The Hobbit

[_____V_____]

April 24, 2008


Director Guillermo del Toro is a man of his word. Just this past weekend, he announced during an exclusive interview at New York Comic-Con that within five days there would be an official announcement — one way or another — as to his involvement with the feature film adaptation of The Hobbit.

And that time has come.

Variety is reporting that the director has now been signed to helm both The Hobbit and it's sequel — a film meant to seamlessly bridge the 60-year gap between the aforementioned movie and The Fellowship of the Ring.

Upon completion of his current project — Hellboy II: The Golden Army — del Toro will be moving to New Zealand for four years, where he will oversee production of the two films with Executive Producer Peter Jackson, as well as creature and effects house WETA Workshop. He will follow Jackson's filmmaking model and shoot both movies back-to-back.

[Vodstok]

SWEET!


Could not have wound up in better hands :)

[The_Return]

Nice...I'm quite looking forward to this.

[neverending]

Me too- he may actually put the Tolkein back in the script.

[_____V_____]

Not all of the characters from Peter Jackson’s original “Lords of the Rings” trilogy feature in “The Hobbit,” but with a second, transitional film that takes place in the years between the two novels, there’s a big chance we will indeed see the return of Frodo and friends.

“Hobbit” director Guillermo Del Toro said he would love to bring back Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and so on, for that second film, to reprise their roles from the original trio of films.

“I want to be very clear about this. I am not going to recast any actor that is willing and able to work with us,” Del Toro told MTV News. “It would be my hope to bring back the same actors to play the parts. The casting on the trilogy was perfect.”

The first film, “The Hobbit” won’t feature many of the characters that we saw in “Lord of the Rings” because it’s set some fifty years before the events of that series.

The main star of it will likely be Ian Holm, reprising his role as Bilbo. Or will he?

‘’[Holm] certainly is the paragon we aspire to. He will be involved in some manner, I'm sure. But at his age ... it's too early to tell”, Del Toro tells MTV. “We are just in the early stages. It's too early to make commitments of that sort. We prefer to let the screenplay and the way the character comes to life guide us in the casting. I have many people in mind. Anything [else] I say will be used against me in a court of law’’.

Del Toro recently announced he had been talking to Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis about reprising their roles as Gandalf and Gollum, respectively, for the film. Looks like one of those guys is definitely on board.

[_____V_____]

Director Guillermo del Toro recently revealed that Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen might return for The Hobbit, and now the actor himself has confirmed that he'll reprise his role as the wizard Gandalf for the prequel.

"Yes, it's true," McKellen informed Empire Online. "I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that [Lord of the Rings director] Peter Jackson offered me the part and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role. Obviously, it's not a part that you turn down. I loved playing Gandalf."

The Oscar nominee also spoke about del Toro's plans to shoot not only The Hobbit, but also a second film inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. "Well I've read The Hobbit so I've got a good idea of what the story would be," the actor said.

McKellen continued, "But as to how it's going to work over two films and what's going to happen on screen, well Guillermo has not got down to working out the major details yet – I can tell you it's going to be amazing though."

Del Toro will start writing the script for The Hobbit in the next six weeks.

[Rayne]

I know it's not horror

But...This is one that I will HAVE to own

I loved The Hobbit when I was little

And it's Del Toro...So...Yeah

[Papillon Noir]

This is such great news! :)

[colubrid660]

Good news, I like Del Toro.

McKellen is involved, which is good too. I just hope Ian Hom, Hugo Weaving and Andy Serkis reprise their roles as well.

[The_Return]

I know it's not horror

But...This is one that I will HAVE to own

I loved The Hobbit when I was little

And it's Del Toro...So...Yeah

Just curiosity - have you seen the Lord of the Rigs movies?

[Ferox13]

I wish he'd shelve this for a bit and go back and do AT the Mountains of madness instead.

[_____V_____]

Aug 19, 2008


Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have officially signed on to collaborate on "The Hobbit" and its sequel with director Guillermo del Toro.

The announcement, from exec producers Jackson and Walsh and New Line president Toby Emmerich, came four months after del Toro confirmed he had signed on to direct both pics.

