The Dominion Post

I thought it had been firmly established that he was NOT going to be taking that project. He's not going to direct it, though. Just be executive producer. No word on a director.

Weird.

I don't think that had been firmly established, though it had been said in the past that PJ was unlikely to take part. Rumors of him in fact taking part have been swirling for some time, though, I think.

Every single day of my life, I wake up and pray that Jackson's vision of The Hobbit, aka Bilbo and the 12 Gimlis, never EVER sees the light of day.

You most definitely have a point. Although, The Hobbit as written is more of a childrens book and as such the dwarves are portrayed a bit more comically. Gimili in the Lord of the Rings movies, as obnoxious as the portrayal was for that movie, might actually have worked in The Hobbit.

If you really want to have something to worry about imagine Bombur and all the fat jokes that character is going to generate. Perhaps they'll decide to make it a musical and include all the songs for this project. Wouldn't that be fun. Yeah, I have nightmares too.

CNN has confirmed Jackson and New Line's reconciliation.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy "The Lord of the Rings."


Peter Jackson is set to oversee the film adaptation of "The Hobbit."

Jackson, who directed the "Rings" trilogy, will serve as executive producer for "The Hobbit." A director for the prequel films has yet to be named.

Relations between Jackson and New Line had soured after "Rings," despite a collective worldwide box office gross of nearly $3 billion -- an enormous success. The two sides nevertheless were able to reconcile, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) splitting "The Hobbit" 50/50, spokemen for both studios said Tuesday.

"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," Jackson said in a statement. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth."

Two "Hobbit" films are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, similar to how the three "Lord of the Rings" films were made. Production is set to begin in 2009 with a released planned for 2010, with the sequel scheduled for a 2011 release.

Probably the Golden Compass bombing helped New Line come to the decision that they needed some more Rings based cash cows pronto!

Getting off the topic of the Hobbit movie just a bit, I picked up my copy of the Hobbit to read it again a few minutes ago and something caught my eye that I'd never thought about before.

In the description of Bilbo standing outside his front door, smoking his pipe it says:

Smoking an enormous long wooden pipe that reached nearly down to his woolly toes

How would you light a pipe that long?

They (hobbits) hold the match with their toes. Which is why they never wear footwear.

This story kinda takes me down memory lane a little. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but back in the day at Cinescape (really, only like three years ago) the only thing they had to talk about in the LOTR forum was whether or not 'The Hobbit' would ever be made into a movie, and what people would want to see in that movie. Whether or not Ian Holm would reprise his role as Bilbo was a popular topic all the way back in the early days of CA (anyone with sense figured the role would probably have to be recast with a younger actor). As far as how Bilbo lights his pipe, he'd probably have to use some kind of a stick that was lit on the end. Or a magnifying glass.

Ian Holm must play Bilbo.

Bilbo and the Twelve Gimlis is comic gold.

Wow, there's actually some pretty interesting news on The Hobbit. This was a potential project that excited me something like five years ago, but my interest has waned somewhat since. I hadn't really given too much though to who should direct. Sam Raimi seemed all right, but I've soured on him with the whole direction of the Spider-Man franchise. But now, lo and behold, GUILLERMO DEL TORO IS IN TALKS TO DIRECT. I really don't know if I could think of a better choice. He looks like PJ, which is nice for continuity, he's got a good background in fantasy/action movies, and he's got more edge to him than PJ showed in the latter two entries in LOTR. I can absolutely envision Del Toro adding some cinematic teeth to the goblins, spiders, elves, Smeagle and Smog. A fair portion of this story takes place in dark caverns, which seems to suit Guillermo. I officially dub this news "good."

Oh, and as far as Sam Raimi news goes, THIS TIDBIT is just for Quasar.

Jack's Sorrow wrote:Oh, and as far as Sam Raimi news goes, THIS TIDBIT is just for Quasar.

LOL! A director who's pissed me off taking on a hack book of the highest order. I couldn't imagine a more prefect union!


BTW, it's SMAUG, not Smog. You were hoping for a sequel to The Mist maybe?

In the new version, the dragon causes air pollution. Liberal Hollywood at work again!

Jack's Sorrow wrote:In the new version, the dragon causes air pollution.

If del Toro knows anything about anything, he'll make sure that Smaug's sole pollutant is fartfog.

It's official:

Del Toro Signed for The Hobbit

Official announcement made at Orphanage premiere.

by IGN Staff

February 1, 2008 - It was reported earlier this week that Spanish filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro had been in negotiations to direct both The Hobbit and another film based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien for New Line Cinema and MGM. Del Toro has now been announced as having officially signed on to direct the two films.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the announcement was made at the French premiere of the del Toro-produced thriller The Orphanage. "Today is a big day because we are announcing what everyone wanted to hear, which is that he will be directing The Hobbit," the host reportedly told the audience as he introduced del Toro.

Oscar winner Peter Jackson, who directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will executive produce The Hobbit. The screenplay cannot be worked on, however, until after the writers' strike ends.

New Line and MGM have tentatively penciled in principal photography for the two films -- which will be shot back-to-back -- for 2009, with a budget of $150 million per film. The first is slated for release in 2010, with the second the following year.

The Hobbit, written by Tolkien in 1937, takes place many years before The Lord of the Rings and centers on young Bilbo Baggins, who, along with a group of dwarves and Gandalf the wizard, embark on a quest to steal the treasure of Smaug the dragon. The first movie will reportedly tell this story, while the second will show events immediately preceding the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.

IGN Staff wrote:[T]he second will show events immediately preceding the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.

What the fuck?

Thurston McQ wrote:

IGN Staff wrote:[T]he second will show events immediately preceding the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.

What the fuck?

That was my reaction. Seems to be New Line's attempt to milk as much as possible out of the franchise, whether or not an actual novel was written about that period. Tolkien did write copious notes (many of which have been collected and fleshed out into anthologies by his son) about virtually every point in time preceding LOTR, but I'm wary of the filmmakers drawing their own conclusions from those works.

They should do one film, The Hobbit, and leave it at that.

If New Line and MGM were really smart and ambitious enough, they would do a trilogy based on The Silmarillion.

There are all sorts JRR Tolkien-penned (and/or Christopher-edited) bits they could flesh out, of course.

I'm wondering if they aren't doing what they are doing in hopes of being able to squeeze as much of the Jackson cast in as possible. You know, as a nudge toward the direction of assuring us all that the del Toro films are firmly within the previous films' universe.

Thurston McQ wrote:There are all sorts JRR Tolkien-penned (and/or Christopher-edited) bits they could flesh out, of course.

I'm wondering if they aren't doing what they are doing in hopes of being able to squeeze as much of the Jackson cast in as possible. You know, as a nudge toward the direction of assuring us all that the del Toro films are firmly within the previous films' universe.

If moviegoers have such short memories that they can't remember the backstory established in LOTR regarding Bilbo acquiring the One Ring, they deserve ten films instead of two.

Don't give New Line any ideas, U.

I know the article says he "wants" to play Gandalf, but I'm inferring from it that he *will* play Gandalf.

Ian McKellan

This is good, because if he does not play Gandalf I am not going to watch it.

Did a fan really ask him if he'd been approached to play "the ancient Wizard"?

Quasar wrote:Did a fan really ask him if he'd been approached to play "the ancient Wizard"?

That part kind of scares me.