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John Hurt on the set of Hellboy with director Guillermo del Toro.
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Del Toro Talks About HOBBIT Films

By: Jarrod Sarafin
Date: Monday, April 28, 2008
Source: TheOneRing.net

Just a few days after director Guillermo del Toro was officially confirmed as the director for The Hobbit:Part 1 and Part 2, he has sat down with TheOneRing.net and answered questions on the project, the process of stepping into Jackson's shoes and whether the major stars of the original trilogy are returning. It seems we will be seeing Gandalf and Gollum again very soon.

Here's an bite of it.

How did this whole process get started?

GDT: I met Peter (Jackson) a long time ago when we were planning on doing ‘Halo’ together, I really love how they have that setup in New Zealand, I call it ‘Hollywood the way God intended it’. New Zealand has all the technical advantages when doing a big movie and you are shooting it in paradise, both in terms of artistic freedom and commitment.

When ‘Halo’ didn’t happen, Peter and I stayed in contact on a regular basis, and last winter I started getting inklings that ‘The Hobbit’ may come this way, mainly from the studio. The first thing I said was that I would only be interested if Peter was involved and the (New Line Lawsuit) problem gets resolved. When that issue was resolved I got a call from Peter and we chatted, and it started from then, it was my Christmas gift!

Fans are all abuzz about ‘The Second Film’, can you tell some of your plans for it?

GDT: You know, I traveled to New Zealand just a little while ago, and one of the main reasons for going was to sit down and talk about the second film. ‘The Hobbit’, the book, is really one self-contained film, so for the second movie we sat down and worked it out. When we did this we got really excited because this second film is not a ‘tag on’, it’s not ‘filler’, it’s an integral part of telling the story of those 50 years of history lost in the narrative. There will be certain things that we will see from the first movie but from a different point of view, but it will feel like a volume, in the 5 volumes of the entire story. It will not feel like a bridge, I’ve been hearing it called ‘a bridge film’, it’s not, it’s an integral chapter of the story, and I think we’re all on the same page.

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Comments/Responses

Todd89 • Apr 28, 2008, 07:28am •

I have faith in Del Toro, I have seen some of his films and this sounds exciting. At least these will be made, I sure hope the Halo film will one day come out in the future.
Both men are great directors and why can't they find few billonairs to help out with the halo film as well.

AlpineWoods • Apr 28, 2008, 07:31am •

It's too bad Sam Raimi won't be doing the movies. He's busy with that To Hell movie and Spider-Man 4 through 12. But seriously, this is good news to read. I'm a religious fan of Guillermo del Toro's movies, and I also think he's the right choice to make them. The movies will probably have a diffrent style and look, but will still be set in that same world that's already been established. I'm definitely looking forward to these movies when they finally come out.

monkeyfoot • Apr 28, 2008, 07:40am •

Del Toro does seem to be the right choice. And I like his comments about the second movie. I assume there is enough material among Tolkien's work to put together a story that is appropiate. It'll be a long wait before it comes out so keep occupied 'til then.
I've been a way from this site for awhile. So far I like the new look, though it's probably old hat to everybody else now.

mortellan • Apr 28, 2008, 07:40am •

Good stuff. I think del Toro will do just fine. Now whatever this 'second movie' is, despite his explanations of it being a complete story, it will never approach the cultural popularity of the Hobbit nor the sweeping epicness of the LotR trilogy. That leaves this 'second movie' in a very gray area until more details leak out.

fft5305 • Apr 28, 2008, 08:13am •

I'm still a bit disappointed that PJ's not doing the films. But if he's not, I think GDT is the next best. I'm excited to see what he'll do, but sad for the future of Hellboy. This all sounds a bit negative, but really, I am excited about these movies! Really.

kaybar • Apr 28, 2008, 10:05am •

Very good point Monkeyfoot. A second "Hobbit" film can work because of the availability of source material and because of the amount of care the creators are taking with it. Having Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh on board is a great confidence booster, a lot of the scenes that made their way into the LOTR trilogy were taken from appendices, cross-references, and other historical tomes focused on Middle Earth. JRR had all the info down, and it's great to know that such talented hands will be converting that somewhat tricky source material into a coherent screen plot.

Hobbs • Apr 28, 2008, 11:11am •

There is a ton of source material to be used for a 2nd movie. The challenge will be in making it a stand alone movie and since most people have not read the source material they may be able to pull it off. Having read all four books I am more curious about the 2nd movie since it will be based on a lot of things I've never read or only heard about. Someone mentioned the Children of Huron as another movie they should do and with the cash cow this franchise is you'll probably see it in about 10 years.

wormlander • Apr 28, 2008, 12:37pm •

Im actually surprised they decided to make two new movies instead of three.

almostunbiased • Apr 28, 2008, 01:09pm •

Hopefully they'll show Gandalf go to Southern Mirkwood and chase away Sauron out of Dol Guldur.

That would be awesome. Plus we'd meet the whole council. They'd need to have Christopher Lee come back.
I can't wait.

shogunpimp • Apr 28, 2008, 02:45pm •

Man, I am so happy Guillermo del Toro is directing this. If I could have hand picked anyone besides P.J. it would be him. He sounds like he really knows the LotR mythos and I would love it if they found some way to reunite all the major cast members. My idea: "The Hobbit" film opens up with Bilbo at his own "going away" party right before he and Frodo leave for the Gray Havens and all of the surviving Fellowship are there as Bilbo begins rambling on and actually narrates the how he met Gandalf and became the company's "burglar." I guess we'll see though.

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Del Toro Talks About HOBBIT Films

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