Who should direct "The Hobbit"?

[Thenamir]

For the moment, Peter Jackson is slated to be one of the executive producers, as his schedule is already too full to direct The Hobbit. So who would be your choice for the Director's chair? Defend your position!

[Galendor]

I'm hoping for Guillermo del Toro.

I liked the look and feel of Pan's Labyrinth, serious and dark. I would like to see what he would do with The Hobbit.

[Thinlómien]

Is this a serious thread? I mean, are we supposed to argument reasonably and make rational suggestions or say anything that would make an interesting film (like nominate a dead director or anything like that)?

[Finduilas]

I'm afraid my vote was from limited information, as I have only watched movies from three of the directors meantioned. But Peter Weir did an excellent job with Master and Commander, and he did the character in his movie very well, and pretty near the book characters. I'm afraid I don't care for the director of Narnia, but it didn't help my opinion that I almost know the Narnia books by memory. And Jackson? I have given some complaints on other threads, and don't think I will do so here. But any way it goes, I still believe I will be seeing it.

[Thenamir]

Yes, this is a serious thread. And if you don't like one of the choices above, please feel free to suggest a different director (please, keep it to realistic possibilities).

[Thinlómien]

I'm not going to vote just yet, but I think I would love to see Tim Burton's Hobbit. (It was discussed on some thred some time ago, but I've totally forgotten where and am too lazy to find it right now.) Of those you listed, I'd prefer Guillermo del Toro. I'd rather let someone else than Jackson have his/her chance on M-E, Adamson would possibly be too simple and childish, Raimi too action-ish and Weir too dry. Pan's Labyrinth was a very intriguing movie and it would be more than appropriate if similar intense magic would be found in The Hobbit. Ooh, just imagine del Toro's Mirkwood...! All in all, I think it should be someone with vision who could approach the world of the book innovatively, not just someone who'd cut half of it away and do the rest exactly as was said in the book (or worse, simplify it) and Middle-Earth should definitely not look like a faerie candyworld.

[Thenamir]

Just for grins, I have added Tim Burton to the poll. Anyone who wishes to switch their vote let me know.

[Sauron the White]

My first choice would be Jackson. If its not broke don't fix it. If that is not in the cards I would like to see Spielberg get the nod, at least on the first one - HOBBIT.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Why doesn't the poll include 'Nobody?'

But of those listed I'd go with Weir. Among others, perhaps Bruce Beresford.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Del Toro, if Pan's Labarynth is anything to go by, is far, far too dark for The Hobbit.

What about Rob Reiner, in Princess Bride mode? That wouldn't be bad at all, if a little of the archness were removed.

[Sauron the White]

Why doesn't the poll include 'Nobody?'

I would imagine because the thread title is WHO SHOULD DIRECT THE HOBBIT?
It is not the Purist desire WHY NOBODY SHOULD MAKE THE HOBBIT.

I think that is clear.

[Galendor]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hickli

Del Toro, if Pan's Labarynth is anything to go by, is far, far too dark for The Hobbit.

Yeah, I see your point. But since it is suspected that The Hobbit movie will be darker than the book, I think I'd prefer to see what Guillermo del Toro's style and substance could do for it as opposed to how we suspect Jackson might approach it.

[Mithalwen]

Of those listed it has to be Peter Weir who has directed some of my favourite films including "Picnic at Hanging Rock" and "Witness". I would just about anyone to Jackson. The Hobbit deserves to be taken on its own terms not as a prequel to a franchise movie - if PJ does it it will be same old same old *yawns* and definitely not a children's film. Hate to think what he would do with 13 dwarves to toss... and even more camp elves.

Ang Lee would be my not on the list choice. Crouching Tiger shows he can do myth and Sense and Sensibility shows he can do "English".

[Galendor]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Of those listed it has to be Peter Weir who has directed some of my favourite films including "Picnic at Hanging Rock" and "Witness". I would just about anyone to Jackson. The Hobbit deserves to be taken on its own terms not as a prequel to a franchise movie - if PJ does it it will be same old same old *yawns* and definitely not a children's film. Hate to think what he would do with 13 dwarves to toss... and even more camp elves.

Peter Weir would be a good choice. At least there have (thankfully?) not been any further statements that The Hobbit will be filmed in 3D...

