Its Official - its Del Toro

[Bêthberry]

Hmm, thanks Lalaith, that's what I thought havering meant, but somehow I was expecting Eomer to be accusing you of something more, well, imaginative.

As for Mr. Underhill's sterling attempt to defend the REB Purists, and M'lady's eloquent reply, I find myself called upon to note that M'lady has already begun some sort of negotiation to move REB beyond the rpg stages: she has engaged an editor who has already completed the work of producing a seemless text. And I would hate to hear any kind of defamation of effort extended toward her editor, who is none other than the esteemed Thenamir himself.

My interest is piqued by bringing Del Toro on board. Does anyone think he will have an easier time of it since, as Mr. U astutely points out, this will be a fanfic?

Originally Posted by davem quoting DT

GDT: There's the scope, and the learning curve, because the amount of things I've gotta learn. I fell in love with "The Hobbit" but I'm marrying an entire mythology. It's like meeting the family of a girl you're going to marry… you get them all, and I fell in love with "The Hobbit" and now I'm familiarizing myself with not only the trilogy--the trilogy I only finally read--but every single thing I can read that Tolkien generated about Middle Earth or about him I'm reading, and in terms of the visuals. In order for the two movies to seamlessly involve into the trilogy, I have to literally put myself through the biggest "making of" ever assembled. I'm going to watch all the dailies of "Fellowship" and I'm going to watch most of the dailies of "The Return of the King." I'll watch as much material as I possibly can take, the camera reports... everything. By the end of the second ("Hobbit") movie, you have to be able to have evolved towards "The Lord of the Rings" and feel that it's a complete continuation.

DT is clearly letting the Jackson fans know he is eager to build a seemless bridge to LotR. He's probably eager to avoid any King Kong size disappointments.

[Rimbaud]

Basing this purely, for good reason*, on Pan's Labyrinth, DT would appear to have astonishing skill at a) bridging light and dark, both thematically and visually and b) blurring the lines between fantasy, reality and allegory. Sounds nigh on perfect for this project.

I would say that PJ's involvement would ensure continuity... if that were one of his strengths. Consistency may be a better term; that said, if I were DT, I would be nervous about helming a project with an admiral looking over my shoulder with such a vested personal interest in the film.

* Number of DT films watched: 1

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Using a word employed but once before on the Barrow-Downs (by me, back in the day) isn't imaginative enough for you, Beth? You are demanding. Deglutition of these standards shall surely take a while.

The audience will be expecting more of the same, 'Lord of the Rings 4' if you will. Won't Del Toro either feel under pressure to conform to Jackson's recent films, and relent on giving us his version, or deliver something that contrasts a bit painfully with the Middle-earth that is currently in the public imagination?

[Gothbogg the Ripper]

I hope that he doesn't go for what Jackson created. Rather I hope we see things in a slightly more fantastical way (Apart from costumes of course, the good work must not be undone) because I want this to tie in with the Fellowship of the Ring. Mainly, this film should be told by Bilbo during his eleventy-first birthday. (From the bit where he's talking to the young hobbits).
That way things can be a lot more expressive as we are seeing things firmly through his eyes.
Oh, and I suggest they get Timothy Dalton to voice Smaug. He was a funny, sarcastic, strangely endearing character. And his wit is an important part of this. I hope it isn't thrown away.

[Morthoron]

Fortunately, The Hobbit has a very linear plot which should save it from many of the pitfalls of the three LotR movies. To me, FotR was the best of the three, simply because it too was a linear tale, and did not have as many of Jackson's flights of fancy festooned about TTT and RotK (and particularly in TTT, which was a veritable mushroom patch of flagrant plot-foolery).

The Hobbit plot traces a journey from inception (and normalcy) to high adventure and danger and then returns (I guess you should call it 'There and Back Again', indeed), and since the story does not rebound from one set of characters to another, then perhaps del Toro can concentrate on the essence of Tolkien's tale, rather than hatching half-baked digressions and jarring plot devices which were wholly unnecessary in LotR. I am thankful for little things, however. Like someone having the presence of mind to talk Jackson out of having Arwen playing Xena the Warrior-Elfette in Rohan, or Aragorn battling Sauron single-handed at the Black Gates. That these deviations were discussed at all chills my respect for Jackson and his effort.

Perhaps it is better that he meddles less in the movie while playing his role as Louis B. Lucas: Movie Mogul.

[The Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Fortunately, The Hobbit has a very linear plot which should save it from many of the pitfalls of the three LotR movies. To me, FotR was the best of the three, simply because it too was a linear tale, and did not have as many of Jackson's flights of fancy festooned about TTT and RotK (and particularly in TTT, which was a veritable mushroom patch of flagrant plot-foolery).

Couldn't agree more. FOTR was fantanstic because it camptured the personalities and the quirks of the respective races/characters well. Hopefully the Hobbit follows this example and is a fine addition.

If the Battle of 5 Armies has dwarves counting their kills I might cry. :P

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Eomer of the Rohirrim

Deglutition of these standards shall surely take a while.

Just wanted to know how much you would swallow. Be sure to remember the ancient grandmotherly: chew 30 times. Or is that masticate?

Is it definite that the two films will be spliced such that the first will be TH proper and the second this 'professional fanfiction'? No see-sawing of plot lines?

[Sauron the White]

In a recent interview Del Toro indicated that the first movie will be THE HOBBIT. He also indicated that in the second movie, we may see some things that took place during THE HOBBIT from a different perspective. Which I would take to mean the White Councils business with Sauron in Mirkwood.