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Lord of the Rings Movies

Jackson Slated to Make Hobbit Movie, Sequel 496

Posted by Zonk from the hobbit-two-electric-bugaloo dept.
A user writes "Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, and MGM have agreed to work on two new movies: a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit', and a further sequel. From the article: 'The two Hobbit films ... are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of 'The Hobbit' release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.'" Not sure if it would be possible to nab Ian Holm as Bilbo, but here's hoping.
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Jackson Slated to Make Hobbit Movie, Sequel More

Jackson Slated to Make Hobbit Movie, Sequel

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  • sequel? (Score:5, Funny)

    by BlueStraggler ( 765543 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:46PM (#21740720)
    Didn't he already shoot the sequel to The Hobbit?

    • Re:sequel? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by moderatorrater ( 1095745 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:50PM (#21740798)
      I would prefer he do a series of short films based on the Unfinished Tales, then a documentary based on the Silmarilion. That would be awesome beyond all reason.

      • Re:sequel? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by rehtonAesoohC ( 954490 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:56PM (#21740890) Journal
        That would be awesome for the nerds of us who stayed awake through the introduction to the Valar.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by davidsyes ( 765062 )
        Fade In:

        Coming Easter 2008 to a theatre near you: "Hobbitrail: The Assimilation and the Pre-Squeal"

        Smashcut:

        Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the Hobbittrail, Hippity, Hoppity, hobbing all the way...

        Off-Screen:

        No proto-humans will be harmed in the making of this production..

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by PlatyPaul ( 690601 )
      Thankfully/sadly (take your pick) he hasn't agreed to do The Silmarillion [wikipedia.org].

      Given the bad blood, including a recent "taunting" phonecall [msn.com], it really is surprising that Jackson would accept the project.

      But, then again, money is money (especially when it's LOTS of money).

      • Typo (Score:3, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        But, then again, money is money (especially when it's LOTRS of money).
        Fixed ;)

    • Re:sequel? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Lev13than ( 581686 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:00PM (#21740958) Homepage
      Be ready for disappointment - we've seen this "shoot the prequels after the main trilogy" bit before. $5 says Bilbo stabs first, Gimli will be replaced by an annoying CGI sidekick, and we'll learn that the rings get their special power because they're made of high-strength mitochlorian alloy.

      • Re:sequel? (Score:4, Funny)

        by roc97007 ( 608802 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @02:03PM (#21741908) Journal
        I can understand the source of your confusion -- "Peter Jackson" and "George Lucas" sound almost identical.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by sm62704 ( 957197 )
        I saw the actual screenplay. Elrond is reincarnated as a computer virus that infects the Shire by turning everyone into copies of himself before Frodo lets himself be killed.

      • Re:sequel? (Score:5, Funny)

        by PCM2 ( 4486 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @04:22PM (#21744168) Homepage

        Be ready for disappointment - we've seen this "shoot the prequels after the main trilogy" bit before. $5 says Bilbo stabs first, Gimli will be replaced by an annoying CGI sidekick, and we'll learn that the rings get their special power because they're made of high-strength mitochlorian alloy.

        Don't be ridiculous. Whatever changes Jackson makes to the original plot will only be to engage the audience and create a more enjoyable movie experience. For example:

        • We will find out exactly why nobody tosses a dwarf.
        • We will witness the pulse-pounding "River Elf Olympics," complete with log rolling, barrel tossing, and other feats of leaping and agility.
        • Dori will be revisioned as a bearded, female dwarf -- but will her fondness for gold jewelery doom the expedition?
        • Jackson has secured the rights to the "Down, down to goblin town" song from the Rankin-Bass production, to be sung by Meatloaf during the end credits.
        • Due to pacing issues, Gollum's riddle game will be replaced with a form of Sudoku based on elf-runes -- expect toy tie-ins to be hot sellers for the Christmas season!
        • Extended sequences featuring Sauron in his guise as the Necromancer, complete with much foreshadowing.
        • We are enthralled as Andy Serkis succumbs to the Gollum persona as the movies progress; he completes his transformation by the end of the second film. Also, we are treated to a sneak preview of the riddle (sorry, Sudoku) game, in which Bilbo sees Gollum playing against Smeagol.
        • Beorn saves the party by battling several dinosaurs and a giant ape.
        • While in the house of Elrond, Bilbo plays Cyrano to a young Aragorn as he attempts to court his lady love, Arwen.
        • Bilbo kills Smaug.

