Jackson & WETA to make Hobbit... Eventually

[Orolinwe]

It wasn't long after everyone understood that the LOTR movies were really good that people started wondering if Jackson was going to do The Hobbit as well.

About a year ago, I heard a pretty solid rumour that Jackson had decided to do it. This was from a friend of my girlfriend's who works for Paramount and was at a dinner/premiere thing in New York where basically the entire cast and Jackson were there, etc. Anyway, someone at Jackson's table asked if they were going to do The Hobbit. Jackson answered that they were, but it was going to take a few years as he wanted to finish King Kong and another unnanounced project.

Since then, there have been several other statements by Jacskon to the affirmative. However there has not yet been an official announcement so I guess maybe this still qualifies as a "rumor." Anyway here is some other supporting evidence: http://derhobbit-film.de/indexengl.shtml

So, it's coming... eventually. My only big worry is that Ian McKellan (who is now 66) will still be hale and hearty enough in a few years to play the more rambunctious Gandalf of the Hobbit... I can't imagine finding another actor to play him. That would really suck IMO.

Otherwise, I just can't wait for this movie even though it's still years away and not even in production yet, LOL! Till then, I can spend many a night thinking about how freaking badass Smaugh will look.... Ahhhhhhhhhh. One thing film history has definitely not had enough of is COOL dragons. It's gonna be so awesome!!

**OH yeah, and for those who are still unaware, WETA is making a series of Chronicles of Narnia movies in production right now: http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/thech...arnia-fte2.html

[Centurion Quintus]

God, I hope this doesn&#39;t go through. While I loathe the LoTR films, they were good for what they were, and have their place. But, the team, the actors, and even jackson will lack the drive they initally had with the trilogy. :><

[LegionnaireX]

I actually fully support the making of The Hobbit film. I loved the book, it was very adventerous&#33; But if it really takes 4 years before preproduction, than it will be another 1 1/2- 2 years before it is released. I will be in college by then (in 7th grade now).

So, it&#39;s coming... eventually. My only big worry is that Ian McKellan (who is now 66) will still be hale and hearty enough in a few years to play the more rambunctious Gandalf of the Hobbit... I can&#39;t imagine finding another actor to play him. That would really suck IMO.

I would be more worried about the actor who played Bilbo. Gandalf really doesn&#39;t have that big of a part in The Hobbit.

[Orolinwe]

Uhh...

Gandalf is a HUGE part of the Hobbit... Maybe you should reread it?

And the actor that plays Bilbo?? Who cares. He had 20 minutes of screen time in 9 hours of LOTR and he plays a very OLD Bilbo. Of course they will find a younger actor to play a very youthful Bilbo, and very few people will know or care seeing as how the LOTR Bilbo wasn&#39;t all that important.

[LegionnaireX]

Originally posted by Orolinwe@May 8 2005, 08:26 PM
Uhh...

Gandalf is a HUGE part of the Hobbit... Maybe you should reread it?

And the actor that plays Bilbo?? Who cares. He had 20 minutes of screen time in 9 hours of LOTR and he plays a very OLD Bilbo. Of course they will find a younger actor to play a very youthful Bilbo, and very few people will know or care seeing as how the LOTR Bilbo wasn&#39;t all that important.

:blink :blink :blink

I think you are the one that needs to reread The Hobbit. The only thing that Gandalf really did in the Hobbit was set Bilbo on his merry way with the dwarves. After the troll incident Gandalf dissapeared only to return at certain times in the book. Bilbo is the main focus of the Hobbit. At the start of the hobbit Bilbo was 54 I believe. When he took the ring he never aged and at the start of The Fellowship he still appeared to be the same age as the ring kept him from aging. It was only after he gave up the ring that he began to age rapidly. So, the biblo in the Hobbit should appear exactly as the Bilbo at his 111th birthday.

[ximan]

Jackson may want to make it, but there has been a legal battle ensuing over the rights for the Hobbit for years. I doubt it will be made for quite a while, but there is always hope (Jackson is busy on two projects now, anyways).

[God-Emperor of Mankind]

I hope that unnamed project of his is gonna be Bad Taste 2.
I know he has been wanting to make a sequel for that great movie for years.

[smack]

I hoped it would happen immediately, while the first of the trilogy was demonstrating great box office take. Plans could have been laid to start filming after the trilogy, etc.., but now that it has been some years, a new film won&#39;t fit with the first three and be any fun to shoot (actors, sets, effects, etc.). Too bad. The Hobbit is the best of the series in many ways.

[Ó Cathasaigh]

Great news, i personaly have been waiting for this since december of 03 after ROTK was over.

[Orolinwe]

It&#39;s been about 2 years since I read the Hobbit. But I can remember a battle underground against goblins in which Gandalf takes part. I can remember a flight of eagles from a large rock (can&#39;t remember the name of the rock) in which Gandalf takes part.

Gandalf is around for the introduction to the book and the very start of the journey. Then Gandalf disappears for most of the journey from Hobbiton to the Misty Mountains, but he is with them from the Misty Mountains to the woods. Until they meet the giant bear guy basically. Then Gandalf is there at the end during the battle. So, say it&#39;s a 3 hour movie Gandalf is in it for an hour at least... I&#39;d say that&#39;s pretty important character and anyone but Ian McKellen would seriously suck.

And I doubt if anyone will freak if Ian Holm does not play Bilbo. I think the actor himself is just too old to play the Hobbit Bilbo and like I said he only had about 20 minutes of screen in 9 hours of LOTR... He isn&#39;t nearly as recognizable or NECESSARY in the role of Bilbo as McKellen is in the role of Gandalf.

