Guillermo del Toro is directing "The Hobbit"

[mckracken]

LOS ANGELES - Guillermo del Toro is directing "The Hobbit" and its sequel, New Line Cinema announced Thursday. The 43-year-old filmmaker will move to New Zealand for four years to make the films back-to-back with executive producer Peter Jackson.

Del Toro wrote and directed "Pan's Labyrinth," which earned six Oscar nominations in 2006 and won three awards. He is also the director of the upcoming sequel "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," whose monsters bear the unmistakeable surreal vision of the Mexican-born filmmaker.

"I am indeed blessed to become a part of the filmmaking community that Peter, Fran and their extraordinary team of collaborators have created in New Zealand," del Toro said in a statement. "Contributing to the 'Lord of the Rings' legacy is an absolute dream come true."

Jackson and Walsh called del Toro "a cinematic magician who has never lost his childlike sense of wonder."

"We have long admired Guillermo's work and cannot think of a more inspired filmmaker to take the journey back to Middle-Earth," they said in a statement.

Jackson co-wrote, co-produced and directed the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which won 17 Oscar and 30 nominations.
-------------
dont know why, but this just hit Yahoo news like 30 minutes ago. i thought New Line Cinema was defunct?

[fastcar]

I wonder if he'll lose a ton of pounds on Weta Watchers, just like Jackson did?

[Jakester]

Wow. Allow me to be completely unsurprised.
He and Jackson together will utterly kick ass.

[Trazalca]

http://www.theargonath.cc/characters/gandalf/animations/gandalffotr7.gifhttp://www.theargonath.cc/characters/gandalf/animations/gandalffotr7.gifhttp://www.theargonath.cc/characters/gandalf/animations/gandalffotr7.gifhttp://www.theargonath.cc/characters/gandalf/animations/gandalffotr7.gif

:D :D :D

[mckracken]

Traz... i love that image!

[Bill_the_Pony]

Why is that picture of the sexy Zion rave scene from Matrix Reloaded in this thread? :confused:

[Strider]

Here is a nice little interview with del Toro about The Hobbit. (http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2008/04/25/28747-guillermo-del-toro-chats-with-torn-about-the-hobbit-films/)

A couple relevant quotes:
You’ll be using WETA Digital for the effects?

GDT: Yes, the essential elements for keeping continuity are on track, in the last few weeks I’ve been chatting with a ton of people via email, phone, and in person from the previous films. People like Andy Serkis, Sir Ian McKellen, Howard Shore, John Howe, Gino Acevedo, Richard Taylor next week I’m meeting Alan Lee. I’m doing this to ensure that whatever we do we keep continuity with the other films, yes it’s a world that is slightly more golden at the beginning, a very innocent environment.

What I’m trying to do is keep the elements in place but allow you to feel a progression from ‘The Hobbit’ until ‘The Return of the King’. I believe ‘The Hobbit’ is a very crucial volume in The Lord of the Rings, it is a narrative that starts out very much in an innocent and golden way. It is permeated from England going through World War One, so there is a loss of innocence and a darker tone as the book and the film progresses. We’ll be doing that in the first film, taking you from a time of more purity to a darker reality throughout the film, but I think that is in the spirit of the book. All these guys, Alan Lee, John Howe, these guys are integral for us to map out that progress in the two movies, and allow you to completely blend in to the universe that is already in place. But this will be a progression, it should not feel at the start of the film that this is the same time (as the beginning of ‘Fellowship’). 50 years in Shire time, is not the same as 50 years in human time, if you think about how our world has changed in only 7 or 8 years, you can think of it as decades of turmoil, those 50 years in Middle-earth.What will differ from your films versus Peter’s?

The only thing I will be pushing for more in these films that the other three are full animatronics and animatronic creatures enhanced with CGI, as opposed to CGI creatures themselves. We really want to take the state-of-the-art animatronics and take a leap ten years into the future with the technology we will develop for the creatures in the movie. We have every intention to do for animatronics and special effects what the other films did for virtual reality.

Another thing people will notice, at the beginning of the film will be the palette, that will be slightly different, the world will be the same but it will be a more ‘golden’ world, a more wide-eyed world. But by no means will we depart from the canon, we will take the three previous films as canon. When I become part of a world that I love, such as this, I really come with a lot of enthusiasm and hard work, and we know we are recreating and creating a world that is part of the mythos of millions of people and we will approach it as passionately and respectfully as it needs to be taken.

