Filmonic » Guillermo del Toro

Something is stirring in Hobbit land

Liam — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:16:57 +0000

According to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit fansite TheOneRing.net we may be getting some information regarding the upcoming films on December 8th…

I received a mysterious email followed up by a phone call in the last few days. I don’t know much, all I know is that ‘Something is coming’ on December 8th, 2009. And that we should be watching this space and www.lordoftherings.net stay tuned for more!

Casting news? Will they announce the actor who will play Bilbo Baggins? Filming is expected to begin in just over three months so it’s bound to be something.

Although…it could have something to do with the Blu-ray edition of the trilogy we heard about earlier this year.

Ian McKellen “couldn’t be happier” with The Hobbit script

Liam — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:11:45 +0000

Over the past few months we’ve been following the progress of The Hobbit script rather intensely. We got updates from Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro during the writing process, then Ian McKellen said he would receive his copy of the first draft in September, and now two months on McKellen has read the script.

Sci-Fi Wire caught up with him recently and he shared his thoughts:

“As Peter has said, they loved writing Gandalf [for The Hobbit] because they knew who they were writing him for,” McKellen told us exclusively in an interview last week while promoting AMC’s The Prisoner. “There are a lot of characters in The Hobbit, including, crucially, Bilbo, and they don’t know who’s going to play Bilbo. So it’s extremely attractive that this part has been written for me. The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf. There’s lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn’t be happier. But I’m sworn to secrecy. I’m not to say anything at all about the script.”
As for del Toro’s input into the new script, McKellen said that he and Jackson speak the same language. “They are the same person,” he said. “They were separated at birth. They’re twins. They have the same attitude. Neither likes working in Hollywood. They’re both fascinated by fantasy and violence on the screen, and gore, and things that frighten you. They like going into the psyche. They’re both brilliant storytellers in very much the same way. And I think the script, because I have read it, plays very much to Guillermo’s strengths, as I’ve seen them. I have seen his other movies, and people act very well in them. So I think it’s all fine. And Peter will always be there.”

McKellen will be heading to New Zealand in March and will be there throughout 2010. He also knows who will be playing Bilbo Baggins, however he can’t reveal who, although he’s sure that the fans will be “very, very pleased”.

Guillermo del Toro not thinking about filming Hobbit films in 3D

Liam — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:16:11 +0000

A few weeks ago word was flying around that The Hobbit films would be filmed in 3D. Upon hearing this TheOneRing.net threw up a poll asking if Tolkien fans wanted to see a three dimensional Middle Earth, and 75% of them said they didn’t (I agree with them). Then TheOneRing.net decided to ask director Guillermo del Toro if all this 3D talk was true:

Not wanting to disrupt the creative process going on around a pair of films based on “The Hobbit,” we nevertheless asked Guillermo del Toro just what exactly, if anything, was up with 3D Hobbit movies. Since he is the director of the films in question (you know, the guy who picks the director of photography, the cameras and formats and all that movie stuff) we thought he might know. Turns out he did and he told us, “I can safely say that, as of this moment, there are absolutely NO conversations about doing the HOBBIT films in 3D.”

Peter Jackson is a fan of 3D and will probably use it a lot in the future, having filmed Tintin in 3D, however it’s Guillermo del Toro who decides what’s happening. In my opinion Middle Earth is epic enough and doesn’t really need to be in 3D. What do you think?

Peter Jackson on Bilbo casting

Liam — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:05:12 +0000

Last month The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro said that they were “very close to saying one name”, having narrowed down the search for Bilbo Baggins from 4 possible actors, and that he expected to make an announcement in the next few weeks. Well it’s been more than a month now and we are still none the wiser. However, over the past few days casting speculation has been flying around the internet suggesting that either Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), James McAvoy (Wanted) or David Tennant (Doctor Who) will land the role and that an announcement will be made at the San Diego Comic Con next week.

When I read the names of the ‘possible candidates’ I immediately ruled out Radcliffe. The Hobbit will start filming next March and Mr. Potter has a franchise he needs to finish. It won’t work. Thankfully Peter Jackson has squashed these rumors as he revealed to Empire that no announcement will be made next week, but they are starting to think about casting:

“No, we won’t be announcing Bilbo for a little while,” he said when we asked about a Comic-Con announcement. “We’re starting to think about casting, but we’re knee-deep in the script right now. And when we do go to actors, they’re probably going to ask to see a script, so we’re powering ahead with getting the first draft done.”

