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http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22440

Exciting.

It's been 'unofficial' but more or less happening for sometime, but glad to hear it is finally official, can not wait!!!!

Titz on Ritz!!!

I thought it was official already.

Oh well. Neat.

It's funny how he looks a bit like Jackson in that photo.

Loved the LOTR movies. Del Toro will do The Hobbit justice I fervently believe that

Well it was 'unofficially' happening before, but Del Toro's schedule - usually distributed by Universal, who were unhappy with him doing a Warner Bros venture - and legal trouble with the Tolkien Estate put things in the shitter. There hadn't been anyword on it for a few months until this was confirmed. I'm just glad Raimi's not involved.

I'm glad Raimi is not involved as well, and I hope Jackson doesn't try to get his paws all over everything. I think they should help Del Toro out at Del Toro's request and not try to control everything.

Del Toro's perfect for something as out there and magically grim as the Hobbit.

If the Del Toro/Jackson partnership works well - which feels like it should - then I'm incredibly optimistic.

Originally posted by Toku King
Del Toro's perfect for something as out there and magically grim as the Hobbit.

Out there and magically grim? Have you read The Hobbit?

This is awesome news!

Another Del Toro movie that I am looking forward to is HP Lovecraft's story At the Mountains of Madness.

Is Jackson going to write the screenplay? I heard an unsubstantiated rumor that he was going to.

It's 'expected' to be Jackson, Walsh and those on the writing team for the trilogy. Be nice if they did, especially after having to juggle so many things with the trilogy, they deserve a job. Just a rumour though.

Originally posted by exanda kane
Out there and magically grim? Have you read The Hobbit?

Yes.

Let me repeat the question because I don't think you understood it; have you even read The Hobbit?

Jackson should be doing this, he did an excellent job with the Trilogy. Not saying Del Toro can't do it well, but why mess with a good thing.

Originally posted by Röland
This is awesome news!

Another Del Toro movie that I am looking forward to is HP Lovecraft's story At the Mountains of Madness.

That should be great. Really good book.

Originally posted by Röland
This is awesome news!

Another Del Toro movie that I am looking forward to is HP Lovecraft's story At the Mountains of Madness.

Me too brother, more than The Hobbit.

Originally posted by Robtard
That should be great. Really good book.
One of my favorite books.
Originally posted by papabeard
Me too brother, more than The Hobbit.
Same here, but I still can't wait for The Hobbit after hearing Del Toro is finally confirmed.

How many movies will The Hobbit be? I keep hearing 3, but, in my opinion, it ought to be 2 movies.

I personally hope it's 3 movies.

Originally posted by exanda kane
Let me repeat the question because I don't think you understood it; have you even read The Hobbit?

YES

Then it what way is it "out there" or "magically grim"? Or did you get a Crocodile in Expression?

So far it's officially 2 films isn't it?

cant wait

So far, there is one film in the works for the Hobbit and one film also happening (for a release date of 2011-2 fingers crossed) that will bridge the gap between the Hobbit and the War of the West-Country Farmers Association. The fact that people here are mentioning 3 or 4 films I haven't heard, but I'm well up for it.

The last book released by Tolkien (published posthumously obviously) was touted by the Tolkien Estate as a good candidate for adaptation last year, but really, all stoppers would have to be out to make a good film; the book was poor and drab.

rumored word that Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are on board -- "all bureaucracy pending."

Del Toro plans to use Peter Jackson's films "as canon," but there will be changes afoot. As Eugene noted earlier, there will be a different color palette for the world of the hobbits, and instead of inundating us with a film full of stunning CGI, Guillermo is anxious to make a lot more use of animatronics.

Will this change only be subtle, or will it look like an entirely new film that only has a few familiar faces? It's certainly possible to make a film that visually fits -- each Harry Potter director has added touches to their films to make them stand out while still creating a cohesive series. However, we've got to keep in mind that the seas haven't been smooth where Peter Jackson and this fantasy world is concerned. Eric Kohn brought up the "smells of George Lucas" thoughts in his post, and you have to wonder if Guillermo will be free to build his world in peace, and if behind-the-scenes issues could tarnish this whole affair.

Found that. I adore the bit about more animatronics.

Oh yeah, I heard that - apparently he spent a little time talking on a Tolkien fansite.

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22453


Now that the worst kept secret in Hollywood is official, i.e. that Guillermo Del Toro is directing The Hobbit and its follow-up, the director is now free to speak about just what he has planned for the Lord of the Rings prequel. Del Toro took the time to speak to fan site TheOneRing.Net over the weekend and revealed a couple of details.

Most encouraging was that he's got Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis all but signed to return as Gandalf and Gollum respectively. Del Toro told us previously that he wanted all the relevant cast members back, but he now says, "I had the most charming meeting with Sir Ian, and all bureaucracy pending, he’s on board, as is Andy Serkis".

Another thing he also discussed briefly was the second film, which is going to be an almost entirely invented chronicle of the time between The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring. The script isn't written yet, obviously, so Del Toro couldn't give details, but he did say:

"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."

There was also one other small point that gladdened our hearts, which had absolutely nothing to do with plot. It was this sentence: "The only thing I will be pushing for more in these films than the other three are full animatronics and animatronic creatures enhanced with CGI, as opposed to CGI creatures themselves. "

The effects in Lord of the Rings were, for the most part, excellent, but no matter how good CGI is, it will never have the charm of animatronics. You can say that animatronics are, on the whole, less convincing than CGI, but really sophisticated animatronics can be just as believable (look at Del Toro's other films) and even less than perfect animatronics have more warmth than slightly dodgy pixel work. A great big robotic Smaug?

Originally posted by exanda kane
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22440

Exciting.

when you said Del Toro, I thought you meant Benicio I was like wtf

More news on the production side. Howard Shore composed the score for the trilogy, obviously, and Alan Lee was the main artist Tolkien endorsed to illustrate his work before his death. Both Lee and John Howe worked on the conceptual design for the film. I'm at a loss as to who the others are however. Still, good to know, though not-unexpected that Del Toro is keeping the team used for the trilogy.

In an interview with The One Ring, del Toro said that "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."

Hearing that he wants to use practical locations instead of CGI makes me very interested

The words of Ian McKellen from an interview yesterday.

“Yes, it’s true,” he said. “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. Obviously, it’s not a part that you turn down, I loved playing Gandalf.”
So he’s happy to be back in the robes again?

“We talk occasionally and he’s looking forward to coming out of retirement, yes,” he said. “Guillermo will be getting around to starting the script in about six weeks when he’s finished filming Hellboy 2.”
The major question on everybody’s lips is what are they going to do with the second film, which takes place directly after The Hobbit and before Fellowship of the Ring?

“Well I’ve read The Hobbit so I’ve got a good idea of what the story would be,” said McKellen. “But 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.”

Damn, I can't wait.

Originally posted by =Tired Hiker=
Damn, I can't wait.

You clearly have an unhealthy fetish for Hobbits.

Originally posted by Robtard
You clearly have an unhealthy fetish for Hobbits.
So many Hobbits, so little time.