Peter Jackson to produce "The Hobbit"!

[Doctor Strange]

Fans of the Lord of the Rings films will be happy to hear that Peter Jackson's production company and New Line have finally worked out their outstanding legal/financial issues, and that Jackson (and wife/partner Fran Walsh) will executive-produce two films based on The Hobbit. New Line already has a web site up with the official announcement:

http://www.thehobbitblog.com/

Writing and preproduction will begin immediately. They hope to start shooting by 2009, and will shoot both films simultaneously a la the trilogy.

While it is a bit disappointing that Jackson is saying (as of now, anyway) that he won't direct, there is bound to be outstanding continuity of approach, writing, cast, production design, etc., with the LOTR films.

So bring on the two Ians, and digitally de-age them as needed!

 

[RIOT]

Wow! I can't wait to see how they would CGI-animate Smog.

Edit. Smaug

 

[Edward]

Good news. I'm not surprised he isn't directing - he did say at one time that he would like to see the Hobbit made, but that someone else should do it. As I heard it, he was instrumental in ensuring the rights were purchased in order to prevent a travesty of epic proportions when George Lucas began sniffing round the idea. I'm intrigued by the notion of two films, though..... seems to me that there's hardly enough scope for two films out of the book - it's nothing like the depth of ...Rings, really.

 

[LadyStardust]

I am so glad they were able to work matters out for a satisfactory conclusion. It'll be interesting to see exactly how they pan out -2- films about one book, especially since The Hobbit isn't near as long and involved as the LOTR trilogy. I too am looking forward to see how they bring Smaug to "life", as well as the end battle between the goblins,dwarves, men, elves, hobbits, and eagles.

 

[Doctor Strange]

A few tidbits I've gleaned in poking around the 'net. Much of this is just speculation or opinion, so don't take it all that seriously:

Besides MGM's interest in brokering the deal for the huge amount of potential profits to all involved, the recent disastrous US opening of The Golden Compass (which was supposed to be New Line's new blockbuster fantasy series, but the sequels have yet to greenlighted) made New Line desperate to settle the feud with Jackson and get The Hobbit made.

Rather than just splitting the events of The Hobbit into two films, the "second" film is to be partly concerned with events that take place in between The Hobbit and LOTR, and associated background material gleaned from the endless detail of Tolkien's writings.

Sam Raimi, of the Spider-Man series, may be the first choice to direct. He has campaigned for it vocally.

Another source mentions that Jackson's wife and writing/producing partner Fran Walsh (who personally directed some of the best Frodo/Sam/Gollum material in TTT and ROTK while Jackson was simultaneously directing sequences at other locations) may be named director. Since they will no doubt write the film together (probably with Phillipa Boyens again), and it will be completely storyboarded, this may in effect have Jackson serving as unofficial co-director as well as co-producer.

While everyone knows that Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, and Hugo Weaving can step right back into character, there is concern that Ian Holm is too old to play a much-younger Bilbo. (Personally, I say he simply MUST do it, and they can de-age him digitally as was done to McKellen and Patrick Stewart in the opening scene of X-Men III. No doubt, this process - which was done in that film by Jackson's Weta Digital - will be substantially improved by the time that The Hobbit is underway.)

Exciting stuff...

 

[AlanC]

Very good news. I've been hoping for this for some time.

 

[Story]

Sam Raimi, of the Spider-Man series, may be the first choice to direct. He has campaigned for it vocally.

Now THAT would be cool.

 

[~*Red*~]

Good news indeed!!! I'm very excited to have this to look forward to!! We LOVE LOVE LOVE the LOTR trilogy and watch them often. And I hope that when they release the DVD's they continue with the Extended Versions!!! I don't care about buying doubles, I want more scenes!!

 

[vintage68]

I too am I big fan of the LOTR trilogy, but my first love will always be The Hobbit. Done correctly, two films is just about perfect for the story.

Thank God George Lucas didn't get the rights, he would have just ruined it with his jejune sensibilities....

 

[Hondo]

Yeah nice but after I bought the box set [huh]
Now have a new film to add :eusa_doh:
Thanks allot its all about $$$,
I do enjoy this LOTR trilogy, read the book "The Hobbit"
Something for next Christmas!!!

 

[Twitch]

Sorry but I for one can't get anything outta that tedious hobbit crap.[huh] Guess I'm more space sci-fi oriented.

 

[Twitch]

I probably should try one of the books to see if I can get into it, huh?

 

[Dagwood]

Sorry but I for one can't get anything outta that tedious hobbit crap.[huh] Guess I'm more space sci-fi oriented.

There does seem to be a sci-fi/fantasy divide. You rarely see people who like both genres.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Hey, plenty of us like both genres!

Twitch, the books are much slower moving and less action-oriented than the movies, so if you found the film adaptation of Fellowship to be "tedious", I'd advise you to stay away from them! (Tolkien's work is something of an acquired taste, but for those who do acquire it, the vast scope and astonishing detail is fascinating and addictive!)

 

[scotrace]

I probably should try one of the books to see if I can get into it, huh?

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is worth the unholy amount of time to read them. I think you may like it, given your historian chemistry. It's a great war tale. Read a little about Tolkien first. Really interesting old-school pipe-and-sweater English scholar. Tolkien takes you slowly up the mountain. So slowly you begin to look at your watch and wonder if he's ever going to stop prattling and get the hell on with it. As you climb, the pace quickens and you want him to maybe slow down a bit, fearing you've missed something critical back there you're going to need. Onward. Upward. He leads you relentlessly to the precipice, and my God, he picks you up and throws you over the cliff!!! It's unbearable!
The next chapter begins, and you find you are slowly... slowly going up the mountain...*

The books have a quality that I can only describe as "Majesty." Vigo Mortensen wasn't up to it.

I really want to see the Hobbit film. It's ABOUT TIME! But I didn't care for the book so much. Kind of tedious and silly, though it is a child's tale, after all.

*Our resident literature brains are going to eat me and my silly analogy for lunch.

 

[DanielJones]

Here is the latest. I cannot wait!
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/thehobbit/
[video=youtube;yYz0JWJioOM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYz0JWJioOM[/video]

And if you are interested, this site has alternate endings to the trailer. My favorites are the Sting ending and the Gollum ending.
http://www.thehobbit.com/index.html

Happy viewing!

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Yeps]

That looks fantastic. I like the latest trailer, although I loved the Holst style theme that went with the first one. Hoping it figures prominently in the score.

 

[m0nk]

There does seem to be a sci-fi/fantasy divide. You rarely see people who like both genres.

I'm a fan of both, and so are many of my friends. But then, I have a tendency to like a lot more than most, considering I've got one foot in the past and the other in the future...

 

[Yeps]

There does seem to be a sci-fi/fantasy divide. You rarely see people who like both genres.

I have never met anyone in person who likes one but not the other. Speculative fiction kinda all goes together.

 

[m0nk]

I suppose I should also note that I'm looking forward to this release with the same anticipation as for the new Star Trek movie. My favorite movies include the most of the original Star Trek movies, JJ Abrams Star Trek, and Peter Jackson's LOTR. I also love classic Golden Era movies just as much...