So we have Guillermo del Toro saying they have narrowed the search down to one actor and we will know within weeks, and then we have Peter Jackson saying that they were just starting to think about casting. It appears we have conflicting reports here. Whatever the case is i’m sure they know what they are doing and they will make an announcement when they are ready.

Blade Spin-Off Trilogy Will Not Feature Blade

Dave — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:57:36 +0000

Who knew, when the first Blade film by Stephen Norrington debuted in 1998, that it would legitimize Marvel comic properties in the eyes of the movie-going public? Without Blade, we wouldn’t have had the Marvel we have today, ramping up towards a unified cinematic universe.

On the other side of the coin, Wesley Snipes’ portrayal of the character became so iconic that he became a tad too full of himself, leading rumors of on-set tension by the time Blade: Trinity swung through theaters to put the final ~~nail in the coffin~~ stake in the chest of the franchise.

Norrington, who was replaced by Guillermo Del Toro for Blade 2, went on to direct The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman, clashing with Sean Connery and disappearing from the directing landscape the hollowed husk of a man who turned the Alan Moore franchise with super potential into the horrible film that no one had fun making or watching.

As of last December, Norrington announced his return with a “reinvention” of James O’Barr’s The Crow, for better or for worse, and he’s also lining up a return to the world of Blade…just not featuring the Blade character.

In the first film, Stephen Dorff (currently in theaters as Homer in Public Enemies), played a younger vampire lusting after complete power over the vampire race as the legendary Blood God. Spoiler alert: Blade stops him, but that’s not enough to stop Dorff and and Norrington from launching a whole trilogy based on the fanger.

Mania.com reports:

Now Norrington told Comics2Film at Mania.com exclusively that he is planning a return to the ‘Blade’ franchise following his work on the new reinvention of ‘The Crow’.
His leading man of choice is Stephen Dorff, who co-starred as the megalomaniacal Deacon Frost in the film. Of course, Frost apparently died at the end of the first movie as Blade cut him down just as he was about to transform into a vampire god.
Dorff told UK’s The Sunday Mail that the new movie would be “a prequel to the Blade movies, Deacon’s story. It’s a new trilogy the director has created. It will [be] cool.”
Norrington confirmed the news although said the movie is “not exactly how the article describes but close.”
The director credits Dorff with coming up with the idea for the new project, which “has evolved into a very interesting story.”
While that evolution may have carried it away from the source material, Norrington tells us the film is definitely envisioned as part of the existing mythology. “The linkage to ‘Blade’ is still big in the equation.”

This is still a few years away, since we won’t hear about any pre-production news until after The Crow is wrapped (and, oh, there are dozens of ways of screwing up The Crow franchise, this coming from a guy who has read Rob Zombie’s rejected The Crow: 2037).

What do you think? Is the vampire-craze going to last long enough for a Stephen Dorff vampire trilogy to have any sort of draw?

Peter Jackson talks Lovely Bones, Tintin and The Hobbit

Liam — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:32:37 +0000

The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson recently spoke to Stuff.co.nz about his upcoming projects, one of which is The Lovely Bones which we would have already seen by now if Paramount didn’t push it back to December. The studio think the film, which centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven, is Oscar bait.

“When we showed them the cut late last year, they decided to delay the release until December to plop it into the “awards season”, which is a nice vote of confidence in the movie,” Jackson said. The delay meant he had more time to work on the final cut and spend more time on visual effects. He wished he had had the same luxury with his last film, King Kong. “I wish we had this time on King Kong, which we badly wanted to reduce by 20 minutes, but we ran out of time before figuring out how to do it,” he said.

He also spoke about The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn and The Hobbit which will both be released in December 2011. I know Jackson has a thing for December release dates (Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Lovely Bones) but having two of his films competing against each other isn’t a good idea.

Jackson said while Steven Spielberg directed the first Tintin film in Los Angeles, he was helping “beef up” some of the chase scenes and was working on post production at Weta Digital in Wellington.
Jackson said he would start work as the director of the second Tintin film about a year from now. He and Spielberg were also still open to co-directing the third Tintin film, he said.
Jackson is an executive producer and co-writer of The Hobbit. He said shooting was scheduled to begin in March next year. Despite rumours, the two-part film, directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro, would not be 3D.

Peter Jackson will have a busy year next year and I can imagine he will be hopping between The Hobbit and Tintin sets. We knew The Hobbit would start filming sometime next year, so it’s good to know they have a month in sight. Guillermo del Toro and the gang have around 8 months to decide who in Middle Earth will play Bilbo Baggins and the rest of the characters.

