hardback books written and designed by the award-winning team at Weta, who are working closely with the production team to guarantee that these books will be bursting with insider information and stunning visual imagery. With more than 220 pages of spectacular visuals including a special fold-out unique to this book, Chronicles III is packed with 1000 images of concept artwork, photographs, development paintings and film stills by the artists and movie makers working behind the scenes to bring Middle-earth to life. The sketches and drawings will be accompanied by movie photography and finished imagery to show the comparison between design and final product so that the book is telling full stories.Under Jackson's direction, The Hobbit Trilogy is being shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming is taking place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will premier December 13, 2013, and the third film is slated for summer 2014 Movie Schedules: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: December 14, 2012 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: December 13, 2013 The Hobbit: There and Back Again: December 17, 2014 Book Schedules: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design December 14, 2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles II: Creatures & Characters April 23, 2013 (to coincide with DVD release of the first movie) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles III: Art & Design December 13, 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles IV: Costumes & Weapons March 25, 2014 (to coincide with DVD release of second movie) The Hobbit: There and Back Again Chronicles V: Art & Design July 18, 2014 The Hobbit: There and Back Again Chronicles VI: Smaug October 28, 2014 ( to coincide with DVD release of third movie and Christmas sales) www.thehobbit.com