Sir Ian McKellen back as Gandalf

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

The Hobbit

DoctorOfDesire · 500 Club Member

Cool. I absolutely love the LOTR trilogy, so am looking forward to this eagerly!

Lava · A List Star

I second that emotion, with Del Toro at the hlem this could be weird as well as wonderful!

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Well it's now official

Mexican-born filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has been named as the director of the film version of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit and its proposed sequel.

The films, planned for release in 2010 and 2011, will be prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by New Zealand's Peter Jackson.

"Contributing to the Lord of the Rings legacy is an absolute dream come true," said del Toro, 43.

Jackson will produce the films, to be made back-to-back in New Zealand.

According to studio New Line, the first will be an adaptation of The Hobbit, the novel Tolkien published before his Lord of the Rings cycle.

The second will be an original story focusing on the 60 years between the book and the beginning of the Rings trilogy.

'Magician'

Jackson and his wife and fellow executive producer Fran Walsh called del Toro "a cinematic magician who has never lost his childlike sense of wonder".

"We have long admired Guillermo's work and cannot think of a more inspired film-maker to take the journey back to Middle Earth," they said in a statement.

Del Toro's acclaimed fantasy Pan's Labyrinth won three Oscars and three Baftas in 2007.

His latest film, a sequel to his 2004 comic book adaptation Hellboy, is released later this year.

The director's involvement in the Hobbit films has been mooted for some time.

Earlier this month, however, del Toro said nothing was definite "until everything is signed and put on paper".

Sir Ian McKellen has already expressed an interest in reprising his Oscar-nominated role as the wizard Gandalf.

-- Edited by Darth Mattitude at 10:43, 2008-04-25

braxious · 500 Club Member

they have to have Sir Ian McKellen as gandolf if they dont there will be uproar

mrsmiley · On The Casting Couch

I would without a doubt,be mad if McKellen wasn't casted.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Don't Panic here's an interview with Guillermo Del Toro. Not only is McKellen 'supposedly' signing on but so is Andy Serkis.

Now that the worst kept secret in Hollywood is official, i.e. that Guillermo Del Toro is directing The Hobbit and its follow-up, the director is now free to speak about just what he has planned for the Lord of the Rings prequel. Del Toro took the time to speak to fan site TheOneRing.Net over the weekend and revealed a couple of details.

Most encouraging was that he's got Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis all but signed to return as Gandalf and Gollum respectively. Del Toro told us previously that he wanted all the relevant cast members back, but he now says, "I had the most charming meeting with Sir Ian, and all bureaucracy pending, hes on board, as is Andy Serkis".

Another thing he also discussed briefly was the second film, which is going to be an almost entirely invented chronicle of the time between The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring. The script isn't written yet, obviously, so Del Toro couldn't give details, but he did say:

"I traveled to New Zealand just a little while ago, and one of the main reasons for going was to sit down and talk about the second film. The Hobbit, the book, is really one self-contained film, so for the second movie we sat down and worked it out. When we did this we got really excited because this second film is not a tag on, its not filler, its an integral part of telling the story of those 50 years of history lost in the narrative. There will be certain things that we will see from the first movie but from a different point of view, but it will feel like a volume, in the 5 volumes of the entire story. It will not feel like a bridge, Ive been hearing it called a bridge film, its not, its an integral chapter of the story, and I think were all on the same page."

There was also one other small point that gladdened our hearts, which had absolutely nothing to do with plot. It was this sentence: "The only thing I will be pushing for more in these films than the other three are full animatronics and animatronic creatures enhanced with CGI, as opposed to CGI creatures themselves. "

The effects in Lord of the Rings were, for the most part, excellent, but no matter how good CGI is, it will never have the charm of animatronics. You can say that animatronics are, on the whole, less convincing than CGI, but really sophisticated animatronics can be just as believable (look at Del Toro's other films) and even less than perfect animatronics have more warmth than slightly dodgy pixel work. A great big robotic Smaug? Bring it on.

braxious · 500 Club Member

Sir Ian McKellen back as Gandalf

Sir Ian McKellen will return as wizard Gandalf

Sir Ian McKellen has confirmed he will reprise his role as Gandalf in the film version of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit.