[neglet]

The line starts behind me.

[whitetemplar78]

oh, I will be cutting into line, for this movie, im willing to sell organs, or souls to see it first...sorry, but I still have love for everyone....that are behind me in line!!!

[Still Crazy]

You'll have to fight me in the line. I have kooties, just be warned. Oh and I have it on good authority that I am psychopathic, or at least this is why I go to therapy, so I have a valid excuse for the courts. Planning ahead is half the battle.

[neglet]

I reiterate:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/neglet/tkd%20spring%2008/P1030084.jpg

The line starts behind ME.

[KingVoyeur]

Yes'm! http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/aktion/action-smiley-073.gif

[Strider]

Humph. I'll lead the line, thank you. At least I have a Tolkien-related username. :p

[mckracken]

i'll stand behind Negs. :)

[Penfold]

And now Ian McKellen is back on as Gandalf.

[Trazalca]

Um, sorry folks. My youngest son's middle name is Aragorn.
It's on his birth certificate. That's the king, baby.
So by association, that puts me in line first.
So please be so kind as to step aside? Thank you.

Sorry Negs. Royalty trumps your well-earned belt. :p

[neglet]

Fine, you can get in line in front of me. That way you can buy my ticket. :D

[Bill_the_Pony]

Well, I , Bill the Pony, have been immortalized in polystone by Sideshow Weta, as an ancillary albiet a well-loved character from Book One. :smirk:

Therefore, I should be first in line, as in all likelihood, you will agree. :)


Stand aside, please. :smirk:

[TrekSucksHard]

I'm in the minority here but I find LOTR overrated- the only part of the trilogy I really enjoyed was the Two Towers but by the time Return of the King came around it became a repetitive drag- I hope they try something new cuz my anticipation of this is quite low...

[Bill_the_Pony]

That's nice! :)

[mckracken]

yes Trek L.O.T.R. = LOUD OVERRATED TERRIBLE RETORIC i dont know how many times one person can watch Peter Jackson's inane movies over and over, like take King Kong, i watched that once but to endlessly devote another 3 hours of my life to it again and again? Hell, i'd rather watch Phantom Menace, Bloodrayne or Alvin and Chipmunks over King Kong or LOTR sequels.
i feel your pain, the next time somebody asks me to watch Return of the King again, i'll tell them I'm sorry i cant attend i'm having my gallstones removed instead.

[Bill_the_Pony]

edited by me. :)

[Lavoruis]

I don't I care view these movies in a theater
My ass will fall asleep.
Being that said I really don't see the point ,
of making these prequels?
Billbo finds a ring, Golem goes.. crazy
I have cartoon I am sure they left some out?
but not enough, for me to wet my pants !
in excitement like some here?

[Bill_the_Pony]

http://a750.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/10/m_0245defe1892f26dfaaa2b1e1b3d48f5.gif

[TrekSucksHard]

edited by me. :)

Tell us what you really feel- come on, don't be shy. :D

[Bill_the_Pony]

Well, I'll be polite, and sum things up by saying that it's nice to see that you three guys can forge a bond over a common cause. :)



http://a635.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/98/m_c424ab711da2e50766b6b44269824e2a.gif













http://a421.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/75/m_1fa66106250e49b7515b66cedf4045d4.gif

[Strider]

I am excited because The Hobbit is still one of my favorite books. I loved it as a kid, and I love it now. I can't wait to see it on the big screen.

I'm not so sure about the "bridge" movie though. I think they should just stick to The Hobbit.

[TrekSucksHard]

Well, I'll be polite, and sum things up by saying that it's nice to see that you three guys can forge a bond over a common cause. :)
There's nothing wrong with a difference of opinion- especially since we're right. :smirk:

[mckracken]

no...I'm right... forget everybody else... its al me, I'm right... dont look at the cat wearing headphones.

[Bill_the_Pony]

Oh, THERE you are, McKracken. :)


You come back here, now, you nutty little......


....well, nut. :Dunno:

















It's time for your medicine. :mad:

http://a584.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/23/l_46a2014e3a63629a41d4f397628d8327.jpg

[Jakester]

Um...seriously. The line should start behind me, because, really, do any of you trust me to be behind you? Except for Mouthwash Man, I wouldn't fuck him with a stolen dick.

[Lavoruis]

I guess I found The Dick Bandit,
I have now turned you into Americas Most Wanted.
The streets are safe once again
at least the bulls no longer have live in fear.
You, Cannibal!