Del Toro Quits 'The Hobbit'

[Mister Underhill]

Now you're just tempting fate.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Andsigil

Or Uwe Boll?

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

Now you're just tempting fate.

Would you prefer Manute Bol or Uwe Blab?

Speaking of Uwe Boll, I had no idea there are several sites that are actually petitioning to stop Mr. Boll from making any more films. Boll has been referred to as 'the new Ed Wood, except with better funding and less talent.'

[morwen edhelwen]

So, does anyone here think the film is going to be made or not? Opinions?
-Morwen

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by morwen edhelwen

So, does anyone here think the film is going to be made or not? Opinions?
-Morwen

Oh, I'm pretty sure they'll find a way to get it done. It's been in the planning stages for too long, and they know what a money-maker it has the potential to be.

[davem]

Seems like MGM are clinging on to TH like grim death - even letting Bond go hang http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/03...risis-hit.html but... wanting to get it done isn't the same thing as actually getting it done ("It is easier to shout stop than to do it" as someone once said. There isn't money out there to throw at movie making & its not certain that an 'adult' Hobbit (ie one aimed at the same audience as the LotR movies) would work - Tolkien tried rewriting TH in 1960 in the style of LotR & gave up after a couple of chapters. A more adult TH risks sacrificing the charm of the original & replacing it with a lot of (3D) sfx.

Add to that the chunk of money New Line has recently had to pay out to the Tolkien Trust for its creative accounting scam on the LotR movies (my thread here http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=16566) - which may or may not be a one-off payment to the Trust - & I'd say it wasn't all that certain we'll see a TH movie in the very near future (I seriously doubt 2012 is likely now).

[Mithalwen]

Do the movie rights have a shelf life? Book copyright expires eventually though there are ways to extend it so surely you can't have film rights in perpetuity? I am sure there will be a Hobbit film sometime but I really wish that it wouldn't involve Jackson. They are reshowing the films on TV at the moment and I have watched bits (somehow can never quite settle to rewatch all the way through) and while I fully admit that they aren't at their best on a midsize domestic screen, the CGI hasn't aged well IMO. And I still can't see Jackson's elves, Gollum or even dwarves translating particularly well or McKellen's Gandalf. He paints with too broad a brush... So I woud hope for some combination of circumstances that would mean that someone else got a free hand. But I suppose they have gone so far with Jackson...

[Mister Underhill]

Well, IANAL applies here, but it looks to me like The Hobbit will head into the public domain sometime around 2032, which is really no time at all from an Elvish point of view. Although it should be noted, that's the original version of the story, before the ring became the Ring. The second edition was published in 1951, I believe, so 1951 + 95 years equals around the time when I will be relocating to a far green shore, so...

It looks like you're stuck with Jackson for a while.

[PrinceOfTheHalflings]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Do the movie rights have a shelf life? (

A good question.

Usually movie rights are only sold for a limited period - with a "use it or lose it" clause. If the movie is not made within the specified period then the rights revert to the original owner.

Tolkien famously sold the movie (and merchandising) rights to TH and TLOTR in the late sixties. Forever. In return he got a lump sum of cash and a % of any future movie profits. This agreement is still in effect, but the rights themselves were resold to a fellow called Saul Zaentz in 1976 for a large sum. Zaentz then licensed out the rights to TLOTR to New Line Cinema for (I think) 8 years. During that time New Line were allowed to make films based on TLOTR, issue merchandise, publish tie-in books and use the character names and other trademarks in certain contexts.

There is a slight complication - when the rights were resold to Zaentz in 1976, the distribution rights to TH remained with the previous owners (for reasons that are not entirely clear). So Warner Bros currently own the rights to make TH, but MGM own the rights to distribute the movie. Confusing? You Bet! Complicated? Well, with MGM totally broke, yes.

The rights to make the movie will eventually revert to Zaentz, but MGM will still own the distribution rights, so the problem will still exist. However Warner Bros (or should I say their parent company Time Warner) are currently trying to buy MGM - if this is successful then I would say problem solved.