The Hobbit

[st39.6]

I aint nitpickin, just askin for source so I could use it for some news (nothin´s happenin lately..)
thx

[Mithrandir01]

It's OK. I've read it on polish site. I was curious the source too. :-)

[st39.6]

Just wanted to write that news. Lucky me I looked up on a date - its from September 17
Hardly doubt its actuall anymore

[Mithrandir01]

Sorry st39.6 and all of you. Didn't check the date. My mistake.

[grubbing22]

I dont know if I'm going to like the Hobbit without feeling its a little disconnected from the rest of the series.

[Mithrandir01]

Del Toro doubles up to direct big-screen "Hobbit"

from Hollywood Reporter - Guillermo del Toro is in talks to direct back-to-back installments of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," which is being co-financed by New Line and MGM.

Del Toro's name was on a short list of directors who could tackle the project, one of the most anticipated literary adaptations of the past decade. An ill-chosen director for "Hobbit" could put billions of dollars at stake for New Line and MGM and could turn off an audience that encompasses millions of passionate readers, Tolkien fans and obsessive geeks.

Few filmmakers have the cachet that del Toro has, as well as a deep love for the source material, an assured grasp of fantasy filmmaking and an understanding and command of geek culture as well as its respect. Del Toro has built that goodwill through such films as the Oscar-nominated "Pan's Labyrinth," "Hellboy," "Blade 2" (which was made by New Line) and "The Devil's Backbone."

For New Line, making "Hobbit" had become a priority in the wake of its billion-dollar success with the Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" movies, which were co-written and directed by Peter Jackson. Jackson wanted to adapt "Hobbit," but when he got into a dispute with the studio over profit participation, the project went into limbo; neither New Line nor MGM, both rights-holders to the film, wanted to risk alienating fans of the trilogy by making an adaptation that didn't have Jackson's involvement.

The December resolution of the Jackson suit, facilitated by MGM CEO Harry Sloan, paved the way for "Hobbit" to get back on the road to the screen. However, because of other commitments that included "The Lovely Bones" and "Tintin," Jackson could not take on writing and directing roles, opting instead to become an executive producer with approval over creative elements of the pair of films.

Because of the Writers Guild of America strike, no writer has been hired to adapt Tolkien's children's classic, though that process will be fast-tracked once the strike is resolved. Del Toro and Jackson will oversee "Hobbit's" writing.

Principal photography for the films, which will be shot simultaneously, is tentatively set for 2009. The production budget is estimated at $150 million per film. The release of the first film is slated for 2010 and the second for 2011.

"Hobbit," which Tolkien initially wrote for his children, was published in the U.K. in 1937 to wide acclaim. It centered on Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who joins a group of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf on a quest to find the treasure of a dragon named Smaug. Tolkien went on to write "The Lord of the Rings" 17 years later.

[Kn'thrak]

OMG! Oh plz pick him!
No wait.... The Hobbit wasn't dark nor graphic? Who cares... Guillermo del Toro can pull it off!

[Mithrandir01]

Yep Man. If PJ cannot, it must be Guillermo.

[j7wild]

Yes!

I rather have Guillermo than Peter now!!

[Mithrandir01]

Yes!

I rather have Guillermo than Peter now!!

Oh. This is too much my friend. Guillermo is great, but: "This foe (PJ) is beyond any of you."...

[Granite]

From SCIFIwire

As expected, Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct New Line-MGM's upcoming The Hobbit and its sequel for executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Variety reported.

The announcement--which had been rumored for several weeks--came on the afternoon of April 24 from Jackson and Walsh, New Line president Toby Emmerich and Mary Parent, newly named chief of MGM's Worldwide Motion Picture Group.

Del Toro will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work with Jackson and his Wingnut and Weta production teams. He'll direct the two films back to back, with the sequel dealing with the 60-year period between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Like Rings, The Hobbit is based on a book by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Del Toro won't leave for New Zealand immediately, as he's still in post-production on Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which is due July 11.

The official signing of del Toro comes four months after New Line settled a lawsuit with Jackson over profits from The Lord of the Rings and announced that it had agreed with MGM to turn Tolkien's book into two live-action films. Sam Raimi had been perceived as the initial front-runner as director, but Del Toro had emerged in recent months as the likely candidate.

Though no screenplay deal's been set, it's expected that the Rings scripting team of Jackson, Walsh and Philippa Boyens will collaborate with del Toro.

With del Toro blocking out four years for the project, it's likely that the studios are aiming at starting shooting next year and releasing the films in late 2011 and 2012.

[Nance]

The Hobbit and its sequel? Aren't LOTR the sequels?

[chernabog_ca]

The Hobbit and its sequel? Aren't LOTR the sequels?

If I remember right they are splitting it into two parts.

[j7wild]

2011 and 2012.... that's a long way away!!

[Hardkore]

That is actually about right. I think they still have to write the script and then get started on pre-production.