THE HOBBIT begins the unexpected journey

[Jerry007]

Info from moviehole.net:

Has the red tape come unstuck long enough for Peter Jackson and New Line to make the much-hankered-for “Lord of the Rings” prequel, “The Hobbit”? Quite possibly.

A spy for TheOneRing.net was recently in the New York offices of New Line Cinema and clearly saw 'The Hobbit' on the film schedule for 2007.

"Please leave my email anonymous as I have some very exciting news to report. I was in New Line's NY offices to discuss upcoming projects when I clearly saw something very intriguing on a year planner. 'The Hobbit' was clearly marked on what looked like July 2007. I couldn't exactly take a moment to investigate the calendar with my audience in the room, but it definitely said 'The Hobbit'. Lets hope this is a PJ project!"

This does fit in with recent rumours suggesting that the WETA workship has indeed begun work on “The Hobbit”.

Peter Jackson has always been keen to make the LOTR prequel, but has stressed time and time again that they are complex legal issues that have to be handled before any such film can happen. In short - though New Line has the rights to make the film, MGM have the power to distribute it.

"I think there is probably a will and a desire to try and get it made. But I think it's gonna be a lot of lawyers sitting in a room trying to thrash out a deal before it will ever happen”, Jackson said last year.

If the rumour is to believed, it would seem such a partnership may have been agreed on.

"I'd be interested in doing it because I think it would give continuity to the overall chapter", the ever-thinning director said.

Last year, Jackson mentioned a possible 2008 or 2009 release date for such a film, if they could work it out. "Three or four years would be accurate, I would say”.

If “The Hobbit” happens – and again, Jackson said it will feature most of the same cast from the previous movies, including Liv Tyler – it’ll fix on the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (played by Ian Holm in the previous films) as he travels across the lands of Middle-earth with a band of Dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf on a quest to restore a dwarven kingdom and a great treasure stolen by the dragon, Smaug.

 

[rookie78]

It's good news if the info is true.The Hobbit is a book which I enjoyed reading.I always thought it will look as good on the big screen as LOTR.Not so sure about the LOTR cast returning,most of them don't appear in The Hobbit except for Bilbo and Gandalf.

 

[Jerry007]

It's good news if the info is true.The Hobbit is a book which I enjoyed reading.I always thought it will look as good on the big screen as LOTR.Not so sure about the LOTR cast returning,most of them don't appear in The Hobbit except for Bilbo and Gandalf.

Guess Bilbo will have to be a younger actor as well.

 

[AJ_Style]

younger shorty.. find tom cruise?

 

[Jerry007]

younger shorty.. find tom cruise?

Won't he be shorter than the average hobbit if WETA works its magic on him?

 

[ExK]

you guys are mean ... well I'm a short guy too.

 

[mrpolo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ema6dh3ML0o

Cool Fan-Made Trailer. I guess.

 

[Jerry007]

you guys are mean ... well I'm a short guy too.

Sorry Mr Cruise.

 

[ninkuboy]

LOTR fever over for me leh

 

[FlashBack]

i hope there won't be any orlando broom in the movie, which will induce hundreds of girl fans to scream out everytime his oh so prim and proper beautiful un-scathed face appears on the screen

 

[rookie78]

i hope there won't be any orlando broom in the movie, which will induce hundreds of girl fans to scream out everytime his oh so prim and proper beautiful un-scathed face appears on the screen

Legolas does not appear in the book so Orlando Bloom should not appear in the movie.They might change the story to fit him in though.

 

[FlashBack]

Legolas does not appear in the book so Orlando Bloom should not appear in the movie.They might change the story to fit him in though.

my gooodness....then let him be an orc or something!

 

[AJ_Style]

i hope there won't be any orlando broom in the movie, which will induce hundreds of girl fans to scream out everytime his oh so prim and proper beautiful un-scathed face appears on the screen

what's wrong wif that? even i as a guy admire his looks..... good to look at wor...

