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I still find myself wishing that Del Toro had been able to stay on as director. Let it go, Underhill. Let it go! That ship has sailed.
The X-factor in this that gives me some hope is the question of how (or if, for cynics) Jackson has grown as a filmmaker in the intervening ten years or so. I thought King Kong was a good step for him in a lot of ways. Since Kong couldn't speak, Jackson was forced to learn how to let the performance -- rather than over-explainy dialogue and voice-overs -- tell the story. His short film Crossing the Line was another step in this direction. I thought there was some nice work in The Lovely Bones -- though I think that film and Crossing the Line both demonstrate that in certain matters Jackson is who he is -- he does love his contrivances, and no one will ever accuse him of being a realistic director. Working closely with Spielberg on Tintin must have been a master-class.
I haven't been following the production very closely. I like the idea of Martin Freeman as Bilbo. I think he'll be able to bring a lot more nuance to the role than Elijah was able to muster for Frodo. On the other hand some of those dwarves... ugh.
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