THE HOBBIT begins the unexpected journey

[Theatre_of_Dreams]

my precious~~~

 

[Jerry007]

From comingsoon.net:

Now that Guillermo del Toro is officially attached to direct The Hobbit and its sequel, TheOneRing.net talked to the helmer about the anticipated films. Here's a brief clip that should please fans:

Well, I had the most charming meeting with Sir Ian, and all bureaucracy pending, he’s on board, as is Andy Serkis. We will continue giving you progress reports as the occur. It is our intention that we will not lose any of the key elements.

 

[FireEel]

Andy Serkis?

ANDY SERKIS?

ANDY SERKIS?!

GOLLEM?!

MY PRECIOUSSSSSSSSS

 

[Jerry007]

Fronm moviehole.net:

Viggo Mortensen is in talks to reprise his role as Aragorn, from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, for "The Hobbit".

He'll join original "Rings" stars Andy Serkis ('Gollum') and Ian McKellen ('Gandalf') for the Guillermo Del Toro-directed film, which is about to enter the pre-production phase.

 

[wackykid]

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3999008.ece

Hobbit movies meet dire foe in son of Tolkien

The son of JRR Tolkien will try next week to halt Hollywood plans to follow the critical and commercial triumph of the Lord of the Rings trilogy by filming The Hobbit and a sequel.

Christopher Tolkien, 83, is calling for “one last crusade” in a long-running court battle against the producers of The Lord of the Rings only weeks before carpenters are due to begin work in New Zealand on the sets for the latest Middle-earth epic.

He claims the Tolkien family is owed £80m by New Line Cinema under a deal for a 7.5% share of profits that was signed in 1969, when his father reluctantly sold film rights to pay a tax bill.

Today the film-makers will confirm that Sir Ian McKellen is returning to his role as the wizard Gandalf in The Hobbit and that Andy Serkis will reprise his role as the murderous creature Gollum.

Sir Ian Holm, who played the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings, is expected to narrate. Viggo Mortensen has unexpectedly been asked to return as Aragorn, a character who does not appear in the original Hobbit story, published in 1937.

Peter Jackson, who directed the Rings trilogy, is to produce the Hobbit films. The director will be Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican whose grim fantasy Pan’s Labyrinth won three Oscars last year.

However, at a hearing on June 6 Christopher Tolkien will ask a Californian judge to back his claim that he can “terminate” film rights to The Hobbit. He is said to be furious with the New Line studio, which earned £3 billion from the Rings trilogy. Tolkien’s lawyers accuse New Line of “accounting chicanery”. Warner Bros, owner of New Line, declined to comment.

In an internet press conference last night, Jackson and del Toro answered questions about the new films, which will cost about £150m to make over the next three years.

The first will be rooted firmly in the original book The Hobbit, following the naive young Bilbo on a quest for dragon’s gold and showing how he obtained his all-powerful ring. The second will cover the 50 years between his return home and the events of The Lord of the Rings.

That period is described in The Silmarillion, a collection of notes and tales assembled by Christopher Tolkien and published four years after his father’s death in 1973.

Tolkien Jr, described by his biographer as “cantankerous”, is unlikely to allow the film-makers free access to The Silmarillion. He has always been sceptical of Hollywood. Even now relatives are unsure whether he has watched The Lord of the Rings, which won a total of 17 Oscars.

damn you @#$% tokien... !!


regards,
wacky

 

[Wzierbovsky]

What a party pooper.

 

[Jerry007]

From comingsoon.net:

86-year-old Christopher Lee has expressed his interest in returning as Saruman in Guillermo del Toro's The Hobbit and/or the untitled sequel.

While the evil wizard is not featured in the "Lord of the Rings" prequel, the two films give plenty of room for Saruman to return in some aspect. Lee tells Empire Online:

I'd be interested in seeing how that transition from good to evil occurred and, yes, of course I would return to the role if I was asked.

 

[Wzierbovsky]

Christopher Lee though is getting very old at 86. He looked like a corpse during his brief scene in The Golden Compass.

I hope he'll be still around to do the two films of course, but you know old age...

 

[Jerry007]

From movieweb.com:

The process of creating the "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" prequel has gotten under way. A scooper wrote in to TheOneRing.net with word that the Guillermo del Toro has begun writing the script for The Hobbit. Here's what the scooper had to say:

"Ive just got home from an early screening of "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" hosted by PopcornTaxi at the Greater Union Cinema in Sydney, where Guillermo did a telephone Q & A from Berlin after the film...The last question though related to The Hobbit - and Guillermo said that although there was nothing to add at the moment - he can say that scripting has started - and he described the process as something 'beautiful.'"

The Hobbit is set for release in 2011 with The Hobbit Sequel to follow in 2012.

 

[Jerry007]

From empireonline.com:

We’ve known for a while that Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro’s eagerly-awaited adaptation of the Lord Of The Rings prequel, The Hobbit, would comprise two movies, due in December 2011 and 2012. But the make-up of those two movies has been up for debate… until now.