 

[FlashBack]

what's wrong wif that? even i as a guy admire his looks..... good to look at wor...

haha yeah tat i can't deny...he looks good, esp as an elf. but i juz can't stand the girls in the cinema screaming out whenever his face appears on screen

 

[kindredas1]

then, it's the girls who should be blame for all the ridiculous screams

 

[Jerry007]

Info from comingsoon.net:

"The Lord of the Rings" fansite TheOneRing.net has received an official statement from Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh about The Hobbit. The two have made it clear that New Line has passed them up, due to Wingnut Films' lawsuit against the studio regarding "The Fellowship of the Ring," and that the studio is looking for a new director to take on The Hobbit and a mystery second "Lord of the Rings" prequel. Here's a clip:

Several years ago, Mark Ordesky told us that New Line have rights to make not just The Hobbit but a second "LOTR prequel", covering the events leading up to those depicted in LOTR. Since then, we've always assumed that we would be asked to make The Hobbit and possibly this second film, back to back, as we did the original movies. We assumed that our lawsuit with the studio would come to a natural conclusion and we would then be free to discuss our ideas with the studio, get excited and jump on board. We've assumed that we would possibly get started on development and design next year, whilst filming The Lovely Bones. We even had a meeting planned with MGM executives to talk through our schedule.

However last week, Mark Ordesky called Ken and told him that New Line would no longer be requiring our services on the Hobbit and the LOTR 'prequel'. This was a courtesy call to let us know that the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker for both projects.

 

[tequila_powered]

Would be great if he can do prequels on First and Second Age. Heck, with the War of the Ring (3x) and Hobbit (1x) and mebbe First (3x) and Second (3x), this will beat StarWars 6x movie pack by four movies, grin.

 

[Clay Pot]

Source from http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/vgn-ext-templating/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=06a21008ce599010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:b9c57c38e570f010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD:ChType:b9c57c38e570f010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD

Peter Jackson dropped from Hobbit film

LOS ANGELES - Where is Frodo when you need him? Director Peter Jackson has been told he will not be hired to direct a movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien novel The Hobbit, despite the nearly US$3 billion global box office success of his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The trilogy of movies is based on Tolkien's fantastic tale of an epic war among wizards, sorcerers, elves, villainous orcs and friendly little hobbits of whom the novel's hero, Frodo, is one.

According to a letter Jackson wrote to fan site on Sunday, the director said a top executive with Los Angeles-based New Line Cinema called him last week to say the studio was moving ahead on The Hobbit movie without Jackson.

'This was a courtesy call to let us know that the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker,' Jackson wrote.

Chris Pirrotta, co-founder of TheOneRing.net, said the fan site has a long-running relationship with Jackson.

Since posting the letter, he said the site has received some 100,000 visitors, far above the more normal 15,000 per day.

'They are very upset,' Pirrotta said. 'We are seeing calls for everything from letter writing campaigns to a boycott of the studio.'

New Line and Jackson's production company, Wingnut Films, are currently embroiled in a lawsuit over income from 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which is the first film in the trilogy.

In his letter, Jackson said he and his producing partners have refused to discuss a Hobbit film until the lawsuit is settled.

He added that New Line informed him the studio had limited time to make the film so it must move on. -- REUTERS

 

[rookie78]

Let's hope that whoever directs The Hobbit will do as good a job as Peter Jackson did with the LOTR trilogy.That someone will have a lot of pressure to live up to the standards set by Peter Jackson.

 

[Jerry007]

Info from moviehole.net:

No doubt a ploy to keep the infuriated fan boys at bay, New Line are said to have asked Sam Raimi – replacing Peter Jackson – to direct “The Hobbit”, according to TheOneRing.net.

The “Spider-Man” and “Evil Dead” filmmaker has a huge following among genre buffs, so the news may just cool a few maddened ‘Rings’ fans down.

One man that won’t be happy with the decision – in fact, he won’t be happy until Jackson is re-hired for the job – is actor Ian McKellen, who plays Gandalf in the series.

McKellen tells TheOneRing.net that "It's hard to imagine any other director matching his achievement in Tolkien country."