"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" 1st trailer is out.

[Havokscry]

This is AWESOME news!! Guillermo Del Toro is going to direct The Hobbit!!

http://movies.ign.com/articles/849/849112p1.html

[Grishnakh]

Originally Posted by Havokscry

This is AWESOME news!! Guillermo Del Toro is going to direct The Hobbit!!

http://movies.ign.com/articles/849/849112p1.html

I'm glad they finally made that official. He'll do a great job.

[Sweetcurse]

I hope he doesn't turn into a puppet director.

[mrbistro]

I am greatly relieved by this news! Del Toro will do a fantastic job, and one respectful of the original material.

[soberman]

I aboard with this idea. I've admired Del Toro since the days of Chronos, and continue to hold his films in high esteem. I wish he had been a bit more involved in the animated Hellboy, but otherwise, he has never disappointed me. He is a pure example of a "geek artisan" as the cinema has ever seen.
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now playing: Cat Power Jukebox

[DingoDarkly]

I've got the hobbit book but I still haven't read it yet! I've read the Lotr trilogy and the Silmarillion and loved them.

[Squitter The Spider]

Originally Posted by Onacara

I don't care how they turn it into 2 movies as long as Leonard Nimoy is on the soundtrack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC73PHdQX04

In the middle of the earth in the land of the Shire
lives a brave little hobbit whom we all admire.
With his long wooden pipe,
fuzzy, woolly toes,
he lives in a hobbit-hole and everybody knows him

Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
He's only three feet tall
Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
The bravest little hobbit of them all

Now hobbits are a peace-lovin' folks you know
They don't like to hurry and they take things slow
They don't like to travel away from home
They just want to eat and be left alone
But one day Bilbo was asked to go
on a big adventure to the caves below,
to help some dwarves get back their gold
that was stolen by a dragon in the days of old.

Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
He's only three feet tall
Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
The bravest little hobbit of them all

Well he fought with the goblins!
He battled a troll!!
He riddled with Gollum!!!
A magic ring he stole!!!!
He was chased by wolves!!!!!
Lost in the forest!!!!!!
Escaped in a barrel from the elf-king's halls!!!!!!!

Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
The bravest little hobbit of them all

Now he's back in his hole in the land of the Shire,
that brave little hobbit whom we all admire,
just a-sittin' on a treasure of silver and gold
a-puffin' on his pipe in his hobbit-hole.

Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
He's only three feet tall
Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
The bravest little hobbit of them all

3 words,

WORST SONG EVER.

[jcb231]

I think I'm the only fanboy out there who doesn't like this news. I think Del Toro has far too distinct of a visual style for these films....I love the man's work, but I don't think it will pair well with the more reserved Peter Jackson style. Del Toro likes to get all crazy and encourages his designers to go nuts...hopefully WETA's designers and techinicians and PJ's producer status will reign him in a touch and keep things visually on the same level. It would be nice if the same set and costume designers returned. I'd hate for the Hobbit movie to look like the start of a new franchise instead of a true companion piece to the awesome LOTR trilogy. The presence of Serkis (?), McKellen (?), PJ as producer, PJ and Walsh on script (?)and WETA should help, but I'm still apprehensive.

I was actually hoping for a puppet director or a last-minute change of heart on PJ's part. At least he and Walsh are still doing the screenplay, right? I haven't heard much about who's adapting the novel, nor have I heard solid confirmation that Gollum and Gandalf will return....I assume Bilbo's out, unless Ian Holm suddenly got thirty years' younger.

[soberman]

Originally Posted by jcb231

I think I'm the only fanboy out there who doesn't like this news. I think Del Toro has far too distinct of a visual style for these films....I love the man's work, but I don't think it will pair well with the more reserved Peter Jackson style. Del Toro likes to get all crazy and encourages his designers to go nuts....

Have you seen Chronos and The Devil's Backbone? They were both rather artfully restrained, as was most of Pan's Labrinyth.
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now playing: Galaxy Express 999 soundtrack

[kboleen]

The Bridge material would have to be culled from the Appendix to Return of the King. The ONLY Tolkien movie rights New Line owns is Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit is jointly owned by New Line and MGM I believe it is: basically the license Saul Zaents owns. Christopher Tolkien who owns the rights to everything else, Silmarrilion, Lost Tales, Unfinished Tales, HOME, etc and he does NOT like the movies, therefore I doubt anything will be based on those writings.

[Erasmas]

I like del Toro's stuff, so this is pretty good news. However, I have to agree with jcb on this. And neither Pan's Labyrinth or Devil's Backbone are what I would call "artistically reigned in". There was some pretty out there stuff. I think that the two of them working together should prove to be a nice blending of styles though. The Hobbit is going to need a little bit of an edge to bring it away from being such a children's film (since they are going to want this to appeal to a much larger audience), and I think del Toro can provide that.

I just hope that it's in English.

[morgost]

All I have to say is......................

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for the love of all that is holly please leave the Hobbit alone