﻿<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:spout="http://www.spout.com/schemas/rss/core/2006" xmlns:cf="http://www.microsoft.com/schemas/rss/core/2005">
  <channel>
    <cf:treatAs>list</cf:treatAs>
    <cf:listinfo>
      <cf:group element="type" label="Type" ns="http://www.spout.com/schemas/rss/core/2006" data-type="text" />
    </cf:listinfo>
    <title>The Hobbit's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
    <link>http://www.spout.com/</link>
    <description>Recent community activity around The Hobbit on Spout</description>
    <copyright>Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC</copyright>
    <generator>Spout RSS</generator>
    <image>
      <url>http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg</url>
      <title>The Hobbit's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/</link>
      <width>136</width>
      <height>30</height>
    </image>
    <item>
      <title>Film:The Hobbit</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/films/The_Hobbit/359329/default.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<table width='100%' style='font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><tr><td><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/images/no_image.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' /></td>
<td>
<strong>Title:</strong> The Hobbit<br/>
<strong>Year:</strong> 2010<br/>
<strong>Director:</strong> Guillermo del Toro<br/>
<strong>Plot:</strong> The creative team behind the <a href="http://www.spout.com/films/20854/detail.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Lord of the Rings</a> trilogy return to Middle Earth with this adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic precursor The Hobbit. <a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P____95689/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Peter Jackson</a> and <a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P___194445/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Fran Walsh</a> executive produce the New Line Cinema/MGM joint production, which will be shot simultaneously with a sequel film culled from various pieces of the author's work. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide<br/>
<strong>Number of Lists:</strong> 1<br/>
<strong>Number of blog posts:</strong> 4<br/>
</td></tr></table>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:02:07 GMT</pubDate><spout:Title>The Hobbit</spout:Title><spout:Year>2010</spout:Year><spout:Director>Guillermo del Toro</spout:Director><spout:Plot>The creative team behind the &lt;a href="http://www.spout.com/films/20854/detail.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Lord of the Rings&lt;/a&gt; trilogy return to Middle Earth with this adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic precursor The Hobbit. &lt;a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P____95689/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Peter Jackson&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P___194445/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Fran Walsh&lt;/a&gt; executive produce the New Line Cinema/MGM joint production, which will be shot simultaneously with a sequel film culled from various pieces of the author's work. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide</spout:Plot><spout:Numberoflists>1</spout:Numberoflists><spout:NumberOfBlogPosts>4</spout:NumberOfBlogPosts><spout:FilmCoverURL>http://www.spout.com/images/no_image.jpg</spout:FilmCoverURL><spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL>http://www.spout.com/films/The_Hobbit/359329/default.aspx</spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL><spout:type>Film</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Guillermo del Toro To Combine All Reported Projects Into One SuperMetaFilm!!!</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/18/37413.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 11/18/2008 4:02:07 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> 
Nerds the world over have been juggling feelings of confusion and excitement over the laundry list of projects reportedly attached to their favored son, Guillermo del Toro. The list of films he is rumored (if not confirmed) to direct and/or produce are as follows: The Hobbit, Pinocchio, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Slaughterhouse-Five, At the Mountains of Madness, The Champions, Drood, Frankenstein, Hellboy III, Hater, Crimson Peak, Dr. Strange, and a segment of a new Heavy Metal film.
Many have wondered how it’s possible to have so many irons in the fire. Is he going to shoot Frankenstein on his cell phone during the 14-hour flight from New Zealand after meeting with Peter Jackson? Is the Heavy Metal segment just going to be a deleted scene from Hellboy III? No, the truth is much more exciting. Del Toro recently lost one of his legendary sketchbooks, in which he constantly records his many ideas. We have obtained that sketchbook. Amid the detailed sketches of demons, faeries, and man-eating toads, we found the secret to his insane schedule: All thirteen aforementioned projects are actually a single film. A fantastic eight-hour epic the likes of which cinema has never seen!
