The Hobbit Trilogy Discussion Thread

[Duffy12]

Here are some more juicy rumors guys.



New report puts Neill Blomkamp in ‘The Hobbit’ picture


September 10th, 2010

Neill Blomkamp mugA New Zealand film website has declared, from its own independent sources, that Neill Blomkamp (District 9) will be directing a pair of movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.” It was also kind enough to point out that we broke the story as a possibility in June.

The Kiwi site isn’t known for rumor mongering so this is a definitely an interesting possibility that might be pointing to increased Hobbit activity and a semblance of leadership at MGM and a future for these potential gigantic hits (and fan favorites) to get made.


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Ian McKellen ‘The aim is to start filming in January’


September 11th, 2010 by Celeborn

Ringer Kookie sends us this link to The Bolton News where Ian McKellen was promoting a new project, but also spoke briefly on The Hobbit films. Everyone’s favorite Gandalf confirms recent reports that the planned start of filming is January 2011.

FILMING on The Hobbit, the long-awaited prequel to The Lord of the Rings, should start in the new year, according to former Bolton School boy Sir Ian McKellen.

“The aim is to start filming in January,” he said.



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MGM Creditors To Vote On Approving Pre-Packaged Bankruptcy Within Next Two Weeks


September 11th, 2010 by Earl


Close on the heels of the news that Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum of Spyglass Entertainment had signed a non-binding letter of intent to take over the management of MGM, there’s news by Bloomberg hitting the interweb that points to more progress in that direction:

MGM creditors will be asked to approve a restructuring and pre-packaged bankruptcy plan for the studio within the next week or two, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

Under the plan, MGM would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after obtaining creditor approval, with the goal of emerging from court protection by the end of the year, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the details aren’t public.

Thanks to messageboard member Eruonen for the heads-up.



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[Batman1980]

No to Neil, yes to begin filming in January to keep guys like McKellen from walking out on the movie.

[Foggy]

I adored District 9, so I'll say yes to Neil. Yet again, the only person I wouldn't want doing it is Jackson (well add Uwe Boll and Paul W.S Anderson as well but they don't need mentioning). Only because I want this to have a different distinctive style to the LOTR movies.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I adored District 9, so I'll say yes to Neil. Yet again, the only person I wouldn't want doing it is Jackson (well add Uwe Boll and Paul W.S Anderson as well but they don't need mentioning). Only because I want this to have a different distinctive style to the LOTR movies.

I dunno, LoTR was dark, Neil's Hobbits would probably be too dark, the movies are supposed to be fun and easy-going, third act aside. Someone else with a more upbeat film-making style would be my choice.

[Duffy12]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

I dunno, LoTR was dark, Neil's Hobbits would probably be too dark, the movies are supposed to be fun and easy-going, third act aside. Someone else with a more upbeat film-making style would be my choice.

And something that I have been wondering about for awhile is...will they be including the songs from the book? And if so, how many of them?

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[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Duffy12

And something that I have been wondering about for awhile is...will they be including the songs from the book? And if so, how many of them?

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Good point, as the songs were very important in the book. The Dwarves song in the beginning at Bag End is mandatory.

[Walts Ghost]

I vote yes on Neil

I'd like to see if he could make a fun, exciting Hobbit movie. We'll never know if he's capable of breaking away from District 9's style of filmmaking unless we see him try

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by pj_campbell

I vote yes on Neil

I'd like to see if he could make a fun, exciting Hobbit movie. We'll never know if he's capable of breaking away from District 9's style of filmmaking unless we see him try

Same here...

... we don't know nearly enough about Neill and his filmmaking style at this point to be typecasting him as a gross-out violent action director. People wrote Jackson off as such, early in his career, and he has certainly shed that image over the last decade or so.

It's a pretty high-risk move to put such a huge movie in the hands of a relatively unknown director, but if he did take the part, I bet he would be working under very heavy guidance from Jackson as producer; I think the studio would insist on keeping him on a short leash, for the sake of their investment.

[Darkhawk9587]

I don't know how I'd feel about Blomkamp directing. District 9 was great, however. And, he worked with PJ on that. A January start would be amazing, though.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

Same here...

... we don't know nearly enough about Neill and his filmmaking style at this point to be typecasting him as a gross-out violent action director. People wrote Jackson off as such, early in his career, and he has certainly shed that image over the last decade or so.

It's a pretty high-risk move to put such a huge movie in the hands of a relatively unknown director, but if he did take the part, I bet he would be working under very heavy guidance from Jackson as producer; I think the studio would insist on keeping him on a short leash, for the sake of their investment.

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Plus he already worked with Peter Jackson because Peter Jackson helped with District 9, and he already would have lots of designs and models ready to go since they're going to continue using everything GTD had made for the movie. So I mean, they'll really just be using him to direct the movie, and most likely on a short leash. They'll want to make sure it fits the LOTR trilogy in the end, so of course they'll have to make it sweeping and epic and they won't let him make it vastly different. But we definitely need to see what he's capable of a doing before we write him off

[radagast]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

I don't know much about Freeman, but he has "the look" that one might expect of Bilbo, and I can't think of many actors that satisfy that criteria.

