MGM Trouble Threatens The Hobbit?

According to Deadline Hollywood, the rumor mill is suggesting that MGM is on the verge of bankruptcy. The rumors indicate the storied studio needs $20 million for operating costs and another $150 million to fund various projects including The Hobbit which the studio is a partner with Warner Bros.

The studio is apparently already in debt for around $3.7 billion but only worth $1.5 billion if sold today. The net result is if the studio folds, then most of its projects including Hobbit, James Bond, Stargate and more will become mired in bankruptcy proceedings and other issues while taking care of its debt. This may lead to selling of those franchises and other delays that may affect funding and thus production of the Hobbit films.

For now this is all speculation and even if confirmed the legal wrangling required to get through the knot of debt could take many months to work out so may be a while before determine what impact, if any, this news might have on The Hobbit films.

McKellen: Don't "...want to play Gandalf"

Sir Ian McKellen was presented with the Donostia Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain September 23rd. As part of that, the topic of him playing Gandalf again for The Hobbit films was raised. His response was rather suprising according to Rotten Tomatoes.

In fact it was McKellen who raised the wizard's name before we asked, rather controversially declaring to RT, "I don't want to play Gandalf again."

But before a million Rings fans cry out in terror at the thought of another thesp stepping into the role, McKellen was actually discussing the risk of typecasting the wake of a big success. "If you play a part that gets an awful lot of attention," he explained, "forever after you're being asked by directors to play the same part in their movie. But I played the best wizard, and I'm happy to revisit him, which I shall do in The Hobbit with Guillermo del Toro."

"Grey Gandalf is my favourite," he told us. "Peter Jackson's too, we always preferred Gandalf the Grey. Peter liked him because he got down and dirty. He slept in the hedgerows; he was closer to the earth and not quite so spiritual. He's also funnier -- he's got more variety to him. We thought there was more scope in that Gandalf."

One of the joys of playing the character for McKellen is his broad appeal. "He appeals to really young people. Gandalf has 8 and 9-year-old fans who've seen his films a great deal more than I have. Their faces when they meet the actor who plays Gandalf are wonderful to behold, so that's been special."

Having said that, it sounds like he is willing to reprise the role when asked.

The Hobbit Clears Major Legal Hurdle

A few months ago it was leaked that the Tolkien estate was sueing Time Warner for $220 million in revenue they felt they deserved from the profits of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This has been the norm for the successful franchise as apparently New Line engaged in a lot of shady accounting practices to avoid payouts.

As expected, rather than reveal their tactics and also to move ahead with two films that are likely going to be top earners for the year, Time Warner has settled the suit with the Tolkien Trust, and HarperCollins Publishers Limited. The exact details of the settlement are not known but AICN indicates they got the full $220 million they were asking for. This clears any last legal hurdles and will now allow the Hobbit films to move forward without fear of lawyers preventing the film's release.