Slashdot Mirror
Jackson Slated to Make Hobbit Movie, Sequel
syrinx writes "Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, and MGM have agreed to work on two new movies: a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit', and a further sequel. From the article: 'The two Hobbit films ... are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of 'The Hobbit' release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.'" Not sure if it would be possible to nab Ian Holm as Bilbo, but here's hoping.
But of course, like every such statement people make (e.g. "There's no way i'm sleeping with that donkey"), there is an unstated but very much present addendum of "unless someone gives me enough money, in which case hell yeah".
P.S. examples are not from personal experience, and you can't prove otherwise.
The enemies of Democracy are
He will disappoint you. Bank on it. The other 99.99% of us will, however, probably like it.
Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
Peter Jackson did a great job in visualizing and bringing to life a story in which the plot was already fully written. I love the fact he's producing a version of "the hobbit" to go along with the LOTR Trilogy, but I'm not so sure about the sequel to it. I realize there is a gap between the two stories (around a 70 year gap actually) but what will the plot consist of?
I suppose it could go both ways, the first way with Peter Jackson doing a great job of tying the two books together and leading straight into the LOTR trilogy, the other with Peter Jackson unzipping and urinating on JRR Tolkien's masterpieces.
Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
Gold edition, 3D, directors cut? I plan on seeing it since the LOTR was soooo dang good.
I'm really quite interested to see how Smaug is done. The 3D done well might really up the bar for many action movies, and might set a new standard.
However, the movie still has to be good - putting lipstick on a pig still looks awful.
..........FULL STOP.
Did he get some kind of wizard trick to summon the dead spirit of JRR Tolkein to write a new novel which to utilize as a sequel?
Why do I fear this "prequil" will suffer the same fate as the Lucas prequils, with Bilbo at the end screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
He might be a little old to play Bilbo as he was well cast to play a Bilbo who settled down for quite some time, but much older than Bilbo was when Hobbit happened.
I'm wondering if they'll be able to get Ian McKellen to play Gandalf again. I'm trying to think how many recurrent characters there were across the Hobbit and LOTR -- Bilbo, Gandalf, and maybe Elrond (it's been a long time since I read the Hobbit).
Unless Sir Ian is otherwise booked, I bet he'd love to revive his Gandalf role.
Though, I must confess, I'm a little unsure of what this other sequel is, and TFA appears to have died under the strain.
Does anyone have more info on that?
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
That would be awesome for the nerds of us who stayed awake through the introduction to the Valar.
This is, of course, a matter of opinion
True, it's all opinion, but even art allows for some objectivity. "Abject disaster" sounds like the small minded bitchiness of someone whose opinion isn't worth listening to.
But, Jackson didn't do that in LOTR did he? Except for some minor changes to the overall arc of the film, I found he did a pretty faithful job of it.
I think he's the director we have the least to worry about. At least, I hope he is. The cinemas wanted him because he has proven he can make the movies (and, of course, make the money) - at least it's not Uwe Boll.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I don't think Ian Holm will be able to be cast as Bilbo... they made him look younger for a brief shot in LOTR, but from what I remember it involved stretching the skin on his face, etc, and wouldn't be workable for a full movie.
Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis I believe have both said they'd be very interested in coming back for a Hobbit movie as Gandalf and Gollum. The only other cross-over character bookwise would be Elrond; I don't know if Hugo Weaving has said anything one way or the other. (I suppose there was some guy in the FOTR movie who was ostensibly Gloin at the council scene, but I don't think anyone would notice if he came back or not...)
They could sneak in cameos from other actors I suppose; there's nothing saying Legolas wasn't hanging out with his father in the Elves' home in Mirkwood. I don't know that I want Legolas showing up at the Battle of Five Armies to surf on an eagle shooting down wargs though.
(Hey, so about 7 years in between accepted Slashdot submissions. Roland, I'm catching up!)
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
I think Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn came up with the best idea for a LotR sequel EVAR! Maybe this is what they mean? :)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EqMV_3JusXY
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
What was Jackson thinking there? "Hey, let's make an epic movie, based on an epic novel. And why not change the complete character of one of the key players?"
