The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Pre-Release Discussion) - Page 12

quote BoganKing

2010/11 thats crazy...how do they expect us to wait that long

im disappointed at the wait. but pleased that its finally happening.

quote JoBlo

February 11, 2008 - Hey, remember how awesome it was that Peter Jackson finally resolved his differences with New Line and agreed to help develop THE HOBBIT? And that Guillermo del Toro was in line to direct an adaptation? Yeah, that was pretty awesome.

But the Tolkien estate has conveniently waited until today to say O RLY? LOTR, WTF!?! $$$, ROFL!

They've thrown a monkeywrench into the production gears in the form of a fat new lawsuit against New Line and their nefarious accounting department. The estate is seeking somewhere in the very respectable neighborhood of $150 million, the chunk of revenue (out of the approximately SIX BILLION the LOTR franchise has generated) that they feel they're due but have thus far been denied.

The new HOBBIT movie and a "bridge" film cobbled from other LOTR scraps were tentatively slated to begin production next year, with releases planned for 2010 and 2011. We'll see if the studio's murder of lawyers can slice through this new web of entanglements, or if Smaug will remain slumbering for now. There and back again, indeed...

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April 24, 2008 - After months of discussion, speculation and almost-theres, New Line, MGM and Peter Jackson have officially announced that our beloved Guillermo del Toro will handle the live-action adaptation of THE HOBBIT, as well as a second film bridging Bilbo Baggins' tale with Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy.

The downside? Don't expect to see AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, or Hellboy III anytime soon, or any of the other dozen or so projects Guillermo has discussed in the past few years. As Variety says, he's not gonna be around for a while:

"Del Toro's moving 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 which will deal with the 60-year period between THE HOBBIT and FELLOWSHIP".

The official signing of Del Toro comes four months after New Line settled a lawsuit with Jackson over "The Lord of the Rings" and announced that it had agreed with MGM to turn J.R.R. Tolkien's "Hobbit" into two live-action films.

The studios didn't give a start date on production and don't yet have a script. Though no screenplay deal's been set, it's expected that the LOTR 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.

Jackson's WETA stages, post-production and visual effects facilities -- built for "The Lord of the Rings" -- will be used for both films. And New Zealand will again be the site of Middle-earth, with the story centering on Bilbo Baggins taking the Ring of Power from Gollum.