[Thenamir]

I am not at all sure that a 3-D Hobbit would necessarily be a bad thing. I have seen none of the major 3-D flicks of recent times, but I vivdly remember seeing, during a trip to Disney World (Orlando) circa 1995, a full-color 3-D Muppet film presentation which was utterly smashing! It did require special glasses, but not the old-fashioned red/blue ones. I don't know how they achieved the effect, but the effect astounded me at the time -- very convincing indeed. And with 10+ years to improve the effect, I can only imagine that it has gotten better.

Now, don't mistake me for wanting to overuse the effect just because you can -- the Spy Kids 3-D movie was, according to my kids, an excuse to abuse the effect in virtually (no pun intended) every scene. But as an extra measure of realism in a well-made movie, used with restraint, I would endorse such a move entirely. I get giddy imagining a 3-D Smaug in aerial assult against Lake-Town.

[Galendor]

Posted by Thenamir:
But as an extra measure of realism in a well-made movie, used with restraint, I would endorse such a move entirely. I get giddy imagining a 3-D Smaug in aerial assult against Lake-Town.

I saw the digital 3D Beowulf, the audience had to wear glasses. The 3D took (me at least) some getting used to, but I must admit it was neat. The visuals in the last 30 minutes containing the dragon attack were pretty spectacular. It was the best looking and realistically-moving dragon I have ever seen in a movie.

I've heard a lot of people mention Alfonso Cuaron as a consideration...

... but my vote (second to PJ, of course) would be for Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean).

I consider him much like PJ in style, and like PJ he too has a very workable knowledge of effects and uses them to enhance his story, not just effects for their own sake.

[A Little Green]

Tim Burton, absolutely. I think he has not only a stunning vision of fantasy and myth, but also a lovely twisted sense of humour. I'd love to see what he'd do with the Hobbit. Of the others, well, Guillermo del Toro would be interesting as well.

PJ, on the other hand, would do well to leave the Hobbit for someone else. I'm quite bored of his massive, effect-oriented style of picturing Middle-Earth and I'd love to see another director's vision as well. Besides, I wouldn't like ME becoming known only by PJ's versions.

[Groin Redbeard]

I would love to have Peter Jackson do the Hobbit, since he was the one who started the Lord of the Rings he should finish it, but if I could pick any other directer it would be Peter Weir. Both he Jackson stay pretty true to the books, that they make into movies.
Jackson and Weir would make an awsome team!

[Nogrod]

Given these options it should be Peter Weir (to have a quarantee of a good film) or Tim Burton (to have a quarantee of an interesting and fresh film).

[Sauron the White]

Daily Variety is reporting this today

After "Drag Me to Hell," Raimi is expected to go right back up the mountaintop and take the helm of "The Hobbit" films for New Line and MGM now that Peter Jackson has made it clear he won't direct.

Sam Raimi -- is he on anybodys wish list?

[Kitanna]

Tim Burton does a good job with turning books into movies. I'm not sure I'd want him directing The Hobbit though. Adamson did a good job with Chronicles of Narnia and he could probably do the same for The Hobbit. PJ would seem the obvious choice, but I'd like to see someone else's vision of Middle-Earth. Taking this seriously, I'm not sure who I'd like to see directing it.

However, I thought about humorous choices, like Stanley Kubrick (yes, yes I realize he's dead). But image Bilbo floating on a barrel down a river of blood. Or Gandalf riding a bomb down right in the middle of the Battle of Five Armies. Not to mention the Goblin King throwing a pony bone into the air, only to have it become an eagle.

Daily Variety is reporting this today

Is that so? Did he direct all three Spider-Man films? Because the first two were good, but that third one was something else.

[zxcvbn]

I'm sceptical of Sam Raimi because his previous example in the fantasy genre was Xena Warrior Princess. I would say that the best person to direct the Hobbit so as to tie it in with the LOTR film trilogy would be Peter Jackson himself. Can't he tell Spielberg to direct the first Tintin film so that he'll be free?

[Thenamir]

There is an unconfirmed report on marketsaw.com that PJ may do exactly that - pass on the first two Tintin films to direct the third, which will leave him barely-adequate time to direct The Hobbit.

