The Hobbit in July 2007?

[Elladan and Elrohir]

The Hobbit? In July 2007?

Ha! I laughed out loud when I read the subject line. Utterly ridiculous. We heard about the LOTR movies how many years before they were filmed? Trust me, if and when New Line does TH, the announcements and hype will be HUGE.

Honestly, it lowers my respect of TheOneRing.net that they reported this with the comment: "The BIG news has finally hit."

I don't think The Hobbit could be FILMED, filmed mind you, not released, any earlier than 2008, with PJ's schedule the way it is, and of course, way before it's filmed, it has to be announced. Of course, if it were to be filmed in '08, now would be the time to announce it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. New Line Cinema will release The Hobbit. It may take them a while to get to it, but they will do it. Moreover, lest you doubt, it will be directed by Peter Jackson. Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, and Andy Serkis will reprise their respective roles as Gandalf, Elrond, and Gollum. Richard Taylor, Andrew Lesnie, Ngila Dickson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Howard Shore, and most of the rest of the LOTR crew will return to do what they do best.

As for Orlando Bloom doing more dwarf-grabbing and stair-sliding, I won't predict it, but I won't rule it out at this point either.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

I wouldn't be surprised at filming being done c. 2008-09
with a release date of 2010. There's just too much money
to be made to let legal problems block it for too long.
And a two-part hobbit (only 1 1'2 to 2 hours long each,
would be very tempting, especially with bits added such as
the White Counsel attacking Dol Guldur). And would Christopher
Lee still be too ticked off with PJ's handling/editing of his part
in TTT to participate? Didn't he refuse to go to the premiere?

[Mister Underhill]

Originally Posted by Tuor

There's just too much money
to be made to let legal problems block it for too long.

The enormous amounts of money are exactly the thing that could bog it down for years. With so much at stake, interested parties are willing to fight long, grueling battles for their share of the pie. Take a look at Spiderman as an example. The movie rights court battle started circa 1991 if I'm not mistaken, and the movie didn't make it to the screen until 2002.

Jackson is also supposed to exec produce the Halo movie, but "executive producer" is a pretty slippery title which could mean anything from virtually no involvement with the project to shepherding it all the way through the process, so there's no way to judge what that time commitment looks like.

[Hyarion]

It looks like Variety has released some more rumors on The Hobbit. It sounds like they aren't even sure if it will be one film, but maybe two? Where in the world would they cut it at? The article also states the film will be in the $150-200 million dollar range and will hopefully be directed by Peter Jackson. Still nothing set in stone but it sounds like the rumors are starting to pick up which is a good sign.

News post on TolkienNews.net

[Child of the 7th Age]

Here is a copy of what One Ring quoted from variety....

Variety (via comingsoon.net): In a Variety article talking about
MGM's move back into the tentpole business, the trade mentions a few
highly-anticipated projects that are in the works:

'Over the next few years, MGM is planning to release half a dozen films,
some in the $150 million to $200 million-plus range. Studio is ready to
unveil such high-profile projects as "Terminator 4"; one or two installments
of "The Hobbit," which Sloan hopes will be directed by Peter Jackson; and a
sequel to "The Thomas Crown Affair" with Pierce Brosnan.

Two installments??

[Azaelia of Willowbottom]

Does it really need two? TH is only one book, and it seems to me that it's short enough simple enough in the plot department, and tightly written enough that multiple installments would be just plain unnecessary. It sort of makes me wonder just what exactly they are planning on adding...

It's a much simpler book than each installment of LOTR...you'd think it could be easily done in one.

Nice to know that it is at least on their minds, though, and not just stagnating in its tangle of rights. Hopefully that installments number is going to get sorted out, though.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Here is another link with more information: MGM announces the Hobbit

[Essex]

Originally Posted by Azaelia of Willowbottom

Does it really need two? TH is only one book, and it seems to me that it's short enough simple enough in the plot department, and tightly written enough that multiple installments would be just plain unnecessary. It sort of makes me wonder just what exactly they are planning on adding...

It's a much simpler book than each installment of LOTR...you'd think it could be easily done in one.

Nice to know that it is at least on their minds, though, and not just stagnating in its tangle of rights. Hopefully that installments number is going to get sorted out, though.

But just imagine if you built in the goings on around the time of the Hobbit too? The White Council, Gandalf in Dol Guldur etc (I can't quite remember if the latter was in this time frame but I know the White Council was)

I also remember reading the Hobbit at school in our English class - and the main thing we always asked was 'where's Gandalf s*dding off to NOW??' all the time. Little did we know of Tolkien's grander vision of Middle Earth

Just imagine a couple of movies with gandalf/saruman/galadriel/elrond et all intespersed with the Hobbit? wouldn't that be great? and just imagine Gandalf entering Dol Guldur?

anyway, I can dream on.................