"Yes, it's true," he told Empire magazine. "It's not a part that you turn down. I loved playing Gandalf."

Two Hobbit films are planned for release in 2010 and 2011. They will be prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson.

Guillermo del Toro has been named as the director of the movies, to be made back-to-back in New Zealand.

"I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role," Sir Ian said.

He also said del Toro would be starting the script in about six weeks after he has finished filming current project, Hellboy 2.

According to studio New Line, the first film will be an adaptation of The Hobbit and the second will be an original story focusing on the 60 years between the book and the beginning of the Rings trilogy.

"As to how it's going to work over two films and what going to happen on screen, well Guillermo has not got down to working out the major details yet - I can tell you it's going to be amazing though," Sir Ian said.

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Some fabulous news courtesy of Variety...

Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have officially signed on to collaborate on "The Hobbit" and its sequel with director Guillermo del Toro.
The announcement, from exec producers Jackson and Walsh and New Line president Toby Emmerich, came four months after del Toro confirmed he had signed on to direct both pics.

Jackson, Walsh and Boyens teamed on penning the three screenplay adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkein’s "The Lord of the Rings." The third pic, "The Return of the King," won an Oscar for adapted screenplay.

The announcement said the production’s tentatively set to begin in late 2009, with the releases set for 2011 and 2012.

Del Toro is directing the two films back to back, with the first pic centered on a young Bilbo Baggins swept off by the wizard Gandalf to recover a lost treasure. The sequel deals with the 60-year period between "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring," the first of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Warner Bros. susbisdiary New Line is overseeing development and will manage production. Both pics are being co-produced and co-financed by New Line and MGM, with Warner distributing domestically and MGM handling international.

Mollison · 500 Club Member

Very cool. It's a long way off but something very much to look forward to...

braxious · 500 Club Member

DM / MIB is there any news on a cast list - i kinda know that gandalf is cast, but what about bilbo etal

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

The only other person confirmed at this point is Andy Serkis returning as Gollum.

Creepfnshow · On The Casting Couch

really looking forward to this movie
loved the book and i don't care how geeky that makes me!

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

I wouldn't say it makes you geeky,millions of people loved the book and willproabbaly be queing up around the block for this. Especially after LotR...

braxious · 500 Club Member

i am the first to say IM A GEEK and i am well looking forward to the hobbit.

Man In Black · Anime Mod

This is from Wiki so take it for what you will:

Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, and Viggo Mortensen (who played Gandalf, Gollum and Aragorn respectively), have met Del Toro, and ideally, he wants every actor (including Ian Holm, who played the old Bilbo in Rings) to reprise their roles, although he acknowledged some may be unable to due to health problems.

All thirteen Dwarves and Beorn will appear. He would consider having Holm narrate the films. Doug Jones, who appeared in Del Toro's Hellboy, its sequel and Pan's Labyrinth, is interested in playing Thranduil, King of Mirkwood and Legolas' father. Similarly, Hellboy star Ron Perlman is a person whom del Toro has "something in mind for".

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

Here's an idea for a bit of casting, how about Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan for the Trolls at the fireplace who turn to stone in the morning. THe one part of the Hobbit adventure game I had on my Spectrum 48k I aways used to get stuck on...

Man In Black · Anime Mod

And if Andy Serkis can't make it to play Gollum, Amy Winehouse or Pete Doherty could easily replace him...

Darth Mattitude · The Dark Admin

I was thinking Britney Spears myself....

braxious · 500 Club Member

i always got stuck on the spiders bit on the spectrum game, then a mate said it was waiting and moving.

DoctorOfDesire · 500 Club Member

braxious wrote:

DM / MIB is there any news on a cast list - i kinda know that gandalf is cast, but what about bilbo etal

I've heard strong suggestions that James McAvoy is being considered for the role of Bilbo. I reckon that could work, although Braxious, no offence intended, but you have the look of a Hobbit about you, maybe you should audition! wink

-- Edited by DoctorOfDesire at 20:48, 2008-08-24

braxious · 500 Club Member

none taken i would love to be the hobbit as long as they cast your goodself as a troll.