the vynsane asylum

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:54 pm**

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf the Wizard in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, is hoping to reprise the role in another tale from Middle Earth. 

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A fan asked McKellen on the actor's official Web site if he would play the role of Gandalf in "The Hobbit," which is being produced by Peter Jackson, director of the "Rings" trilogy.

"Yes, I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor," McKellen, 68, said in a reply dated Wednesday.

Jackson reached a deal with New Line Cinema late last year to make two films of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned prequel to the blockbuster "Rings" trilogy. Jackson will serve as executive producer for the "Hobbit" movies.

Another fan asked: "Have you been approached yet by Peter Jackson or anyone else" to play the ancient Wizard?

McKellen replied: "Encouragingly, Peter and (partner) Fran Walsh have told me they couldn't imagine `The Hobbit' without their original Gandalf."

"Their confidence hasn't yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro, but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!" he said.

Del Toro's manager, Gary Ungar, told The Associated Press on Friday that del Toro, director of "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Hellboy," is being considered for the "Hobbit" films.

"It's still under discussion, (but) yes," he said.

He declined to give any details, but when asked about an announcement timeline, he said: "I hope it resolves soon. .... Everybody has to agree in everything."

McKellen recently turned down the role of Turdeto in the Rogue II-Mabudon production of Poo-Men: Rise of the Silver Pooper.

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:11 pm**

Y'know what ruins a film franchise?

Prequels...

Posted: **Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:12 am**

RoIIo Tomassi wrote:Y'know what ruins a film franchise?

Prequels...

I'm not big on the fact that they're splitting it into two movies, same as Harry Potter 7. It seems less like an artistic decision and more like a monetary one.

Posted: **Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:13 pm**

A well done Hobbit would be as long as a LOTR movie... and thus a little tough to swallow for the younger kids the story is supposedly aimed at. The book was written to lure younger ones into the realm of LOTR, from what I've read, and I'd like to use the movies to introduce my son to that series (provided it comes about before he's 8 or 9 and wants to see the LOTR ones). I'm fine with 2 movies, as long as they're more kid friendly with respect to running times and overt violence.

Posted: **Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:27 pm**

Senor JabbaJohnL wrote:
RoIIo Tomassi wrote:Y'know what ruins a film franchise?

Prequels...
I'm not big on the fact that they're splitting it into two movies, same as Harry Potter 7. It seems less like an artistic decision and more like a monetary one.

Oh... I dunno... Tolks packed a lot into that one little book, and truthfully, as much as they had to truncate the books to make LOTR (at least the theatrical versions), I can live with the Hobbit taking its sweet time unfurling, especially since that will likely be it for Middle Earth.

I think del Toro is an excellent choice for a director as well. I am looking forward to this one, especially since I always preferred the Hobbit to LOTR. *POSSIBLE SPOILER* It would be swell to have a flashback to the business in Dol Gulder on the edge of Mirkwood actually shown in flashback, with the White Council giving the beatdown to Sauron, sending him to Minas Morgul.

Posted: **Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:32 pm**

As long as they don't cut out Beorn, it should rule.

Posted: **Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:48 pm**

Beorn should be played by James Earl Jones.

The Bard (?) should be Sean Connery...

Posted: **Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:58 pm**

They should also somehow work in Tom Bombadillo, since they cut him out of FOTR.

Posted: **Mon May 31, 2010 5:31 pm**

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Hollywood director Guillermo del Toro said Monday that production delays have forced him to quit the planned film version of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a two-part prequel to New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson's blockbuster trilogy "Lord of the Rings."

"In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming The Hobbit, I am faced with the hardest decision of my life," del Toro told a "Lord of the Rings" fan website.

"After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures," he said, noting the film still hadn't been given the green light by MGM, the struggling Hollywood studio.

Matt Dravitzki, a spokesman for "Hobbit" producer and "Lord Of The Rings" director Jackson, said del Toro would not be speaking to reporters Monday.

The announcement by del Toro reflected Jackson and del Toro's "full sentiments at this time," he said.

Del Toro would continue to co-write the screenplays with Jackson and his wife, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens.

Jackson reached a deal in late 2007 to make two films of "The Hobbit." He is serving as joint executive producer with Walsh.

Last week, del Toro, who directed "Pan's Labyrinth," "Blade II" and the two "Hellboy" movies, told journalists the "Hobbit" films, which have been plagued by delays, still hadn't been given the go ahead.

"There cannot be any start dates until the MGM situation gets resolved," del Toro said. "They do hold a considerable portion of the rights."

Reports emerged late last year that MGM was teetering on bankruptcy and del Toro said those issues had caught the "Hobbit" films in a "tangled negotiation."

"We have designed all the creatures. We've designed the sets and the wardrobe. We have done animatics and planned battles sequences ... We are very, very prepared for when it is finally triggered," he said.

Jackson told http://www.TheOneRing.net: "We feel very sad to see Guillermo leave The Hobbit, but he has kept us fully in the loop and we understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone's control, has compromised his commitment to other long term projects.

