Official The Hobbit thread

[Boom]

Peter Jackson Close to Deal to Direct ‘The Hobbit’

Sharon Waxman at TheWrap.com has posted an exclusive on her blog, Wax Word, that a deal for Peter Jackson to direct “The Hobbit” is all but complete:

“Now his deal is all but complete, according to individuals close to the project. Both Jackson’s directing fee and percentage of the gross have been settled, though a number of lesser deal points remain outstanding.”

Confirmation that PJ will be adding the director role to his writing and producing duties can’t come soon enough for fans who have been hoping PJ would take over the director’s role for since Guillermo Del Toro announced earlier this year that he was vacating the position. The pieces are falling into place for “The Hobbit” to get back on track!

Source: http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/exclusive-peter-jackson-close-deal-direct-‘-hobbit’-21422

 

[redhawk23]

i'll belive it when my rear is in a theater in 2012

 

[WarBlade]

I had to laugh. Now Australian MPs are starting to wade into the fray! t:
(source)

An Australian opposition MP is wading into the industrial dispute surrounding The Hobbit.

Senator Eric Abetz is accusing the Australian union the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance of threatening thousands of film industry jobs on both sides of the Tasman, which could lead to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars.

He said the union's move to blacklist The Hobbit threatens to derail the entire project.

Mr Abetz is calling on the Australian Government to intervene to ensure the project isn't lost and to safeguard Australian jobs.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which is backing The New Zealand Actors' Equity union, has called for actors worldwide to boycott The Hobbit.

Yesterday, Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee and Arts and Culture Minister Chris Finlayson met husband and wife filmmakers Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh at the Beehive to discuss the issue.

No commitments were made but "the minister had said they are available to mediate in getting a solution", a spokesman for Mr Brownlee said.

 

[redhawk23]

its crazy that a country could so drastically depend on one franchise

 

[Octoberist]

in terms of frachises, i can see why. Peter Jackson is a Kiwi, a powerful Kiwi who has major stake in New Zealand. His offices are there, his studio is there, along with Weta.

 

[Donut]

So they try to black list The Hobbit but it turns out that they need The Hobbit after all ? That is some funny **** right there

 

[Marx]

The LOTR franchise is a powerful, money-making machine. It's foolish to blacklist 'The Hobbit'.

 

[matrix_ghost]

its crazy that a country could so drastically depend on one franchise

I don't think that NZ is dependant on one franchise but considering just how much money is going to get pumped in the NZ economy as well the jobs generated , it does make sense.
It is a double standard because if some small movie would've faced the same problems , i think the goverment wouldn't give a ****.

Still if you look the bigger picture , NZ offers tax incentives of 12.5 % hence why there was talk of moving hobbit to europe ( tax incetives are 20% there). Hobbit is going to cost more then LOTR. So if they spend 300 million on both movies , calculate how much goes to NZ.

Edit :
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ent...nlight-from-warner-bros-new-line-and-mgm.html

The two "Hobbit" films, which will be shot together, are expected to cost close to $500 million to produce.

And you guys wonder the the politicians are intervening

[YT]G41r9IgHvhU[/YT]

 

[WarBlade]

its crazy that a country could so drastically depend on one franchise

Technically speaking it doesn't, but this one franchise is a huge boost.

The "boost" in question generally falls into two areas, the first being the immediate impact to the NZ film industry and industries that feed into it. The other side of the equation is tourism. Tourism is one of NZ's primary exports, and one thing that Fellowship of the Ring did was to place a huge tourist brochure in front of millions. And as far as advertising brochures are concerned, this one has had "legs" you might say.

 

[regwec]

Can tourism be an export?

 

[WarBlade]

Yes. Try this: Copy the following bold text into Google and skim the hits. "tourism is the" export

 

[Boom]

IT'S FINALLY OVER.

MGM Crowns Spyglass Partners Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum New CEOs

http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/mgm-brass-in-new-york-preparing-for-bankruptcy-reckoning/

One roadblock down. One to go.

 

[regwec]

Yes. Try this: Copy the following bold text into Google and skim the hits. "tourism is the" export

But I mean, literally, an export is something that exits your ports. Tourists enter your ports.

 

[Solidus]

But I mean, literally, an export is something that exits your ports. Tourists enter your ports.