        Great fun for the whole family!

    • Re:sequel? (Score:4, Funny)

      by davidsyes ( 765062 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @02:49PM (#21742670) Homepage Journal
      I read "Jackson Slated to Make Hobbit SQUEAL"...

      (OOPS)

  • Slashdot trolls (Score:5, Funny)

    by ZeroExistenZ ( 721849 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:47PM (#21740742)
    finally have a place to apply.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Avatar8 ( 748465 )
      Yes, but they'll turn to stone if they step out of their mothers' basements and into the sunlight. :-)
  • Was I the only one who was worried that the title was referring to Michael Jackson?
  • Note to director: please don't add some pointless character to sell kids toys in this movie, just go "by the book", literally.

    • Re:Note to director: no jar-jar (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gstoddart ( 321705 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:59PM (#21740942) Homepage

      Note to director: please don't add some pointless character to sell kids toys in this movie, just go "by the book", literally.

      But, Jackson didn't do that in LOTR did he? Except for some minor changes to the overall arc of the film, I found he did a pretty faithful job of it.

      I think he's the director we have the least to worry about. At least, I hope he is. The cinemas wanted him because he has proven he can make the movies (and, of course, make the money) - at least it's not Uwe Boll. ;-)

      Cheers

  • Hmmm... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by CaptainPatent ( 1087643 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:51PM (#21740816) Journal
    Peter Jackson did a great job in visualizing and bringing to life a story in which the plot was already fully written. I love the fact he's producing a version of "the hobbit" to go along with the LOTR Trilogy, but I'm not so sure about the sequel to it. I realize there is a gap between the two stories (around a 70 year gap actually) but what will the plot consist of?

    I suppose it could go both ways, the first way with Peter Jackson doing a great job of tying the two books together and leading straight into the LOTR trilogy, the other with Peter Jackson unzipping and urinating on JRR Tolkien's masterpieces.
    • He could use some of the material from the RotK appendices, and some of the stuff mentioned in passing in The Hobbit: The Dwarf and Goblin Wars, Gandalf getting a Dwarven Ring from Thrain (or was it Thror?) in Dol Guldur, The Wise driving the Necromancer out of Dol Guldur. Maybe with all this stuff there would be enough to make a two-part Hobbit movie.

      • He could, but as you said that was only mentioned "in passing"

        If Tolkien was still around to write books about those adventures and Peter Jackson was around to adapt it to film I may trust it a bit more.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by Selfbain ( 624722 )
          He actually did. There is an enormous amount of material he wrote that was summarized in the Silmarillion. You can buy large volumes of books containing his notes.

    • Re:Hmmm... (Score:4, Informative)

      by pdjohe ( 575876 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @02:56PM (#21742802)
      Somebody already commented on possible plot details between the Hobbit and LOTR: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=320733&cid=20896787 [slashdot.org]

      What exactly happens, of any interest, in that period?

      Hmm.. I'm not 100% on the timeline but...

      Gandalf and Aragorn meet. The romance of Aragorn and Arwen. Aragorn serving with the Armies of Rohan.

      Gollum pursues Bilbo from the mountains. I beleive Gandalf investigates the creature and discovers its history in this period. Mordor also captures Gollum at some point.

      The Dwarves (including Balin of the hobbits) try and retake Moria.

      Sauruman is corrupted by Mordor through the Palantir.

      Sauroman corrupts Theoden through Grima Wormtongue.

      Sauron, identified as the 'Necromancer' was discovered as the source of evil in Mirkwood and was driven out by the White Council, only to resurface later rebuilding in Mordor.

      I dunno... I've seen movies made on smaller premises than that :)

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by _Sprocket_ ( 42527 )

      I realize there is a gap between the two stories (around a 70 year gap actually) but what will the plot consist of?
      "Dude, where's my ring?"

      The rest pretty much doesn't matter.

  • How many versions will we see of this film? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by spineboy ( 22918 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:52PM (#21740838) Journal
    Gold edition, 3D, directors cut? I plan on seeing it since the LOTR was soooo dang good.
    I'm really quite interested to see how Smaug is done. The 3D done well might really up the bar for many action movies, and might set a new standard.

    However, the movie still has to be good - putting lipstick on a pig still looks awful.

    • putting lipstick on a pig still looks awful.


      But have you seen the new lipstick? It uses subsurface scattering and revolutionary new food-stain shaders.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kjella ( 173770 )

      How many versions will we see of this film?