"The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn't feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years. Guillermo is one of the most remarkable creative spirits I've ever encountered and it has been a complete joy working with him."

He would discuss options for a new director with MGM this week, Jackson told the website.

"We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing preproduction work," he said.

Last month, Jackson dismissed rumors that the "Hobbit" movies have been delayed by production problems, insisting the project was still in its early stages.

He told Moviefone.com, "Well, it's not really been delayed, because we've never announced the date. I mean it's sort of interesting because the studio has never greenlit The Hobbit, so therefore The Hobbit has never been officially announced as a 'go' project, nor have we ever announced a date."

Maybe they can get Michael Bay to direct it.

Posted: **Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:37 pm**

Bay's response is/was

"Whoa whoa whoa, I read the script and some of these characters are 2-dimensional or even 3-dimensional. They feel like real people to me. I would have to do an extensive rewrite and get rid of a bunch of the dimensions. And what's with all the short people? That's not sexy. I'm gonna replace all these "dwarfs" and shit with hot eye candy. And also, I'm not exactly thrilled with the "location" of the story. Middle Earth? Middle East? What is this, a liberal propaganda film? Fuck that. American Flags EVERYWHERE and lots of stock shots of aircraft carriers and stuff. Because I want to be subtle, but at the same time I want to hammer it over everyone's head that AMERICA FUCKING ROCKS and so does doing blow off of some underage girl's ass."

Posted: **Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:20 pm**

You can be forgiven for being skeptical that "The Hobbit" will ever be made. Back in October 2007, Entertainment Weekly announced on its cover that Peter Jackson would be putting together a prequel to his "Lord of the Rings" films based on the J. R. R. Tolkien book series. Since then, everything has gone wrong: Jackson sued New Line over the rights to the film; the Tolkien family then sued them as well; MGM, one of the two studios planning to distribute the film, ran into the money woes (which are also holding up the James Bond films); Guillermo Del Toro, who was supposed to direct, worked with Jackson for two years before dropping out last May and handing the reins back to him. With Jackson taking over, and Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and Hugo Weaving signed on to reprise their roles, the film was expected to finally be back on schedule.

But now Jackson has a more serious problem: The International Federation of Actors, along with the Screen Actors Guild, is discouraging actors to work on the film because of the non-union labor in New Zealand. This is serious business for SAG: Essentially, actors who work on the film, like McKellen and Weaving, would be in violation of the union's bylaws and subject to expulsion from the union. The Hollywood Reporter notes just how rare it is for SAG to be so strident about a big-studio picture.

Jackson isn't happy about it, according to BBC News:

Jackson said the wrangle was a "grab for power" and "an attempt by the "Australian bully-boy" to exert influence over New Zealand's film industry. "It feels as if we have a large Aussie cousin kicking sand in our eyes... or to put it another way, opportunists exploiting our film for their own political gain."

Jackson has threatened to move the filming to Eastern Europe, which would seem to lack the breathtaking vistas that made the "Lord of the Rings" films look like they really did take place in a fantasy world. It's a bit strange to see Jackson, one of the wealthiest filmmakers on the planet, complaining about having sand kicked in his eyes, and it's starting to look like the project is taking a toll on him. (It doesn't help that "The Lovely Bones" was a critical and commercial disappointment.) It's also worth noting that the weakest scenes in the "Lord of the Rings" movies take place in the shire where the hobbits live; basing two whole movies on just hobbit-land would seem far from the financial slam-dunk that the previous three movies were.

But considering the tortured history of "The Hobbit," it's more than a little likely that, three years from now, we'll be writing about how Peter Jackson is still trying to get "The Hobbit" off the ground.

At this rate, most of you will be getting Social Security by the time the movie gets made. Oh wait, your generation won't be getting Social Security. I guess you all are boned.

Posted: **Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:19 pm**

I enjoyed The Lovely Bones.

Posted: **Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:21 pm**

The weakest scenes were in the Shire? WTF you smoking, Newsie? First, there are no weak scenes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's like the original Star Wars trilogy in that respect. Second, you mean to tell me that the couple of minutes of setup in the beginning and the emotionally devastating finale were "weak"?

You need some reprogramming, foo.

Posted: **Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:06 am**

Sleazer wrote:I enjoyed The Lovely Bones.

That sounds dirty.

Oh, and hurry the fuck up and make the Hobbit movies already.

Posted: **Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:36 am**

Someone needs to defrag Newsbot.

If they got the main characters signed, can't they just CGI the rest of the characters in?

the vynsane asylum

McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

Re: McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

Re: McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

Re: McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

Re: McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

Re: McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

Re: McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

Re: McKellen hopes for role in `Hobbit'

Director quits 'Hobbit' film over production delay

Re: Director quits 'Hobbit' film over production delay

Peter Jackson Running Into Union Trouble on 'The Hobbit'

Re: Director quits 'Hobbit' film over production delay

Re: Director quits 'Hobbit' film over production delay

Re: Director quits 'Hobbit' film over production delay

Re: Director quits 'Hobbit' film over production delay