And as I voted for Sam Raimi but never defended my vote, I will do so now. First, Sam Raimi has indicated intense interest in the project - it wouldn't be "just another movie" to him, as it was not for PJ. Second, he has simultaneously professed respect for the existing work of Peter Jackson on the LOTR movies, and not keen to make radical changes in the style. Third, while the Spider-Man movies are not Fantasy per se, they do involve filming fantastic elements and making them look real. Raimi's work can be credited with virtually singlehandedly reviving comic-books (ahem, graphic-novels) as viable movie franchises.

So what if his last fantsy work was Xena? His work since then has been sterling, and I think he'd be a great choice.

[Kitanna]

Guillermo del Toro is another consideration if Raimi can't commit to The Hobbit. The look and feel of Pan's Labyrinth was really breathtaking. Perhaps del Toro could do the same from The Hobbit.

[Thenamir]

Personally, if Sam Raimi can't do the film (and PJ isn't going to rearrange his schedule), I agree that Del Toro would be another excellent choice.

[Galendor]

Originally Posted by Kitanna

Guillermo del Toro is another consideration if Raimi can't commit to The Hobbit. The look and feel of Pan's Labyrinth was really breathtaking. Perhaps del Toro could do the same from The Hobbit.

According to the link provided by Kitanna, here's a quote from del Toro about The Hobbit:

“I’ve heard some rumblings, but nothing official. I don’t want to think about it because it’s such an eventuality,” Guillermo del Toro told EW. “It’s the only Tolkien book I read. I tried my best to read the Lord of the Rings, the trilogy. I could not. I could not. They were very dense. And then one day, I bought The Hobbit. I read it and I loved it. So it would be a privilege. But listen, I wish I knew.”

Based on this, I may want to change my vote away from del Toro. Shouldn't being able to read (and appreciate) LOTR be a prerequisite for directing The Hobbit? Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if Raimi, Burton, and others haven't even read LOTR either.

In my opinion Get Peter Jackson anyway, by hook or crook!

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Tim Burton? Goodness gracious me, no! Lots of black make-up, just for the sake of it? Johnny Depp as Bilbo, or more likely Gandalf? And the inevitable created part for ol' Big Hair herself, Helena Bonham-Carter? Gollum, perhaps?

No thanks.

Also, Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth featured completely the wrong mood for the Hobbit, so I wouldn't trust him for this particular fantasy tale.

I'd prefer Kevin Costner, as director and to play the part of Gandalf.

[Finiel]

If Tim Burton's gonna be the director dont be surprised if Depp would be casted.
Sam Raimi is more like an action film director than a fantasy movie director.

I like the guy who directed the 3rd Harry Potter film and a 3D cartoonish movie would be a good idea since its a children's book. The movie should convey Bilbo's wonderment in seeing everything new in Middle Earth--> seeing Elves and Trolls for the first time.

Its a movie with a bit of humor in it too

[Azaelia of Willowbottom]

I think that none of these directors would be bad. I

Del Toro would be a very interesting choice. He has a great sense of the artistic. I am a bit worried about the darkness factor--I wouldn't mind seeing a darker Hobbit, not at all, but Pan's Labyrinth approached the pitch-dark, midnight type of deal, and while it was interesting, it was also painful to watch in a way that I don't think it is necessary for TH to be.

I like Peter Jackson. Just for the sake of contenuity, I want TH's Middle-earth to look and feel like the same Middle-earth of the three LOTR movies.

I also like Adamson's spirit. He seems to at least know how to conduct business in a very heavily effects-laden project, and I really enjoyed his Narnia. I think that he can handle more grown-up fare (Narnia gave me that impression), and I'd be curious to see what he made of Middle-earth.

Peter Weir wouldn't be an awful choice, though I don't know so much about him. I saw Master and Commander, but it really wasn't my type of movie at the time (I'd probably like it better, now), through no fault of his.

Tim Burton is probably not my first choice. His style is too much his own, and I feel like there's always an element of the stylized or unreal (or surreal) about his movies. Not a bad thing--I actually enjoy what I've seen of his work (though I've avoided Charlie and the Chocolate factory like a very special kind of plague)--but not quite right for Middle-earth. His Hobbit, like Del Toro's, would, at the very least, be visually interesting.

Raimi is ...meh. While they were hugely successful, the first two Spiderman movies weren't bad (I didn't bother with the third), but they also weren't great. They struck me as, I don't know, a little too mainstream and uncomplicated, or something. Perhaps that's unfair. I don't know what else I would have been expecting from a summer blockbuster. I think he has a passion for the project, and I like that he'd try to preserve PJ's style of Middle-earth. However, I just don't know if he has the artistry to carry it off.

