Following Friday’s report of yet another delay to the start of The Hobbit Guillermo Del Toro has announced he will no longer be directing the two movies although he will still be involved for the next few months in the co-writing with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.

He made is announcement to The One Ring earlier today by saying the following:

“In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life. After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wlsh the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director”.

Peter Jackson thanked the efforts and input made by GDT and blamed the on going delays for his departure from the directors chair.

“The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn’t feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years” Said Jackson.

So what now for The Hobbit movies? It was only 2 days ago in the post about the delay to the start of shooting caused by the MGM situation that I asked how long could two of the worlds most in demand movie makers hang around waiting for someone to buy MGM?

In the case of Guillermo Del Toro we now know the answer to be a couple of months while the scripts are polished off.

Personally I’m sad to see him go. His interviews throughout have always shown him to be an enthusiastic fan of Middle Earth and he has always come across as someone aware of the need to keep faith with the book.

So here we go again! Who’s up for the biggest directors job of the decade? Will Peter Jackson now attempt to fit them into his hectic schedule once they have an idea of when shooting will start?

Who would you like to see in the hot seat?

Guillermo Del Toro Quits The Hobbit Movies is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

The Sun newspaper, a major tabloid here in the UK is today running a story that claims Tobey Maguire of Spiderman fame is to play the Bilbo Baggins role in The Hobbit.

The rumours have been doing the rounds for about a month but by and large were written off because of the upcoming fourth Spiderman movie which would have seen Maguire tied up and unavailable for The Hobbit.

The story says he has turned down the chance of playing the webbed wonder again and has already signed up for The Hobbit. He is said to have been unhappy in the direction the fourth movie was heading.

Without revealing their sources the paper claims both Producer Peter Jackson and Director Guillermo Del Toro have been chasing Maguire for months.

They quote their source as saying “Everyone is over the moon. Tobey is not only one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood, he is also one of the best actors.”

Tobey Maguire was recently asked about the rumor and claimed he had not been approached but also added the teaser “I love Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson and I certainly wouldn’t take myself out of the conversation.”

With the start of filming fast approaching an announcement (or at least a decision) should be imminent so perhaps this particular rumor should not be instantly dismissed. Having said that the paper has a history of sensationalism.

It was the Sun newspaper who broke the (unconfirmed) story that the UK’s X Factor twin act Jedward had been asked to audition for the roles of Fili  and Kili.

Update: A few hours ago AMC Entertainment blogger John Campea tweeted that someone very close to production has leaked the same news to him.

His tweet said, “I have been personally told by a source very close to Guillermo del Toro that it’s true… Tobey Maguire IS The Hobbit.”

Final Update: Aintitcool.com managed to get a reply to an email they sent Peter Jackson asking if there was anything in this latest rumor.

“No truth at all, although we’re all big fans of Toby. We are currently auditioning for Bilbo, and a month or two away from any announcements.”

So there you go, yet another rumor killed in its tracks although I suppose PJ is hardly going to reply that yes actually there is some truth in it but the deal isn’t finalized so we’d like to keep it hush hush if that’s ok.

Ah well, one of these days real soon…………

The Hobbit

Some other sites covering the Tobey Maguire rumor

• What’s Next For ‘Spider-Man’ Star Tobey Maguire?
• Tobey Maguire’s Lead Role in ‘The Hobbit’ (inquisitr.com)
• Is Tobey Maguire ‘The Hobbit’s Bilbo Baggins? (cinematical.com)
• Tobey Maguire Re-Rumored As Bilbo Baggins (cinemablend.com)

Tobey Maguire Swapping Spiderman For Bilbo? is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Guillermo Del Toro was on Simon Mayo’s Radio 5 Live show today in the UK and told Simon he isn’t feeling any pressure working on The Hobbit movie.

The Director of The Hobbit also claimed that he’s not worried about having his Hobbit movies compared to the critical and commercial success reached by Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

He told Simon: “Frankly no. If I live the experience like that I would go insane. I don’t know if there’s a compartment in my brain that just doesn’t register those things. I feel an enormous responsibility but not to the results, either by Oscars or box office.”

