Peter Jackson to direct "The Hobbit"

[doggans]

That was the point. Just because a director does something in one movie doesn't mean they'll do it in a Tolkien movie.

[Charles Castle]

Peter Jackson in Negotiations to Direct The Hobbit Films!

On May 30th, director Guillermo del Toro made the surprising announcement that he would no longer be directing The Hobbit and its follow-up. At the time, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy director Peter Jackson said:

"Guillermo is co-writing the Hobbit screenplays with Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and myself, and happily our writing partnership will continue for several more months, until the scripts are fine tuned and polished. New Line and Warner Bros will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for the Hobbit. We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work."

Our guess is that meeting went rather well, as Jackson is now reportedly taking over the director's chair for both films, in addition to executive producing and co-writing! His deal is being negotiated right now with New Line/Warner Bros. and MGM. Jackson will have to extricate himself from other project obligations to move forward with this.

Warner Bros./New Line tells ComingSoon.net that nothing is confirmed yet.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67316

[Darth Geek]

Peter Jackson in Negotiations to Direct The Hobbit Films!

On May 30th, director Guillermo del Toro made the surprising announcement that he would no longer be directing The Hobbit and its follow-up. At the time, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy director Peter Jackson said:

"Guillermo is co-writing the Hobbit screenplays with Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and myself, and happily our writing partnership will continue for several more months, until the scripts are fine tuned and polished. New Line and Warner Bros will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for the Hobbit. We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work."

Our guess is that meeting went rather well, as Jackson is now reportedly taking over the director's chair for both films, in addition to executive producing and co-writing! His deal is being negotiated right now with New Line/Warner Bros. and MGM. Jackson will have to extricate himself from other project obligations to move forward with this.

Warner Bros./New Line tells ComingSoon.net that nothing is confirmed yet.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67316

Why does he have to negotiate for the job, when he's one of the primary executive producers? How did that meeting go? I imagine it being a lot like the Pixar short Jerry's Game.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

Peter Jackson in Negotiations to Direct The Hobbit Films!

On May 30th, director Guillermo del Toro made the surprising announcement that he would no longer be directing The Hobbit and its follow-up. At the time, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy director Peter Jackson said:

"Guillermo is co-writing the Hobbit screenplays with Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and myself, and happily our writing partnership will continue for several more months, until the scripts are fine tuned and polished. New Line and Warner Bros will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for the Hobbit. We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work."

Our guess is that meeting went rather well, as Jackson is now reportedly taking over the director's chair for both films, in addition to executive producing and co-writing! His deal is being negotiated right now with New Line/Warner Bros. and MGM. Jackson will have to extricate himself from other project obligations to move forward with this.

Warner Bros./New Line tells ComingSoon.net that nothing is confirmed yet.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=67316

Why does he have to negotiate for the job, when he's one of the primary executive producers? How did that meeting go? I imagine it being a lot like the Pixar short Jerry's Game.

Producing it doesn't mean it's your money.  He might have to convince the people who put up the dough that King Kong didn't mean that LotR was a fluke.  They might decide they don't want him producing at the same time but he wants to.

Plus he might want a lot more control than they were planning to give any other director.

[Doctor Who?]

Well I am guessing he has to get the okay from the studio money men and given that the last two movies he directed bombed at the box office they may not want him anywhere near this movie.

I hope he gets the job.

[Kete]

First video from the set:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150223186041807&oid=141884481557&comments

Dang, this is cool.

[Scribblesense]

First video from the set:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150223186041807&oid=141884481557&comments

Dang, this is cool.

Yay video!

Boo Facebook!

Also, Ian McKellan looks fuzzy. Hehe.

[Cosmic Muse]

So...is there any chance that a Mod could change the title of this thread since Guillermo Del Toro will not in fact be directing this movie?

What I'm wondering is if they will reissue The Lord of the Rings, but with footage edited in from these movies that corresponds with scenes from The Hobbit hat appear in the prologue of Fellowship? This isn't some grand Lucas embellshments but additions that add to the movie and give the two productions more cohesion. I mean it would seem very odd to have the scene of Ian Holm as Bilbo discovering the Ring when in fact in this prequel movie it is Martin Freeman as Bilbo.

[Scribblesense]

I'd hope not.  It's unnecessary.

Indeed. Not having the same actor between the two films doesn't make them worse, and it wouldn't make them better.

