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.
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?
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."
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.”
KMC Community Forums
Apr 26th, 2008 07:01 PM
I was like wtf 
