Hobbit

[Jon]

Well bugger and dammit it all. When it was announced that Guillermo del Toro would direct The Hobbit, I thought it couldn't be more perfect. His work on things like Pan's Labyrinth showed he could produce just the right fairy tale tone to match Peter Jackson's epics. Because it had to be good and it had to be different. Just as the books are different and honestly, can you think of someone better?

He's had to bail. Bloody MGM and this protracted crap that's already done for Bond. Now it's forced one of the best directors of our time to walk away. Hell of a missed opportunity.

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=28016

Apparently, according to that Empire article, Sam Raimi was one of the ones originally interested. Please, no. He's a great director, but this needed something special. Not crash zoom gore and flying cameras. Del Toro is still involved, so I suggest, go for an unknown and let it be a producers film and hopefully his style and Jackson's vision will pull it through.

[Critter]

  I was so looking forward to that distinct del Toro style bringing The Hobbit to life. That man has a fantastic design principal and manages to make even the simplest of costumes and sets look amazing, often without many digital enhancments. That alone is a rare thing these days.

[Kathy]

 

[Dragonfire]

Now I'm depressed.

Stupid mess with MGM has now screwed up this one up in addition to the next Bond.  Grrrrrrr.

I don't think Raimi would work for the material.  I wouldn't mind if Jackson did it after what he did with LOTR.  Though I think he has other projects going on too.

[Hal]

Very discouraging news!

Other than Jackson, I don't know who else could do it.

But then, I wouldn't have picked Jackson for LOTR before thy were made.   

[W0m6at]

But then, I wouldn't have picked Jackson for LOTR before thy were made.   

Exactly!

Peter Jackson would probably have not even registered on most people's radars prior to The Lord of the Rings movies, and if he had, would have been the last person many would have wanted near those stories. I've seen music video directors produce great movies (can't recall names), and I've seen exceptional "overseas" directors fail dismally in the US system. Really, it's a wait and see game.

That said, del Toro has demonstrated a real visual flair (Pan's Labyrinth), as well as the ability to present something highly approachable (Hellboy movies). I would really have liked to have seen what he would do. Don't forget, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies are probably on a similar level to Jackson's early films, and we know he can handle himself when given a budget (Spiderman). Never be too quick to write off someone with an indie background.

[Dragonfire]

I found another story about it...and it says that Jackson won't take over as director because of his other projects.    Though if stuff drags on long enough with MGM maybe he would be able too..though I don't want to have to wait years and years for it either.  It is just a huge mess.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/05/30/who_will_direct_the_hobbit_with_del_toro_moving_on_not_jackson_for_now/

[Achim]

So, it's not that Del Toro was fired, it's that he walked away for the timne being since it's not foreseeable when these films will get made. Did I get that right?

It's nothing new though. Wasn't there at least two ownership battles by Fox in recent years? One was for Watchmen and I believe there was another one...

[Dragonfire]

Right.  He wasn't fired.  The schedule no longer works for him since they don't know when they can actually start because of the MGM mess.  Del Torro has commitments to other projects.

This is involving the ownership of the actual studio..not the movie.  At least that is how I understand it.  And this has put the next Bond movie on hold indefinitely as well.  With Fox and Warner Brothers and Watchmen, it was just over who had the rights to the material.  I think.

[Jon]

But then, I wouldn't have picked Jackson for LOTR before thy were made.   

Exactly!

Peter Jackson would probably have not even registered on most people's radars prior to The Lord of the Rings movies, and if he had, would have been the last person many would have wanted near those stories. I've seen music video directors produce great movies (can't recall names), and I've seen exceptional "overseas" directors fail dismally in the US system. Really, it's a wait and see game.

That said, del Toro has demonstrated a real visual flair (Pan's Labyrinth), as well as the ability to present something highly approachable (Hellboy movies). I would really have liked to have seen what he would do. Don't forget, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies are probably on a similar level to Jackson's early films, and we know he can handle himself when given a budget (Spiderman). Never be too quick to write off someone with an indie background.

I would never write off any potential director, especially when you consider The Empire Strikes Back was directed by Irvin Who. 

However, Jackson proved adept at a very wide, emotionally epic style. Raimi has already had a bite at the big budget cherry and I actually don't think he could pull off the same level of quality. The thing that works for Spider-Man is that it still feels "small", but is that down to his skill, or just natural?

Jackson doing it would be a case of we know what we're going to get, but as I said before, it should feel different. The Hobbit was written as a fairy-tale for children.

I'm frustrated because Del Toro couldn't have been more perfect. The mood of Pan's Labyrinth would have worked beautifully.

Coming full circle though, Chris Columbus and Mike Newell have proved their worth on Harry Potter. I think they could capture the mood right. And mentioning that series brings up Alfonso Cuarón...

[Antares]

I also read on an another forum that he also left because the powers that be are dead set on making the two films completely in 3D, and del Toro would have nothing to do with that.

[Jon]

That would surely be Jackson's call? I mean at least so far as if he thought it wasn't right, they wouldn't push him.

[lovemunkey187]

Terry Gilliam?
Alex Cox?

[W0m6at]

If he's willing to go without the splatter of his usual films, I suggest Alexandre Aja. The man has a great eye.

[Achim]

It's a prequel, so maybe someone is appropriate experience:

George Lucas