Official The Hobbit thread

[Buford The Sly]

At least A Song of Ice and Fire will be on HBO next year. (Better than The Hobbit IMHO)

 

[Solidus]

I just try not to read any articles on April Fools Day.

 

[matrix_ghost]

Yea those b***ards! Not that funny if you ask me.

I think they could've gone with some better and less obvious. Of course people are pissed that Hobbit just isn't getting of the ground. So to with such an article out of the blue while everyone on earth knows that Hobbit isn't greenlit is just ...well lame really.
IMO if they just had something about certain actors being considered for bilbo , it would've made for a better april fools gag.
Something like "Martin Freeman is close to being cast for the role of Bilbo. "

 

[Boom]

Will MGM shares its "Hobbit" rights to WB?

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/03/mgm/

I tend to doubt it. Thoughts?

 

[matrix_ghost]

Will MGM shares its "Hobbit" rights to WB?

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/03/mgm/

I tend to doubt it. Thoughts?

Doubt it.
MGM would have to negotiate a deal with WB and agree on a sum. Problem lies with the fact that the money will have to go straight to the creditors . And as cruel as it sounds , from a business POV the best thing WB could do is just wait till MGM is bein auctione off. That way they got the right to several important franchises for a fraction of price.

 

[redhawk23]

so yeah completed the Extended Lord of the Rings marathon for my third time on friday.

just makes makes me wish even more these films would get off the ground.

 

[lime]

Just watched the Fellowship on blu ray, and my god, it's my favorite of them all.

Tryed to read both LOTR and Hobbit books, but they where just to bright, and childish. I prefer the darker movie adaptations. Can't wait for the Hobbit.

 

[Ipodman]

so yeah completed the Extended Lord of the Rings marathon for my third time on friday.

just makes makes me wish even more these films would get off the ground.

Oh wow....thats like half your friday at least?
I never watched the Extended stuff... need to get those DVDs sometime...

Just watched the Fellowship on blu ray, and my god, it's my favorite of them all.

Tryed to read both LOTR and Hobbit books, but they where just to bright, and childish. I prefer the darker movie adaptations. Can't wait for the Hobbit.

orly... Fellowship was awesome... but the other two are my favs

 

[ravn0s]

i really wish the extended cuts would come out on bluray.

 

[Ipodman]

i really wish the extended cuts would come out on bluray.

Hmm... I think there was news that the Blu ray of the Extended versions will be released nearer to The Hobbit

 

[Armored Avenger]

Tryed to read both LOTR and Hobbit books, but they where just to bright, and childish. I prefer the darker movie adaptations. Can't wait for the Hobbit.

The Hobbit was a children's book, so it's understandable that it would have a lighter tone, but The Lord of the Rings novels shed that feel very quickly. The Fellowship of the Ring begins with a tone reminiscent of The Hobbit, but that quickly changes after Chapter 1 and the story gets dark and keeps getting darker. Periods of a more lighter feel do re-enter the story at certain points (in Rivendell, Lothlorien, etc) but even then it never reverts back to the more child like tone of The Hobbit, remaining serious and far more mature.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Just strike the right tone. I'm pretty sure it will be more serious in ways, but there with Del Toro in directing, there will be a shift in tone. Just a smidge. It's good to hear they're going to keep it consistant with LOTR, but it should feel slightly different as well.

 

[Octoberist]

one that that might be in question is the looks of the Dwarves; in the Hobbit, they were more..Gnome like than a band of warriors with ugly noses.

 

[Iceman]

Just watched the Fellowship on blu ray, and my god, it's my favorite of them all.

Tryed to read both LOTR and Hobbit books, but they where just to bright, and childish. I prefer the darker movie adaptations. Can't wait for the Hobbit.

I just ordered the trilogy on blu-ray! How good is the quality?

The LOTR books begin in the same tone as the Hobbit (which is a book written for children) so Fellowship spends a fair while like that. The Two Towers & Return of the King are absolutely nothing like it though...just try opening ROTK on a random page & see if it's written with children in mind.

 

[Jackasscoley15]

Oh please, god

Should MGM Sell Hobbit, 007 Stakes to Stay Alive?

On the hook for hundreds of millions in debt, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios avoided a massive headache Wednesday when its debt-holders agreed, for the fourth time, to extend a deadline for repayment.

Eventually the movie studio will have to pay the piper, and might have to sell off its stake in The Hobbit and James Bond franchises to do so.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, MGM has received underwhelming bids for the studio and its title-rich library, and may have to resort to selling off lucrative series piecemeal.

The last Bond entry, Quantum of Solace, took in more than a half-billion dollars worldwide, while Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro’s forthcoming Hobbit duology is expected to blow way past that. Warner Bros. is reportedly interested in buying out MGM’s half of The Hobbit, while Sony is intrigued by 007’s past and future spy films. But selling off its two fattest paydays could backfire, especially since MGM is on the hook for $3.7 billion. Unless the studio comes up with more blockbusters, it might be lights out for the Lion.

So let’s play entertainment mogul. Would you sell equity stakes in The Hobbit and the James Bond franchise, or look elsewhere for financial aid? (Maybe it’s time to cook up a quick sequel to The Wizard of Oz.)