We spoke exclusively to both Del Toro and Jackson for our birthday issue, and they told us the latest, which is…

“We’ve decided to have The Hobbit span the two movies, including the White Council and the comings and goings of Gandalf to Dol Guldur,” says Del Toro.

“We decided it would be a mistake to try to cram everything into one movie,” adds Jackson. “The essential brief was to do The Hobbit, and it allows us to make The Hobbit in a little more style, if you like, of the [LOTR] trilogy.”

So there you go. The second film will not, as had previously been suggested, a film that will bridge the 60-year gap between The Hobbit and the start of Fellowship Of The Ring.

 

[Jerry007]

From movieweb.com:

A trio of actors are about to venture back to Middle Earth for a new pair of films. TheOneRing.net got a hold of a BBC radio interview with director Guillermo del Toro who confirmed that Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and Hugo Weaving will appear in The Hobbit.

The director told Simon Mayo in the BBC interview that McKellen, Serkis and Weaving will return, "...as the roles they originated in the trilogy," which means we'll see McKellan as Gandalf, Serkis as Gollum and Weaving as Elrond in the new film.

 

[wackykid]

Guillermo del Toro drops out of directing 'The Hobbit'

oh no... this is bad.... can we get peter jackson back to produce the hobbit??? i miss middle-earth...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/31/guillermo.del.toro.drops.out.ew/index.html?hpt=T3

(EW.com) -- Guillermo del Toro will no longer direct "The Hobbit," but will continue for the next several months to polish the scripts for the two-part "Lord of the Rings" prequel alongside Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh. Del Toro made the announcement Sunday via the J.R.R. Tolkien fan site TheOneRing.net.

"In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming 'The Hobbit,' I am faced with the hardest decision of my life," Del Toro said. "After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I've been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wish the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director."

Jackson, who said he'll sit down with New Line and Warner Bros. execs this week to start securing a new director, added the following: "We feel very sad to see Guillermo leave 'The Hobbit,' but he has kept us fully in the loop and we understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone's control -- has compromised his commitment to other long term projects. The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn't feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years. Guillermo is one of the most remarkable creative spirits I've ever encountered and it has been a complete joy working with him. Guillermo's strong vision is engrained into the scripts and designs of these two films, which are extremely fortunate to be blessed with his creative DNA."

Jackson does not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work. The films, co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, are scheduled for release in December 2012 and December 2013.

regards,
wacky

 

[christian2004]

after so many yrs still not out yet...

 

[zero_88]

overrated project...

actually hobbit storyline is not as exciting as LOTR....


unless the director has the talent like peter jackson

 

[Jerry007]

It would be interesting to see how Guillermo del Toro brings his unique vision and visuals on the adaptation of The Hobbit but unfortunately, due to the long delays because of MGM's bankruptcy issues, he has to leave the project. MGM should be the one to abandon the project and sell the rights to someone but the movie executives will not do so due to the lucrutive revenue this movie will generate.

 

[ewan13]

so is aragorn still appearing? i thought of giving these movies a miss if he does. not that i dont like the character or viggo mortensen. having aragorn in the hobbit will probably just screw up the whole story and timeline.

 

[Jerry007]

From movieweb.com:

Two studios want Peter Jackson to direct The HobbitSince Guillermo del Toro will no longer be directing The Hobbit, two studios are focused on landing the most obvious choice to direct the upcoming film. Deadline New York is reporting that Warner Bros. and MGM are trying to get Peter Jackson to direct The Hobbit.

The site is reporting that the studios haven't offered the job to anyone as of yet, and it was said that they will keep trying to convince Jackson to direct the film and The Hobbit Sequel, "until Jackson gives a definitive no." The site claims that one of the rumored reasons del Toro left the project was he didn't want to move his family to New Zealand, where Jackson's visual effects house Weta is based and where the film will be shooting.

There are other directors interesting in replacing del Toro as well, with the site mentioning directors such as David Yates, which we reported on yesterday, David Dobkin and Brett Ratner.

 

[wackykid]

gimme peter jackson as well!!!!!!!


regards,
wacky

 

[Jerry007]

gimme peter jackson as well!!!!!!!


regards,
wacky

Either Peter Jackson or Alfonso Cuarón as the replacement for me too.

 

[Jerry007]

From movieweb.com:

We reported earlier this month that MGM and Warner Bros. were not pursuing other directors for a highly-anticipated two-part film until they heard a definitive answer from Peter Jackson and now it seems that answer is yes. Deadline New York is reporting that Peter Jackson is now in negotiations to direct both The Hobbit and The Hobbit Sequel.

The site is also reporting that securing Jackson as the director could be an important step in getting MGM to lock down a shooting schedule that would have the film begin production by the end of this year.

Several directors had been mentioned to take over the film once Guillermo del Toroleft the film at the end of May, but it seems that the man who started The Lord of the Rings franchise is now in line to direct these prequel films.

We'll be sure to update you on this story as soon as more information is revealed, so stay tuned.

The Hobbit is in development and stars Cate Blanchett, Ron Perlman, Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Doug Jones. The film is directed by Peter Jackson.

The Hobbit Sequel is in development and stars Ron Perlman, Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Doug Jones, Kiran Shah.