I'd dearly like to see a good H.P.Lovecraft movie.

Del Toro does seem like the one to do it, considering the influence Lovecraft has had on his other work. Though we'll all have to wait for him to give us his take on Middle Earth (if he gets the job) before we get to see what he does with Lovecraft.

I did like Re-Animator, somewhat, but I don't know if you'd count that or not.

Fully in agreement here.

Actually, I hated Heavenly Creatures but really liked The Frighteners, so I didn't know what to expect. Especially because I wasn't aware of his earlier work.

I do hope Del Toro allows PJ to guide or influence him; because if you watch all the behind-the-scenes stuff on the LOTR DVDs, you can really see how PJ lived & breathed the world of Tolkien. It'd be remiss of Del Toro not to grab hold of all that knowledge & intimate experience that PJ & co. have of the subject matter.

Feel the love.
dolfyn.

Personally I really enjoy Del Toro movies, I may like his vision more than Peter Jacksons? Who knows what will happen though.

Well, apparently it's official...

zexy

Splendid. I'm really looking forward to seeing a different director's take on Tolkien's world. Would be very interested to see what happens as far as the cast goes.

Are Weta committed?

They work very hard.

*sniggers*

It's also on IMDB as well...

Since they are Peter Jackson's company it would seem so.

I'm dead excited about this now. Not that I wasn't before, but I think that Del Toro really is the best possible choice for The Hobbit.

I done a laugh.

He is the best choice, after PJ himself.

I really hope MacKellan plays Gandalf, that is something that needs to happen.

^ Agreed. It'd just be wrong having anyone else play that role.



Del Toro looks quite a bit like PJ in the photo, pre-weight-loss of course.

Feel the love.
dolfyn.

I disagree. I'm as much of a fan of LOTR as anyone else on here, yet I can respect the fact that 'The Hobbit' is a separate (albeit related) story that would benefit from a fresh perspective. If anything, Del Toro will take his cues from Tolkien, and this will give the film some similarities to the LOTR trilogy anyway. Yes, PJ and co did a mountain of research and have a huge passion for the stories, but Del Toro would not have committed if he did not have his own fresh ideas and passion for the story. Also, for PJs sake, I think he needs to remove himself a bit and do some different work.


And I thought 'Heavenly Creatures' was ace.

I think it will have the "feel" of the Trilogy... If nothing else, it will need the continuity... And yes, I think you would have to have IM as Gandalf...

I also think that a fresh perspective is needed since the stories are quite different. Sure, they take place in the same world, but tonally and in terms of the importance of the events (within the context of the books themselves, that is. We all know that The Hobbit has important ramifications for Lord of the Rings) they're miles apart. Del Toro's best work (Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone and, to an extent, Hellboy (shhhh, it's brilliant)) is about small, personal stories occurring against big backdrops which is pretty much what The Hobbit is; it's a quite slight, light and airy tale about a journey that hints at bigger things happening elsewhere, mainly to do with all the stuff Gandalf gets up to when he's not with Bilbo and co. The addition of material from other sources will help flesh it out, but ultimately the two stories are quite different to each other and a new eye is needed to tell that particular story.

Of course, since both came from Tolkien and both will have many of the same creative forces behind them they will have a sense of continuity, but there is the possibility there for The Hobbit to stand as its own separate story, rather than just a prelude.

I have every confidence in Del Toro to make it great.

I sort of think it'll be like how the Harry Potter films work (but obviously not shite) ... what I mean is that they all are confined to the same environment as the other films, but each director can give it their own feel... in theory.

LOTR trilogy has created what Middle Earth and its inhabitants look like, how it sounds etc but there is a hell of a lot of space in The Hobbit as a story and for example, with many of the locations being ones we have not been to before (etc etc), for Del Toro to completely make it completely his own without having to drastically alter what has already been created as Middle Earth by PJ and his team.

At the end of the day, PJ is involved still and these films not only have to stand as their own, which I have no doubt they, but will also be expected to fit beside the LOTR trilogy as a nice 50 hours long 5 film bonanza without feeling disjointed.

^ That's my biggest concern, that it would be disjointed. The LOTR movies were so awesome, it would be a shame if these next couple of movies didn't live up to them & even tarnished them. I don't want to live through another Star Wars disappointment!

Anyway, here's hoping it works out well, whatever happens.

Feel the love.
dolfyn.

I don't think that would be the case. I think it will be more like ESB or ROTJ... different directors, but still great films...

I do wonder, though, what would ROTJ have been like had David Lynch accepted the alleged offer to direct it?

Dennis Hopper as The Emperor would have been interesting...

Tolkien estate sues new Line

Well that could fuck things up a bit.

New Line needs to fucking sort it out. As the article says, this is the third thing that comes up. They really need to keep a better handle on what they're doing and who's been promised what, and either give them their due or be in a position to quickly and firmly tell them to bollocks. I'm sure it's a very large and complex deal, but it's someone's job to be on top of it.

Heehee. I love this phrase. So very Notts.

*sigh*
Money turns things ugly so quickly & so often. It reminds me of some odd looking creatures, fighting over a ring....

You'd think New Line could sort these things out more quickly & easily with $6 billion in their pocket!

Feel the love.
dolfyn.

McKellen 'very likely' to return as Gandalf.

Yay! I wonder if they will have Hugo Weaving back as Elrond as well?

That's bloody good news...

I would have thought that they should... after all, they should be going with as MUCH continuity with the trinity as possible!

Hope so.

I was thinking about it the other dy and it's going to be really odd to see what kind of atmosphere Del Toro creates. Also has it been confirmed whether Weta are doing the effects again? It'd be odd to see a different Gollum etc.

They'd be mad not to, with all of the above. Pissing off your fan-base is never a good idea. Are you listening, Lucas??!!!

Feel the (Hobbit-y) love.
dolfyn.

It would seem that Guillermo del Toro has the directors seat for The Hobbit with Jackson in the producers seat.

I wonder who Perlman's going to be playing?

Hellboy? I can see it all now

The archer chap that kills Smaug?

I can't believe that someone at work got angry when I said that - Guillermo and Ron work well together, I'd think the chances are high that he'd be involved at some level. And too right, because Perlman's great.

Beorn.

Chat with Guillermo at The One Ring - yes to more animatronics and less CG! Plus Serkis, McKellen practically confirmed.

Yes, that would be a more obvious choice!

ETA:

I hope they get Ian Holm back for Bilbo as well.

That interview has made me all excited

Well, Del Toro's laid a lot of my apprehension to rest. He sounds like he's got the same approach as PJ, & they'll be working very much together on it. This makes me happy.

Feel the love.
dolfyn.

Don't you think he'd be a bit old now?

Probably, but I've always though of Bilbo as being a bit of a fussy old man anyway, so I think he would be okay.

I suppose. I must admit that I do like Ian Holm and would have liked to have seen him going "there and back again"...

I forget... Does Aragorn feature in The Hobbit?

No, but I suspect he will be worked into the second film, there's quite a bit of back story from LotR's they could use in a prequel.

I don't think Viggo would need much pursuading!!!

^ Agreed. It's the role he was born to play.

Feel the love.
dolfyn.

Depends what he's doing, I suppose. Though he doesn't seem like someone who, having gone on to better things, artistically speaking, would decline to return to the role that made his name.

Well, I hope so... I'd love to see him donning the coat and sword again!