Jackson, Walsh and Boyens teamed on penning the three screenplay adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkein’s "The Lord of the Rings." The third pic, "The Return of the King," won an Oscar for adapted screenplay.

The announcement said the production’s tentatively set to begin in late 2009, with the releases set for 2011 and 2012.

Del Toro is directing the two films back to back, with the first pic centered on a young Bilbo Baggins swept off by the wizard Gandalf to recover a lost treasure.

The sequel deals with the 60-year period between "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring," the first of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Warner Bros. susbisdiary New Line is overseeing development and will manage production. Both pics are being co-produced and co-financed by New Line and MGM, with Warner distributing domestically and MGM handling international.

[Vodstok]

That is soo cool... Im glad this wound up in talented hands. Del Toro has the same enthusiasm and passion that peter jackson had. And if they film in NZ and use Weta...


These are going to be great. :)

[_____V_____]

Aug 19, 2008


Like Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, del Toro has a soft-spot for the traditions of model-making and real-world workshop effects - something that he intends to carry through to The Hobbit.

He explained, "You have to be very careful not to rely on a single tool – and this is another thing that I share a passion for with Peter Jackson. We both are huge fans of 'old-world' techniques like maquettes, models, miniatures, paintings – and in the case of The Hobbit, I do intend to continue this trend and bring much more animatronics into the mix.

"We need to keep that art form alive, because it brings a textural power to the movie that ultimately affects the content. The creatures somehow seem more tactile and more tangible than CG."

It's clear that The Hobbit will continue the artistry of the model-making seen previously in del Toro's previous work – but he's not one to neglect the power of computer animation either. "I think that some creatures are better served by being completely CG and others are better served by being completely animatronic – and others are only possible if you mix the two."

We naturally enquired if he planned on continuing with a CG Gollum: "Absolutely. I think that it worked perfectly on the [Lord of the Rings] trilogy and if it ain't broke, why fix it?"

[_____V_____]

Guillermo del Toro was in London this past weekend promoting new novel The Strain, but while here, he also spilled the beans on his forthcoming adaptation of The Hobbit.

Speaking to the BBC, del Toro said that his Gollum will be similar to the Gollum from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. "From a design standpoint it will be the same creature, just a few years younger, but I think that there is never a scene quite like the 'riddles in the dark' in the trilogy. As an introduction to Gollum and a flashpoint to the origin on the character, it is so powerful and primal that it would be different in that way. We are presenting a side of the character that is very strong and beautiful and iconic."

Del Toro, whose previous credits include modern horror classics The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, added that his Hobbit is set to scare.

"The intensity of the scenes of The Hobbit will have the intensity that they had in the book when I was a kid reading them. The spiders of Mirkwood are a pretty harrowing experience and facing the great goblin in the caves is quite a thrilling moment. The Battle of the Five Armies, the first encounter with Gollum -- there are scary moments."

However, the director pointed out that the scares arise naturally from the text. "They are already there," he explained. "We are not inventing or trying to do horror for horror's sake. We are trying to imbue those moments of intensity in the book into the film."

The Hobbit is currently in pre-production, with part one of the two-film feature set to be released in December 2011.

[scouse mac]

Just heard an interview with del Toro on BBC Radio 5 live, amongst many things he talked about the Hobbit. He said its taken them close to a year just to get the design of the dragon, Smaug, right.

Really looking forward to this.

[The_Return]

This should blow the Lord of the Rings movies right out of the fucking water. Cannot wait for it.

[_____V_____]

In a move that will surprise absolutely no-one, Guillermo del Toro has confirmed that Hugo Weaving will return to the Hobbit films, assumed to reprise his role as pointy-eared ring-bearer Elrond.

The helmer spilled the beans whilst being interviewed on BBC radio, with a sharp-eared reader on TheOneNet.Net posting the news.

Andy Serkis and Ian McKellen are also set to return as Gollum and Gandalf respectively.

The Hobbit - to be split over two movies but now without a bridge film - will be released in December 2011 and 2012.