      I'd be happy if the damn bastards could just release the extended edition of LotR on HDDVD/Blu-Ray. Not that the regular ones are released, mind you. Of course you can get it in HDTV at any pirate site, it's a stunning example of pirates delivering a lot better product than anything you can buy. Pardon me for living under the illusion that paying customers (as in $$$ for discs, not "I am the product" broadcast) should get the best product available, clearly I live in some bizarro world...

  • Sequel?? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by downix ( 84795 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:53PM (#21740846) Homepage
    Did he get some kind of wizard trick to summon the dead spirit of JRR Tolkein to write a new novel which to utilize as a sequel?

    Why do I fear this "prequil" will suffer the same fate as the Lucas prequils, with Bilbo at the end screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOO"

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tuffy ( 10202 )
      I expect they're simply splitting the original book into 2 films rather than making up all new material. Quite a lot happens in it, after all.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Speare ( 84249 )

      Did he get some kind of wizard trick to summon the dead spirit of JRR Tolkein to write a new novel which to utilize as a sequel?

      Yeah, it's called Christopher Tolkien. That guy has been combing his dad's ashes for half a century to dump a ton of excess half-completed JRRT junk on the market.

      Actually, from what I've heard, Christopher despises the whole movie chain because he doesn't have movie revenue rights, even though he's raking in tons of dough from the inevitable book reprints and other merchandising details.

      One thought on a possible "sequel" that came to mind would be an opportunity to let Bilbo go exploring the Old For

      • Re:Sequel?? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by dada21 ( 163177 ) <adam.dada@gmail.com> on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:21PM (#21741300) Homepage Journal
        You just NAILED another reason copyright is useless, or at least useless for the current years (beyond the life of the author).

        Here's a guy who just happens to be a KID of someone who created something fine. Someone else, who puts his money, time and name on the line decides to produce the movie. The movie is a success (by most), but the risk was huge. We're talking a risk of probably 9 figures? But yet the kid who has done nothing, can do nothing, and has no moral connection to the creation thinks he is due some money?

        That's the problem with copyright: the actions of an individual are prevented from even being done. If the rights to the movie weren't optioned out a long time ago, its possible the movie might never have been made. I can think of quite a few movies that are prevented from being made because of the rights of the long-dead authors being held closely.

        Sidenote: Just yesterday I inquired by Bozo the Clown (Chicago's version in Bob Bell) didn't wear the Bozo outfit when he accepted an award many years ago (before his death). I guess the guy who owned the rights to Bozo's look denied him the costume. Even worse, the guy who owned the rights wasn't even the guy who invented Bozo, but a guy who distributed Bozo shows. Unbelievable!

    • Re:Sequel?? (Score:5, Funny)

      by dubbreak ( 623656 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:10PM (#21741132)

      ..with Bilbo at the end screaming "DO NOT WANT"

      There, fixed that for you.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kjella ( 173770 )

      Did he get some kind of wizard trick to summon the dead spirit of JRR Tolkein to write a new novel which to utilize as a sequel?
      Honestly, isn't there enough to write about to make a "middle" movie? You have Arwen and Aragon (and where the "lost heir" came from the in first place), you have saruman and the wizards, you have the beginning rise of Mordor... There are standalone movies built on 1/10th as thick a story as that.

  • Beorn (Score:2, Interesting)

    by mamono ( 706685 )
    I just hope he doesn't cut out Beorn like the cartoon did. Whereas I thoroughly enjoyed the LOTR movies, I was disappointed when Tom Bombadil was removed.
    • AMEN!!!

      I was hoping to see him as well, and exhausted many ears while lambasting that particular failure of the movie, while they had all the other stuff going on with the Ents. However, I would also like to have seen many of the Ent songs in the movies as well, along with all the other songs that JRRT took the time to compose/construct.

      Or did I just miss something?

  • Actors ... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by gstoddart ( 321705 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:55PM (#21740882) Homepage

    Not sure if it would be possible to nab Iam Holm as Bilbo, but here's hoping.

    He might be a little old to play Bilbo as he was well cast to play a Bilbo who settled down for quite some time, but much older than Bilbo was when Hobbit happened.

    I'm wondering if they'll be able to get Ian McKellen to play Gandalf again. I'm trying to think how many recurrent characters there were across the Hobbit and LOTR -- Bilbo, Gandalf, and maybe Elrond (it's been a long time since I read the Hobbit).