The following is the pitch Mr. del Toro delivered to the executives of Universal Studios, as transcribed in his sketchbook:

The Adventures of Dr. Billy Bilocchihydstein, Re-Animated Puppet-Demon of the Shire
The film opens with a title card that reads, “Billy Bilocchihydstein has become unstuck in time.” Fade to Billy sitting alone on a crowded train, scribbling in a notebook while muttering to himself. The décor suggests it is the late nineteenth century. Exterior shots reveal the train is traveling through a foreboding mountain pass. While writing, Billy’s left hand reaches into his knapsack, seemingly of its own accord, before being snatched by the right hand. He curses himself. This struggle for self-control continues until Billy finally snatches the bag and runs to the lavatory. Once inside, he pulls out a small, unlabeled phial and frantically imbibes its contents. We watch as the small, unimposing figure transform into a huge flaming demon. Eyes alight with rage, Billy explodes from the train, savagely thrashing until the entire string of cars careens off a rail bridge to the icy valley below. The camera follows the demon as he falls, zooming in on his face. While falling he transforms into his original self, the look of rage melting into an expression of remorse and terror.
Before he hits the ground, we cut to different tight shot of Billy’s face, younger, but with a similarly distraught expression. Billy seems as surprised as we are at this sudden change of venue. The camera zooms out to reveal that while Billy’s face is full of life, his head is not attached to his body. His body, in fact, is nothing more than a pile of desiccated limbs and various parts strewn about an iron table. We see that there are two figures examining the parts. The first, an offish man, says, “Master, I got the mummified demon parts you wanted.” The second, much shorter, with hairy bare feet, a white lab coat and ruffled white hair says, “Excellent. These should do nicely. This will be the finest marionette the Shire has ever seen!”
Cut to Billy’s eyes opening. Zoom out to reveal he is on his back in a snow bank. He rises to see the burning wreckage of the train all around him. A few survivors whimper and wail, but most are dead. His remorse turns to rage as he looks to the sky and screams “Whyyyy!?!”
Inconsolable in his murderous self-hatred, the next hour of the film follows Billy as he rampages through London in his demon form. The authorities are powerless to stop him. Eventually he grows tired and retreats to the wilderness. While weeping in a cave he is visited by a glowing blue faerie. The faerie asks him what’s wrong, and Billy explains that all he really wants is to be a real hobbit, like his creator, Dr. Geppetto. Billy tells the faerie about how he engineered a serum to transform himself into a hobbit, but instead it turns him into a raging demon, and now he’s hopelessly addicted to the high. The faerie explains that he can become a real hobbit if he proves himself by being “brave, truthful, and unselfish.”
Billy sets off on a quest for self-improvement. Along the way he meets many fascinating characters, and hears word of a magical being that may be able to help him. High in a mountain cave lives Jiminidalf The Ancient One, an alien from the planet Tralfamadore who normally exists in the 12th dimension, but has taken the Earthly form of cricket. Billy finds Jiminidalf and is trained in both magical and martial arts. He gains a sense of purpose and self-control. He vows to use his demon form for good.
Throughout the film to this point, there have been intermittent cuts to an older Billy with a crowd of people in some sort of bunker. At first it’s not clear what’s going on, but eventually we see more of the scene: people are terrified, there are frequent booming noises, and large slabs of beef hang in the cool room. Billy explains to Jiminidalf that he is unstuck in time, and that in the future he will survive the firebombing of Dresden as a World War II POW, holed up in an underground meat locker. Due to his unique ability to accidentally time-travel, he frequently lapses into his future consciousness. This ads to his frustration, because while he experiences the future quite frequently, he is powerless to stop the coming terror. Jiminidalf convinces him that he is not powerless. With his newfound powers he can prevent the bombing of Dresden, save innocent lives, and spare some of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western World from destruction. He can even harness his time traveling ability and prevent the train wreck that led him down a path to madness!
In a blink Billy is in the meat locker beneath Dresden. With a renewed look of vigor in his eye, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phial. He gulps down the contents, assumes demon form, and bursts forth from the bunker. Flying on flaming wings, he zeroes in on the incoming Allied bombers. To his dismay he finds that the Allied planes are defended by a fierce dragon. Through a montage we learn that several decades ago, British archeologists uncovered a live baby dragon while excavating an ancient castle. The Royal Air Force then trained it to defend their fleet during bombing raids. The battle between the demon and the dragon rages through the burning city. Things do not look good for Billy. Bested, he resigns himself to succumb to a final deathblow from the beast. But before the final strike can land, Billy again becomes unstuck in time, in a blink his consciousness shifts back to the moment of his origin. He is once again a severed head on a table. He hears Dr. Geppetto echo his familiar refrain, “This will be the finest marionette the Shire has ever seen!” A single tear rolls down Billy’s cheek. He will never become a real Hobbit. He is forever imprisoned to his failed existence, unable to overcome his predetermined fate.