[Sauron the White]

here is the latest on Del Toro from TORN

TheOneRing.net reported here at the end of January that Guillermo del Toro was 99 percent sure to direct “The Hobbit”. Since then the Tolkien Estate filed a lawsuit against New Line Cinema (a copy of which can be found here) and the movie studio has been folded up and put in the pocket of its owner Warner Bros. and its bigger parent Time Warner Inc.

After all the speculation and angst, the director of two “Hellboy” films (the second set for a July 11 release) still seems to be the top choice for director and despite the legal uncertainty, the quiet movements by the key players seem to suggest the film will still be made and sooner rather than later. So in this season of waiting, TORn was finally able to contact the fan-friendly director.


“At this stage anything I say is of no consequence for I am not yet signed to do “The Hobbit.” Negotiations advance but are still ongoing,” he said.
The Mexican born director is busy however researching not only the Hobbit but the greater J.R.R. Tolkien library.

“All I can say is that I am diligently going through all Tolkien material related to Middle-earth but only as a way of bridging a gap in my reading. I still respond the strongest to “The Hobbit,” but as an avid reader of Mythology I find a lot of his other writings fascinating. A perfect Cosmology forged from very eclectic sources,” he said.
He described himself as a bibliophile and his study of Tolkien’s mythology fits in with his passion for myth.

“I bought my first book at age 4 and my last one, last week an original pamphlet edition of Calmet’s (Augustine Calmet) dissertation on Ghosts and vampires from the 18th century.”
The director embraces Internet communities and has his own fan site at www.Deltorofilms.com where he participates and corresponds with fans.

“It is my belief that your community will be a joy to be a part of, whether I do “The Hobbit,” or not,” he said.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by GdT

A perfect Cosmology forged from very eclectic sources

That's quite a positive observation, bodes well. He's into the mythological/fairie elements rather than the adventure aspect.

[Mister Underhill]

More from the director on his Hobbit prospects here.

This is like the third mini-interview with Del Toro that I've seen in two weeks on the subject. At this point, I think it's all but a lock that he'll be at the helm. But sharpen your knives, haters! He says he'll be working with some version of Jackson's writing team.

[Sauron the White]

Well it does look like its all starting to come together... although a bit slower than you would otherwise think. Thanks for that update Mr. U.
Del Toro does say its a five year committment. Thats pretty significant.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

More from the director on his Hobbit prospects here.

This is like the third mini-interview with Del Toro that I've seen in two weeks on the subject. At this point, I think it's all but a lock that he'll be at the helm. But sharpen your knives, haters! He says he'll be working with some version of Jackson's writing team.

It will prove interesting to see if Del Toro's interest in the dark and disturbing aspects of fairy tales is brought out in his direction of TH or if Jackson's lighter fare of thrills and madcap adventure shows.

[Mister Underhill]

When it was announced that PJ wouldn't direct, I said that if they hired someone like a Del Toro, they'd definitely get films that had the new director's stamp. Del Toro is no hack, and he's not going to spend five years of his life just executing PJ's vision. And to PJ's credit, I don't think he'd expect him to. He could have easily hired more of a "hard-hat" director the way Lucas did for Empire and Jedi. Not to say that Kershner or Marquand are hacks, but clearly Lucas's was the dominant vision there.

I figure there'll be an attempt to maintain a certain continuity between LotR and TH, but I expect that Del Toro will bring a healthy dose of Faerie to his vision.

[Sauron the White]

And that would be a good thing. I do not want to see cookie-cutter films. It would be great to have continuity in that the world of Middle-earth is the same visually and in design, the necessary actors are brought back, and the tone and feeling is more or less consistent. But to hire a talent like Del Toro and then not use his talents - that would be a waste of his abilities and a waste of the opportunity.

[Morthoron]

Terry Gilliam. Monty Python's Holy Grail, Brazil, Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Jabberwocky, The Fisher King, The Brothers Grimm, Time Bandits, Twelve Monkeys, etc....

Definitely more of an interesting choice for a fantasy than Tim Burton.

[skip spence]

Terry Gilliam huh?

Yeah. I like. I like it a lot.

Gilliam is an intelligent filmmaker and visually gifted as well. Those forest-scenes in The Brothers Grimm were well tasty.