Sierra1

Question: When Gollum is wrestling with the orc, does he happen to be at just the right angle for the Ring to fall out of his pocket, or was it the Ring's choice to leave him, as in the book? Also, why does Bilbo just leave Gollum in the cave if he recognizes that Gollum is "miserable, lost, and alone?" Why not take him along and give him to Gandalf, then have Gandalf take him away so he could be with company, yet not hinder their mission?

Answer: Galadriel's narration at the beginning of "The Fellowship of the Ring" states that the Ring "abandoned Gollum", so yes, it chose to leave him in the film. Thorin's company had left Gandalf at Rivendell when they went to the Misty Mountains, so he was not there to hand Gollum over to. Also Gollum had just tried to kill Bilbo, so it would not be practical to bring along a hostile, murderous individual out of pity for his loneliness.

Sierra1

Question: Was any reason ever given as to why Gandalf chose Bilbo to go on this journey and not someone else?

Answer: In the film, Gandalf tells the dwarves he chose Bilbo because hobbits are light on their feet, and because Smaug would not recognise the scent of a hobbit as he would a dwarf. Also Bilbo is the most adventurous of the hobbits in the Shire. This reason is not in the book but is from the story "The Quest of Erebor" in Tolkien's Unfinished Tales.

Sierra1

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