Roll credits.
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:02:07 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>11/18/2008 4:02:07 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>
Nerds the world over have been juggling feelings of confusion and excitement over the laundry list of projects reportedly attached to their favored son, Guillermo del Toro. The list of films he is rumored (if not confirmed) to direct and/or produce are as follows: The Hobbit, Pinocchio, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Slaughterhouse-Five, At the Mountains of Madness, The Champions, Drood, Frankenstein, Hellboy III, Hater, Crimson Peak, Dr. Strange, and a segment of a new Heavy Metal film.
Many have wondered how it’s possible to have so many irons in the fire. Is he going to shoot Frankenstein on his cell phone during the 14-hour flight from New Zealand after meeting with Peter Jackson? Is the Heavy Metal segment just going to be a deleted scene from Hellboy III? No, the truth is much more exciting. Del Toro recently lost one of his legendary sketchbooks, in which he constantly records his many ideas. We have obtained that sketchbook. Amid the detailed sketches of demons, faeries, and man-eating toads, we found the secret to his insane schedule: All thirteen aforementioned projects are actually a single film. A fantastic eight-hour epic the likes of which cinema has never seen!
The following is the pitch Mr. del Toro delivered to the executives of Universal Studios, as transcribed in his sketchbook:

The Adventures of Dr. Billy Bilocchihydstein, Re-Animated Puppet-Demon of the Shire
The film opens with a title card that reads, “Billy Bilocchihydstein has become unstuck in time.” Fade to Billy sitting alone on a crowded train, scribbling in a notebook while muttering to himself. The décor suggests it is the late nineteenth century. Exterior shots reveal the train is traveling through a foreboding mountain pass. While writing, Billy’s left hand reaches into his knapsack, seemingly of its own accord, before being snatched by the right hand. He curses himself. This struggle for self-control continues until Billy finally snatches the bag and runs to the lavatory. Once inside, he pulls out a small, unlabeled phial and frantically imbibes its contents. We watch as the small, unimposing figure transform into a huge flaming demon. Eyes alight with rage, Billy explodes from the train, savagely thrashing until the entire string of cars careens off a rail bridge to the icy valley below. The camera follows the demon as he falls, zooming in on his face. While falling he transforms into his original self, the look of rage melting into an expression of remorse and terror.
Before he hits the ground, we cut to different tight shot of Billy’s face, younger, but with a similarly distraught expression. Billy seems as surprised as we are at this sudden change of venue. The camera zooms out to reveal that while Billy’s face is full of life, his head is not attached to his body. His body, in fact, is nothing more than a pile of desiccated limbs and various parts strewn about an iron table. We see that there are two figures examining the parts. The first, an offish man, says, “Master, I got the mummified demon parts you wanted.” The second, much shorter, with hairy bare feet, a white lab coat and ruffled white hair says, “Excellent. These should do nicely. This will be the finest marionette the Shire has ever seen!”
Cut to Billy’s eyes opening. Zoom out to reveal he is on his back in a snow bank. He rises to see the burning wreckage of the train all around him. A few survivors whimper and wail, but most are dead. His remorse turns to rage as he looks to the sky and screams “Whyyyy!?!”
Inconsolable in his murderous self-hatred, the next hour of the film follows Billy as he rampages through London in his demon form. The authorities are powerless to stop him. Eventually he grows tired and retreats to the wilderness. While weeping in a cave he is visited by a glowing blue faerie. The faerie asks him what’s wrong, and Billy explains that all he really wants is to be a real hobbit, like his creator, Dr. Geppetto. Billy tells the faerie about how he engineered a serum to transform himself into a hobbit, but instead it turns him into a raging demon, and now he’s hopelessly addicted to the high. The faerie explains that he can become a real hobbit if he proves himself by being “brave, truthful, and unselfish.”
