The Film Library

The Hobbit

Ok, this is a pretty obvious one. I'm not really big into spoilers, and I actually don't set out to track the production of many movies, but I might not be able to resist this one. So here it is, a repository for non-spoilerish news and conjecture and discussion.

I, like most people, loved The Hobbit and the LOTR books, and so I'm pretty damned excited that it's being made. I was a bit unsure about why it was being split up into 2 movies, but apparently their using material from other Tolkien sources(like the Silmarillian) to fill in some of the gaps between the Hobbit and LOTR. It's been hinted that we may actually see some sort of representation of what Gandalf was doing during his frequent absences from the story.

Here's a link to a transcript from a pretty cool and interesting discussion with Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson where they answered a whole lot of fan questions.

Re:The Hobbit

TheWorkingDead:

Here's a link to a transcript from a pretty cool and interesting discussion with Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson where they answered a whole lot of fan questions.

Another thing these two directors have in common.  I bet amongst famous directors that they are the top two in weight loss.

Re:The Hobbit

Re:The Hobbit

indieabby88:

I've been hearing some doubts among fans that Guillermo Del Toro could pull off directing the "Hobbit." But it looks like he and Jackson are in pretty close collaboration on the style of the movie. They both come from similar filmmaking backgrounds (horror and drama) and Del Toro even seems to have a similar visual aesthetic to his movies. More than once I started getting the LOTR vibe when I saw the first few frames the new "Hellboy II" trailer, and "Pan's Labyrinth" seems to owe a lot visually to Jackson's movies. I really don't get what all the worry is about. I suppose some people just feel like there needs to be a healthy dose of skepticism included to balance out all the excitment.

Well, that and the internet has never been known as a place for subtle, fair and balanced criticisms(present company excluded). People just like stuff to nitpick over. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had where people villified Jackson for not including Tom Bombadil in the movie. Nevermind that he would probably come off as silly, and his scene is almost completely unnecessary within the context of the film versions.

I think Del Toro has a pretty good handle on things. I don't think he's actually that influenced by Jackson. If you go back and watch Devil's Backbone or Cronos, you'll see he has a developing visual sense that seems to carry over movie to movie. But I do think they have similar sensibilities, both of them seem pretty enamored of horror, and dark, epic fantasy.