Del Toro Quits 'The Hobbit'

[Nogrod]

Del Toro doing it was clearly too good to be true... (not my favourite director but one of the best available with big money today)

So back to the real-life. Maybe we'll get some smooth Hollywood director to make it a mixture of epic phantasy, romantic comedy and even more of the teen-audiences sucking tricks / actors then?

Tough times in Wall Street, lousy market-oriented movies in Main Street...

[Mithalwen]

I can't see it being made in a hurry - still uncast as far as we know and now no director. And if even Bond is being delayed then even commerciality won't guarantee a film being made if it is going to need a big budget. Not that I ever thought that the film wouldn't be market orientated since that was used as the justification for all the changes to LOTR.

And since LOTR came out tweenage fantasy has turned out not to be an infallible cash cow - I am sure that the last Harry Potters will be fine but not much sign of the remaining Narnia or Dark Materials happening - and neither is Jackson after The Lovely Bones.

I really hope that a completely fresh approach is given. It is long enough now - after all there is a generation of children who weren't born when LOTR was released who are now the perfect age for a children's movie of The Hobbit - would it be such a bad thing if it were made as such rather than as a prequel to Jackson's LOTR?

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

I really hope that a completely fresh approach is given. It is long enough now - after all there is a generation of children who weren't born when LOTR was released who are now the perfect age for a children's movie of The Hobbit - would it be such a bad thing if it were made as such rather than as a prequel to Jackson's LOTR?

I wouldn't think so, but I don't think like the movie industry. After seeing the travesty that they made of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, I would expect the studios to want TH to appeal to their perception of the market with the most cash to spend. I would've thought that the Percy J books would be tailor made to Hollywood -- full of humor, aimed at the youth market, lots of action -- but they stripped it of all humor, changed the plot completely, not to mention the characters (and I'm not referring to them making the central characters older, that made sense, for a movie market)... It was shocking. I imagine the studios want to stick with Peter J's formula because it made them lots of money. I also have to wonder if Del Toro left because he wanted to be more faithful to the book, and the studio hated it....

Sigh....

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

I really hope that a completely fresh approach is given. It is long enough now - after all there is a generation of children who weren't born when LOTR was released who are now the perfect age for a children's movie of The Hobbit - would it be such a bad thing if it were made as such rather than as a prequel to Jackson's LOTR?

No, it would not be a bad thing; in fact, it may be the right thing to do over the long-term.

*Snickers*

Granted, 'long-term' and 'Hollywood' are mutually exclusive.

But how many generations of children have grown up and bequeathed a copy of the Wizard of Oz movie to their children and they to their children? As a book, The Hobbit is generational -- the movie could be a classic in the same manner. But like in the Wizard of Oz, monkeys may be flying out of some aperture better not named.

Originally Posted by Ibrîniðilpathânezel

I also have to wonder if Del Toro left because he wanted to be more faithful to the book, and the studio hated it....

Sigh....

I had wondered the same thing. GdT had dropped by the TORn site many times to discuss his ideas on the making of The Hobbit, and he was quite reverential of the text and the humor suffused throughout. Based on his candor, I assumed he was definitely intent on keeping things to scale and within the parameters of Tolkien's original storyline. PJ, as we all know, overscales everything, and although he is producing this time around, I am wondering how heavy-handed he is in the scriptwriting. He is certainly prone to go too far afield in his fan-fic inventions and frivolous flights of fancy.

My take? Certainly del Toro's time investment got to be too much; he had been at it since 2008, but now there are rumors that the film will not be released until 2013 and perhpas even 2014. Six years is a bit much for a full-time investment in a film, but given the high profile nature of the movie, its staunch fandom and the inherent wonder of the tale, one has to think that perhaps del Toro felt that he would not get the scope necessary to make it 'his film' and that PJ was holding the reins a bit too tightly on someone of GdT's stature (and it could be argued very convincingly that over their careers GdT has had a far better track record than PJ).

Look for PJ to either eventually take the reins himself (no matter what his 'manager' says, PJ may be too hands on to resist), or merely get a 'hired gun' like Sam Raimi to act as PJ's henchman.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Look for PJ to either eventually take the reins himself (no matter what his 'manager' says, PJ may be too hands on to resist), or merely get a 'hired gun' like Sam Raimi to act as PJ's henchman.

Maybe he'll give it to Michael Bay. After all, a director who bastardises characters he didn't create in the interests of making a film treatment more 'accessible' ought to be right up PJ's alley.

[Andsigil]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Maybe he'll give it to Michael Bay.

Or Uwe Boll?

[Mister Underhill]

Now you're just tempting fate.

[Mister Underhill]

Harsh! I have my criticisms of Jackson's treatment of LotR, but comparing him to Michael Bay is hitting below the belt.

Also, I imagine if there were creative differences which were that profound, GDT would have been gone a long time ago. Jackson doesn't appear to me to be the tyrant he is sometimes imagined to be. For instance, he's pretty much single-handedly helped Neil Blomkamp have a career. He produced District 9, and that film is unmistakably Blomkamp's.

Of course it's easy to be cynical when ninety-nine times out of a hundred these "amicable departures" are exactly -- and pretty transparently -- the opposite, but in this case the official story seems like just the obvious truth. GDT is tired of cooling his heels on a project which may not get off the ground for months, maybe years, maybe not at all. There's only so many artists renderings and storyboards and maquettes you can futz around with before you start to think, I'm ready to make a film already.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

Harsh! I have my criticisms of Jackson's treatment of LotR, but comparing him to Michael Bay is hitting below the belt.

Well, I've gotten better over the years, but sometimes my restraint gives way.

As penance I'll write "Even the smallest person can change the world" 100 times in sidewalk chalk outside my house.

Really though, even though the story of The Hobbit is generally more lighthearted and childlike in tone than LOTR, it could still be cheapened by trying to make it 'contemporary'. I hope they can find someone who will respect the source material enough to avoid that.

As a fan of the first two X-Men movies, I wonder what someone like Bryan Singer could bring to the project.