Billy sets off on a quest for self-improvement. Along the way he meets many fascinating characters, and hears word of a magical being that may be able to help him. High in a mountain cave lives Jiminidalf The Ancient One, an alien from the planet Tralfamadore who normally exists in the 12th dimension, but has taken the Earthly form of cricket. Billy finds Jiminidalf and is trained in both magical and martial arts. He gains a sense of purpose and self-control. He vows to use his demon form for good.
Throughout the film to this point, there have been intermittent cuts to an older Billy with a crowd of people in some sort of bunker. At first it’s not clear what’s going on, but eventually we see more of the scene: people are terrified, there are frequent booming noises, and large slabs of beef hang in the cool room. Billy explains to Jiminidalf that he is unstuck in time, and that in the future he will survive the firebombing of Dresden as a World War II POW, holed up in an underground meat locker. Due to his unique ability to accidentally time-travel, he frequently lapses into his future consciousness. This ads to his frustration, because while he experiences the future quite frequently, he is powerless to stop the coming terror. Jiminidalf convinces him that he is not powerless. With his newfound powers he can prevent the bombing of Dresden, save innocent lives, and spare some of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western World from destruction. He can even harness his time traveling ability and prevent the train wreck that led him down a path to madness!
In a blink Billy is in the meat locker beneath Dresden. With a renewed look of vigor in his eye, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a phial. He gulps down the contents, assumes demon form, and bursts forth from the bunker. Flying on flaming wings, he zeroes in on the incoming Allied bombers. To his dismay he finds that the Allied planes are defended by a fierce dragon. Through a montage we learn that several decades ago, British archeologists uncovered a live baby dragon while excavating an ancient castle. The Royal Air Force then trained it to defend their fleet during bombing raids. The battle between the demon and the dragon rages through the burning city. Things do not look good for Billy. Bested, he resigns himself to succumb to a final deathblow from the beast. But before the final strike can land, Billy again becomes unstuck in time, in a blink his consciousness shifts back to the moment of his origin. He is once again a severed head on a table. He hears Dr. Geppetto echo his familiar refrain, “This will be the finest marionette the Shire has ever seen!” A single tear rolls down Billy’s cheek. He will never become a real Hobbit. He is forever imprisoned to his failed existence, unable to overcome his predetermined fate.
Roll credits.
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Guillermo Del Toro’s Ten-Year Plan. Trade Roughage 09/04/08</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/9/4/34733.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 9/4/2008 10:00:28 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> 

Following his five-year commitment to the two-part Hobbit movies, Guillermo Del Toro already has enough projects lined up to keep him busy and us entertained through the end of the next decade. In his pipeline are new, more faithful versions of “Frankenstein,” “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and “Slaughterhouse-Five,” as well as an adaptation of Dan Simmons’ upcoming novel “Drood,” about Charles Dickens. Oh, and there’s always that chance of him making another Hellboy sequel, too. Apparently he’ll be able to keep all productions alive simultaneously by maintaining a split personality and an uncontrollable ability to become unstuck in time.
Remember that TV series that involved five individuals who came together to make one bigger superpower? I mean Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, but if you were thinking of Voltron, you were kinda close. Mark Makowski, whose biggest credit is for directing episodes of Queer Eye, is in talks to helm the bigscreen, live-action version of Voltron: Defender of the Universe.
Unsurprisingly, Disney’s direct-to-video Little Mermaid prequel, Ariel’s Beginning, sold like hotcakes last week. Now I can still hope for DTV spin-offs and sequels like Caterpillar’s Hookah-Induced Adventures and Song of the South II: Intolerance.
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:00:28 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>9/4/2008 10:00:28 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>

Following his five-year commitment to the two-part Hobbit movies, Guillermo Del Toro already has enough projects lined up to keep him busy and us entertained through the end of the next decade. In his pipeline are new, more faithful versions of “Frankenstein,” “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and “Slaughterhouse-Five,” as well as an adaptation of Dan Simmons’ upcoming novel “Drood,” about Charles Dickens. Oh, and there’s always that chance of him making another Hellboy sequel, too. Apparently he’ll be able to keep all productions alive simultaneously by maintaining a split personality and an uncontrollable ability to become unstuck in time.
Remember that TV series that involved five individuals who came together to make one bigger superpower? I mean Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, but if you were thinking of Voltron, you were kinda close. Mark Makowski, whose biggest credit is for directing episodes of Queer Eye, is in talks to helm the bigscreen, live-action version of Voltron: Defender of the Universe.
