The Hobbit

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Guillermo Del Toro would be so so wonderful.

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Confirmed with 99% certainty. Heh.[/url]

The following YouTube video confirms that Guillermo Del Toro will be directing ‘The Hobbit’ films. UPDATE We have an additional inside source which says that the deal is NOT signed yet, however it has a 99% probability of happening. The parties are agreed and we should expect an official announcement after the WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) Strike.

I loved LOTR and would have loved it if Peter Jackson did The Hobbit as well, but del Toro's work on Pan's Labyrinth was truly magical as well. I think he is very able to make a wonderful movie.

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Good choice, this.

[bklynred]

No updates on this? Oh well.

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It's Del Toro! YAY!

In a major step forward on “The Hobbit,” Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct the New Line-MGM tentpole and its sequel.

The widely expected announcement -- which had been rumored for several weeks -- came Thursday afternoon jointly from exec 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 Fellowship of the Ring,” the first of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

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

More details here.

I'm so happy! It's finally real, and Sir Ian is still with us to play Gandalf. And from what I've read from Del Toro he totally LOVES the book, so this should be quite a treat.

Link to a recent, short interview with Del Toro about The Hobbit. It was made just a few days ago.

ETA: Del Toro talks to TORN about how the movies will get made, how the deal happened and more.

[MrsCatHead]

Happy dance!

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YAY! I'm so happy! I think Del Toro will be a perfect director for The Hobbit!

(I'm still iffy on the sequel idea though, hopefully it can be pulled off)

But still....YAY!

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I posted this in Viggo's thread, but I'll put it here too:

Pre-production is about to get under way on the two-part “Hobbit.” Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are expected to pen the scripts under the direction of Peter Jackson and del Toro. Preliminary contact has already been made with at least three actors whose “Lord of the Rings” characters also appear in the “Hobbit” storyline: Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Andy Serkis (Gollum).

“We will all be involved in the script in some fashion but the exact definition is about a week away,” said del Toro. “I am all for keeping the actors who originated the parts, as much as availability and their willingness will allow.”

Link.

Interesting that they say Aragorn is in The Hobbit, because he certainly is not in the books. So either they're putting him in the movie anyway, or this is just to secure Viggo for the second "prequel". I read another report about Liv Tyler. She's not been approached, but says she would return if she was asked.

[Augustus]

Yeah, it's silly when you read reports of trying to get the LOTR gang back for The Hobbit, even though half of them don't even appear in the book. And people getting all excited to see them back not knowing the book is mainly about Bilbo and his adventures with the dwarves.

I don't mind if they added them all in as little cameos and such, as long as they don't alter the story itself.

[bklynred]

LOTR was a wonderful experience, and I rushed out to buy all three deuxe CD sets, and love rewatching them on rainy days. That being said, non-relevant cameos in The Hobbit would seem really insulting to readers. The focus is completely different.