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Peter Jackson to direct The Hobbit in 3D? Written by Gerard Wood Friday, 07 December 2007
Hard and fast on the bloody trail of Beowulf in 3D comes the rumour of a 3D version of The Hobbit, in two parts to be directed by Peter Jackson. Wow... Peter Jackson IS Directing The Hobbit - In 3D! is the headline over at Screen Rant.
The ease with which this latest rumour about The Hobbit movie has proliferated on the web proves once again how poor journalistic standards on the web are, how easy it is to believe anything so long as it is written, and how hungry many of us are for news about The Hobbit, especially if it mentions Peter Jackson. In the end though there is only one source for this story – Jim Dorey over at Marketsaw. And let’s be frank, it’s unsubstantiated. Which is not to say that it might not in fact prove to be true. We certainly hope it is, and as we’ve said before, we’d be surprised if Peter Jackson doesn’t end up directing The Hobbit; given his achievement with the Lord of the Rings movies, he is the obvious (and as far as we’re concerned, the only) choice. But as Quint over at Ain’t it cool news points out Jackson’s schedule with Tintin and Lovely Bones has him tied up for the foreseeable future. Quint followed up this rumour by contacting “Jackson’s camp” for confirmation and got a “resounding no”. Ironically, of course, this proves nothing as we’d expect them to say no until they’re ready to make an official announcement.
For those who haven’t heard the “news”, it goes something like this: Peter Jackson will now direct The Hobbit, his dispute with New Line put aside or resolved. The movie will be in two parts, the first released in 2010 and the second in 2011 (the fact that it wil be in two parts is not news as such as that was reported as early as October 2006). The second part of the movie will apparently be influenced by The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle Earth, and will, according to Marketsaw, “lead us up to creation of the Fellowship in a graceful and logical fashion”. Furthermore the movies will also be in 3D, and apparently the Lord of The Rings trilogy will also be converted to 3D and re-released between 2012 and 2014.
So there you have it. While we’re hoping that Jim over at Marketsaw has reliable sources, we’re treating this one with a fistful of scepticism until Peter Jackson or New Line come out with an official statement confirming or denying it.
Until then folks, this is no more than a pleasant rumour.
Peter Jackson Is Making The Hobbit Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have officially kissed and made up. In a press release sent out this morning, New Line announced that they’re at last going forward with a movie version of The Hobbit, partnering with MGM to co-finance the project. More importantly, they say they’ve settled all their litigation with Peter Jackson, and he and Fran Walsh are set to serve as Executive Producers on the project.
The question left here is of course, will Jackson and Walsh write the script and will Peter direct? They don’t say. Here’s what PJ does say: “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”
Their plan is to turn The Hobbit into two movies, which will be shot simultaneously. Personally, I think that’s an awful idea. “The Hobbit” isn’t nearly as dense as the three Lord of the Rings books. It’s the perfect size to turn into a single film, and turning into to means they’re going to have to do a lot of stretching, unless of course the plan is to use a lot of ancillary material from some of Tokien’s other books like The Silmarillion. If that’s the plan, that could work.
But, with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh back in charge of Middle Earth, I’m willing to assume anything they want to do will automatically work. Even if Jackson end up not actually directing it, at least now he has a say in it. Perhaps even more importantly, it’s a sure bet that WETA will be back doing the effects, which means all five Lord of the Rings movies will maintain a similar look. It’s a great day in Hobbiton folks, the future of Tolkien’s work is back on track.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Guillermo del Toro is directing "The Hobbit" and its sequel, New Line Cinema announced Thursday. The 43-year-old filmmaker will move to New Zealand for four years to make the films back-to-back with executive producer Peter Jackson.
Del Toro wrote and directed "Pan's Labyrinth," which earned six Oscar nominations in 2006 and won three awards. He is also the director of the upcoming sequel "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," whose monsters bear the unmistakeable surreal vision of the Mexican-born filmmaker.
"I am indeed blessed to become a part of the filmmaking community that Peter, Fran and their extraordinary team of collaborators have created in New Zealand," del Toro said in a statement. "Contributing to the 'Lord of the Rings' legacy is an absolute dream come true."
Jackson and Walsh called del Toro "a cinematic magician who has never lost his childlike sense of wonder."
"We have long admired Guillermo's work and cannot think of a more inspired filmmaker to take the journey back to Middle-Earth," they said in a statement.
Jackson co-wrote, co-produced and directed the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which won 17 Oscar and 30 nominations.
you see there are three things that spur the mollusk from the sand
Guillermo Del Toro Wants ‘LOTR’ Cast for ‘The Hobbit’ April 30th, 2008 at 7:25 am
The HobbitNow that it’s official that Guillermo Del Toro will direct The Hobbit and its sequel (see Official, No Really: Guillermo del Toro Will Direct ‘The Hobbit’), the director told MTV that he wants to bring back the original cast from the Lord of the Rings trilogy for his two films.
Del Toro Andy said that he was “pretty sure” that Andy Serkis (Gollum) and Ian McKellan (Gandalf) would be back.
But who else will return?
Quote:
“I want to be very clear about this. I am not going to recast any actor that is willing and able to work with us,” recently announced “Hobbit” director Guillermo Del Toro told MTV News. “It would be my hope to bring back the same actors to play the parts. The casting on the trilogy was perfect.”
