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Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar
Wow, that is sobering news indeed! I wouldn't have imagined that to happen to two successful 'giants' of the biz.
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If these two can't get a green light on a relatively modest $130M budget, what hope do mere mortals have?
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However, I can't imagine the studios canceling a surefire hit like The Hobbit - not when they look back at the success of the LotR. My first thought was, could this mean they will be concentrating on The Hobbit earlier, since Jackson won't be doing Tintin? I don't remember what the precise schedule for filming both projects was.
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IIRC, they're looking at shooting in about a year, with 2011 and 2012 release dates. You're probably right about them not canceling, especially considering that the parent studio, Warner Brothers, is flush with cash from
The Dark Knight and thus more or less economy-proof for the next few years unless they make some really dumb choices.
I thought about Jackson turning his attention to TH too, and maybe being a bit more hands on, but then again I still wouldn't bet against some studio (or two, in some kind of co-financing deal) picking up the
Tintin slack.
No, I think any effect of this general studio belt-tightening will be something that's hard to "see", probably taking shape primarily in the form of even more than usual studio interference in the writing process. "Can we add a dwarf-tossing gag somewhere in here? We've got three-hundred million riding on this, people!"
"Sobering", though, is a good word. If there's a safer bet in Hollywood right now than Spielberg and Jackson, I'd like to know what it is.