The Hobbit

[qstor]

I saw this story about Jackson's newest project (which btw sounds very cool), and it included this tidbit:

Full story HERE

Thanks for posting that. I think the story on theonering.net wasn't worth much. I think Variety is a better source for info. I guess the Hobbit won't come out till 2009 at the earliest.
I have the dragon books that Jackson's optioned, I'll have to read them before the movie comes out. With good CGI they would be really cool on the big screen rather than the SciFi channel movie of the week

Mike

 

[qstor]

I found this on the Variety website:

"Posted: Sun., Sep. 10, 2006, 6:00am PT

When Harry met Leo…
After nearly 40 troubled years, studio returns to tentpole strategy

By JILL GOLDSMITH, NICOLE LAPORTE

In 1969, when the jaunty former CBS president Jim Aubrey showed up at MGM with a mandate to revive the studio, the first thing he did was kill all 15 big-budget, commercial pictures in the pipeline, including "Tai-Pan" and "Man's Fate."

Fast-forward to 2006: MGM chairman-CEO Harry Sloan, who's been at the Lion just under a year, is doing exactly the opposite.

Having barely finished remaking MGM into a pure distribution and marketing outlet for producers of mid-range indie pics, Sloan is moving the studio aggressively into the tentpole biz.

Over the next few years, MGM is planning to release half a dozen films, some in the $150 million to $200 million-plus range. Studio is ready to unveil such high-profile projects as "Terminator 4"; one or two installments of "The Hobbit," which Sloan hopes will be directed by Peter Jackson; and a sequel to "The Thomas Crown Affair" with Pierce Brosnan."

 

[KenM]

Yeah, they'll probably give it to Uwe Boll. ;-)

nah, Courtney Solomon

 

[Ranger REG]

Over the next few years, MGM is planning to release half a dozen films, some in the $150 million to $200 million-plus range. Studio is ready to unveil such high-profile projects as "Terminator 4"; one or two installments of "The Hobbit," which Sloan hopes will be directed by Peter Jackson; and a sequel to "The Thomas Crown Affair" with Pierce Brosnan."

Okay, my head is spinning.

How many film studios are contributing to -- or want to make money from -- the Hobbit film?

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

Okay, my head is spinning.

How many film studios are contributing to -- or want to make money from -- the Hobbit film?

Contributing? No clue.

Want to make money from? Probably all of them, especially given the box-office performance of Lord of the Rings, which was pretty much passed on by all the major movie companies since Jackson didn't want to do a one-film "highlight reel" version of the books.

 

[qstor]

From the tone of the Variety article, I *think* that MGM and New Line ironed out their differences and now MGM is waiting to get Peter Jackson on board for a director's job.

Mike

 

[Evil Monkey]

Well, I still want to know if they rebuilt Hobbiton on the same plot of farmland in Matamata.

Most of it is still up (the important parts anyway, I assume).

http://www.hobbitontours.com

The Hobbiton movie set has been returned to its natural state. However, hobbit holes and some structures from the film set are still present.

 

[Ranger REG]

If anything, they should stop the tour if they're going to rebuild the missing elements of Hobbiton and start production shooting. Hope they keep good records of where things were.

 

[Numion]

If anything, they should stop the tour if they're going to rebuild the missing elements of Hobbiton and start production shooting. Hope they keep good records of where things were.

Does it really matter if they're identical or not? One Hobbiton looks much like the next.

Besides, there's a lot of time between the events - maybe the little pukes have altered the town in the past 50 (60? 70?) years.

 

[Ranger REG]

Does it really matter if they're identical or not? One Hobbiton looks much like the next.

Yeah, that's the kind of lazy "accountant" thinking Courtney Solomon looks for in individuals to hire for his film production crew.



AFAIC, the Matamata farmland is the perfect place for Hobbiton. I don't want to spend a $12 (US) movie ticket to see clips from the LOTR films in The Hobbit.