Guillermo: Jackson Not Assit Directing

Guillermo Del Toro reiterated to MTV that while Peter Jackson may be producing and writing The Hobbit, he will not be directing any of it.

Peter Jackson won three Oscars for his work on the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy out of seven nominations. He crafted films that pleased fans, critics, and bean counters alike – films that made something like a bajillion dollars worldwide. He’s the trusted modern face of J.R.R. Tolkien’s revered legendarium.

So given that he’s also working on “The Hobbit” as both a producer and a screenwriter, it’s natural to think that he’ll also step behind the camera at some point as well – to film at least one scene that connects the original trilogy with the two new films.

After all, the man’s earned one last drink from the well, right? He most certainly has, Guillermo Del Toro told MTV News, but that still doesn’t mean he’ll be given the opportunity.

“We talked about it. I normally oppose fully the idea of second unit so my first instinct is no, we will not have second unit on this film,” Del Toro said of whether or not Jackson might at some point get behind the camera. “If there is a scheduling conflict or a problem of that sort, we may consider it, but right now the idea is I shoot everything.”

Listening to Del Toro talk about how “magical” his collaboration with Jackson has been so far, I can’t imagine he wouldn’t reconsider if Jackson wanted to do something brief. Still, for now, there are no plans.

Guillermo Talks Dragons, Writing

ComingSoon has a brief write-up where The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro talks about where inspiration can come from when writing and also about designing Smaug the Dragon.

"I find you have to discipline yourself to write in the morning, and then watch and read in the afternoons stuff that seems relevant, even in a tangential way. For example, reading or watching World War I documentaries or books that I think inform 'The Hobbit,' strangely enough, because I believe it is a book born out of Tolkien's generation's experience with World War I and the disappointment of being in that field and seeing all those values kind of collapse. I think it's a turning point that you need to familiarize yourself with. I'm starting. Peter Jackson is such a fan of that historical moment and obsessive collector of World War I memorabilia, and he owns several genuine, life-size working reproductions of planes, tanks, cannons, ships! He has the perfect obsessive reproductions of uniforms of that time for armies of about 120 soldiers... each. I asked him which books he recommended… because I wouldn't be watching 'Krull' or 'The Dark Crystal,' I need to find my OWN way into the story. That's the same way I did 'Pan's Labyrinth' or 'Devil's Backbone,' by watching stuff you wouldn't think about.

"All my life I've been fascinated by dragons. I was born under the Chinese sign of The Dragon. All my life I'm collecting dragons. It's such a powerful symbol, and in the context of 'The Hobbit' it is used to cast its shadow through the entire narrative. Essentially, Smaug represents so many things: greed, pride… he's 'the Magnificent,' after all. The way his shadow is cast in the narrative you cannot then show it and have it be one thing, he has to be the embodiment of all those things. He's one of the few dragons that will have enormous scenes with lines. He has some of the most beautiful dialogues in those scenes! The design, I'm pretty sure that will be the last design we will sign off on, and the first design we have attempted. It is certainly a matter of turning every stone before figuring out what he looks like, because what he looks like will tell you what he is."

"There will be different sensibilities involved in this movie than there were in the original trilogy. First of all, because we have the travelogues in 'The Hobbit' which goes to places and variations on races that were not addressed in the trilogy. My belief on the 'Wargs' issue is that the classical incarnation of the demonic wolf in Nordic mythology is not a hyena-shaped creature. It is a wolf. The archetype is a wolf, so we're going to go back to the slender, archetypical wolf that is, I think, the inspiration for Tolkien. Listen… if we were having a drink two years from now I would spill the beans, because I'm a pretty easy guy about spilling the beans, but I can't in this instance I can't because it's three years from now... believe me, I am jumping up-and-down inside this fat body!"