MGM Looking for Hobbit Financing

MGM, in some legal way assocated with the the Hobbit, is attempting to raise more then $600 million in funds it needs to pay for the production of the movie and others including the Pink Panther.

From Bloomberg:

The MGM financing will also be used for next year's ``Fame,'' a remake of the 1980s musical, Pryor said. Investors will have access to future projects that include ``Bond 23,'' the working name of the ``James Bond'' installment that follows the Nov. 7 release ``Quantum of Solace,'' Pryor said. ``Bond 23'' is scheduled for 2010, according to Imdb.com.

MGM Chairman Harry Sloan is trying to rebuild the studio by reviving past successes such as ``Rocky'' and developing new film series after the company was taken private in April 2005 in a $5 billion buyout led by Providence Equity Partners and TPG Inc.'s TPG Capital LP.

The Hobbit Scripting Started

During a screening of Hellboy II in Sydney, Australia, Guillermo del Toro indicated to a fan that scripting of the film has begun.

“Ive just got home from an early screening of Hellboy II The Golden Army hosted by PopcornTaxi at the Greater Union Cinema in Sydney, where Guillermo did a telephone Q & A from Berlin after the film…The last question though related to the Hobbit - and Guillermo said that although there was nothing to add at the moment - he can say that scripting has started - and he described the process as something ‘beautiful."

A couple of months ago del Toro indicated that the scripting process would probably go through the year and early into next year so still a ways to go but nice to hear things are moving along nicely.

Pauline Baynes Dead at 85

TheOneRing.net reports that JRR Tolkien's favorite illustrator, Pauline Baynes, died August 1st at the age of 85. She did art work for The Chronicles of Narnia (for CS Lewis), The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Tree and Leaf, Bilbo's Last Song, and produced illustrated posters of the maps from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Pauline Baynes
9/9/1922 - 8/1/2008