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"The Hobbit" - 2 FILMS

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  • "The Hobbit" - 2 FILMS

    Hollywood Reporter article....

    Del Toro doubles up for 'Hobbit'

    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 of the Oscar-winning "The 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 strike, no writer has been hired to adapt Tolkien's children's classic, though that process will be fast-tracked once it's 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 in 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.


    Del Toro is putting the finishing touches on Universal's summer release "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" and recently produced the critically acclaimed ghost story "The Orphanage." He is repped by Endeavor and Exile Entertainment.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Hmmm..I thought Peter Jackson was doing these as well. Last I heard New Line and Jackson buried the hatchet and he was going to. Must have changed.
    “Inside every sane person there’s a madman struggling to get out”
    –The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett

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    • #3
      Jackson will produce and Del Toro will direct. They both will oversee the screenplay's development once the WGA strike settles, unless they pull a CBS and do it overseas.
      Dr. Mordrid
      ----------------------------
      An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

      I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Jammrock View Post
        Hmmm..I thought Peter Jackson was doing these as well. Last I heard New Line and Jackson buried the hatchet and he was going to. Must have changed.
        there's a very well written article about the things that happened and how they resolved it, what content will be in the two movies and so on. A good read.

        Nobody likes contention. None of us, not me, Michael, Peter or Fran, were happy that a dispute was destroying a fruitful and prosperous enterprise. All these lawyers were going crazy not letting the principals communicate directly, when we might have been able to solve this years ago. Movies are difficult enough to make without having a war going on. The settlement was done with the idea that the good spirit that nurtured the first three films can continue. I hope we can revive what was once a wonderful relationship.
        MGM’s original idea seems to have been to make The Hobbit in two parts. That would make sense. Of course, Tolkien’s first novel is shorter than Rings, but a lot had to be left out of the trilogy in the adaptation. The Hobbit breaks into two almost equal halves, with the break coming where Gandalf leaves Bilbo and the Dwarves at the edge of Mirkwood. Making two three-hour parts would allow the filmmakers to adapt the book without eliminating much of anything. Despite its quest/journey structure, The Hobbit is actually quite carefully structured, and there are no incidents that can simply be eliminated as easily as, say, the Tom Bombadil portion of Rings.

        Still, the announcement is for a one-film adaptation and a sequel that takes place before the action of Rings. That’s a gap of sixty years, years about which Tolkien left only the sketchiest of indications. Such events as we know of come primarily from mentions in Appendices A and B and in exposition given by Gandalf in the “Shadow of the Past” chapter in Rings and by various characters at the Council of Elrond.

        The Hobbit breakthrough and where we stand


        @Doc: What's a CBS?


        R.
        "Women don't want to hear a man's opinion, they just want to hear their opinion in a deeper voice."

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