He also went on to add: “I have an enormous responsibility to a book I adore and to a legacy of a world. Creatively I feel very responsible and very daunted, but honoured, doing this.”

He did admit that so far he was finding The Hobbit very demanding saying that he gets in The Hobbit office at 9am and rarely leaves before 9pm. He is currently dividing his time between working on the screenplay and designing the creatures of Middle Earth at the WETA studios.

I’ve been very impressed with GDT in all his interviews so far and his answers over the last 12 months or so have exorcised any lingering worries I had as to whether he was the man for The Hobbit.

I’m pretty sure Bilbo Baggins and Co. are in safe hands.

Del Toro Feels No Hobbit Movie Pressure is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Guillermo Del Toro is certainly the man in demand and it seems his career is mapped out for at least a decade. He heads off to New Zealand in just a few weeks now and The Hobbit movies will be his life for several years to come.

As if that wasn’t enough job security, he’s also got other deals signed for when he returns which should see him tackle “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, “Frankenstein”, “At the Mountains of Madness” and “Saturn and the End of Days” and of course there is plenty of talk about a Hellboy 3.

At least the guy is approachable and is happy to discuss his projects. In most interviews his enthusiasm is obvious to all and at times is contagious.

You can catch him discussing The Hobbit movies and his movie plans after that in the video below.

Del Toro Discusses Hobbit Movies is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Guilermo Del Toro has been telling The Directors Guild of America about how he finds inspiration for his movies and how his love of dragons is driving him on to make something special when it comes to creating Smaug.

“It’s such a powerful symbol, and in the context of ‘The Hobbit’ it is used to cast its shadow through the entire narrative. Essentially, Smaug represents so many things: greed, pride… he’s ‘the Magnificent,’ after all. The way his shadow is cast in the narrative you cannot then show it and have it be one thing, he has to be the embodiment of all those things. He’s one of the few dragons that will have enormous scenes with lines. He has some of the most beautiful dialogues in those scenes! The design, I’m pretty sure that will be the last design we will sign off on, and the first design we have attempted. It is certainly a matter of turning every stone before figuring out what he looks like, because what he looks like will tell you what he is.”

Del Toro is pretty much booked up for the next 10 or 12 years. As well as The Hobbit movies, he has a couple of vampire books to write and a Frankenstein movie to do. He also plans to do a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde movie and there is talk of a Hellboy 3.

So how does the director get his inspiration?

“I find you have to discipline yourself to write in the morning, and then watch and read in the afternoons stuff that seems relevant, even in a tangential way. For example, reading or watching World War I documentaries or books that I think inform ‘The Hobbit,’ strangely enough, because I believe it is a book born out of Tolkien’s generation’s experience with World War I and the disappointment of being in that field and seeing all those values kind of collapse. I think it’s a turning point that you need to familiarize yourself with. I’m starting. Peter Jackson is such a fan of that historical moment and obsessive collector of World War I memorabilia, and he owns several genuine, life-size working reproductions of planes, tanks, cannons, ships! He has the perfect obsessive reproductions of uniforms of that time for armies of about 120 soldiers… each. I asked him which books he recommended… because I wouldn’t be watching ‘Krull’ or ‘The Dark Crystal,’ I need to find my OWN way into the story. That’s the same way I did ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ or ‘Devil’s Backbone,’ by watching stuff you wouldn’t think about.”

He’s obviously excited about working on The Hobbit movies and he has his own ideas and plans for Middle Earth. Just like Jackson befoe him with LOTR, he will never please everyone but hopefully he’ll please enough with his vision of Middle Earth and its inhabitants, specially Smaug!

Del Toro Talks Smaug is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

Now that the dust has settled on the announcement of Del Toro directing and people have had time to reflect, most seem happy with the choice although there have been a few points raised worth mentioning from Andrew O’Hehir at Salon.

He goes on about how Del Toro told him in a previous interview that he was not a fan of Tolkien. Andrew asked him at Cannes how he had been influence by CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and he replied:

“I was never into heroic fantasy. At all. I don’t like little guys and dragons, hairy feet, hobbits — I’ve never been into that at all. I don’t like sword and sorcery, I hate all that stuff.”

