After what seemed like an age of legal wrangling, production delays, a director dropping out (Guillermo del Toro), and a studio going belly up, the day has finally arrived: The Hobbit has started shooting, under the direction of the Middle-earth Maestro himself, Peter Jackson.
The Hobbit was always going to be shot sooner or later, given the success of The Lord of the Rings, but for some time it seemed that all the fans' hopes may not be answered. I covered the early Hobbit rumours waaaaay back in 2006. I'll dredge up what I wrote here (26 November 2006 to be precise):
I've been waiting a little while to report on this news to see how it pans out, but here it is: theonering.net has posted an email that Peter Jackson recently sent them which makes it sound pretty certain that PJ won't be directing The Hobbit. Needless to say, my immediate reaction was something along the lines of "Noooooooooooooooo" (with more expletives). It all hinges on the fact that PJ has an ongoing lawsuit with New Line Cinema about profits owed to him for LOTR. Neither is willing to work with each other until it's sorted, which I can understand, but New Line has a time limit on its Hobbit rights, so they've said they're going to find a new director. I cannot see The Hobbit feeling like anything more than a soulless cash-in unless they get PJ to do it, or a really top-drawer director. Certainly some hack would never do it justice. I'm not saying that PJ is a perfect director, but he OWNS the cinematic Middle-Earth, plus the passion that went into LOTR really showed on screen. Intriguingly, New Line want to make both The Hobbit and a LOTR "prequel" not based on a specific book. The prequel idea is horrible. I don't mind them splitting The Hobbit into two parts, like I'd heard was the intention, but manufacturing a new narrative and tacking it onto the saga is a baaaad idea. Anywho, all is not lost, it seems. MGM, who share the rights to The Hobbit, say they're insistent on Jackson directing. Also, Saul Zaentz, who owns all the Tolkien property, has said that Jackson absolutely will direct it. Here's hoping (and praying).Seems that all my praying may have paid off! In the intervening time since my diatribe, Guillermo del Toro was brought onboard, a development that I was not unhappy with - I like his Hellboy movies, and Jackson was still set to produce and help write it. The endless delays thrown up by MGM's collapse meant that Guillermo chose to depart, and, as always seemed destined, PJ stepped back into the fold.
My only concern is this: is Peter really invested in this project? He said in interviews when GDT was on board that he felt he had nothing more to contribute to the topic, and fresh eyes were needed. (You can understand how spending 8 years on LOTR was knackering.) I hope his decision to take the reigns was at least partly down to the fact that he wants to make The Hobbit, rather than just because a load of people in New Zealand had already been employed.
Still, as one of the biggest LOTR fans there is (it's probably what got me into films in the first place), I absolutely can't wait. The Hobbit will be released in two parts - in December 2012 and 2013. Recent gossip has suggested that the parts will be called An Unexpected Journey and There and Back Again. Sounds good to me.
In the meantime, enjoy these first official photos from the set.
Source: JoBlo.com
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