The Hobbit

[Mathachew Veteran]

Jackson's still involved, I'm happy with that :D

[Rappy Veteran]

Jackson's still involved, I'm happy with that :D

+1 they wouldn't be right without Jackson.

[Hurmoth]

Jackson's still involved, I'm happy with that :D

I think it is fantastic that del Toro is doing it. He did a fantastic job with Pan's Labyrinth, so I can't imagine he'd mess this up.

[MrKuro]

I'll be first to say this will set new box office records..

I think everyone is looking forward to this! :)

[Lqv2015]

I'm excited about Del Toro. Personally I didn't like Jackson's version that much. It wasn't that "special." But that's just me.

[popsmear]

Del Toro in Talks to Direct Hobbit Films

title changed

I love the movies Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone. Sounds promising.

[rajputwarrior]

I'd be pretty worried if I were you. The RAID array information is probably going to get stored at the OS, not hardware, level. Reinstalling the OS may therefore result in the array being broken and both disks having to be formatted.

This is in contrast to proper hardware RAID solutions which are independant of the OS, whatever it may be.

Seriously consider a dry-run of DR scenario before you start saving critical data.

i am doing a lord of the rings marathon as we speak :) (been sick for three days). And i was thinking when words was coming that they were going to start this :)

[goji]

I haven't seen Pan's Lab yet but I hear its great!

I hope their synergistic geniuses combined create a beautiful story that meshes well with the established look and feel of the current trilogy.

[azcodemonkey]

I'm kind of hoping for a new look. I think Del Toro is an excellent choice for a director. He has a great imagination and great sense of visual style.

[Green_Eye]

Can't express how happy I am at this news :D

Loved LOTR and definitely happy with Del Toro being director as I was very happy with Pan's Labyrinth :D

[Swordnyx]

WOW! AWESOME!!!

[Rappy Veteran]

LOS ANGELES - The estate of "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn't paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.

The suit, filed Monday, claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien's estate and other plaintiffs, who contend they only received an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began.

The writer's estate, a British charity dubbed The Tolkien Trust, and original "Lord of the Rings" publisher HarperCollins filed the lawsuit against New Line Cinema in Los Angeles Superior Court. If successful, it could block the long-awaited prequel to the films.

Robert Pini, a spokesman for Time Warner Inc.'s New Line, declined to comment.

The films ? 2001's ""The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," and 2003's "the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" - have reaped nearly $6 billion combined worldwide, according to the complaint.

The estimate includes everything from box office receipts to revenue from sales of DVDs and other products.

The plaintiffs seek more than $150 million in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and a court order giving the Tolkien estate the right to terminate any rights New Line may have to make films based on other works by the author, including "The Hobbit."

Such an order would scuttle plans by New Line to make a two-film prequel based on "The Hobbit." "Rings" trilogy director Peter Jackson has already signed on to serve as executive producer on the project, which is tentatively slated to begin production next year, with releases planned for 2010 and 2011.

"The Tolkien trustees do not file lawsuits lightly, and have tried unsuccessfully to resolve their claims out of court," Steven Maier, an attorney for the Tolkien estate based in Britain, said in a statement. "New Line has not paid the plaintiffs even one penny of its contractual share of gross receipts despite the billions of dollars of gross revenue generated by these wildly successful motion pictures."

Maier also claims the film studio has blocked the Tolkien estate and the other plaintiffs from auditing the receipts of the last two films.

The lawsuit claims J.R.R. Tolkien established a trust through which he signed a film deal in 1969 with United Artists. After Tolkien's death, his heirs created the charity in the author's name.

Meanwhile, the original agreement terms were picked up by Hollywood Producer Saul Zaentz, who produced an animated film in 1978 based on the "Rings" books, and eventually licensed the rights to make live-action films to New Line.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they have spent the years since the movies hit theaters trying to negotiate a settlement with New Line.

Other disputes over the film's earnings have surfaced in recent years.

In 2004, Zaentz sued New Line, claiming the studio cheated him out of $20 million in royalties from the film trilogy, which he optioned to New Line for a percentage of the movies' profits.