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

He looks too mean and a bit too warrior-like to me, I'd like the new Bilbo to look more like Ian Holm than that.

I think it might be possible to make him look like a younger Ian Holm.

[Josh]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

Hobbits have great courage, but that doesn't always make someone a great warrior. Sad to say, I think having Bilbo miss the battle with a bump on the head is not good writing, it was an attempt at slapstick humor which worked in so many other parts of the book but didn't work so well at that point, so I'm all for showing it differently. There's a lot of ways to play Bilbo's part in the battle, while staying true to his character. For instance, he could refuse to join the battle at the beginning because he doesn't want to fight the men and elves, but then join and start looking for his friends to save them once the goblins show up.

I'll admit I'm not the most knowledgable regarding anything Tolkien, but isn't "The Hobbit" (or "There and Back Again") written by Bilbo? So, if he did run away from battle, wouldn't he have painted himself in a better light in his book? Seems like the animated version got it right, to me.

Having Bilbo join the battle would be ok as long as its minor. I mean, Pip and Merry joined the battles, and they had very small parts in them - which is fine. But anything above a helpful hand would probably be too much.

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

I dunno, LoTR was dark, Neil's Hobbits would probably be too dark, the movies are supposed to be fun and easy-going, third act aside. Someone else with a more upbeat film-making style would be my choice.

Plus, Neil has had experience with CG main characters. There's bound to be a ton of CG work this film, and having a director who knows how to shoot that would be advantageous. If not Jackson, Neil might work!

[TheWildWhelk]

The more i hear about this film the less interested in actually seeing it, as it is a little bit of a shame as i have waited decades to see my favourite 'formative years' book be adapted into a film. We knew that Jackson wouldn't Direct, replaced by the incredible Guillermo Del Toro (Pans Labyrinth is nothing short of a masterpiece) then we lose Del Toro, get excited by Jackson taking up the Directors chair, then 'apparently' he vacates and we have Hardware-centric director Neill Blomkamp taking up the position, with Britains' top class morose, pessemistic actor lined up for the lead role.

It all smacks of desperation to get the film made. There are some very poor choices in there, people. If Jackson isn't directing, he needs to keep Blomkamp on a very short leash, as, even though i loved District 9, i don't think the kid is a character-centric director. His specialisation was Visual Effects, first and foremost.

The Hobbit needs an extremely experienced director at the helm. CGI? Let Weta take care of that and concentrate on performances and acting. Paging Peter Weir...

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Josh

I'll admit I'm not the most knowledgable regarding anything Tolkien, but isn't "The Hobbit" (or "There and Back Again") written by Bilbo? So, if he did run away from battle, wouldn't he have painted himself in a better light in his book? Seems like the animated version got it right, to me.

Having Bilbo join the battle would be ok as long as its minor. I mean, Pip and Merry joined the battles, and they had very small parts in them - which is fine. But anything above a helpful hand would probably be too much.

Right, Bilbo's involvement in the battle was minimal, as he put on the Ring to become invisible, and pretty much stayed out of the way until he got conked on the head. If the producers of the movie try to make more out of his role than that, they may have to contend with the ghost of Tolkien.

[Walts Ghost]

Ian McKellen says Hobbit will shoot in January

…aaand we’re back with another maybe-accurate report on plans for The Hobbit, courtesy of Sir Ian McKellen. This latest ‘news’ comes via statements the actor made to The Bolton News, to which he said he is definitely returning as Gandalf, and that “the aim is to start filming in January.” Last time we heard anything from the actor he sounded quite frustrated about the delays experienced by the film, and suggested that he might not be able to wait around much longer.

Source

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

Right, Bilbo's involvement in the battle was minimal, as he put on the Ring to become invisible, and pretty much stayed out of the way until he got conked on the head. If the producers of the movie try to make more out of his role than that, they may have to contend with the ghost of Tolkien.

I think he should just be part of the initial charge, get knocked out inadvertently and then dragged out of the way while the battle ensues.

[kjacobs03]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

I think he should just be part of the initial charge, get knocked out inadvertently and then dragged out of the way while the battle ensues.

Who's going to drag him? He is invisible.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by kjacobs03

Who's going to drag him? He is invisible.

The Ring can fall off and be picked up by the person who rescues him and drags him away. I just don't think having Bilbo be a major part of the battle will work, nor will having him hide somewhere and watch the whole thing.

[kjacobs03]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

The Ring can fall off and be picked up by the person who rescues him and drags him away. I just don't think having Bilbo be a major part of the battle will work, nor will having him hide somewhere and watch the whole thing.

I think that creates a polt hole. Then someone elso would have posession if the ring during that time. Why would they want to give it back?

[Darkhawk9587]

Originally Posted by pj_campbell

Source

Fantastic news. I am glad things are beginning to work out with two great franchises (Bond and The Hobbit).