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| ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER PETER JACKSON AND NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM TO PRODUCE “THE HOBBIT,” EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASY ADVENTURE EPIC . NEW LINE AND MGM TO CO-PRODUCE AND SHARE WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS . PETER JACKSON AND FRAN WALSH TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE TWO FILMS BASED ON “THE HOBBIT” . Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, December 18, 2007) Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson; Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of New Line Cinema have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements: . * MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally. . * Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously. . * Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) Trilogy. . Said Peter Jackson, “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.” . “Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making ‘The Hobbit,’” said Sloan, MGM’s Chairman and CEO. “Now that we are all in agreement on ‘The Hobbit,’ we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film.” . Bob Shaye, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO comments, “We are very pleased we have been able to resolve our differences, and that Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with ‘The Hobbit’ movies. We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy.” . “Peter is a visionary filmmaker, and he broke new ground with ‘The Lord of the Rings,’” notes Michael Lynne, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO. “We’re delighted he’s back for ‘The Hobbit’ films and that the Tolkien saga will continue with his imprint. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Harry Sloan, who has been instrumental in helping us reach our new accord.” . The two “Hobbit” films – “The Hobbit” and its sequel – are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of “The Hobbit” release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011. . The Oscar-winning, critically-acclaimed LOTR Trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box-office. In 2003, “Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the eleven categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The Trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time. . For more information about “The Hobbit” films, please visit www.TheHobbitBlog.com. |
| QUOTE (willowroolz @ Dec 19 2007, 08:06 AM) |
| Virtually zero I would have thought - I just can't see that working :ponder: I notice that Jackson is executive producer, not director. |
| QUOTE (goth willow fan @ Dec 19 2007, 08:37 AM) | ||
And that's probably as a sweetener. Didn't Jackson and New Line have some major falling out over something to do with either The Hobbit or TLOTR? |
| QUOTE (Crichton Kicks @ Dec 18 2007, 09:48 PM) |
| Ian McKellan must be a sure thing on the Gandalf front, but what's the chances of Elijah Wood playing a younger Bilbo? |
| QUOTE (goth willow fan @ Dec 19 2007, 08:37 AM) | ||
And that's probably as a sweetener. Didn't Jackson and New Line have some major falling out over something to do with either The Hobbit or TLOTR? |
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| Guillermo del Toro is in talks to direct back-to-back installments of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Del Toro's name was on a short list of directors who could tackle the highly anticipated project, the trade paper said. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson was originally set to direct the prequel films, but he departed the project following a legal dispute with New Line and the project was put on hold. But with the resolution of the lawsuit in December, The Hobbit is now back on track, with Jackson on board as an executive producer. Because of the strike, no writer has been hired to adapt Tolkien's children's classic, though that process will be fast-tracked once it's resolved. Del Toro and Jackson will oversee the development of the script. Principal photography for the two films, which will be shot simultaneously, is tentatively set for 2009. The production budget is estimated at $150 million for each installment. The release of the first film is slated for 2010 and the second in 2011. |
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| Del Toro Signs To Helm Hobbit As expected, Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct the New Line-MGM's upcoming The Hobbit and its sequel for executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Variety reported. The announcement--which had been rumored for several weeks--came on the afternoon of April 24 from Jackson and Walsh, New Line president Toby Emmerich and Mary Parent, newly named chief of MGM's Worldwide Motion Picture Group. Del Toro will move 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 installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Like Rings, The Hobbit is based on a book by J.R.R. Tolkien. Del Toro won't leave for New Zealand immediately, as he's still in post-production on Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which is due July 11. The official signing of del Toro comes four months after New Line settled a lawsuit with Jackson over profits from The Lord of the Rings and announced that it had agreed with MGM to turn Tolkien's book into two live-action films. Sam Raimi had been preceived as the initial front-runner as director, but Del Toro had emerged in recent months as the likely candidate. Though no screenplay deal's been set, it's expected that the Rings scripting team of Jackson, Walsh and Philippa Boyens will collaborate with del Toro. With del Toro blocking out four years for the project, it's likely that the studios are aiming at starting shooting next year and releasing the films in late 2011 and 2012. |
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| Sir Ian McKellen back as Gandalf Sir Ian McKellen has confirmed he will reprise his role as Gandalf in the film remake of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. "Yes, it's true," he told Empire magazine. "It's not a part that you turn down. I loved playing Gandalf." Two Hobbit films are planned for release in 2010 and 2011. They will be prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson. Guillermo del Toro has been named as the director of the movies, to be made back-to-back in New Zealand. "I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role," Sir Ian said. He also said del Toro would be starting the script in about six weeks after he has finished filming current project, Hellboy 2. According to studio New Line, the first film will be an adaptation of The Hobbit and the second will be an original story focusing on the 60 years between the book and the beginning of the Rings trilogy. "As to how it's going to work over two films and what going to happen on screen, well Guillermo has not got down to working out the major details yet - I can tell you it's going to be amazing though," Sir Ian said. Story from BBC NEWS: |