I do understand that a movie is not a book, really. But this is not only unnecessary but it is annoying.
What about Gimli's father, Glóin?
Frankly, I just hope I live long enough to see the next remake. Maybe some one could just sort of adapt the books, with some minor abridgement, and not ruin the story.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
Note it doesn't say that the only weapon they had was fear.
Peter and Fran definitely cut a shorter path through this part of the text, using the Dunharrow Men directly in the Battle for the Pelennor Fields, rather than using the more mundane original modus operandi.
I do feel that a lot of the flack that Peter and Fran got for their script arises where people feel (rightly or wrongly) that recreating the book in the movie is more important than making a coherent movie. If PJ et al had completely faithfully scripted a movie based entirely on the book, only the hardcore Tolkeinites would have survived a viewing of a trilogy with uneven pacing, no (meaningful) interaction with female characters apart from Galadriel and very long sweeps spent with one set of characters. That's not to disrespect the original text, which I have read many times - movies are different creatures to books, with different strengths and weaknesses.
Cheers,
Toby Haynes
Anything I post is strictly my own thoughts and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the opinions of IBM.
While I can understand where you're coming from I can't help but think that with the success of LotRs that the cookie cutter is now set in stone. Regardless of Jackson's involvement in the new movies there is likely to be little deviation from the overall look and feel of the trilogy as long as New Line has their hooks in it.
Whether this is a good thing or not depends on what camp you come from. All things being equal, little has an opportunity to change as far as the end product. Even if Jackson were to direct and he had a new outlook on Middle Earth I doubt it would get past the execs without a fight, and in that fight the winner would be decided by the golden rule. Jackson wouldn't stand a chance of persuading New Line.
In all honesty I would feel comfortable in re-reading The Hobbit and telling people outright what would and would not be in the film. The first three has set a road map for the next two. While I'll go to see them I'm guessing it's going to be visually appealing but the story is going to be a meager shell of the book.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
I think that the opening, with the creation of the world through the orchestra of the Valar would probably be one of the most epic and impressive audiovisual entertainments ever, if done right.
Come read my stupid blagablog. Rants and Giggles
"The movies are for entertainment"...
So what the fuck are the books for?
The best is the enemy of the good
I managed to breeze through the Valars, but for me the dreariest part of the Silmarillon was when it got into the family squabbles (and the looong family trees) of the Elves in the middle, upto the tale of Beren and Luthien. If you think soap operas are bad, soap operas about ultra-longlived creatures are worse.
Go somewhere random
Don't write- just film the book. Thank you.
Yes, because there's nothing the general audience adores more than a 20 hour movie, of which 15 hours are shots of people walking, accented by the occasional 2 hour Ent song.
From what I recall (I read the books two decades ago), a good chunk of Fellowship Of The Ring consists of our intrepid heroes dining alfresco in the countryside, reciting songs about the exploits of warriors of yore, as well as an epic love story or two.
But yeah:
- Cutting The Hobbit in two would be an extremely cynical way of milking the cow for all she's worth.
- Inventing further adventures for Bilbo would be sacrilege, especially with writers who take it upon themselves to twist Faramir out of shape because they (think they) know better than Tolkien, also adding a barrage of plastic-emotion Hallmark moments.
However, we all know that Tolkien wrote tons of stuff not meant (in his eyes) for public consumption, reference volumes that fleshed out his broader understanding of Middle Earth. Every once in a while, additional material comes to light, "finished" by the likes of Tolkien Jr.
The best case scenario is that maybe Jackson was given access to a stash of unpublished hobbit stories in the catalog.
One thing is clear, though: No Silmarillion this time. Maybe next go around we'll get to see some combat between Glorfindel and one of the Balrogs.
Lil' Thindime, lilting a lacrimose lament, krashes the kwaint konfines of Kokonino Kounty
Jackson isn't the director for The Hobbit; he's a producer. The summary really ought to have made that clear. According to this morning's news, no director has yet been settled on. I haven't heard anything about a writer or writers. I guess Jackson will have a lot of creative input, but things could still fall through; remember at one point he was going to be the producer for a Halo movie too.