    Unless Sir Ian is otherwise booked, I bet he'd love to revive his Gandalf role.

    Though, I must confess, I'm a little unsure of what this other sequel is, and TFA appears to have died under the strain.

    Does anyone have more info on that?

    Cheers

    • Re:Actors ... (Score:5, Informative)

      by njfuzzy ( 734116 ) <{ian} {at} {ian-x.com}> on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:00PM (#21740960) Homepage
      I believe that Sir Ian McKellen has said that he would be overjoyed to play Gandalf-- but not if Peter Jackson wasn't involved. I would say he's likely to reprise the role, which is more important than Ian Holm (who would clearly be too old) in terms of continuity. I'd say the other big role to worry about would be Gollum.

      • I believe that Sir Ian McKellen has said that he would be overjoyed to play Gandalf-- but not if Peter Jackson wasn't involved.

        In which case, this project should be in good hands. Sir Ian made a point of taking it seriously and becoming something of a scholar on the work from what I recall. Now, they'll obviously have to start with a smaller budget for the Hobbit than the LOTR saga, but I bet the film companies won't be overly worried about making their money back.

        I'd say the other big role to worry about

    • There is nothing in TFA about the sequel other than mentioning that there will be one. They link to a blog which contains the text of TFA. the hobbit blog [thehobbitblog.com] so you can probably read the article there, but it wont tell you much you don't already know. Lots of studio execs saying nice things about Peter Jackson that they don't believe.

      • Re:Actors ... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by gstoddart ( 321705 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:24PM (#21741344) Homepage

        Lots of studio execs saying nice things about Peter Jackson that they don't believe.

        Peter Jackson helped generate several billion dollars in revenue. Believe it or no, I bet nobody in the studio system would dare to say anything but flattering things about him -- these movies will succeed because he'll be given the funding he needs from the start, and the right talent will happily come work with him on it.

        I mean, really, show of hands ... how many of us will go see it on general principles or on the sheer fact that Jackson is doing it with hopefully some of the same cast and same fervent attention to detail? If Ian McKellen comes back, I can guarantee I'll go.

        At this point, Jackson is the goose that laid the golden ring, err, egg. :-P I bet the execs have been fawning over him for months to get him to agree to do it -- I see they settled all pending litigation and made nice nice. Any other director doing this would fail due to fan hostility.

        Cheers
  • Most would love to see Ian Holm as Bilbo for continuity. I'd love to see Ian McKellen play Gandalf for that reason. I was pleased to see Ian Holm in Jackson's LotR movies because I was a huge fan of Holm in the BBC radio version: [wikipedia.org] 13 hours of goodness. Off to RTFA now...

  • The Sequel's title will be... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Korveck ( 1145695 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:56PM (#21740896)
    "The daily life of Tom Bombadil, Treebeard, and Radagast" Sponsored by Green Peace.
  • With two films, there's space to fill in the creation story of Middle Earth, or maybe just concentrate on The Red Book of Westmarch [wikipedia.org] (which contained Elvish stories translated by Bilbo).

    I'm hoping for Christmas releases. Going to the movies at Christmas was fun for the three years of The Ring Trilogy. Especially when I realised there was no time left for Shelob in The Two Towers and I'd have to wait another year for the giant spider. Which made sense, considering how half of The Return Of The King (book) con

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Notquitecajun ( 1073646 )
      It also makes for an easy Christmas present. I didn't have to buy my brother and his wife anything for three years.

  • the ending.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by savuporo ( 658486 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:05PM (#21741048)
    I hope they get the the ending right [youtube.com] this time.
  • Ian Holm did an absolutely fantastic job as Bilbo. Honestly I think he gave the strongest performance of anybody in the cast in any of the three films. I would love to see him in The Hobbit, although I imagine they'd have to make him up to appear a bit younger.
  • At one point I heard that Jackson said he could make a 40 hour adoption of The Hobbit. While it could be done it certainly wouldn't entertain today's audience.

    Instead I think that the second film should be an "off adventure" not written by Tolkien but rather a modernized epic. It would be Bilbo looking for some obscure treasure of a distant relative where he pairs up with Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Eddie Murphy (Sorry, but with the passing of Bruno Kirby and Jack Palance I just can't find a suitable t

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:12PM (#21741170)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • This would make the BEST sequel ever (Score:3, Insightful)

    by hellfire ( 86129 ) <deviladv@gmTOKYOail.com minus city> on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:20PM (#21741288) Homepage
    I think Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn came up with the best idea for a LotR sequel EVAR! Maybe this is what they mean? :)

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=EqMV_3JusXY [youtube.com]

  • wow (Score:3, Funny)

    by Kranfer ( 620510 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @01:39PM (#21741570) Homepage Journal
    Wow, Peter jackson looks like he lost about 890572349087 pounds. Good for him. As for The Hobbit... Geeze, get a move on, I wanna see it yesterday already!