Unsurprisingly, Disney’s direct-to-video Little Mermaid prequel, Ariel’s Beginning, sold like hotcakes last week. Now I can still hope for DTV spin-offs and sequels like Caterpillar’s Hookah-Induced Adventures and Song of the South II: Intolerance.
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Del Toro and The Hobbit Finally Officially Wed</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/4/25/27812.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 4/25/2008 2:00:46 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> It’s been three months since the trades reported Guillermo Del Toro was in talks to direct The Hobbit (as two separate films). So why has it taken this long for the deal to be set in stone? Over at The Movie Blog, John thinks some of it had to do with Del Toro wanting to make sure he would have enough creative control, considering he’ll be working for producer Peter Jackson.
How much control will Guillermo del Toro have? I’ll be willing to bet this was one of the big issues delaying the official announcement of his agreeing to direct the projects. Peter Jackson helmed The Lord of the Rings… will he allow del Toro (a better director over all in my opinion… although both are insanely gifted) the freedom to make these films as he sees fit with modestly limited interference? Clearly del Toro should listen to the studio and to Jackson in particular… but these are HIS movies now, not Jacksons, and for the most part he needs to be the man in charge now. Will they let that happen?

As I mentioned back in January, I wonder if Del Toro’s prequels will be too stylized to fit in with Jackson’s LOTR franchise. It made sense to me that Jackson should have some overruling control if Del Toro wants to make the films all his own: “No way would anybody permit for Del Toro to do his own thing with Gollum or any other part of the franchise so that it would be unrecognizable to moviegoers. But then why not just hire some new, more malleable director to be Jackson’s Matt Reeves/James McTeague/Tobe Hooper?”
One of the comments left on John’s post, however, argues that it had more to do with Del Toro’s four picture deal at Universal. Since the filmmaker will be spending the next four years in New Zealand making the two Hobbit films — for MGM and New Line Cinema — it had to be a concern for Universal that it won’t be getting anything out of the guy for a long time.
Personally, I think they wanted to announce the thing closer to the release date of Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Of course, that reasoning is mostly only beneficial to Universal, as the comic movie sequel should receive more mainstream prestige by its ability to be associated with LOTR. Still, last weekend, at the NY Comic-Con, Del Toro was talking about the Hobbit movies and saying the deal could be announced in a few day’s time (he was correct). Interestingly enough, he even commented on how his personal touch would definitely be visible in the films, though he also said the second film would be able to transition into the first LOTR film seamlessly. Check out IGN’s interview with Del Toro below for more:
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:00:46 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>4/25/2008 2:00:46 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>It’s been three months since the trades reported Guillermo Del Toro was in talks to direct The Hobbit (as two separate films). So why has it taken this long for the deal to be set in stone? Over at The Movie Blog, John thinks some of it had to do with Del Toro wanting to make sure he would have enough creative control, considering he’ll be working for producer Peter Jackson.
How much control will Guillermo del Toro have? I’ll be willing to bet this was one of the big issues delaying the official announcement of his agreeing to direct the projects. Peter Jackson helmed The Lord of the Rings… will he allow del Toro (a better director over all in my opinion… although both are insanely gifted) the freedom to make these films as he sees fit with modestly limited interference? Clearly del Toro should listen to the studio and to Jackson in particular… but these are HIS movies now, not Jacksons, and for the most part he needs to be the man in charge now. Will they let that happen?

As I mentioned back in January, I wonder if Del Toro’s prequels will be too stylized to fit in with Jackson’s LOTR franchise. It made sense to me that Jackson should have some overruling control if Del Toro wants to make the films all his own: “No way would anybody permit for Del Toro to do his own thing with Gollum or any other part of the franchise so that it would be unrecognizable to moviegoers. But then why not just hire some new, more malleable director to be Jackson’s Matt Reeves/James McTeague/Tobe Hooper?”
One of the comments left on John’s post, however, argues that it had more to do with Del Toro’s four picture deal at Universal. Since the filmmaker will be spending the next four years in New Zealand making the two Hobbit films — for MGM and New Line Cinema — it had to be a concern for Universal that it won’t be getting anything out of the guy for a long time.
