The fate of The Hobbit has been decided, and while it seemed like they were going ahead with planning the film even without an official nod from the studio, MGM has issued a press release reported by multiple sources that The Hobbit has an official Green Light and Peter Jackson will direct the film scheduled to start filming February 2011.
The film is still scheduled to come out in two parts in 2012 and 2013.
The Hobbit is greenlit, ready to go, with Peter Jackson at the helm, and shooting starting early next year. The NY Times was the first to report that Jackson’s deal to direct is finalized and Warner Bros’ and MGM have “worked out their deal to finance the pair of films.” The Wrap has also announced that The Hobbit has been greenlit with shooting starting in February. No more sources needed, this is a done deal, it’s time to start getting really excited about seeing J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved novel finally hit the big screen in two movies in 2012 and 2013.
Now this just makes logical sense that they would finally move ahead with this. With the studio owing so much money to various sources, the only way to pay them all back is to make a movie. And why hold back the biggest potential to make a wad of cash to start paying the bills with. So they worked out a deal, and its official. The movie is happening. All that preparing and negotiationg was not in vain.
Whew.
But furthermore… Martin Freeman is likely to be playing Bilbo Baggins after all.
Deadline has been saying some very interesting things about what to expect with casting. First, we know that Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will be back as Gandalf and Gollum, respectively, but who else is in? British actor Martin Freeman is said to “soon be set to play Bilbo Baggins,” confirming rumors from in September that he’ll be playing the lead in Peter Jackson’s forthcoming two-part adaptation.
This is the best news yet.
We knew eventually this movie would get made, either after MGM was dissolved and whoever picked up the rights took advantage of this guaranteed money tree, or as it did unfold with MGM attempting to get back on its own feet.
But when I heard of Martin Freeman rumoured to be turning down the role due to scheduling conflicts with the BBC’s reimagining of Sherlock Holmes (which is brilliant), I couldn’t imaging anyone else in the role. Now thankfully with this green light scheduling can be confirmed and it looks like Freeman might be available after all.
I hope that works out like the rumours suggest.
BRING ON THE HOBBIT!!
Well I won’t judge until I actually see the film. The fact that Jackson is back at the helm puts my mind at rest. I was never comfortable with the other guy (who didn’t like heroic fantasy to begin with) directing these films.
As I’ve said many times before… it all sounds good, but the fate of The Hobbit will ultimately come down to the 2-film structure. I simply do not see how that is going to work without major embellishments.
The book is a breezy 310 pages (compare that to 544 pages for ‘Fellow of the Ring’). The Rankin-Bass animated film covered most of the book in 90 minutes.
The story relies on increasing tension and momentum, which will likely be upset by the vivisection. The book doesn’t have an obvious intermission.
There have been rumours of grafting on ‘The White Council’, and a battle between Gandalf and Sauron. I’m not enough of a Tolkien buff to know where these ideas are being drawn from, but I am highly sceptical that they will sit comfortably with the story of The Hobbit.
I sincerely think that Jackson should be focused on a single, straight-forward, 180 minute filmed version of the book, especially in light of the current economic difficulties at MGM. I’m convinced that the fools who run the show are trying to milk it for all they can.
I have a feeling the problems are only beginning for The Hobbit, that this is going to prove to be a very difficult production for all involved, and ultimately, the product is going to be very hard to love.
Finally some good news about this movie! I feared it would never get made.
Let’s get this thing rolling!