Good News for Hobbit Fans

May 9th, 2008 by JAZZ SHAW

If you are one of the myriad fans of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, you will be heartened to learn that events are moving forward toward the creation of a two movie series based on the original book, “The Hobbit.” This week we learned that Sir Ian McKellen has signed on to reprise his role as Gandalf and that Peter Jackson will definitely be involved.

As was expected, Ian McKellen has agreed to be a part of the two-film Hobbit project, according to Empire magazine.

McKellen had said last year that he would not be involved in The Hobbit if Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson were excluded, which was possible because of since-resolved royalties disputes with New Line Cinema. Jackson will produce the two films being adapted from and adding to J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novel, The Hobbit, Or There and Back Again (1937), slated for 2010 and 2011.

We also learned that Guillermo del Toro (of Hellboy fame) will direct. As the technology of special effects continues to advance, The Hobbit promises some real treats. While there were monsters aplenty in Lord of the Rings, I can’t wait to see what they do with the giant, fire-breathing dragon, Smaug, in this movie rendition. There is also a battle of five armies near the end of the tale which should make for some epic battle sequences.

One concern has been the age of the actors involved as more and more years roll by between films. This is further complicated by the fact that The Hobbit takes place many years before the beginning of Lord of the Rings. For many roles, this won’t be an issue as most of the key characters were new in LoTR. Gandalf is in both, but he was already rumored to be more than 1,000 years old in both films, so that’s not as much of an issue. Gollum is likewise not a problem, since he is actually “played” by an unseen actor in a greenscreen suit who is then digitally edited out and replaced by the CGI monster. The big question will be Bilbo, who features prominently in both series, but is supposed to be far younger in the first film. I’m betting they get a new actor to play the younger version of the hobbit.

Stay tuned for more updates. We have a couple of years to wait still, but this should be another box office giant.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 7:57 am and is filed under Movies, Entertainment. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

« Doctors and demons and unsung heroes

Guest Book Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon »

By posting comments on The Moderate Voice you are acknowledging and agreeing to the following general comments policy:

(1) The Moderate Voice's comments are hosted by Disqus (http://disqus.com). If your comment doesn't appear immediately, please be patient since it is an off-site system.

(2) All e-mail received from readers by The Moderate Voice is considered intended for publication unless otherwise indicated in the initial message from the writer. Please do not send us attachments unless you contact us and we agree to it.

(3)The Moderate Voice reserves the right to edit all e-mail and posted comments for content, clarity, and length.

(4) Our comment space is reserved for comments that relate to a post's topic. You should not reprint lengthy text from your own works or those of others, including news articles. You MAY link to them.

(5) Comments that are abusive, offensive, contain profane or racist material or violate the terms of service for this blog's host provider will be removed and the author(s) banned from future comments. Such comments also violate the very SPIRIT of this site -- which was created to encourage thoughtful and vigorous discussion among readers who may share differing viewpoints.

(6) All points of view are welcome on The Moderate Voice, with the following exceptions:

(a) Comments posted several times a day with the intent of dominating, re-directing or hijacking the thread by turning a discussion into the equivalent of a bitter shouting match.

(b) Comments posted several times a day that insult or call other commenters or blog writers names or repeatedly make the same point with the effect of or clear intent to annoy other commenters or blog writers.

(7) Name-calling, personal attacks, racist comments or use of profanity by any commenter, whether they are by persons who agree or disagree with the views expressed by The Moderate Voice will NOT be tolerated and will result in the deletion of the comment and the banning of the commenter's ISP address, without notice. In some cases a comment may be deleted and the writer will be given another chance. Commenters who virtually ASK The Moderate Voice to ban them by ignoring any warnings or daring TMV to ban them will quickly get their wish.

(8) Anonymous commenters should identify themselves with the same moniker, so readers know their comments are coming from a single individual. If they don't, they are subject to a banning.

(9)If we have problems with inappropriate or inflammatory comments from a commenter who it turns out gave a fake email address that person is subject to immediate banning.

(10) Quotes from material appearing on The Moderate Voice with attribution are allowed. Reprints are allowed only by permission from The Moderate Voice. You may request permission by e-mail.

(11) The Moderate Voice is a personal site. It is not the Government. It is NOT aligned with any political party. It is NOT promoting any specific candidate for office. It is not a public institution or a media organization. It is not a neutral site. It is intended to express and disseminate the authors' varying points of views. Writers on this weblog WILL take positions. It reserves the right to limit comments to those that, in its view, comport with its stated comment policy. Comments that do not comply are subject to deletion and banning of the author's ISP.

Disclaimer:

--Reading and posting comments at The Moderate Voice constitutes acknowledgment of and agreement to the terms outlined in this comment policy. This comment policy may be revised in part or in full at any time.

--All comments must comport with applicable state and federal laws. The Moderate Voice has no obigation to monitor, edit, censor, or take responsibility for comments. It may or may not act upon a violation of its comment policy once a suspected violation has been brought to its attention. Therefore, commenters are solely responsible for the content of their comments and should ensure that that their comments are lawful and fall within the stated guidelines of both The Moderate Voice and its hosting company.

--The Moderate Voice is not be responsible for injury or liability to any reader or commenter resulting from its own communications or those of commenters, that may be offensive, misleading, inaccurate, illegal, or otherwise unsuitable in the view of the reader. Readers and commenters further agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Moderate Voice from claims resulting from the use of any material appearing on The Moderate Voice which damages the reader, commenter or any other party.

--The Moderate Voice is not responsible for and might disagree with material posted in the comments section. While we strive for accuracy in our posts and DO correct errors, material posted by The Moderate Voice in its posts -- or those left by others in the comments section -- may or may not be accurate.

Read and Post at your own risk.