Personally, I think they wanted to announce the thing closer to the release date of Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Of course, that reasoning is mostly only beneficial to Universal, as the comic movie sequel should receive more mainstream prestige by its ability to be associated with LOTR. Still, last weekend, at the NY Comic-Con, Del Toro was talking about the Hobbit movies and saying the deal could be announced in a few day’s time (he was correct). Interestingly enough, he even commented on how his personal touch would definitely be visible in the films, though he also said the second film would be able to transition into the first LOTR film seamlessly. Check out IGN’s interview with Del Toro below for more:
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Del Toro’s Hobbit Movies Will Be Too Stylized</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/1/31/24582.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 1/31/2008 3:01:13 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> After finally seeing Spider-Man 3 the other day, I’ll be happy to never see another Sam Raimi movie again. So, when it was announced Monday that Guillermo Del Toro, instead of Raimi, was in talks to direct the back-to-back Hobbit movies, I was somewhat relieved. But now with Del Toro himself pretty much confirming he’s on board for the Lord of the Ring prequels (I know in the book world prequel isn’t the appropriate word, but in the New Line film series, and as far as mass audience is concerned, it is), I’m still a bit worried about the look of the films. Will Gollum suddenly have no eyes, like many of the creatures in Del Toro’s recent works? Will he be played by Doug Jones rather than a CGI Andy Serkis? Will Middle-earth now be a more stylized place?
One of the great things about Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy is that he made it look fairly straight-forward. There wasn’t much of the filmmaker’s personality in it. Sure, some of Middle-earth’s design had its influences (Rivendell looked painted by Maxfield Parrish, for example), but you couldn’t say the films necessarily or significantly reflected Jackson in any sort of a stylistic sense. Del Toro is much more of an auteur, though, and it’s easy to imagine his Hobbit duology bearing more a resemblance to his own films than to Jackson’s LOTRs (just look at how Hellboy II looks so similar to Pan’s Labyrinth). Of course, New Line couldn’t let too much divert from what the audience is used to, right? No way would anybody permit for Del Toro to do his own thing with Gollum or any other part of the franchise so that it would be unrecognizable to moviegoers. But then why not just hire some new, more malleable director to be Jackson’s Matt Reeves/James McTeague/Tobe Hooper?
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:01:13 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>1/31/2008 3:01:13 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>After finally seeing Spider-Man 3 the other day, I’ll be happy to never see another Sam Raimi movie again. So, when it was announced Monday that Guillermo Del Toro, instead of Raimi, was in talks to direct the back-to-back Hobbit movies, I was somewhat relieved. But now with Del Toro himself pretty much confirming he’s on board for the Lord of the Ring prequels (I know in the book world prequel isn’t the appropriate word, but in the New Line film series, and as far as mass audience is concerned, it is), I’m still a bit worried about the look of the films. Will Gollum suddenly have no eyes, like many of the creatures in Del Toro’s recent works? Will he be played by Doug Jones rather than a CGI Andy Serkis? Will Middle-earth now be a more stylized place?
One of the great things about Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy is that he made it look fairly straight-forward. There wasn’t much of the filmmaker’s personality in it. Sure, some of Middle-earth’s design had its influences (Rivendell looked painted by Maxfield Parrish, for example), but you couldn’t say the films necessarily or significantly reflected Jackson in any sort of a stylistic sense. Del Toro is much more of an auteur, though, and it’s easy to imagine his Hobbit duology bearing more a resemblance to his own films than to Jackson’s LOTRs (just look at how Hellboy II looks so similar to Pan’s Labyrinth). Of course, New Line couldn’t let too much divert from what the audience is used to, right? No way would anybody permit for Del Toro to do his own thing with Gollum or any other part of the franchise so that it would be unrecognizable to moviegoers. But then why not just hire some new, more malleable director to be Jackson’s Matt Reeves/James McTeague/Tobe Hooper?
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:quest</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/quest/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/quest/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>quest</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 316</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 23</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 48</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:42:51 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>316</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>23</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>48</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:dragon</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/dragon/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/dragon/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>dragon</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 170</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 15</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 21</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:57:49 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>170</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>15</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>21</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:ring-jewelry</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/ring-jewelry/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/ring-jewelry/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>ring-jewelry</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 237</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 0</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 0</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:13:22 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>237</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>0</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>0</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
  </channel>
</rss>