OSCAR WINNER PETER JACKSON TO DIRECT “THE HOBBIT” IN TWO INSTALLMENTS (Green light given)

New Line/Warner Brothers ^ | October 15th, 2010 | Press Release

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

OSCAR WINNER PETER JACKSON TO DIRECT “THE HOBBIT” IN TWO INSTALLMENTS
Peter Jackson Set to Direct J.R.R Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” In a Two-Part 3D Production of Extraordinary Scope
(Los Angeles, October 15, 2010) The two films based on “The Hobbit” are now greenlit and will begin principal photography in February 2011, under the direction of Peter Jackson, it was jointly announced today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema, Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. and Steve Cooper, co-Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc..
“Exploring Tolkien’s Middle-earth goes way beyond a normal film-making experience” Jackson says, “It’s an all-immersive journey into a very special place of imagination, beauty and drama. We’re looking forward to re-entering this wondrous world with Gandalf and Bilbo – and our friends at New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers and MGM”.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

This is the official announcement that the Hobbit movies will be made, actors can be hired, contracts can be made.

[doc1019]

About time!

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

PING!

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

You can say that again! The purists will be upset about the 3-D, but they are still griping about Tom Bombadil.

[doc1019]

Amen! Although I hope they stick closer to the book then the Trilogy series did. Although I will concede, if they had included all that was in the trilogy books, we would still be watching movie number one.

[Bean Counter]

Excellent news, but do we have any idea about potential cast members??

Bilbo?? Gandalf?? Thorin Oakenshield??

??

[HangnJudge]

Waiting for Smaug

[Windflier]

The purists will be upset about the 3-D

3-D, eh? Well, that's cool. I just hope they shoot it in 2-D simultaneously.

You know, if I'd read the trilogy before seeing the movies, I'd likely be a purist, too. In the case of LOTR, I'm happy that I'm doing it backwards. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the movies half as much, if I'd known the story, beforehand.

[Domandred]

3D is only bad if they focus on that so much the 2D viewed version is blech.

[Beowulf9]

What about Tom Bombadil? They’re not leaving the character out, are they?

Btw, I always thought if young, Patrick Macnee would’ve made the perfect Bombadil.

[pillut48]

And the downside to such a thing would be...??

[Texaspeptoman]

I use to always pass over the part of Tom Bombadil but, as I have grown older, that story has become precious to me. As much as the story seemed out of place in the whole of LOR so is Tom’s life in respect to the whole of Middle-earth.

We all yearn for our own safe place where the terrors of the of the world CANNOT intrude. I could go on but... it’s time for bed!

[Theo]

Guess I’m a purist. :-)

I just find 3D to be distracting from the story ...

[RansomOttawa]

Wow. Two movies for such a short book? I hope that the attention to detail is worth the effort.

I wonder what continuity Jackson will be able to bring to the story, in casting decisions and so forth. As I recall, only Gandalf, Bilbo, and Gollum actually occur as characters in both The Hobbit and LOTR.

[doc1019]

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! LOL!

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

‘Excellent news, but do we have any idea about potential cast members??’

I expect that they will start signing contracts and announcing cast members almost immediately. It is expected that the cast members from TLOTR who were in the Hobbit will repeat (Gandalf, Elrond, Gollum, Galadriel). Bilbo is much too old, and Saruman probably is too (he wasn’t in the book, but it is expected that the White Council will be included in the movies). Speculation has included nearly every English speaking actor in the world. Go to “ http://www.theonering.net/ “ for discussions.

[Ready4Freddy]

but they are still griping about Tom Bombadil

And:

No Fatty Bolger and the house on the edge of the Old Forest
Arwen carrying Frodo to the ford
Not forging Anduril before they left Rivendell
Aragorn's bizarre reluctance to assume his rightful station
The Elves showing up at Helm's Deep
No Dúnedain accompanying Aragorn in the Paths of the Dead
No Scouring of the Shire

,etc.

But the films were a good effort.

[Nepeta]

Two movies sounds like someone is trying to milk too much from too little material. I recently re-read The Hobbit, and just don't think it justifies 2/3s of the treatment of LOTR.

A pox upon Tom Bombadil. Everytime I force myself to read that section, I have to wonder if Tolkien wrote this part before he had any idea where the rest of the story might go, and he was reluctant to take a blue pencil to it later.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Heck, I was a fan of Prince Imrahil, but they left him out anyhow.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

They are going to include some of the darker material that occurs only as stories in The Hobbit, such as the White Council and the Necromancer.