Del Torro Piloting "Hobbit" Films
One of my favorite directors, Guillermo del Torro ("Pan's Labyrinth," "The Devil's Backbone," Hellboy") is in talks with New Line Cinema to direct the much anticipated book-to-film adaptation of The Hobbit. I truly hope this goes through as his vision of fantasy would be a great fit in this universe. The two films, yes two, will have a combined budget of $300 million (the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy had a budget of $270 million). If you're not familiar with The Hobbit, read this fancy blockquote for a brief overview...and I do mean brief:
Tolkien's 1937 prequel to 'Rings' centered on Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who joins a group of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf on a quest to find the treasure of a dragon named Smaug.
There you go. The first part of "The Hobbit" is expected to come out in 2010, followed by the second half in 2011. Man, that is on hell of a wait, but it should be well worth it. The powers that be have yet to hire a writer, but that process will reportedly be fast tracked once the writer's strike has come to an end.
So, Guillermo del Torro helming "The Hobbit"...good or bad?
Del Toro doubles up for 'Hobbit' [The Hollywood Reporter]
[via DarkHorizons]
Super Timsy
Posted to Movies on 28 January 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: fantasy, guillermo del toro, j.r.r. tolkien, new line cinema, peter jackson, the hobbit
Bad, bad, bad.
I love Del Toro's work. Pan's Labyrinth especially.
Now I've watched the LotR trilogy and they were okay movies, but really I can't stand Tolkien and the simplistic universe he created. Black, white, no shades of grey.
I'd much rather have seen Del Toro on the last Harry Potter movie for which he was rumoured to have professed an interest.
I totally disagree! I'm not a huge LotR fan either, but I think what made the movies worth watching was the darkness and nuance that only a filmmaker as experienced in the macabre as Peter Jackson could bring to the franchise.
Del Toro has already made at least two brilliant, frightening movies about very small heroes who take a stand against very big odds... His whole career is about turning fairy tales or B-movies into something darker and more complex. I see the Hobbit pictures as two more notches in his belt.
(Although I'd rather see his Lovecraft project happen first.)