Jackson dropped as director of The Hobbit

gandalf

Well this is bad news indeed. Peter Jackson has been dropped by Newline as the director for the film of The Hobbit. Can't really imagine anyone else doing that film.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6173178.stm

Beruthiel

Bastids!
Honestly, I doubt anyone could do it like him

Karl Hungus

Bah, that's going to suck.

RE*AC*TOR

They can't make the feckin film without Jackson.

My god, it would be horrendous. Imagine Uwe Boll getting the job.

Miguel_Sanchez

Relax everyone. They'll probably get Brett Ratner to do it.

He'll do a great job. Just like he did on X-Men 3.

Yeah.

fade2black

Michael Bay All the Way...Michael Bay all the way....Michael Bay all the way....EVERYBODY..Michael Bay....

Basq

This makes me a sad panda!

The story was on page three of the English Times on Tuesday. A sad day indeed for cinema.

Worst case scenario: Rob Cohen directing and David Caruso as Bilbo.

I'd like to see Guillermo Del Toro in the directing chair, he has a sense of style that would be perfect for the Hobbit.

humanji

Deleted User wrote:

The story was on page three of the English Times on Tuesday. A sad day indeed for cinema.

Worst case scenario: Rob Cohen directing and David Caruso as Bilbo.

I'd like to see Guillermo Del Toro in the directing chair, he has a sense of style that would be perfect for the Hobbit.

Plus, he kind of looks like a Mexican Peter Jackson!

Sad Professor

I'm not all surprised to hear this. Jackson has gone too expensive and powerful for what is probably a guaranteed hit. New Line will just hire some monkey/music video director that they can control. It looks like they want to make a "LOTR prequel" as well. Sad to see LOTR become just another money making franchise.

I rather see Jackson do something different anyway.

J.R.HARTLEY

fade2black wrote:

Michael Bay All the Way...Michael Bay all the way....Michael Bay all the way....EVERYBODY..Michael Bay....

is there any way to nominate that for post of the month. i wet myself when i read it:D

ixoy

Peter Jackson's New Line lawsuit probably didn't make him the favourite option to direct this movie for them...

Shame still though, difficult to think who's going to get the same sort of style and make it work - Tony Scott ftw! We'll fit in every camera technique and trick into it...

Raziel

You can add your vote to stop a non-PJ Hobbit here:

The Hobbit Film - The way it was meant to be or not at all.

SoupyNorman

....Added to NewLines woes is the fact that LOTR+Peter Jackson fans are not mindless (The Wedding Crashers, Meet The Fockers and all the rest) sheep.

It will be bycotted.

humanji

humanji wrote:

Plus, he kind of looks like a Mexican Peter Jackson!

Or he did before he took on Kong.

humanji

Deleted User wrote:

Or he did before he took on Kong.

Maybe Del Toro absorbed some of Jackson? That would explain why Jackson was so underweight and sickly looking! :eek:

Rhyme

humanji wrote:

Maybe Del Toro absorbed some of Jackson? That would explain why Jackson was so underweight and sickly looking! :eek:

Mmm... osmosis.

I always felt that Jackson should be the only one to tackle 'The Hobbit' not only to spin out a fantastic film but to keep the feel of Middle Earth intact rather than taking another swing at it with some new director.

ObeyGiant

Do you guys really think that it's a choice between either "Peter Jackson" or "Some random hack director" with no third option? As much as I liked the Lord of the Rings films, I can still see how flawed they are, and I really think that the Hobbit could maybe benefit from a different director.

But anyway, if New Line don't get cracking, the rights to the Hobbit movie(s) will revert back to the Saul Zaentz company, who really, really want Jackson on board. So all this bellyaching could be for nothing.

humanji

ObeyGiant wrote:

Do you guys really think that it's a choice between either "Peter Jackson" or "Some random hack director" with no third option? As much as I liked the Lord of the Rings films, I can still see how flawed they are, and I really think that the Hobbit could maybe benefit from a different director.

But anyway, if New Line don't get cracking, the rights to the Hobbit movie(s) will revert back to the Saul Zaentz company, who really, really want Jackson on board. So all this bellyaching could be for nothing.

The more that I think about it, I keep thinking that Jackson shouldn't do the Hobbit. The book is a completely different style to the Lord Of The Rings and is more of a lighter childrens tale. It think a different (and talented, but you can't have everything :rolleyes: ) director could be a really good idea.

Sad Professor

Regardless of who directs it the finished film won't be the fun, light-hearted story the book was. They are going to try and make it big and epic like the LOTR, so don't be suprised if they add in a few huge battles here or there. There's a reason they made the LOTR first and not the Hobbit. They only want to make it now is because there's money to made. And whoever New Line gets to direct it will probably take much the same approach Jackson took.

It could still turn out well but I'm not optimistic.

is_that_so

The Hobbit is a children's story and was written as such. The advantage of having Jackson there is that he has already "built" Middle Earth. The problem of having a new director is the re-imagining of Middle Earth which might not work. As a story The Hobbit is a wonderfully imagined tale but it does not have the scope of LOTR. It is more about "There and back Again" as the subtitle goes. As a film it should be a lot shorter (no 4 hour extended versions). IMO whoever does it it is more likely to be filmed for the same category as Harry Potter - kids with parents.

mwnger

Do you guys really think that it's a choice between either "Peter Jackson" or "Some random hack director" with no third option? As much as I liked the Lord of the Rings films, I can still see how flawed they are, and I really think that the Hobbit could maybe benefit from a different director.

But anyway, if New Line don't get cracking, the rights to the Hobbit movie(s) will revert back to the Saul Zaentz company, who really, really want Jackson on board. So all this bellyaching could be for nothing.

Hmm... I think you may have a point there. I signed the petition, but you know Zaentz and co. would just indulge Jackson like Universal did with Kong. I certainly wouldn't like a 3 and a half hour film of the Hobbit with 45mins deleted scenes on the DVD (also not keen on LOTR 'prequel' - stick to Tolkien's work dammit!) The film should reflect the book, lean and pacey with a light-hearted tone - no 30mins of weeping like at the end(s) of Return of the King.
Perhaps PJ on as Executive Producer and co-scripter with Walsh and Boyens as usual, so the film is still clearly Jackson's Middle Earth - with a new director? That way they could guarentee, McKellan, Sirkis et al, and WETA of course. Possible directorial candidates: Raimi, del Toro, Irvin Kershner? Or even Fran Walsh? She directed a number of scenes herself on Rings.

Dont be at yourself

Sam Raimi has been linked, which would surely be a good thing?

ixoy

Apparently Jackson will direct according to IMDB:

As Lord of the Rings fans mounted a protest following word that New Line had dropped Peter Jackson from consideration as director of The Hobbit and another Lord of the Rings prequel, producer Saul Zaentz has given assurances that Jackson will indeed direct the two films. A German website, Elbenwald.de, posted an interview with Zaentz, who acquired the rights to the works of the late Rings writer, J.R.R. Tolkien, in 1976 (the Saul Zaentz Company owns Tolkien Enterprises), in which Zaentz says, "It will definitely be shot by Peter Jackson. ... Next year The Hobbit rights will fall back to my company. I suppose that Peter will wait because he knows that he will make the best deal with us. And he is fed up with the studios: to get his profit share on the Rings trilogy he had to sue New Line. With us, in contrast, he knows that he will be paid fairly and artistically supported without reservation." (The preceding quotation is a translation that appeared on TheHobbit-Movie.com from the German interview posted on Elbenwald.de.)

patch

ixoy wrote:

Apparently Jackson will direct according to IMDB:

It seems that quote was taken before Jacksons letter came out.