del Toro Comments More on Quitting The Hobbit

Guillermo del Toro provides more insight on what led to his decision to quit The Hobbit films to the LA Times. While saying, "Its not just MGM," his statements make it clear that the consequences of MGM's bankruptcy led directly to him having to quit the project and the politics involved. He does disregard any suggestions that that problems working with Peter Jackson led to the decision. In the article, he also talks his current project (Are You Afraid of the Dark?) and his next (Haunted Mansion).

People kept misconstruing that it was MGM. It came from many factors," Del Toro told 24 Frames in an interview at Comic-Con. "It wasn't just MGM. These are very complicated movies, economically and politically. You have to get the blessing from three studios.

"It was really the fact that every six months we thought we were beginning, and every six months we got pushed [back]. And before you could blink, it was a year, and then it was two years."

"We were at the stage where the collaboration was good. If there were going to be any issues, we never got to that stage [in development]," he said.

Del Toro did still sound a rueful note about his decision to pack his bags and return to Los Angeles without seeing "The Hobbit" through. "It is the hardest professional decision of my life," he said. "I still feel very emotional about it."