Ever since Peter Jackson and company made the blockbuster movie adaptation of Lord of the Rings, Tolkien fans have longed to see "The Hobbit" come to the screen. Now we will be getting our wish. On Thursday Guillermo Del Toro officially announced that he will direct, and Jackson will produce, the prequel. For several years, the following spoof (that fooled some fans into thinking that it would really be released in 2006, I even got into several heated arguments with friends over this!) which is a mix of scenes from 1981's "Dragonslayer" and "Fellowship" just goes to show how cool imagining a live action "Hobbit" movie would be like:
Many of us fantasy fans grew up with an animated version of "The Hobbit" that doesn't capture the book as well as live action could. Back in the 1970's, fantasy and science fiction was still kid's stuff. For those of you who want to take a peek back, watch the following clip of the original animated movie:
Scenes and character portrayals ran into the "cutesy" zone with this animated movie, but no matter how corny the animation, many vocal performances were so endearing that I missed the spider talking in the live action "Return of the King!" And to this day I still think Smaug (the dragon) is cuddly and all he needed was a good hug or cup of hot cocoa. My friend, Miya, even had (and probably still has) a plush version of Bilbo Baggins that plays the song "The Greatest Adventure..." when you hug him. That might all change once we see "The Hobbit" come to life on the screen.
And, I'm sure, to those who are not in the know are going to consider "The Hobbit" movie a "sequel" to LOTR, but in reality it's a prequel in two parts that will be released in 2010-12. Teaming up with Peter Jackson this time is Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro who kinda looks like a big fluffy hobbit himself! If you look at his filmography, I think fans will agree that he's the best choice to lend his artistic vision to the Tolkien film adapations. What do you think?
They are making two more middle earth movies: One based on the Hobbit and one set between the Hobbit and The Fellowship of the rings.
For those of you that think the second movie will just be filler, think again. Ever read the appendices (Appendixes?...) to the Lord of the Rings? Or even the Similarion...there is a lot of history there that Tolkien didn't put in Prose form.
Peter Jackson will be producing, with Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy) Directing.
Weta Digital is doing the Special effects once again...weeee!
There is still hope my friends! Peter Jackson still has a chance to direct The Hobbit. New Line's rights to The Hobbit run out next year. If they don't make the movie by that time the rights fall back to MGM and producer Saul Zaentz. Zaentz said that if he and his studio get the rights to the movie Jackson would be the first choice for the film. Although nothing has been written up for sure between Jackson and MGM, Zaentz is quite sure that Jackson would be willing to work on the film for MGM. He said that Jackson knows he would get paid fairly from MGM. One question though is if Jackson would want to do it. After working on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, Jackson and his creative team might not want to do another large scale movie. Here's hoping that Jackson does get to direct.
Also, I watched Inside Man. It was good and I love Clive Owen. It almost makes me want to watch King Arthur again, but I know that it won't be any better. I bought John Carpenter's The Thing and Monster House too. The Thing was really good I thought. And I enjoy Monster House.
