Del Toro Quits 'The Hobbit'

[Mister Underhill]

Originally Posted by Son of Númenor

A name that pops to my head is Alfonso Cuaron.

Interesting. Can't say I'm very familiar with his work. Children of Men had some interesting stuff in it, but it was way too bleak for my tastes. I saw Azkaban but don't remember a lot of details. He's pals with Del Toro, though, so actually it seems there's a good chance that his name has been thrown into the pot.

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

...collaborations between people with divergent aesthetic sensibilities sometimes result in something new and wonderful and sometimes in utter rubbish, but they're almost always interesting.

Indeed! I think that sort of tension was part of what made Raiders of the Lost Ark so dynamic.

[Son of Númenor]

Interesting. Can't say I'm very familiar with his work. Children of Men had some interesting stuff in it, but it was way too bleak for my tastes. I saw Azkaban but don't remember a lot of details. He's pals with Del Toro, though, so actually it seems there's a good chance that his name has been thrown into the pot.

Yeah, I thought of him because of his involvement in Pan's Labyrinth. I actually never saw Azkaban (or any other HP film for that matter); was just going on its critical reception. I like a lot of his Spanish-language stuff, particularly Y Tu Mama Tambien, although thematically/generically it couldn't be more different from The Hobbit.

[Lastande Took]

When I found out this morning, my reactions were in this order: panic, cry, get angry, plot to take over and direct it myself, and now I'm just sadly waiting this whole business out. I was getting excited about a live-action 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.