Now this is more like it!

I saw this on another forum already, and my instant reaction was that Bombur was absolutely perfect.

PJ is getting heavy again - must be LOTR that does it to him.

That's the one really depressing part of the production for me. That can't be healthy for him.

What's that guy on the left have, a large spoon? That's sure to scare some orcs.

Hey, it's Bombur. He's more of a "live to eat" Dwarf (as you can tell from his, um, remarkable girth) .

Is that Seth Green with the darker hair? Please tell me its not. If it is, then my hopes for this movie where just completely and utterly shattered into a million pieces.

No, it's Aidan Turner.

There are never many American actors in "Middle Earth" movies. If Jackson was going to cast an American for a role, I can't imagine he'd actually pick Seth Green.

Some of the main roles in LOTR were played by American actors:
Elijah Wood
Sean Astin
Viggo Mortensen
Liv Tyler
Brad Dourif

However...
I know, right? I mean even if the guy in the picture looked kinda like Seth Green (which... he doesn't. At all.), I can't imagine how one could believe that Green would be hired to play a dwarf in The Hobbit.

Bill and Ted's Awesome Quest in Middle Earth?

I keep thinking of a passage from Garrison Keilor's Lake Wobegon Days where's he describing his grade school days, and he comments on the lunch lady brandishing her ladle like a club, like she was going to brain you for complaining about the food.

Here stands Balin, Son of Fundin, Lord of Moria. And Dwalin...

One of my concerns for this film was telling all the dwarves apart onscreen, but I think they've got enough differences that it should be fine.

We've got the reveal of Thorin (and Orcrist) over at TheOneRing.net:

So, are there any men or elves in this film or is it all dwarves and hobbits?

It's mostly dwarves, one Hobbit, one Istari (wizard), some Elves, three trolls, and a dragon. There are only a two men that I can recall having significant roles in the book, though one has supernatural powers, so I'm not sure if he fully qualifies as being a "man."

Does that mean Legolas, Aragorn, and all the other elves/men they are bringing back for these adaptations were not in the book?

I don't think Aragorn is in this. Is he? In any event, they were not in the book, although they were still present in the Middle Earth universe at the time the events in The Hobbit took place and most likely were at least aware of what was happening.

Unless I'm mistaken, the only characters that were in both books were Gandalf, Bilbo and to some extent Sauron. It's been so long since I read the Hobbit that I can't quite remember. I'm not sure if Elrond, Galadriel and the other elves are in both.

Don't forget Gollum.

Oops, yeah I forget about him.

Elrond is. I'm rereading it... actually very similar structure to fellowship... leaving the shire, rivendell, mountains, into the mines, etc.