Yea but they are coming in. Yet we are giving them the "experience/fun" that they take with them. That is why its considered and export. At least that's what my econ professors told me for years. We give them the fun, they leave with it, so yea tourism is an export.

 

[Solidus]

Dang it more then a DP. What the hell?

 

[Solidus]

DP Hype glitching.

 

[Slushy]

They need to hurry up so we can have our Extedned Editions of LOTR released on Blu-Ray!

 

[Jackasscoley15]

Martin Freeman Talks The Hobbit

Exclusive: Actor could still be Bilbo

Middle Earth fans, hold on to your oakenshields. Martin Freeman has been linked with the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit for ages now, but he's said precious little about the tenacious rumours. You know what the next bit is: until now.

‘They are as yet rumours, but stranger things have happened,’ Freeman told Empire, while promoting his BBC Radio 3 play, an adaptation of B. S. Johnson’s novel The Unfortunates.

Speaking of unfortunates, Freeman confirmed what many have suspected for weeks – that he was lined up for the role, but had to turn it down. "I did have to say no to it for the second series of Sherlock," he says of the BBC 1 show in which he plays Dr. Watson. "But if something could be worked out, that would be great." But it must have been tough having to turn down such a plum part? "Oh yeah, I did it with a heavy heart, definitely."

But with The Hobbit’s starting date still up in the air, it seems there may still be room for manoeuvre. "I’d like to think so. If there is any outside possibility, then that would be great. But I’ve learned not to think too much or hope too much about stuff. It will happen if it happens."

Though Freeman wasn’t immersed in The Hobbit as a child, he admits to being impressed by the Lord of the Rings trilogy, where Bilbo was of course played by Alien star Ian Holm. "I wasn’t a fan of it as a kid but I did like the films," he said. "I think Ian [McKellen] is very good, and [director Peter] Jackson’s a clever man. I thought what he did with them was interesting and entertaining."

Freeman also agreed that it would be refreshing to see Bilbo played by a slightly older actor, rather than someone fresh out of drama school (he's 39). "Absolutely, because Bilbo isn’t 20 at this stage of the story,’ he said, ‘and I reckon I could do a young Ian Holm. I think I could give that a go."

We're with him on that. So, do you agree? Would Freeman make a good Bilbo? Should, more importantly, Freeman make a good Bilbo? And how gutting must it be to turn down the role of a lifetime? As ever, vent your thoughts below...

I really hope they work something out.

 

[:eek:]

Hobbit Most Expensive Movie Ever?

Two-part LOTR prequel to cost a helluva lot of Brandybucks.

October 11, 2010


It's time to sell The Shire, or maybe that much coveted One Ring, because The Hobbit is reportedly shaping up to be the most expensive film ever made and it hasn't even been green-lit yet.

According to NEWS.com.au, the two-part film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is expected to cost roughly $500 million, with legal fees alone stemming from the rights issues currently running about $100 million. (The Pirates of the Caribbean sequels currently stand as the most expensive U.S. films ever made.)

The site says that if the Hobbit films were released in 3D that it might ultimately help recoup some of its money. The rule of thumb in Hollywood is that a film generally has to earn 2 1/2 times what it cost (production + prints & advertising) in order to be profitable, which means that the Hobbit films will need to make over $1 billion at the box office.

That's certainly not out of the realm of possibility, seeing as how The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King alone made $1.1 billion at the global box office and is ranked as the third highest-grossing worldwide release of all time (and that's not including home video and merchandising).

 

[matrix_ghost]

I do think that 1 billion is a lock for a 3d hobbit movie. Those movie score big time overseas . WB may be spending 500 million on both movies but it'll pay off in the end.

 

[dark_b]

if its 500 for two movies then how can it be the most expensive movie ever? if one movie is 250 then its not the most expensive movie.

am i missing something?

 

[Passdom]

Yeah, that article is wrong.

250 each is a lot, but still not the most expensive of all time. That would Pirates of the Caribbean 3 IIRC.

 

[dark_b]

250 millions in 2010 is not a lot of money for a blockbuster of the size like Hobbit that will be in 3D.

 

[Moridin]

Yeah, while 250m is a big sum, the movies stand a good chance of pulling in near a billion each anyway.

 

[Doctor Jones]

God, I hope Freeman gets it. But Eomer says it best.

"But do not trust to hope."