[TTYT]

Before anyone else starts in on this, for those wondering how the hell this is going to last two movies, this my theory:

We know they're at least going to split the book somewhere. There wouldn't be two movies if they weren't doing that. I think they're also going to add some information from Tolkien's Appendices (like how they pulled the story of Aragorn and Arwen from the Appendices for LOTR). Someone pointed me to this specific entry in the Appendices, which ties the events of The Hobbit to The Lord of the Ring: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Quest_of_Erebor

Basically, that entry in the Appendices explains how the whole quest was actually a pre-emptive chess move by Gandalf against Sauron (getting rid of the last dragon in Middle-Earth.) Since that story is told as a flashback from the perspective of Frodo at the request of the now-King Aragorn, that would make sense as to why it was announced that Frodo and Legolas would show up in the movie. I'd hazard a guess that this little bit will be how the movie opens - and then King Aragorn asks Bilbo to tell his tale, and off we go into the main story.

Also, remember that the scripts and a majority of production elements they're using are ones approved by del Toro. I don't think del Toro has ever done a movie with a script that's much longer than two hours and a few minutes. If the two parts are that short, with the Appendices stories woven in and extended battle sequences, I can see two films out of the whole thing.

And if I'm totally wrong - then damn. But whatever. Everyone knows what a world of shit they'll be in if they fuck this up, so I'm pretty sure this will be just as stellar as the LOTR movies were.

[Doctor Who?]

I'd hope not.  It's unnecessary.

Well said.  I mean they didn't go back and refilm scenes in Iron Man just because they changed the actor playing War Machine in Iron man 2,it's not needed at all.

[a pretty girl is like]

I'd hope not.  It's unnecessary.

I beg to differ.

Spoiler

 
Game, set, LUCAS!!

[Bob]

Pretty clever to do these little videos for the fans to keep the interest up.   Pretty interesting.

[Scribblesense]

Stephen Fry just joined the cast of The Hobbit

http://collider.com/stephen-fry-ryan-gage-conan-stevens-the-hobbit/91627/

More casting news from The Hobbit has been announced, again by Peter Jackson himself. Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage and Conan Stevens will now venture to Middle Earth. Fry will play The Master of Laketown, the leader of one of the towns Bilbo and the Dwarves encounter on their adventure. Gage will take on the role of Alfrid, The Master's conniving servant. Finally, Stevens will play the Orc called Azog. Gage was originally set to play a small role as a hobbit, but apparently Jackson liked him so much that he gave him a bigger part.

Jackson gave an update on the production, currently ongoing in New Zealand, saying that the first shooting block will end in three weeks. They will take a short break at this time to do some editing and visual effects work, as well as get ready for "very big scenes coming up." This accounts for the casting news that's been happening even as production has started. They're filling out the roles that appear later on in the shooting schedule. The Hobbit will be broken into two parts.  Part 1 is set for December 2012 and Part 2 will come out in December 2013. Hit the jump to read Jackson's full statement.

Here's Jackson's full statement on the matter (via his Facebook page):

Some more HOBBIT casting news today. As we near the end of our first shooting block (we have a break in less than three weeks to get some editing and visual effects work done, plus prepare for very big scenes coming up), we are looking at characters featuring in sequences that take place a little later in the story.

    We are thrilled to confirm that Stephen Fry will be playing The Master of Laketown. I've known Stephen for several years, and we're developing a DAMBUSTERS movie together. In addition to his writing skills, he's a terrific actor and will create a very memorable Master for us.

    The Master's conniving civil servant, Alfrid will be played by Ryan Gage. Ryan is a great young actor who we originally cast in a small role, but we liked him so much, we promoted him to the much larger Alfrid part.

    Last, and certainly not least, is Conan Stevens, who will be playing an Orc called Azog (Orcs are never called Roger or Dennis for some strange reason).  And yes that's his name—Conan! Isn't that cool? Azog is played by Conan! Here's a photo of Conan and I together... I'm pretty tall, probably at least 6′5″ or 6′6″ I would guess, so that gives you some clue how tall Conan is! You can learn all about him at www.conanstevens.com.

    Got a busy day's shooting ahead, so I'm about to jump in the car—but look out for the beginning of the 20 questions answers very soon. Thanks for the questions, many are very insightful. I've been through all of them and have a list ready to go.

    Cheers,

    Peter J

-

Here's an image Jackson posted of himself and Stevens, side-by-side:

I'm sure some people will be very happy about this.

[wurwolf]

Is there really someone in the world of entertainment who is still especially impressed by the name Conan?