Guillermo del Toro is Directing "The Hobbit"

[RebelMan]

Source: Guillermo del Toro
April 14, 2008


On April 2nd, Guillermo del Toro posted the following regarding The Hobbit and its sequel on the official message boards for Hellboy II: The Golden Army:

Whew- Not yet. BUT there has been a lot of movement. And for the last few weeks there has been a lot of creative / cast / crew / visual talks and agreements and we have witnessed great progress in areas that I cannot disclose or that have already leaked from other sources.

I am dying to share news but I have to be patient and wait until the papers are done and my attachment is real. Nevertheless- a LOT of progress in defining the films, their cast and crew. And, may I add, we are all happily in synch about all creative aspects so far and all willing and eager to move forth.

I cannot say more but if all's well the time will come To talk of many things: Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing wax -- Of cabbages -- and kings --

May Luck be with us

GDT

PD my silnece means nothing more than the fact that we are RUNNING against an impossible deadline on the HBII film, poster, campaign, ADR, VFX, etc I am SWAMPED.

BUT- Expect good things in the next 2 weeks and a nice item at COMICON. See you there-

New Line Cinema is planning a 2010 release for the first "Hobbit" film and a 2011 release for the second.

[RebelMan]

It's Official: Guillermo del Toro to Direct "The Hobbit"!
Source: Variety
April 24, 2008


Guillermo del Toro has officially signed on to direct the New Line/MGM's The Hobbit and its sequel, reports Variety.

The widely expected announcement came Thursday afternoon jointly from executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, New Line president Toby Emmerich, and Mary Parent, newly named chief of MGM's Worldwide Motion Picture Group.

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

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

Del Toro won't leave for New Zealand immediately as he's still in post-production on Universal's "Hellboy II," due out in July.

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.

[Wolf]

Get the dude who did LOTR. Del torro is a good director, but he shouldn't tread upon my favorite series. If he does a bang up job, I'll hate him. He did a great job in Pan's Labyrinth, and the Orphanage though.

[rlm]

i think jackson just doesn't want to risk the chance of getting into the same problems he had with LOTR so he just decided to settle on producing the movie. but i think it'll work. both directors have their own versions of middle earth. jackson's version dealt with middle earth during dark times. del toro's version will probably look the same but obviously taking place at a time when sauron had not come fully into power again. also the hobbit story was written for children unlike LOTR so they should both have different looks and feelings. in the book sauron is mentioned as the necromancer and has been seen wandering through mirkwood forest. i just want to see gollum again and can't wait to see how smaug comes out looking like.

[RebelMan]

Guillermo del Toro on "The Hobbit"
Source: TheOneRing.net
April 27, 2008


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.

Full Interview:
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2008...ms/#more-28747