[_____V_____]

Sir Ian McKellen, who plays the wizard Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" and upcoming "Hobbit" movies, has revealed that the scripts for the two films with feature plotlines culled from other J.R.R. Tolkien sources.

McKellen wouldn't elaborate any further than that, but a recent interview Guillermo del Toro gave to TotalFilm may shed some additional light on what the Gandalf actor was referring to.

"We are respecting the structure established by Professor Tolkien because the order of the adventures in 'The Hobbit' is well known to generations and generations of kids," the director said. "You don’t want to be moving stuff like that." So what's new?

"We will be integrating Gandalf’s comings and goings [into the script] because he does disappear in the book quite often," he continued. "So, as opposed to the book, we see where he goes and what happens to him."

For those who don't remember or haven't read the book, frequent references are made to Gandalf's and his fellow wizards' campaign against the shadowy Necromancer. The story never explicitly shows us what happens there, but Tolkien did elaborate on those events in his other writings.

Del Toro also spoke some on his plans for the creatures in "The Hobbit." As anyone who's seen his earlier efforts -- the two "Hellboy" movies, "Pan's Labyrinth" and so on -- knows, this is an area of particular interest for the director.

"In 'The Hobbit,' the creatures speak: Smaug has beautiful lines of dialogue; the Great Goblin has beautiful lines of dialogue; many creatures do. So we had to design them with a different approach because you are not just designing things that are scary," he said. "I wanted the Wargs to have a certain beauty so that you don't have a massively clear definition: what is beautiful is good and what is ugly is not."

It's Smaug the dragon that we should be most excited about, if del Toro's words are any indication. "The bulk of the design took about a year, solid. It’s because of the unique features of the dragon," he explained. "Early in production I came up with a very strong idea that would separate Smaug from every other dragon ever made. The problem was implementing that idea. But I think we’ve nailed it."

Sadly, we'll be waiting quite some time before we find out if del Toro's can deliver on such a grand promise. It's easy to put faith in the guy though. Between his own background and producer Peter Jackson overseeing everything, fans can probably expect another "Lord of the Rings" grand slam in "The Hobbit." A work that is at once faithful to the source and a unique work that stands on its own.

http://www.totalfilm.com/features/guillermo-del-toro-on-making-the-hobbit/

[_____V_____]

Following a week of speculation that the release of The Hobbit movies would be put back due to a delay in the delivery of the two scripts, Peter Jackson has spoken out about the issue.

Talking to Collider at The Lovely Bones premiere, Jackson saidk "Nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned. Somebody wrote something on the Internet and a lot of nonsense happened. You don't want to believe everything you read on the Internet."

Jackson then elaborated, "We were due to deliver the scripts and be shooting sometime around April and now I think I said in an interview we were shooting in June. And somehow people are now saying the film is delayed. As far as I am aware, they are not delayed at all. I am not even sure when we are going to start shooting… we are delivering the scripts just after Christmas. They'll be finished and we'll be shooting as soon as we possibly can. But you need a certain amount of time to finish the pre-production."

And when finally asked if part one of the saga would still hit in December 2011, he said, "At this stage, that is certainly the plan. Yeah."

[_____V_____]

Casting for The Hobbit begins this week, and Peter Jackson has told MTV that there are two 'Lord of the Rings' stars who will likely be returning to the franchise, in addition to the previously-announced Ian McKellen.

"Gandalf, being a 2,000-year-old wizard, is still around and plays a major role in 'The Hobbit,' and we're having Ian McKellen reprise," explained the filmmaker, who is executive-producing the flick and writing the screenplay. "There's a couple of other characters: Elrond, who was played by Hugo Weaving [in the original films], and there's a possibility of Galadriel, who was played by Cate Blanchett."

The plot thickens. The presence of Weaving and Blanchett would definitely add a nice sense of continuity to the new films, to say nothing of the additional thespian gravitas they'd bring to The Hobbit.

Lensing of the two movies is slated to begin in the spring, with Guillermo del Toro at the helm. The first film is looking towards a December 2011 release, with the second intended for release a year later in December 2012.