He and the film studio reached an out-of-court settlement a year later.

Jackson's production company also tangled with New Line in 2005 over profits from the films. A lawsuit was settled last year.

[obiwong]

this movie has got to be good cuz it has l33t views!

[episode]

this movie has got to be good cuz it has l33t views!

If you read the story Rappy posted, it sounds like the movie isn't going to be made.

[obiwong]

If you read the story Rappy posted, it sounds like the movie isn't going to be made.

ya i didn't read it

i just saw the l33tness on the topic refresher thingy

[goji]

Looks like the power of the ring has taken over all those who made the movies :devil:

[Hurmoth]

Guillermo del Toro on The Hobbit Films

Empire caught up today with Guillermo del Toro, who told the magazine that he is still not fully signed for The Hobbit and its sequel.

"I wish it was definite, but it isn't," he said. "It's still in talks, there are still a lot of 'T's to cross and 'I's to dot. It's certainly not certain yet?But, as far as I'm concerned, [if it was definite] I would be packed in ten seconds."

He's not worried at this time about the lawsuit that was revealed earlier this week, but he did say he would love to bring back actors from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy whose characters appear in the new films.

"Yeah, absolutely. I've been pretty much incredibly open about the things that I love and don't love in the past. I've turned down huge franchises in the past because there are parts of that world I don't gel with. The reason I took 'Blade II' is because I love the characters that Stephen Norrington created and the actors he used. That times ten is the reason why I'm interested in 'The Hobbit.'"

[Rappy Veteran]

Looks like the power of the ring has taken over all those who made the movies :devil:

Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if its held up until at least they decide on what to do.

[Lqv2015]

McKellen's Gandalf Back for 'The Hobbit'?

Check it out...

So we all know that Guillermo del Toro is being seriously courted to direct the two Hobbit prequels but what about Sir Ian McKellen? Can we have our Gandolf back? Does the man even want to do it? Thank God he does according to Comcast.

"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," McKellen, 68, said in a reply dated Wednesday.

Another fan asked: "Have you been approached yet by Peter Jackson or anyone else" to play the ancient Wizard?

McKellen replied: "Encouragingly, Peter and (partner) 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!" he said.

Del Toro's manager, Gary Ungar, told The Associated Press on Friday that del Toro, director of "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Hellboy," is being considered for the "Hobbit" films.

"It's still under discussion, (but) yes," he said. "I hope it resolves soon. .... Everybody has to agree in everything."

[Pc_Madness]

Excellent. :)

[Razorwing]

Gandalf, WE MUST TURN BACK!

[qdave]

great news indeed :)

[Stone Gaijin]

It's Official

DEL TORO TO DIRECT ?HOBBIT?

[4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran]

It seems also that Ian McKellen will be playing Gandalf: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22480

Guillermo Del Toro, the loveable big-mouth that he is, may have already confirmed that Sir Ian McKellen is set to return as Gandalf The Grey in his two-movie adaptation of The Hobbit - but in the ever-changing world of moviedom you just can?t believe what you hear until it comes from the horse?s mouth.

So, on spotting The Lord Of The Rings star at the UK premiere of Speed Racer (no, we don?t know what he was doing there either), we grabbed him for a quick chat.

?Yes, it?s true,? he said. ?I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role. Obviously, it?s not a part that you turn down, I loved playing Gandalf.?

[Rappy Veteran]

James McAvoy is reportedly being lined up to play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.

According to the Daily Express, the Atonement actor leads a list of candidates to play the title role in the J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation.

A source is quoted as saying: "A number of names have privately been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black, but James is the one the film's bosses really want.

"They're expected to have talks with him soon so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future."

The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro recently told Empire that he and producer Peter Jackson were closing in on an actor for the role.

Del Toro said: "I can tell you it's down to a few names that we all agree upon. For our first choice, completely magically, we all said the same name."

The role of Bilbo Baggins was played by Sir Ian Holm in the Lord Of The Rings franchise, but requires a younger actor for the prequel films.