I really hope they go this route. It would definitely make things a whole lot easier, and the project would likely get a greenlight fairly soon.

 

[hippie_hunter]

MGM should just sell themselves for the best they can get. The studio is worth nowhere near the $2 billion its creditors think it is and it is worthless without the Bond and Hobbit rights (which aren't enough to save it and neither are the 8 films a year proposed if they continue to sell films that no one is interested in). They are in such a horrible shape that they are unable to properly exploit their film library.

 

[matrix_ghost]

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/

MGM Begs Creditors For Stand-Alone Studio
By Nikki Finke | Tuesday April 6, 2010 @ 8:01pm PDT
EXCLUSIVE: In the next few days, the steering group of MGM's creditors (which represents the largest holders of the debt) are expected to make some key decisions about the future of the nearly bankrupt studio. Here's more evidence that the MGM auction is a bust: I've learned that last Thursday, right before Easter weekend, MGM Management gave an 8-hour presentation in the old MGM Screening Room to the creditors. Some attended. Some joined via phone. The studio's management pleaded for a stand-alone but restructured MGM with a game plan to make 6 to 8 films per year. They requested that the creditors try to raise $500 million of equity capital and $500 million in a production fund. I as told that, basically it was a “give us the dough, more of the same” attempt at a Hail Mary. Management tried to portray every film in the business plan as a “big winner” (unlike so many previous releases). Although the MGM toppers were peppered with questions from the creditors in attendance, sources tell me that most of the questions didn’t seem to be "well informed" about the nature of the film business. So what will the creditors do? Well, there haven't been any votes or pollls. But knowledgeable sources tell me there does not seem to be much support among the major holders of the credit to accept either the Time Warner offer or the Len Blavatnik offer. What happens next is anyone's guess...

Seems it won't take long for the rights to be auctioned off.

 

[hippie_hunter]

If MGM decides to stand along I doubt they'll sell the Hobbit rights. At least they have a small chance of survival with Bond and the Hobbit. They have no chance of surviving without them.

 

[Jackasscoley15]

^ That all depends on if they can pay back the debt by May, though, doesn't it? If they end up not able to pay by the deadline, the delays would have been for nothing at all, and the time Guillermo & Co. have spent on pre-production would be wasted.

Does anybody know what will happen if they do declare bankruptcy? Will the rights revert to Warner or will they just be stuck in limbo with no hope of seeing the light of day? This makes me mad.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Jesus, MGM, it's over. Just seel them so we can get this made.

 

[Octoberist]

I understand the legacy of MGM but the signs of it being a stand alone studio doesn't look good. EVEN THAT, they should get a new team there because they didn't have a hit in a long time. JUST LIKE UNIVERSAL NOW!

 

[hippie_hunter]

^ That all depends on if they can pay back the debt by May, though, doesn't it? If they end up not able to pay by the deadline, the delays would have been for nothing at all, and the time Guillermo & Co. have spent on pre-production would be wasted.

Does anybody know what will happen if they do declare bankruptcy? Will the rights revert to Warner or will they just be stuck in limbo with no hope of seeing the light of day? This makes me mad.

MGM will most likely end up declaring bankruptcy with ownership transferring from Sony/Comcast/investment firms to the debt holders. Everything will remain the same.

However, if I were one of MGM's debtholders, I would not want such a worthless studio. Asides from James Bond, MGM has consistently put out film after film that people just don't want to see (Pink Panther 2, Fame, Hot Tub Time Machine). Putting out 8 films a year means nothing if people don't want to see most of them. Sure people are going to go see the Hobbit and James Bond, but the rest?

 

[Octoberist]

i just think CEO of MGM is just a complete moron. like what you said, they keeping having duds. Hell, they even thought of remaking Poltergeist.

 

[matrix_ghost]

MGM of recent times never struck me as a studio that had enough cash to fund risky business or blockbusters which is probably why the made flicks like Pink Panther 2 etc. Safe bets ( for them eat least).

btw there might be some good news at the horizon .....
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/

MGM UPDATE: Relativity Media Offers $500M Investment Towards New Productions

By Nikki Finke | Wednesday April 7, 2010 @ 4:33pm PDT
EXCLUSIVE... 2ND UPDATE: Insiders tell me that Relativity Media, which is long backed by New York-based hedge fund Elliott Associates, is joining the expanding list of Hollywood types who want to see nearly bankrupt MGM become a stand-alone but restructured studio. To that end, Relativity has offered a $500M investment in MGM so the studio could start making new productions including more James Bond, The Hobbit pics, etc. It's not Relativity's aim to get involved with managing the studio, just to take over a lot of control over the production side. I hear this offer was made 3 weeks ago and kept under wraps. But others have already made similar offers, including News Corp and Qualia Capital, the investment fund run by Amir Malin and Ken Schapiro. The only question now is whether the bondholders, since the studio auction looks busted, will allow MGM to take one of these offers and make more movies -- or, worst case scenario, push the studio into bankruptcy.

Relativity Media is also one of the production companies that are on board for Immortals ( aka War Of The Gods)

 

[Octoberist]

i really think in the end, I don't MGM to go away.

So if Relativity got MGM, will MGM's name still be used?