Peter Jackson Negotiating to Direct The Hobbit

The news that The Lord of the Rings fans have been waiting to hear. Peter Jackson may direct The Hobbit films according to The Hollywood Reporter. The reason for the "may" is because he has yet to sign on the dotted line with issues to negotiate first. However, this is the closest it has come yet to him re-entering the Tolkien world as more than a producer. It seems the production could not find a capable director to replace Guillermo del Toro, or at least one that was willing to dive in halfway through pre-production when most of the decisions had been made about movie locations, design and so forth.

While I am sure payment and percentage of the profits remain the main obstacles (issues that caused multiple lawsuits during for the Trilogy), Peter Jackson also has other issues he wants settled. One includes fast tracking the films for a 2012 and 2013 release now that the 2011 window has passed. Another major obstacle remains MGM which seems to be taking its time trying to determine how it wants to handle its current financial situation as "a significant delay would be a dealbreaker for Jackson." Both MGM and Warners Bros have wanted Jackson in the director's chair since day one they are highly motivated to try and overcome these and other obstacles to get The Hobbit into official production.

Blomkamp Out for Directing The Hobbit

What the rumor gods giveth, they taketh away as The New York Magazine is reporting that Neill Blomkamp (District 9) is not going to direct The Hobbit. Instead his next project will be Elysium, a sci-fi project he created. Previously, The One Ring has reported that multiple sources indicated he was in the running but apparently it was more of a set visit/consultation rather than interview for the job.

"An insider at his agency, William Morris Endeavor, confirms to Vulture that not only is Blomkamp not doing the movie, no one from MGM/United Artists or Warner Bros. has even contacted them about his directing the film." Oh well, sounds like back to square one on the directing issue. This means Peter Jackson may be forced to take the helm, good news for fans, and probably not so much good for PJ.

Spyglass to Run MGM?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Spyglass Entertainment (Star Trek, GI Joe, Get Him to the Greek) is considering taking over the running of MGM as the studio tries to "restructure a roughly $4 billion debt load this summer." This would put Spyglass co-heads Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in charge of the studio. This aligns with indications that the studio's creditors would rather attempt to run the studio to increase its value rather than outright selling it at a bargain basement price. Deadline reports Summit Entertainment (Twilight franchise) is also in the running.

The creditors are deciding between proposals submitted by both studios and also MGM's current management team. It seems the creditors like Spyglass' presentation more, probably helped that the studio would get less of the MGM pie then Summit. MGM's own proposal is considered risky as they are asking for another $1 billion in capital to "bankroll a slate of expensive blockbusters."

To the winner is the ability to oversee the The Hobbit films, future Bond films, a 3 Stooges film, Stargate franchise and more. MGM's storied history presents lots of franchises and opportunities to bring the studio around. The main issue is they have been plagued with management teams that seem focused on squandering opportunities (and money on themselves) and not properly exploiting beloved franchises effectively (a bunch of direct to video releases is not effective use for example). What the future holds is unknown and until it is, The Hobbit remains in greenlight limbo. (via TheOneRing)

Neill Blomkamp New Hobbit Director?

The One Ring is suggesting very strongly that Neill Blomkamp has been chosen as the replacement for Guillermo del Toro as the director of The Hobbit films. The information comes from multiple sources, one of who said the information was contained within Warner Bros part of the Time Warner company report for the quarter.

Neill Blomkamp's claim to fame is the Director and writer of district 9 which enjoyed a great deal of success and critical claim. His geek cred runs deep with 3D animator experience on Stargate SG-1, Smallville, Dark Angel and more. However, there doesn't seem anything in his profile to suggest he has experience with this scale of a project, but then again neither did Peter Jackson when he directed The Fellowship of the Ring.

Peter Jackson was also a producer of District 9 so he is familiar with the director's style and how it may fit with the overall vision for The Hobbit. While fans may want Peter Jackson to direct the movies, he has repeatedly made it clear it is an option of last result that will occur only if it’s the only way to get the films made. Picking another colleague that he is familiar with and open to his advice may kill two birds with one stone. It will allow him to avoid the director's chair while still maintaining influence on the film (but to be very clear Blomkamp's decisions would likely be final).

There is likely pressure to get things going on this film, especially for beleaguered MGM who would like to make their first major project a hit. There are also a few time constraints at work now that unofficial pre-production is in full swing with sets, props, and designs being completed. Casting is rumored to have been decided on a few characters with more in the works. The San Diego Comic Con is coming on July 22nd and I am sure both Peter Jackson and the studios would like information of significance to announce to start to get the hype machine rolling.

So all this theorizing really means is that a new director has to be chosen quickly, he has to be willing to accept decisions made by others up to this point while diving in and catching up very quickly. Someone that Peter Jackson has worked with before would fit that bill and Blomkamp is one of the few that does. In a weird way Blomkamp's lack of epic movie experience may be a plus as most established Hollywood directors would step in and feel a need to scrap everything up to this point just to ensure their "vision" (aka ego) is stamped onto the production. Hopefully an official announcement will be made soon on the future of The Hobbit films.

Yates, Ratnor or Jackson to Direct The Hobbit

Now that Guillermo del Toro has stepped down as the director of The Hobbit, the focus has shifted to who will take over the helm. Over the weekend three names popped up as rumored to take over while an old favorite is being asked to sign on.

/Film is reporting that David Yates is the front runner to take over with Paramount and MGM behind the choice. Yates is the director of the last four Harry Potter films so he has plenty of fantasy and working with CGI. However, that idea has already been dashed as the director's representation told TheWrap that the rumor is "not true at all."

