Peter Jackson to direct "The Hobbit"

[bratpop]

I quit as Guillermo del Toro's personal hairstylist.

[mrbasehart]

I quit as Guillermo del Toro's personal hairstylist.

Maybe you should quit now.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

IT HAS ALSO BEEN CONFIRMED!!!!!!!!!!!

During the premier of "The Orphanage" in France, director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy) has confirmed that he will take on the helming duties for the upcoming two "Hobbit" films. Up until now, it has been reported that del Toro was only in talks to direct.

The video is in Spanish and French, but the exact thing that del Toro agreed to was when the following was said: "Today is a big day, because we are announcing what everyone wanted to hear, which is that he will be directing 'The Hobbit.'"

Principal photography for the films, which will be shot simultaneously, is tentatively set for 2009. The production budget is estimated at $150 million per film. The release of the first film is slated for 2010 and the second in 2011.

"Hobbit," which Tolkien initially wrote for his children, was published in the UK in 1937 to wide acclaim. It centered on Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who joins a group of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf on a quest to find the treasure of a dragon named Smaug. Tolkien went on to write "The Lord of the Rings" 17 years later.

[Hebs]

I don't really hate "subtitled movies." I just don't like subtitles. They give me a headache.

Oh isn't reading things such a pain in the ass? 

It's true that sometimes humor is lost in translation, but I love seeing the original movie - hearing the voices and dialects. 

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

man del toro looks like jackson, or rather the fat jackson

[skenderberg]

I don't really hate "subtitled movies." I just don't like subtitles. They give me a headache.

Oh isn't reading things such a pain in the ass? 

It's true that sometimes humor is lost in translation, but I love seeing the original movie - hearing the voices and dialects. 

I first watched Pan's Labyrinth without them, but subtitles in general don't really bother me.  The second time through with non-spanish speakers, it was interesting to see where translation and the actual lines often diverge.

[gbeenie]

He looks like any number of fat bearded fantasy authors:

Robert Jordan:

Spoiler

George R.R. Martin:

Spoiler

So, seems to fit.

Worst. Comparison. Ever.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

He also wants to direct Harry Potter 7, or 7&8, I don't remember

Director Guillermo del Toro spoke to MTV News, once again stating that he would be interested in helming the upcoming seventh film in the "Harry Potter" franchise.

"I'm definitely interested, now that the movies have grown darker," he said. "They have a contrast between the gloomy existence of the kid and the world he's exposed to. They have evolved into a really nice universe."

After reading the seventh novel himself, del Toro can't help but nod his head in agreement. "I got ['Deathly Hallows'] for my daughter and she was like 'When are you going to give it to me?'," he smiled. "I read it and I was very moved by the ending. It ends very much like a Dickens novel."

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

There's a Harry Potter 8?! Wow!

yeah, but not how you think

Crew working on "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince," have been told that JK Rowling's seventh novel, "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows," will be released in two halves, reports The Mail.

For Warner Bros, whose first five Potter films have made $5 billion in box office receipts – more than any other movie series – it could mean a $1 billion bonus in ticket sales. But sources insist the reason behind the two-movie plan is artistic rather than financial.

The books got progressively longer – the first, the Philosopher's Stone, had 223 pages while Deathly Hallows has 776 – and fans have complained chunks of later novels have been left out of films.

A film source said: "There's so much to fit that the view is the last movie should be in two halves. There is a huge battle when Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, takes on Voldemort that needs to be done really well."

And Rowling points out on her website: "It is simply impossible to incorporate every storyline into a film under four hours long."

[bratpop]

Uh, Order of the Phoenix was 870 pages. Goblet of Fire was 734 pages. If they didn't need to cut those into two parts, there's no reason to do it for the last one. Besides, it will just mean getting a sucky part 7 because it will end with nothing happening. So why have an entire sucky movie when you could just have a sucky half of one movie? I mean The Hobbit, okay. They want to milk that franchise. But Harry Potter is well milked. (Please do not post photo illustration.)

Oh isn't reading things such a pain in the ass?

I already pointed out that in fact I do like reading, just not while I'm trying to watch a movie.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

Director Guillermo del Toro spoke to TotalFilm about the upcoming "Hobbit" films, stating that all the rumors floating around about him helming the movies are not exactly true, since nothing is yet finalized.

"Well, the reality is that the Hobbit story has broken early because the negotiations have not ended and The Hobbit is not a sure thing," he explained. "The reality is, I will know that it's happening when we have the final word and I am fully and officially on board."

One thing is for sure, del Toro is dying to direct the movies. "I would LOVE it," he stated. "I bought all the Tolkein books that were available in Mexico when I was 11 years old, but the one that I read at 11 years old was The Hobbit. So it left an indelible mark in my imagination."

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

Don't expect "the Hobbit" for a while.

The Tolkien Trust (a British charity that manages the estate of JRR Tolkien) and publisher HarperCollins brought a $150 million lawsuit against New Line Cinema on Monday. The claim says that the trust has not received any of its gross profit participation payments for the three films based on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The suit was filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In addition to the $150 million in compensatory damages, the suit seeks punitive damages, and most important, a declaration from the court that the plaintiffs can terminate any further rights New Line may have to the Tolkien works under the agreements -- including "The Hobbit."

According to the suit - although the "Lord of the Rings" films produced by New Line are among the most financially successful films ever created, with worldwide gross receipts of nearly $6 billion - New Line has failed to pay the plaintiffs any portion of the gross profit participation to which they are entitled under their deal.

Bonnie Eskenazi, who represents the trust, said, "New Line has brought new meaning to the phrase 'creative accounting.' I cannot imagine how on earth New Line will argue to a jury that these films could gross literally billions of dollars, and yet the creator's heirs, who are entitled to a share of gross receipts, don't get a penny."

[Petey Wheatstraw]

Yeah, Saul Zaentz sued New Line in 2004 and again in December. NLC are crooks.

[Petey Wheatstraw]

This was the same thing that Peter Jackson had issues with them about, wasn't it?

No, Jackson is as greedy as New Line is.

[Petey Wheatstraw]

I believe that, in this case, Mr. Zaentz and the Tolkien estate aren't lying. So it's completely different.