Nothing says, “We don’t trust you” than the announcement from Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro that the only people who can really write the Hobbit movie adaptation (and the unnamed sequel to follow) is none other than Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson.
The news caps off an eight-month search for a scribe to tackle the coveted task of bringing the literary classic to the big screen. When Jackson and New Line resolved their differences over profit participation in the “Rings” films, Jackson said he would not be writing the “Hobbit” movies because of other commitments, though he does have approval over creative elements in his role as exec producer.
Later, when del Toro came aboard, the deal was that the two would oversee the search for scribes and the writing. In the interim, three factors came into play: 1) The filmmakers saw their schedules open up, 2) During the general discussions about the films, they realized how much affection they had for the material, and 3) They also realized that in order to make the release dates, the process required people intimate with Tolkien’s world of Middle Earth. All led to the decision that they would do the honors themselves along with Walsh and Boyens.
Hobbit is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2011, with the sequel scheduled the year after.
4 Comments
I’ve got to see how they render Smaug. And how are they going to get around all of the Tra-la-la elves behavior?!
Anyway, I’ve heard rumors that Del Toro wants the “sequel” to tackle the Silmarillion; which would be glorious. However, there are still some legal issues surrounding that property.
Weren’t the ‘sequels’ to The Hobbit the actual LotR books themselves?
I has always understood that Jackson adn Del Toro were writing the screenplay anyway.
@Jacin B.: Technically, The Hobbit is a Prequel to LotR as LotR was being written prior to the Hobbit even though the Hobbit was published first.
@Cory: I figured the “sequel” would bridge the gap between the Hobbit and LotR with the material found in the Appendices of LotR which told us where the heck Gandalf ran off to and the search for Gollum etc…
Wow the Silmarillion? That really ought to be about 6 more films (hint hint).
I think there is enough material in the appendices, and possibly Unfinished Tales, to lay out a movie to link the Hobbit with LOTR a little more clearly. They sort of already covered how the rings were made, but more on the elves of Hollin, and the alliance between Elendil and Gil-Galad would be nice. How the rings Narya and Vilya came into Gandlaf’s and Elrond’s posession would be good. And the formation of the White Council and some stuff on Radagast the Brown would be nice.
If I read right there was a court decision that essentially will revert movie rights for Hobbit and LOTR back to the Tolkien family after this one is done. Mean time I gotta wonder why the studio can’t just negotiate with the family? Since when is Saul Zaentz the go-to-guy for all things Tolkien?