[phantomstranger]

Now maybe he'll have time for "Hellboy 3"

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=66547

[The_Return]

Not sure what I think about this yet.

One one hand, it's great that he'll have time for other projects - hopefully he can finally get At the Mountains of Madness off the ground - but on the other hand, I pretty much just lost all interest in The Hobbit. Del Toro was the perfect man for that project, and even with him still co-writing the script I can't imagine it turning out nearly as well as if he was still behind the camera.

[neverending]

I've got to agree with Return. This is terrible news. del Toro was the perfect director for this project. I can't imagine anyone else bringing the sense of magic to life like he could.

[Posher778]

We should all write a collaborated letter and send it to him. Demanding he direct the movie because it would basically be his life's accomplishment and he kinda has to do it. =/

[_____V_____]

There's been a lot of talk surrounding The Hobbit recently, most of it simply rumors and speculation, but today it seems we have some official information as Deadline reports Peter Jackson will be directing both the first installment of The Hobbit as well as the subsequent untitled sequel.

Jackson was first rumored to be in talks to direct the two films back in June following Guillermo del Toro's departure from the director's chair the month prior.

Deadline's Mike Fleming adds that Warner Bros and MGM have set a December 2012 and December 2013 release pattern for the two films, replicating the release pattern of the original Lord of the Rings features with production expected to begin in January 2011. Even more importantly, all the rumblings concerning the two Hobbit films being shot in 3D were recently confirmed by the New York Times.

The two-picture shoot is expected to cost around $500 million.

As far as casting goes, Ian McKellen is expected to return as Gandalf and Martin Freeman has been rumored in the past as the first choice to play Bilbo Baggins. The film is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit; or There and Back Again" and will tell the story of tiny, furry-footed Bilbo and his adventures in Middle-earth, which ultimately served as the prelude to Tolkien's epic "The Lord of the Rings", which was published in three volumes during the 1950s.

[kalvin]

I have just heard about this movie. I think after reading your info about this movie, I have to watch it once so that I can also come to know about the director's efforts in the movie..:):)

[TheLostEyeball]

Awesome. I didn't think this was going to happen.

[_____V_____]

Director Peter Jackson announced two new additions to the cast of The Hobbit.

Lee Pace (Pushing Daises) is set to star as the Elven King Thranduil. In The Lord of the Rings mythology, Thrandull is the father of Legolas and plays a supporting role in The Hobbit. Additionally, Kiwi actor Dean O’Gorman will be playing Fili, a dwarf and one of the twelve companions of Bilbo.

Posting the news on his Facebook page, here’s what Jackson had to say about the casting of Pace:

“Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters, and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He’s going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called The Fall a few years ago, and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately.”

While we are not familiar with O’Gorman, the addition of Pace to the cast is great news. He turned in some fantastic work in Bryan Fuller’s criminally underrated TV series Pushing Daisies, and his involvement is certainly exciting.

The Hobbit will be broken into two parts. Part 1 is set for December 2012 and Part 2 will come out in December 2013.

Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, is a peaceful sort of cozy hole in the Shire, a place where adventures are uncommon and rather unwanted. So when the wizard Gandalf whisks him away on a treasure hunting expedition with a troop of rowdy dwarves, he’s not entirely thrilled. Encountering ruthless trolls, beastly orcs, gigantic spiders, and hungry wolves, Bilbo discovers within himself astonishing strength and courage. And at the ultimate confrontation with the fearsome dragon Smaug, the hobbit will brave the dangers of dark and dragon fire alone and unaided.

[roshiq]

The Hobbit going for a trilogy?!? (http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/the-hobbit-going-for-a-trilogy-its-possible/)

[Bob Gray]

The Hobbit going for a trilogy?!? (http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/the-hobbit-going-for-a-trilogy-its-possible/)

That would be great, I'm not down with the people saying it's just for money. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, I don't care. Give me a trilogy, makes sense to me.

[artking01]

Awesome!!! Can't wait to see the movie. Such a big fan of Lord of the Rings and I've missed it for so long already.