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Forums - General Discussion - The Hobbit finally gets the green light, with Jackson on board!

makingmusic476 on 18 December 2007

From Yahoo News:

NEW YORK - Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy "The Lord of the Rings." 

Jackson, who directed the "Rings" trilogy, will serve as executive producer for "The Hobbit." A director for the prequel films has yet to be named.

Relations between Jackson and New Line had soured after "Rings," despite a collective worldwide box office gross of nearly $3 billion — an enormous success. The two sides nevertheless were able to reconcile, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) splitting "The Hobbit" 50/50, spokemen for both studios said Tuesday.

"I'm very pleased that we've been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line," Jackson said in a statement. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth."

Two "Hobbit" films are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, similar to how the three "Lord of the Rings" films were made. Production is set to begin in 2009 with a released planned for 2010, with the sequel scheduled for a 2011 release.

New Line Cinema is owned by Time Warner. Sony and Comcast are among the owners of MGM.

I was hoping Jackson would direct, but at least he's back on as exec. producer. I hope they continue with his vision of Middle-Earth, using the same sets, cast (i.e. Gandalf and Bilbo), and general direction. I don't want it to end up like Harry Potter, with drastic changes happening between the films (settings, dementors, etc.). It would destroy the world that Jackson has worked so hard to bring to life.

It appears that the story will be broken up into two films. How they will do this, I have no idea. I'm now rereading the Hobbit, in an attempt to figure out a good breaking point for the films.

In the end, I'm really anticipating this movie, as the Lord of the Rings trilogy is easily my favorite book series, and the Extended Editions of the films are easily my favorite movies. I can't wait until they're released in high def. :D

 



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superchunk on 18 December 2007

yeah, I read about this earlier today. I can't wait.



Linkzmax on 18 December 2007

Awesome news. And to how it'll be split. I would imagine the first film will be "There" and the second film "back again."



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famousringo on 18 December 2007

Struck me as a one-film story, actually.

One Peter Jackson-sized 3 hour film (4 hour on DVD).



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Dolla Dolla on 18 December 2007

I'm so happy ...

I've seen the press release from the hobbit blog, and they aren't splitting the Hobbit up. Supposedly, it is a sequel to the Hobbit that occurs before LOTR.

* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

http://www.thehobbitblog.com/



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Vengi on 18 December 2007

Great to see that the Hobbit is finally going to be made into a film with a master film maker in charge, I hope Jackson gets to direct it too.



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Stever89 on 18 December 2007

Finally.

I have been waiting for this my entire life.

Next: Build an actual life size replica of Minas Tirith.

And the Harry Potter movie comment you made... yeah. Way too true. So I guess after I build Minas Tirith, I'll have to finance the remake of the Harry Potter movies, then my life can be complete.



makingmusic476 on 18 December 2007
Dolla Dolla said:

I'm so happy ...

I've seen the press release from the hobbit blog, and they aren't splitting the Hobbit up. Supposedly, it is a sequel to the Hobbit that occurs before LOTR.

* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

http://www.thehobbitblog.com/


 But what could the sequel be?  The only completed novels by Tolkien were the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings.  Everything else was unfinished, and only other work that was published as a finished piece was the Silmarillian, which was edited by Chistopher Tokien, J.R.R.'s son, as J.R.R. had actually died before it was finished.

I think Linksmad may be on to somethins.  The "There and Back Again" intro to the FotR Extended Edition sets things up for a two part Hobbit film all to perfectly.



makingmusic476 on 18 December 2007
Stever89 said:
Finally.

I have been waiting for this my entire life.

Next: Build an actual life size replica of Minas Tirith.

And the Harry Potter movie comment you made... yeah. Way too true. So I guess after I build Minas Tirith, I'll have to finance the remake of the Harry Potter movies, then my life can be complete.

 Agreed.  I think every HP film from 4 on should've gotten the LotR treatment.  The movies should've been at least 3 hours, if not over 4.  The OotP is the longest book, yet it's the shortest film.  Wtf?  Also, from GoF on, the HP books are almost twice as long as the LotRs books, yet the movies are almost half the length.  Again, wtf?



Diomedes1976 on 18 December 2007

great!