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| Del Toro, Jackson Talk Hobbit Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, who will respectively executive-produce and direct two upcoming films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, interacted with each other and fans during an international Internet chat dubbed "An Unexpected Party," answering dozens of the 6,000-plus questions sent in and offering tidbits about things to come. According to the filmmakers, 2009 will be dedicated to preproduction on both movies, with the films set to be shot back-to-back in New Zealand in 2010. The Hobbit will open in December 2011, followed by the tentatively titled Film Two in 2012. Several actors and behind-the-scenes figures from Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy are confirmed or likely to return, among them co-stars Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis, writer-producers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, composer Howard Shore and conceptual designers Alan Lee and John Howe. Del Toro and Jackson confirmed that the first film will tell the story of The Hobbit, while the second will be an original tale bridging the period between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. And, they said, del Toro's films will be designed to stand on their own while syncing up with Jackson's Rings trilogy. "I believe that it's a little bit of both; the world must feel like the same world, [in] the aspect ratio, music, essential established costume and production design trademarks," del Toro wrote from England. "But I would love to bring a lot of new flavors to the table. The Hobbit is, in essence, an overture to a massive symphonic work, so main themes are reprised, but new modulations and new colors are introduced, thematically and texturally." Jackson, who was in New Zealand, added, "I love Guillermo's symphonic allusion. The 'overture' can have a different flavor, a different texture, yet be a carefully crafted introduction to what's to follow. Film Two is perfect to dramatize the shift in Middle-earth that propels us into the dark days of LOTR. If LOTR is World War I, then The Hobbit is like an Edwardian adventure tale, set in the days before [the] world notices the looming storm clouds." Jackson, responding to a question about why he chose not to direct The Hobbit films, explained that "essentially competing against my own movies" seemed to be an unsatisfying way to spend the next five years. However, he wrote, "I love Tolkien and care deeply about the movies we made. I couldn't bear the idea of somebody else making them without our involvement. Being a writer and producer is the perfect way for me to work here. Guillermo has the ultimate responsibility of directing, and for him it's easier to make these movies feel different, simply because he's not me, and he therefore has an original vision, with new ideas to offer." Del Toro, meanwhile, explained that The Hobbit was the only one of Tolkien's works with which he connected as a youth and that he dreamt of Mirkwood and Smaug for "ages." However, once he saw that Jackson had undertaken the Lord of the Rings trilogy he assumed that The Hobbit "would never come to be" for him. When it did, he leapt at the opportunity. "The proposition of spending half a decade [to] craft these films received, as Peter will attest, a five-second 'YES' from me," del Toro wrote. "To people in my industry I'm usually a guy that tries to generate his own projects, and I remain very elusive when people try and attach me to big projects. For decades I have passed on films of enormous scope, but this is a fantastic privilege and I immediately said, 'Yes.'" -- |
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| Del Toro Clarifies Hobbit 2 Guillermo del Toro, who will direct two Lord of the Rings prequel films, told reporters that the first will stick to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit but the second will take in a wide range of materials from the Tolkien universe. The second as-yet-untitled movie is being envisioned as a bridge between the end of The Hobbit and the beginning of the first Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring. But copyright considerations restrict del Toro to only the four books licensed for the films: The Hobbit and the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings, which include copious appendices and notes about the Rings universe. But that would appear to exclude any material in The Silmarillion, completed by Tokien's son, which offers backstory and mythology to fill out the universe in the Rings books, as well as any other Tolkien writings. For his part, del Toro told reporters that he would take it all in, whether he could use it or not. "We're talking," he said in a group interview in Beverly Hills, Calif., on June 30 while promoting Hellboy II: The Golden Army. "Utilizing the materials that are available to us, and the discipline has been to try and, from my part, know everything else. Not to know it and use it, but to know it and not step on those things." Del Toro added: "There is enough ... narrative abridgement and some other pieces of narrative and suggestions and appendix notes and this and that to guide and create something that will not infringe anything else. But it's too early for me to swear by it. I think that that's the real creative endeavor on the second film." As for The Hobbit itself, del Toro said: "The real creative endeavor is to be faithful to the feel and the drive of the book and the spirit of the book. ... I think a lot of people say, 'Oh, it's a children's book.' And I say, 'Therefore, it should be taken seriously.'" As for taking up the standard of the three beloved and Oscar-winning Rings films, del Toro was undaunted. "The way I see it, I see the ... five films--provided that we do everything right--as a symphony," he said. "And I believe that what I'm doing is an overture. And therefore it can be a different color and a different energy and lead you into something that is already a filming legacy, you know? That all we got to do is create an almost free-standing piece that can then, if viewed together, make sense as a symphonic work. ... If the two first pieces are crafted with their independent merit, but also, the second film does lead seamlessly into the first film of the trilogy, we will have created perhaps one of the most beautiful symphonies filmically that have been done. And the level of craftsmanship which we were talking about--that I like to bring and what I like to do--is obsessively detailed, and ... the idea that I'm going to have the tools that existed ... I'm ready." |