I said we would get news before long. I just thought it would be more exciting than this.Entertainment Weekly sat down with Del Toro and managed to get a few quotes from him on his involvement with The Hobbit. It sounds like nothing is definite, not even his involvement as director. (Which explains all those "So, Del Toro is directing then?" comments I keep hearing.) On where production stands now, the hopeful director is only slightly more informed than we are. "There have been a lot of discussions of cast and crew, agreements on the direction the movies would go, and if and when I come on board. But other than that, frankly it's all immaterial until everything is signed and put on paper."
As expected, the death of New Line Cinema put a kink in the works, but not as much as anyone would think. "I think it played a role for a few days; being dramatic, I would say a couple of weeks. But the fact is [the movie is] a huge endeavor. It's about a half-a-decade of commitment. It's two movies back-to-back that are massive. So a lot has to be sorted out. All I can say is, creatively we are all in sync and eager to commit and move forward."
Del Toro hopes that things are resolved by the summer, and promises that all will be made public as soon as it is. He denies that any delay is due to negotiations over his involvement with the script. "Oh, no no no. That is pretty much sorted out. I will be involved, and so will the original team in some capacity. There's no discussion about that. It's more the planning of it, the calendar, but nothing as major as that." And by original team, he does mean Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens. "I cannot comment on specifics, but yes."
At least there is good news on the scriptwriting front, as many have been concerned we wouldn't see the original Lord of the Rings team return. Hopefully, things will be put to paper soon. I want a release date to circle on the calender, already. Yeah, I am that much of a geek.
I posted all but a few lines here, but you can visit Entertainment Weekly if you want to read the whole interview.
1. THIS NEWS IS HUGE! I've said it before and I'll say it again, the single most important factor determining whether these films succeed or fail will be the adaptation/script. The fact that the "Big 3" are doing it (in some capacity) is fantastic news.
Posted at 9:31PM on Apr 4th 2008 by Moo