Jackson signs on for The Hobbit.

[Chaos]

Funny how these things work, isn't it? I'd just read something where Jackson has denied involvement with the Hobbit films, and yet here it is!  I'm glad he has though, as I thought the LOTR was a fantastic piece of work.  And if they do involve the Dwarves more, that'd be great, I thought the were the race most overlooked in the first films.

That's because the dwarves were practically non-existant in the books, really. Jackson was being quite true to the books by NOT having a battalion of dwarves suddenly show up to help the fighting (and thank god for that).

The personal implication I always took from the dwarves' conspicuous absence, both at the end of the second age and the war of the ring, was that they were too busy mining away for their precious metals and stones in the earth to give a good god damn as the rest of the races of Middle Earth were fighting for survival... sort of Tolkein's commentary on the dangers of industrialization (and, to a lesser extent, greed in general). I'm aware that that's probably PURELY a personal interpretation, but it works for me.

[doggans]

After seeing (and loving) Children of Men, Alfonso Cuaron seems like an awesome candidate. (not sure how he did with that Harry Potter movie, never saw it...was it any good?)

It was definitely the best of the Potter flicks. (Unfortunately, in my opinion, that's not really saying much, as none of the movies have been particularly memorable the way the books are.)

Anyway, my obligatory fanboy response as to who should direct? Edgar Wright.

I remember hearing Martin Freeman suggested to play Bilbo (not an official rumor or anything, just one of those who-would-be-your-ideal-cast threads on a forum). I could see that.

If they really do end up getting Sam Raimi to direct, does that mean we'd get Bruce Campbell as Beorn?

[SmilinJackRoss]

That's because the dwarves were practically non-existant in the books, really. Jackson was being quite true to the books by NOT having a battalion of dwarves suddenly show up to help the fighting (and thank god for that).

The personal implication I always took from the dwarves' conspicuous absence, both at the end of the second age and the war of the ring, was that they were too busy mining away for their precious metals and stones in the earth to give a good god damn as the rest of the races of Middle Earth were fighting for survival...

I think you're right to a certain extent.  It's been a while since I read the books, but I think that once the battles in the third book came along, Sauron had launched a similar offensive to the north towards the land of the Dwarves, at roughly the same time as the attack on Minas Tirith.
[/total LotR geek out]

[Chaos]

That's because the dwarves were practically non-existant in the books, really. Jackson was being quite true to the books by NOT having a battalion of dwarves suddenly show up to help the fighting (and thank god for that).

The personal implication I always took from the dwarves' conspicuous absence, both at the end of the second age and the war of the ring, was that they were too busy mining away for their precious metals and stones in the earth to give a good god damn as the rest of the races of Middle Earth were fighting for survival...

I think you're right to a certain extent.  It's been a while since I read the books, but I think that once the battles in the third book came along, Sauron had launched a similar offensive to the north towards the land of the Dwarves, at roughly the same time as the attack on Minas Tirith.
[/total LotR geek out]

That's a definite possibility as well... I haven't had my annual read the books yet this year (I better get to task), but you how know offhandedly Tolkein would mention things (because the story was actually secondary to him compared to the exploration of language and culture, almost an afterthought)... there could very easily have been a paragraph in there somewhere about the northern lands and the dwarves also being under siege, but just not being a focus of the "main" story, and therefore never mentioned again.

[Minnesota]

Good news, was happy to see this announcement

[Scrivener]

I am shocked, truly shocked, to find that Isaac hasn't had his say in this thread yet.

Can someone check to see if he's okay?  His head may have exploded when he read this story.

Anyway, here's hoping this turns out well.  Three years is going to be a long time for us to build our hopes up.

[BathTub]

Yeah I know, I thought it would be hard for him to pass up this opportunity.

[skenderberg]

That's because the dwarves were practically non-existant in the books, really. Jackson was being quite true to the books by NOT having a battalion of dwarves suddenly show up to help the fighting (and thank god for that).

The personal implication I always took from the dwarves' conspicuous absence, both at the end of the second age and the war of the ring, was that they were too busy mining away for their precious metals and stones in the earth to give a good god damn as the rest of the races of Middle Earth were fighting for survival...

I think you're right to a certain extent.  It's been a while since I read the books, but I think that once the battles in the third book came along, Sauron had launched a similar offensive to the north towards the land of the Dwarves, at roughly the same time as the attack on Minas Tirith.
[/total LotR geek out]

I remember that too.  Mordor attacked a number of countries all at once, not just Gondor.  The dwarves and wood elves were busy defending their own kingdoms.

[mrbasehart]

That's because the dwarves were practically non-existant in the books, really. Jackson was being quite true to the books by NOT having a battalion of dwarves suddenly show up to help the fighting (and thank god for that).

Yeah, I wasn't knocking the film, I just think it's somewhere fresh the movies could explore.  I for one, would love to see a fully functional Dwarven city.  As for a director, I wouldn't mind seeing someone like Guillermo del Toro take the helm.

[kodiakthejuggler]

I predict a lot more hobbit walking in this.  Gotta give the fans more of what they enjoyed.

At least there won't be a whiny Frodo crying about everything for 3 hours!

[bettertomorrowamy]

I predict a lot more hobbit walking in this.  Gotta give the fans more of what they enjoyed.

At least there won't be a whiny Frodo crying about everything for 3 hours!

Now it will be Bilbo whining and crying about how hard his life is.  Like a Hobbit version of Luke Skywalker.

[skenderberg]

I predict a lot more hobbit walking in this.  Gotta give the fans more of what they enjoyed.

At least there won't be a whiny Frodo crying about everything for 3 hours!

Now it will be Bilbo whining and crying about how hard his life is.  Like a Hobbit version of Luke Skywalker.

Actually, Bilbo bucks up and takes command of the party in Mirkwood.  If they're true to the book at all, we'll only have to listen to him whine for the first half of the movie.  Of course, then the dwarves will start to whine like big hairy babies...

[Chaos]

I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle all of the visuals and story in Mirkwood, and the elven king's palace.

Also, I hope they end up leaving in the stuff about Beorn (even though it made sense to cut Tom Bombadil from LOTR, I was still a little sad, and I think Beorn is more important to the story than TB was to LOTR).

As far as directors go, I'm personally hoping that Jackson will eventually say "the hell with you incompetent idiots, I'll direct it myself." I just can't think of any other director who would give the script the overall amount of love and respect that Jackson would.