O’hehir says he considered Del Toro to be speaking from the heart and remember it was he that Del Toro was talking to. However this was in Cannes 2006 and everyone is entitled to change their minds although it has to be said going from “not liking dragons and hairy feet” to directing a couple of movies about dragons and little people with hairy feet is a big swing in anyone’s book, never mind Tolkien’s.

He raises some other points regarding how Jackson will cope handing over his baby to someone else which is something I’ve shared my misgivings about and other reasons he feels Del Toro is not right for the job.

Have a read and see what you think

Is Del Toro The Man For Middle Earth is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

“My message is simple: If you don’t think Peter did a fabulous job, very likely you won’t think I will. If you think he did, I will do my best to make you proud of me.” Del Toro talking to MTV

I’d say that could be classed as putting your cards on the table Its good to see he’s not going to be hung up on trying to please everyone and some of the ideas he’s already suggested are enough to show its certainly going to be an interesting few years of film making.

Other news he mentions that Andy Serkis (shown right) returns as Gollum and as we already know but it was nice to get it confirmed, Sir Ian Mckellen will be back as Gandalf. As I’d suggested though, he is worried Sir Ian Holm might be too old for the casting of Bilbo but won’t let on who he has in mind for the part.

Regarding doing the story in 2 parts he says he wants to nail The Hobbit in the first movie and then move into the era where times start to turn dark and Sauron grows in strength. Del Toro calls it a “very interesting period in time” as civil war starts to break out. He and Peter Jackson have outlined the story they want to tell and how they want to tell it but no firm plans as yet.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the second Hobbit movie that has them the most excited. It will be the telling of that story that they will have almost free reign.

More Hobbit Speak From Del Toro is a post from: The Hobbit Movie

So now its official I can stop wondering who will be directing and start worrying if Del Toro will be able to do The Hobbit movies justice?

Lets remember that by the time the first Hobbit movie is released it could well be the most eagerly awaited movie ever made.

At first look he seems the perfect choice to replace Peter Jackson at the helm. They both love the fantasy genre and both have similar backgrounds but the facts are that Del Toro to date has done 2 big budget movies in Blade 2 and Hellboy and neither could be classed a major success.

Sam Raimi has a couple of blockbusters under his belt and must surely have been the choice of the money men but the cost of getting Jackson back on board included giving him the final decision on who he would be handing over his precious to.

The word is Hellboy 2 is Del Toro’s best work yet and is sure to come under massive scrutiny from Tolkien fans worldwide who may well be seeing his work for the first time. Also the critics will be viewing the movie (perhaps unfairly) with an eye towards The Hobbit.

I really enjoyed Pans Labyrinth and thought he did a brilliant job on what was probably a limited budget. I think what stood out the most about the movie was how he managed to make the underworld seem almost natural or at least not unusual. He kept the story rooted in the real world without becoming obsessed and abusing the fantasy and the movie built my anxiety levels because of it.

But is Del Toro’s dark style going to work with the light heartedness that comes from The Hobbit being written as a bed time story for the authors young children? Will they be true to the book or bring it more in line with the Lord Of The Rings? Del Toro has already stated he will be stamping the movies with his own style. He’s also stated that he couldn’t finish The Fellowship of the Ring book yet he wants the second Hobbit movie to seemlessly join the end of the first to the beginning of The Fellowship. How does all this fit in with Jackson’s vision of completing Tolkien’s work?

Hobbit part 2 could be where they let their imaginations run wild and as Jackson showed towards the end of the Rings trilogy, he’s not afraid to do just that. With plenty of gaps to fill in he will find himself with the perfect excuse as no matter what he does with those gaps he cannot hope to keep all the Middle Earth scholars happy.

Personally I’m happy Del Toro has got the job as he’s probably the best man available and was Jackson’s personal choice.

Can Guillermo Del Toro Conquer Middle Earth is a post from: The Hobbit Movie