Monday Morning Poll: Will the Seas be Smooth for Del Toro's 'Hobbit'?
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, New Line, Remakes and Sequels, Monday Morning Poll
After waves of speculation and mass musing, Scott brought us the news we've been wondering about for months last week: Guillermo del Toro is going to the land of The Hobbit. Since then, we've got questions about whether or not this news is actually welcome, and just this morning, rumored word that Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are on board -- "all bureaucracy pending."Del Toro plans to use Peter Jackson's films "as canon," but there will be changes afoot. As Eugene noted earlier, there will be a different color palette for the world of the hobbits, and instead of inundating us with a film full of stunning CGI, Guillermo is anxious to make a lot more use of animatronics.
Will this change only be subtle, or will it look like an entirely new film that only has a few familiar faces? It's certainly possible to make a film that visually fits -- each Harry Potter director has added touches to their films to make them stand out while still creating a cohesive series. However, we've got to keep in mind that the seas haven't been smooth where Peter Jackson and this fantasy world is concerned. Eric Kohn brought up the "smells of George Lucas" thoughts in his post, and you have to wonder if Guillermo will be free to build his world in peace, and if behind-the-scenes issues could tarnish this whole affair.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-28-2008 @ 11:23AM
techstar25 said...
What if Hellboy II absolutely bombs at the box office?
What is Hellboy II becomes the sleeper hit of the summer?
These scenarios could have a big impact on how much creative freedom he is given going forward.
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4-28-2008 @ 12:22PM
Tom Gerlick said...
I think The Hobbit should have a different feel from LoTR. The books have dramatically different feels.
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4-28-2008 @ 1:19PM
mike said...
del Toro is the man, all his films are great, Helloby 2 will rock this summer, I can only see great things of these 2 films esp with PJ having a role in them too..
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4-28-2008 @ 1:51PM
Saavik said...
I would quibble about the Harry Potter movies making a cohesive series. And I think the main culprit behind them not being so is Alfonso Cuaron. PoA really doesn't fit with the movies that came before it well at all, to the extent that I really can't watch it back to back with CoS. He just changed too many things. The directors who came after him, in my opinion, did a better job at adding their own touches without going so far as to make their movies not connect to the earlier ones.
As to the topic at hand, like Tom Gerlick above, I don't think there's really a problem with The Hobbit having a different feeling from LotR because the books have different styles. And maybe a new director can actually get the elves right (one of my bigger problems with the Peter Jackson movies).
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4-28-2008 @ 11:08PM
Gator said...
I was nervous about him being the director, but after reading this interview on The One Ring.net, I feel much better, even enthusiastic about his involvement. I like how he plans to transition from a very innocent beginning to to a progressively darker time in the second movie when the evil begins to spread. Here is the link.
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2008/04/25/28747-guillermo-del-toro-chats-with-torn-about-the-hobbit-films/
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