I hoped it would happen immediately, while the first of the trilogy was demonstrating great box office take. Plans could have been laid to start filming after the trilogy, etc.., but now that it has been some years, a new film won&#39;t fit with the first three and be any fun to shoot (actors, sets, effects, etc.). Too bad. The Hobbit is the best of the series in many ways.

First of all, the only actor you really need to switch over is Gandalf. Everyone else in the movie is new... So that doesn&#39;t matter. As to the sets and all that... Well, Hobbiton still exists for sure. They didn&#39;t change it really it&#39;s a tourist attraction now and could be ready to shoot I&#39;m sure very quickly. I&#39;m not sure if Rivendell still exists however. They would have to rebuild Rivendell. BUT, those are the only 2 sets in the movie that aren&#39;t new sets.

Other than that, everything would still be done by WETA Workshop which is the same team... Why would you think the quality and spirit wouldn&#39;t be equal to the first movies? In my opinion, giving all those folks a break from Tolkien for a few years would just let them come back to the Hobbit with fresh energy and once again excited about the new project.

Jackson said himself he wanted a few years before he did it for that very reason. Because he was currently burn out on LOTR and wanted to come to The Hobbit fresh and excited. Seems quite logical to me.

[smack]

You are right, really. If Jackson (and WETA, and Fran-what&#39;s-her-name-who-writes-the-thing, and others), can really get over the first success and come back fresh, it will be excellent no matter what. My favorite moment at the Oscars was Annie Lennox getting her statue for "Across the Sea" (whatever it&#39;s called, I&#39;ve forgotten). Jackson clearly inspires the artists around him, and I just cross my fingers and toes that his genius keeps going.

[LegionnaireX]

It&#39;s been about 2 years since I read the Hobbit. But I can remember a battle underground against goblins in which Gandalf takes part. I can remember a flight of eagles from a large rock (can&#39;t remember the name of the rock) in which Gandalf takes part.

Gandalf is around for the introduction to the book and the very start of the journey. Then Gandalf disappears for most of the journey from Hobbiton to the Misty Mountains, but he is with them from the Misty Mountains to the woods. Until they meet the giant bear guy basically. Then Gandalf is there at the end during the battle. So, say it&#39;s a 3 hour movie Gandalf is in it for an hour at least... I&#39;d say that&#39;s pretty important character and anyone but Ian McKellen would seriously suck.

And I doubt if anyone will freak if Ian Holm does not play Bilbo. I think the actor himself is just too old to play the Hobbit Bilbo and like I said he only had about 20 minutes of screen in 9 hours of LOTR... He isn&#39;t nearly as recognizable or NECESSARY in the role of Bilbo as McKellen is in the role of Gandalf.

It&#39;s been two months since I read The Hobbit and I had to do an extensive report on the book. *wink* Gandalf dissapeared throughout most of the book only to return at certain times. Yes he did thwart the Goblins plan to kill the dwarves and Bilbo, but then disappeared. Yes he did prolong the troll&#39;s conversation to the point of daybreak, then left. He did tell the eagles to help bilbo and the dwarves but I don&#39;t remember him making an actual appearance. And he was there at bear guy&#39;s lodge blowing smoke rings but that was it.

The point is this, Gandalf is essential to the plot, but Bilbo is the main focus of the story. For a movie to be made, both actors from the trilogy need to come back, but Bilbo is the most important character as he will be getting the most screen time. And as I said earlier Bilbo didn&#39;t age between the Hobbit and the Fellowship because of the ring, so Ian Holmes will have to play the role of Bilbo once again or else there will be continuity errors.

[Erik]

IMO They should make a LOTR TV series but I think there isn&#39;t enough money in the TV industry to finance such a project.
It would however be very cool because it would allow them to do more in-depth stories.

[Orolinwe]

legionaireX,

Regardless of the timeline of the books and whether Bilbo visibly ages or not between The Hobbit and LOTR, Ian Holm was intentionally chosen to represent a more aged Bilbo.

You&#39;re making your argument as if the movies accurately reflect the books... If they did, someone much older should&#39;ve been picked to play Frodo, who is much older in the books than Elijah Woods is meant to be in the movies.

You have to approach it like someone who has only seen the movies and doesn&#39;t know a thing about the books. For most of these people (indeed MOST of the viewers of the films), Ian McKellen as Gandalf is going to be WAY, WAY, WAY more essential than Ian Holm as Bilbo. Like I&#39;ve already said several times, Ian Holm had maybe 30 minutes of screen time in 9 hours of film and during half or most of that he was playing a very old Bilbo with no Ring. To most moviegoers, who don&#39;t know the books, it would probably be strange to see the "old" Ian Holm Bilbo playing a young adventurous Bilbo in The Hobbit.

Regardless, it&#39;s not like I care if Ian Holm does play Bilbo... I just don&#39;t think he will because I think he as an actor is too old to be climbing trees and fighting spiders.

But my point is that Ian McKellen IS Gandalf in the mind of the moviegoers in a different way than Ian Holms "played the character of" Bilbo... Coming from the POV of a regular moviegoer who never read the books, it would be insane to see anyone else as Gandalf, IMO.

And if we&#39;re getting technical about the books: Although Bilbo didn&#39;t visibly age much between Hobbit and LOTR, he certainly aged inside and became tired and old in his bones, so to speak. Ian Holm, as an older actor, was chosen to represent this definitely OLDER Bilbo than we see in the Hobbit. Sorry, but I just can&#39;t picture Ian Holm fighting the spiders and all the rest...