Ian McKellen Talks Hobbits
Sir Ian McKellen remarked to the media last year that he would happily do a series of Lord of the Rings prequels provided that Peter Jackson returned to helm them. With Jackson now back as executive producer, McKellan has announced on his official website his intentions about returning as the wizard Gandalf, and had the following to say:
Q: So has it come to pass, good Sir McKellen? Shall the dreaming masses with their musty books and their blackened pipes at long last hear those immortal words issue from under that famous nose? “Yes, yes, my dear sir-and I know your name, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. And you do know my name, though you don’t remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me! To think I should have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna Took’s son, as if I was selling buttons at the door!” Looking about, I find I share the same hopes as millions of others, so I ask, a single query in a chorus… Will you again be our Gandalf in “The Hobbit” now that the deal is settled?
McKellen: Yes I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor. I’ve just read your quote out loud – fabulous speech.
Q: Have you been approached yet by Peter Jackson or anyone else about reprising your wonderful role as Gandalf for the two upcoming “Hobbit” movies. I read that principal photography begins in 2009, and I can’t imagine those movies without you!
McKellen: Encouragingly, Peter and Fran Walsh have told me they couldn’t imagine The Hobbit without their original Gandalf. Their confidence hasn’t yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!
The Hobbit: Parts 1 and II are tentatively set for release in theaters in 2010 and 2011.
Del Toro In Talks For ‘The Hobbit’?
The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting that Guillermo Del Toro is now officially in talks to direct both The Hobbit and its sequel. This. Is. Awesome.
Their story doesn’t really hold any concrete facts or give us any new information on the film, but it’s very encouraging to hear that Del Toro is at the very least on the shortlist of directors who might handle the prequels to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Del Toro already has a lot of films on his plate, so he’d have to clean house a little if he took this on. Principal photography is set to start in 2009. Del Toro is currently finishing off ‘Hellboy 2′ and then had plans to make a new version of Frankenstein, a long-planned adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s At The Mountain’s Of Madness and ghost story 3993.
He’d also expressed some interest in directing the final Harry Potter movie. But when we spoke to the series producer David Heyman recently he said that Del Toro was sadly not really in the running because “he’s rather busy”, despite Del Toro telling Heyman that he’d like to make the movie because “I want to kill your children”. We guess you can’t have everything. We gladly sacrifice all of those other projects to see Del Toro’s take on ‘The ‘Hobbit.
Del Toro Wants To Direct Harry Potter 7
Since the third film, the Harry Potter movies have been good, but we’ve yet to see a great big screen translation of the tales of the boy wizard. That could potentially change if Warner Bros listens to Guillermo Del Toro’s statement that he’d like to direct the final chapter in the movie septology (or whatever the hell you call a seven parter).
In a recent interview, Del Toro told MTV, ““I’m definitely interested [in directing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows], now that the movies have grown darker. They have a contrast between the gloomy existence of the kid and the world he’s exposed to. They have evolved into a really nice universe.”
Del Toro was once in the running to direct Prisoner of Azkaban, which went to Alfonso Cuaron. But he say he loves the final book. “I got it for my daughter and she was like ‘When are you going to give it to me?’” he stated. “I read it and I was very moved by the ending. It ends very much like a Dickens novel”. Continue Reading…
Peter Jackson and ‘Hobbit’
Director Peter Jackson, MGM CEO Harry Sloan and New Line Cinema Co-CEOs Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne have jointly announced today that they have entered into a series of agreements regarding “The Lord of the Rings” franchise.
Now that Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “LOTR” trilogy, MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute “The Hobbit” and its sequel. New Line plans to distribute in North American, while MGM will handle international rights.
“I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line,” said Jackson. “‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”