When MTV News asked if Ian Holm would return as Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit’s central character, Del Toro said while it’s too soon to tell, Holm will probably be involved in the film in some way. Considering that The Hobbit takes place over fifty years prior to the events in LOTR, it’s likely that another actor will play the role. “I have many people in mind,” said Del Toro, of the Bilbo casting.
In the interview, Del Toro goes on about other cast and crew members who will be working on the film and gives a hint about what the sequel will entail.
Oh, and he also clears up the recently resurrected issue about he supposedly doesn’t like fantasy films. He explains that it was a two-year-old quote, which doesn’t apply anymore, so rest assured everyone.
I think Del Toro has proven himself in the fantasy genre already, so no need to panic, there’s no way Del Toro will ruin the LOTR franchise.
Does this guy have his green card? Did he sneak across the border? JK
I'm glad he is only directing. I thought the story in Pan's Labyrinth sucked.
"If the terrorists hated freedom, the Netherlands would be smurfing dust." - David Cross "I really don't have a problem with gay marriage... because I'm tolerant and rational." - also David Cross
Jackson & Del Toro Reveal ‘Hobbit’ Details posted by Empress Eve | May 24th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Jackson/Del ToroExecutive producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo del Toro participated in a live chat session earlier today where they answered previously submitted reader questions regarding their plans for The Hobbit movie and its sequel, currently referred to as Film Two (F2).
I tried following the live chat, but it was going so fast, I didn’t catch everything (del Toro was doing a lot of pasting in of large amounts of previously published text). Luckily, the chat transcript is now online at Wetaholics.
The duo are currently in the early planning stages of the films and casting and script have not yet commenced, but they did talk a lot about story ideas, concepts, filming locations, and possibly casting.
The question most asked was which of the actors from Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy would reprise their roles in The Hobbit movies. While they couldn’t exactly answer as to which actors would definitely appear, del Toro said, “Unequivocally, every single actor that originated a role in the Trilogy will be asked to participate and reprise it” and that Ian McKellen will “absolutely” return as Gandalf. Jackson: “… apart from extreme circumstances, we would never recast a character who appeared in the LOTR trilogy. You can read The Hobbit and pretty much see which characters play a part. The unknown facter is Film Two, which we are still developing. If we wished to write one of the LOTR characters into the narrative of Film Two, we would only do that with that actors blessing, and willingess to take part. Otherwise we’d take the writing in another direction.”
Del Toro said that he’s thinking of several possibilities for the person to be the voice of Smaug, but probably not Hellboy II’s Ron Perlman, for whom he has other plans. As to whether Ian Holm will return as Bilbo Baggins, del Toro said, “We will utilize him in some fashion for sure but the difficulty of the role will be better assessed after we do the script(s).”
Also returning composer Howard Shore and artist Alan Lee and John Howe, as well as many of the LOTR production teams. Del Toro said he will “supplement the FX departments, the design departments (with very interesting names), but the crew will utilize as many of the original elements as possible.”
As far as scheduling goes, Jackson said he will spend the rest of this year writing — along with his LOTR writing parters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, as well as del Toro — with 2009 dedicated to pre-production on both films and 2010 when the films will be shot back-to-back; The Hobbit will be released December 2011, with F2 following in December 2012.
Jackson said that it’s unlikely they’ll need any locations outside of New Zealand, which has previously provided the setting for Middle Earth, with plans to rebuild Hobbiton in the exact location except “bigger and even better than what it was for LOTR.”
Del Toro said that the two films, which are not currently planned as 3D movies (someone asked), will be rated “an intense PG-13″; when talking about the films’ dark elements, the director had this to say: I hope that Mirkwood can be pretty scary but not graphic, I hope Riddles in the dark has an element of fear and suspense and to be deeply atmospheric but still allow the ingenious, engaging contest to take place. And Smaug should be all shock and awe when he unleashes his anger so, it will be pretty intense but not gorey.
A big question is what exactly will the second film be like. Here’s what Jackson and Del Toro offered up about this film, which takes place during the 60-year gap between The Hobbit and the first LOTR story The Fellowship of the Ring: GDT: The idea is to find a compelling way to join THE HOBBIT and FELLOWSHIP and enhance the 5 films both visually an in their Cosmology. There’s omissions and material enough in the available, licensed material to attempt this. The agreement is, however, that the second film must be relevant and emotionally strong enough to be brought to life but that we must try and contain the HOBBIT in a single film.
PJ: I’m really looking forward to developing Film Two. It gives us a freedom that we haven’t really had on our Tolkien journey. Some of you may well say that’s a good thing of course! The Hobbit is interesting in how Tolkien created a feeling of dangerous events unfolding, which preoccupy Gandalf. There’s an awful lot of incident that happens during that 60 year gap. At this stage, we’re not imagining a film that literally covers 60 years, like a bio-pic or documentary. We would figure out what happens during that 60 years, and choose one short section of time to drop in and dramatise for the screen. I’m really interested in how it effects The Hobbit - do we show what happens to Gandalg during his trips away? We’ll see. We may well have seeds for Film Two that we’ll subtly sow during The Hobbit.
While the duo do not know at this time if The Hobbit films will get an extended DVD and/or Blu-Ray release, Jackson did say that he is currently working on a Blu-Ray version of the LOTR trilogy with Warner Bros at the moment. While he’s not sure of its release date, he’s certain it won’t be this year.
Read the lengthy and informative full chat log over at Wetaholics and enjoy!