ROTTEN TOMATOES: Guillermo Del Toro in Talks to Direct Back-to-Back Hobbit Films! Comments

Guillermo Del Toro in Talks to Direct Back-to-Back Hobbit Films!

by Alex Vo | January 28, 2008

Summary

After the past few weeks' spate of bad news (and weather), have we got some silver lining for you: our preciousss is in motion to return to the big screen. Now that Peter Jackson has kissed and made up with the studios, New Line and MGM are in talks with Guillermo del Toro to direct two, simultaneously shot installments of The Hobbit! Back to Article

(81-94 of 94 posts) | Reply

renodc writes:
on Jan 30 2008 10:44 AM

It will be interesting to see how much "creative control" Jackson throws into the Hobbit.

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Stanley QBrick writes:
on Jan 31 2008 12:31 PM

Del Toro will be the best choice, he gives great attention to details and his characters come alive in his films. his limitation is his source material, but in the case of The Hobbit we know these are literature at its best.
With Peter as captain of the ship and Del Toro driving it, and with so many of us passengers this Titanic surely won't sink.
I say Del Toro SI, Rami NO (with Spider 3 leaving a bitter-sweet flavor in my sub-councious I rather vote for Bush)

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rikoruss31 writes:
on Feb 01 2008 09:20 AM

oh god... if Sam Raimi were to direct this?? i think i would shoot myself. I'm honestly phobic of anyone but Jackson directing these. I want the LOTR to feel like a whole, rather than the piecemeal of the Batman and Superman franchises. And if the great Sam Raimi comes to direct the Hobbit fresh from pulling up his pants after depositing with us the steaming pile that was Spiderman 3? I just don't see that fitting together too well with what has so far been a flawless franchise. I just don't want the best books of my childhood, and the best movies of my adolescence to end with the biggest disappointment of my early 20's. I think PJ needs to wake up and realize he has the opportunity to continue something special and pass up an opportunity that he will never have again. To have full creative license and support to build on the legacy on one of the most successful (both critically and financially) franchises in book and cinema history and pass it up??? Guillermo Del Toro is a good director; but this is too important to mess with the formula now.

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twinsfan2715 writes:
on Feb 01 2008 04:43 PM

In reply to this comment (#1533227)
i would rather have del Toro any day than sam raimi

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rgallitan writes:
on Feb 01 2008 11:00 PM

In reply to this comment (#1545908)
*muttering to an audience that clearly isn't listening* 'The Frighteners' was a steaming pile too...

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robertrtk writes:
on Feb 02 2008 12:43 AM

In reply to this comment (#1534170)
" I'd like to see a Uwe Boll take on the Hobbit especially now that he's proven what he can do with fantasy films."

CLASSIC!!! I had to register just to tell you how classic that was! If he's not available perhaps they can get Andrzej Bartkowiak. Perhaps DMX can play the Goblin King.

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Hereandthere writes:
on Feb 02 2008 02:34 AM

Del Toro is an interesting choice. As long as he has a passion for the material, the movies should be excellent. The only thing that has me a bit concerned will be the quality of the script. I've heard that the White Council may be involved in the plot. While it's briefly mentioned in The Hobbit novel, I'm not aware of any other material that specifically details the Council's fight with the Necromancer. I'm probably wrong. I'll have faith in PJ and GDT.

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pinkincide writes:
on Feb 02 2008 10:03 AM

Another vote for Uwe Boll. Everyone deserves a twenty-seventh chance.

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dayfalljesse writes:
on Feb 03 2008 02:43 PM

what i dont understand is how alot of you can think that if del toro was given the job that there would be a high level of violence and gore...

this is going to be a pg-13 movie, much like the hellboy series. he can direct action/fantasy without the gore. no studio would greenlight 2 "R" hobbit films...

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Margim writes:
on Feb 03 2008 07:27 PM

The Lord of the Rings appendix give some additional information about the timeline between Hobbit and Fellowship of the Rings. It will take a little creative licence as far as scripting goes, but the story for a second film is definitely there. It would be more Aragorn/Gandalf centred though (including battles with the Necromancer in Mirkwood, the initial quest to track down the ring of power, the beginning of Aragorn and Arwen's romance, Aragorn tailing Gollum on Gandalf's behalf, and even something about the Dwarf colony in Moria), while the Hobbit would focus specifically on Bilbo.

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zooman writes:
on Feb 03 2008 08:49 PM

i actually disklike the idea of him directing them, I dont see why he is SO acclaimed, I havent seen cronos, but hellboy 1 was bland and forgettable, even if solid for a blockbuster, he did a blade movie.... period..., mimic was good but for some reason forgotten and then again, he always claims he didnt like that movie because the studios didnt allow him to do it the way he wanted (which i think might have made it better, having him working harder around the studios), the orphanage was good but NOT his, he only supported a new filmmaker with his name and money; he did another horror movie in spain which was the typical ghost story redeemed by the not-from-hollywood glamour but with little else to boast about in plot or even that much in craft. Pan's labrynth was impressively original in some aspects, mixing powerful and harsh drama (but unoriginal and uninspired when by itself) with a fantasy story (which again in itself was boring, with stupid "tests" that were only an excuse for cool visuals). Apart from this and a stunning visual concept which is still not among the best (id have burton instead), there's not much I appreciate from that movie, though I guess i might not be supported by many in that...

To me, it seems that he is much intent in doing "the seemingly different" visually, than having something to say, though he does that with a good management of the craft to never deliver something to be labeled as really bad. For example, the theme on pan's seemed like an excuse, like a theme that just came of itself after he tried to come with something cool and which he exploited, but which ultimately had little effect as statement (kind of what happened in the inferior the fountain) .

I simply want a more powerful director that is more visionay when it comes to life over the "cool" for the hobbit movies. And well, I do consider him a solid international filmmaker commercially, but considering his films apart from chronos (which I havnet seen) and mimic (which wasnt fully his according to himself), i really dont consider him such a master of movie crafting to guarantee a great hobbit movie.

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zooman writes:
on Feb 03 2008 09:00 PM

In reply to this comment (#1536303)
i agree, i dont think coherence of style between the hobbit and the lotr trilogy should be THAT important, after all, the styles of the books themselves are very different, tolkien even used different sources of fictional narrative to justify such variation (the silly bilbo for the hobbit, and the very different frodo and company for the lotr). After all, they were written over 20 years apart, and the hobbit had barely any middle earth background to use.

Someone else also mentioned harry potter, though im not a big fan of that franchise and though i said i didnt want del toro for the hobbit, i would actually love to see how a hp movie turns out with him at the helm!

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ForEignerFromMars writes:
on Feb 04 2008 04:46 AM

THIS IS THE BEST NEWS I HAVE HEARD SO FAR~~!!'
Del Toro is one of the best choice after Jackson, I was bummed when i heard that Jackson wouldnt be directing it, but this is great, Pan's was awesome, Cuaron did an excellent job with Children of Men, but his fantasy world wasn't set in a medieval type of fantasy with monsters and stuffs, so I wasn't sure if he was suitable.

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muggsey writes:
on Mar 11 2008 12:48 AM

(huge sigh of relief)

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