Yates may be out, but Deadline reports that David Bobkin and Brett Ratner are in the running. Bobkin directed the Wedding Crashers, Fred Claus and Shanghai Knights. Ratner directed X-Men 3, Rush Hour films, among others. It seems these names were thrown into the pop to scare Lord of the Rings Trilogy director Peter Jackson into bowing to studio pressure to add Director to his Executive Producer and Writer credits for the two Hobbit films. Deadline says "Warner Bros and MGM brass are doing all they can to sell Jackson on the seemingly obvious notion that he should complete the franchise he started..."

I think fans are in agreement the ideal situation would be for Peter Jackson to take over but he said before that "the other studios may not let me out of the contracts." The MGM bankruptcy has made a mess of things and really until that is settled there is no telling how things will shake out.

Andy Serkis Talks Hobbit, Motion Capture

In an interview last month with IGN while at the Cannes Film Festival, Andy Serkis (Gollum) talked about The Hobbit fims and the motion capture industry which got a big boost of interest thanks to Avatar and Steven Spielberg's next film Tintin.

We spoke to Serkis days before Guillermo del Toro announced he was stepping off the [Hobbit] project. "I had a great meeting with Guillermo last year when we were doing reshoots for Tintin and he showed me some extraordinary concept art and we talked about it," he said.

Probed on whether Gollum would have a different appearance this time around, in fitting with (at that time) del Toro's vision for the project and advances in technology, Serkis shook his head. "Gollum will look like Gollum, and in The Hobbit he's certainly post-turning into Gollum. I really don't know what the approach will be for shooting but I'm looking forward to finding out."

One thing, he said, that might be different will be the reaction he gets from his fellow cast members. With the technology of performance capture more industry standard, the sight of an actor flailing about in grey lycra with ping pong balls attached might not be so alien this time. "Hopefully there won't be the wide-eyed looks from Sean Astin and Elijah Wood that I remember on the first day of shooting Lord of the Rings!"

Richard Taylor Knighted

Lord of the Rings special effects guru Richard Taylor was knighted last week by the Queen of England. He has five Oscars and four Baftas for his work in the film industry, most of it for his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. He is also the co-founder and co-director of Weta. In addition he involved in multiple charities including Neonatal Trust and Dyslexia Foundation.

"It's pretty overwhelming and pretty abstract at this point in my head. You go and collect an Oscar for everyone in the workshop that has helped you get there. But I think this is more what you have done in your career and how you have tried to help your local community."

"I am sure the crew here at the workshop will take great delight for a few days but I am sure it will get back to being Richard again. I don't think it will make any difference here in New Zealand ultimately because we are pretty down to earth people as New Zealanders. I think it might have some impact when I am dealing with the government in maybe Japan or China because there's acknowledgement there of credentials and qualifications to more of a degree than at home, but I don't think it's something you would trade on necessarily."

I believe he is the third LOTR member of the cast and crew to get knighted, joining Sir Peter Jackson and Sir Ian McKellen.

Guillermo Del Toro Comment to Fans

Last week Guillermo Del Toro officially left The Hobbit as director due to MGM's financial situtation focing him to handle his other obligations. He stopped by TheOneRing.net forums to comment further on his departure from the film.

“So – while the cited delays, contractual complexities or obstacles, cannot be attributed to a single event or entity – you will simply have to believe that they were of sufficient complexity and severity to lead to the current situation. Trust me on this, leaving NZ and the Hobbit crew is extremely painful. As stated before- a wealth of designs, animatics, boards and sculptures is left behind representing accurately my ideas for Mirkwood, Spiders, Wargs, Stone Trolls, etc, etc and everyone (PJ, FW, PB and myself) has the same goal in mind: to try and ensure the best possible transition of the movie to a new director.”

Update on MGM Situtation

Business Week has written an article that provides an update on the financial straits of storied studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The studio is financially underwater with $3.7 billion in debt and while there are suitors to buy the studio, no firm decision has been made by its creditors on what solution will allow them to recoup as much of that debt as possible.

Proposal number one is for the creditors to run the studio themselves. Considering the multiple franchises the studio owns, careful use of their properties could lead to new found strength for the company. See Marvel and their success story as they went from a nearly bankrupt company to a worthy addition to the Disney brand. The franchises that could be tapped include The Hobbit films, James Bond, Pink Panther, Stargate and really anything from their extensive library of films. However, desperate times often leads to desperate decisions which means bad choices could actually cause the debt to grow. The increase in losses would start immediately as the creditors would have to invest at least $500 million just to "jump-start" production.

The second choice is to cut their losses and sell the studio and all those franchises to Time Warner who was the highest bidder in the March auction with a $1.5 billion bid. The current value of the company is only $1.6 billion, more than half of what the debt is so the losses would be huge.

If they go with decision reviving the studio, two franchises are really just a quick infusion of cash away from starting. Production on the 23rd James Bond film was suspended when the problem with MGM mounted but this suggests that at least some of the scripting, casting and other decisions have been made. The Hobbit films have also been in unofficial pre-production mode with props, sets, scouting, scripting and design being conducted as a run up to an official greenlight. While the Hobbit suffered a set back with Guillermo del Toro no longer attached as director, filling that role should not take that much time once the final disposition of the studio is determined.

Business Week's sources indicate the creditors are giving serious consideration to reviving the studio in the hope to increase its market value to at least $2 billion and possibly sell those franchises in a piecemeal fashion. For example, James Bond's estimated value is $750 million (which seems low to me).

Sadly for The Hobbit fans, what all this really means is there is no end in site on the MGM situation so no telling when the films will finally get the greenlight and budget necessary to move forward.