  • TFA, apparently sucks, read the BBC story (Score:5, Informative)

    by captainjaroslav ( 893479 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @02:15PM (#21742104)
    I say "apparently" because TFA is actually blocked where I am right now, but the most common questions people seem to be asking in this discussion are:

    1) "Sequel, WTF?"

    and

    2)"Will Ian McKellen return as Gandalf?"

    According to this article:
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7150644.stm [bbc.co.uk]
    the answers are:

    1) No, there will not be a sequel based on some new not-created-by-Tolkien story, The Hobbit will be two movies.

    2) Yes.

  • I'd rather not (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Yurka ( 468420 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @02:53PM (#21742748) Homepage
    Unless Jackson is able to completely redo his visual style (and/or the way of thinking) for this project, I would not call this a good idea. "Hobbit" and "LOTR", even though separated in time by only several dozen years, evoke completely different feelings - with the former still staged inside a fairy tale, a time of wonders, while the latter is a clinical account of the fading of the Age; and since Jackson completely nailed that one, I find it hard to believe that the all-important overall tone is going to be adequate for the "Hobbit" project. He's going to film another installment of the same movie, and no mistake.

  • ONE BILLION DOLLARS TO RULE THEM ALL (Score:4, Funny)

    by peter303 ( 12292 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @03:08PM (#21742996)
    One billion to find them,
    On billion to take them all,
    And in the contracts bind them ...

    In the studios, where the lawyers lie.

  • There is too much that wasn't said... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by geekwench ( 644364 ) on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @06:34PM (#21745996)
    While this comment is likely to get buried in the avalanche that preceeded it, I feel that it's necesary to point a few things out.

    Most glaringly, the press release doesn't have any mention of Warner Bros. MGM doesn't hold the film rights to The Hobbit; Warner Bros. does, after purchasing them from the Saul Zaentz Corporation. The only thing that the press release mentions is that legal difficulties over The Lord of the Rings have been resolved, none of which involved the labyrinth of licensing issues around Tolkien's other works. Warner Bros. has been blocking the idea of letting the rights go ever since The Fellowship of the Ring turned out to be a hit. I see no indication that this has changed.

    Second, although TheOneRing.net has a pretty good track record, they've been wrong before. Several years ago, they trumpeted the release of a "trailer" for The Hobbit, and later had to correct themselves when it turned out to be a fan-created work. Yes, TORn links to MGM's official media release page, but the only other link is to The Hobbit Blog. The blog seems to be officially sponsored by New Line, but the only link to it is in the sign-up page (for New Line's privacy policy), and the only link from New Line to the blog is in the press release, which is also posted on New Line's site. There aren't a lot of branches on this particular "family tree".

    Next, there's Christoper Tolkien's long-standing disdain for any and all film adaptations of J.R.R.'s work. There wasn't much that he could do about The Hobbit and LotR, because his father sold the film rights to Zaentz himself. However, Christopher takes his position as his father's literary executor very seriously, and the chances that he will give the nod to use of any of his father's notes for a film that fills in the gap between The Hobbit and LotR are minute to the point of nonexistance.

    I doubt that this is an elaborate hoax. I could see hacking one film studio site, but not two. However, I would be much more sanguine about the project if there were a linked article from an industry publication such as Variety, and preferably one that went into detail about how the legal wrangles with Warner Bros. and Zaentz were resolved.

  • Ian Holm? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Arancaytar ( 966377 ) <arancaytar.ilyaran@gmail.com> on Wednesday December 19, 2007 @04:08AM (#21749524) Homepage
    I seem to remember some comment saying it was difficult to make him look like a "younger" Bilbo in the introduction for a single scene. Would he be able to play the young Bilbo for the entirety of a film?

    (If so, it would be cool if they managed to insert a part of the LotR ring-finding scene as it is, retroactively turning it into a flashback scene from the prequel while maintaining continuity with the other scenes in the Hobbit film itself. Movie continuity is an amusing topic.)

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