Weaving not onboard The Hobbit. Not yet anyway.

Liam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:25:43 +0000

Last week The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro told the BBC that Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen and Hugo Weaving would be reprising their roles in the film, however it seems he got a little ahead of himself as Weaving told Moviehole that he hasn’t signed up just yet.

“I knew that if and when it happened I’d get a call and we’d chat about it, but I haven’t spoken to anyone about it. Someone said to me ‘I hear you’re doing the Hobbit?’ I said ‘Well, um, probably’, they said “No, no. you’ve signed on’. I haven’t actually talked to anyone about it. Doesn’t mean I won’t be doing it, [I’m] just not onboard yet.”
Weaving hasn’t met the prequel’s director but says the he’s “really excited that [Del Toro] is directing. He’s a fantastic choice – an absolutely wonderful choice, just brilliant. It’d be good to get back together with Andy Serkis and Ian McKellan, and whoever else comes back – there’s not many other characters that could come back I guess. Bilbo is back, but you’ve got to have a much younger version of the character. Whereas Elves and Wizards it doesn’t matter – you might just have to age me back though”, he laughs.

I’m pretty sure most of the cast would return if asked and if their schedules allowed it. Even Cate Blanchett who only had a small role in the trilogy said she would be happy to come back. The Lord of the Rings cast are great.

Guillermo del Toro nearly directed Thor

Liam — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:53:32 +0000

Here is another story for your ‘what if’ booklet. Way back before Guillermo del Toro got involved with Middle Earth, and even before he got involved with Hellboy 2, Marvel and Guillermo del Toro were is discussions about him possibly directing Thor. From Splash Page:

They approached me for ‘Thor,’” Del Toro told MTV News when asked whether Marvel had tried to tag him for any of their upcoming movies. “And for a long time we talked about that, because the mythology and the images were very attractive to me.”
“This was before ‘Hellboy II,’” he said.
While director Kenneth Branagh eventually landed behind the camera for “Thor,” Del Toro had quite a bit to say about why he was so attracted to the character.
“I’m a fan of [Jack] Kirby and the power he has, and I’m a fan of the original mythology,” explained Del Toro. “So I thought we could go back to the original mythology a lot. I love Loki, I think he’s a great figure.”

It’s always interesting to hear what could have been, however from what we have heard so far it looks like Kenneth Branagh will do Thor justice. I also like the current set up, whereby Marvel are going to interlock Thor with Iron Man and Captain America. If del Toro did end up directing Thor back in 2006/2007 the current Avengers set-up may not be happening.

Guillermo del Toro confirms Hugo Weaving will be in The Hobbit

Liam — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:48:21 +0000

Guillermo del Toro said last week that he would be revealing casting details for The Hobbit in a few weeks time, namely who will be playing Bilbo Baggins. However, today del Toro appeared on a radio show in the UK and gave a little more information about The Hobbit. He confirmed that Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis would be back, but we’ve known and assumed that for a while, however he also revealed that Hugo Weaving will be back as Elrond. It looks like the old gang will be getting back together!

From the BBC’s Simon Mayo show (via /Film):

Mayo then asked if Andy Serkis is back, which prompted Guillermo to confirm a nice little trio of casting locks:
“Yes [and] Ian McKellen is back, [and] Hugo Weaving in the roles they originated in the trilogy.”

Guillermo del Toro also spoke about Smaug and explained that only now, after eight months of design work have they “cracked the basic engineering.” He suspects that they will need another six or seven months of application there before Smaug is ready for his close up.

Hopefully we will learn who’ll be playing Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming weeks as Guillermo promised, and possibly more casting news over the coming months. December 2011 seems so far away!

Bilbo Baggins casting will be announced soon!

Liam — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:07:30 +0000

It looks like we may finally be getting some casting announcements for The Hobbit! MTV spoke with director Guillermo del Toro and he expects to make an announcement in the next few weeks:

At Sundance in January, del Toro announced that he’d narrowed the search to just four actors. So when the director stopped by the MTV offices today to chat about his new vampire novel “The Strain,” everyone had to know the “Hobbit” question would rise again.
It did, and del Toro revealed that four possible Bilbos had now become one. “I believe we’re very close now to saying one name,” he said, adding that he expects to make an announcement in the next few weeks.

Ian Holm (seen above) played Bilbo in the trilogy, however The Hobbit is set before the Lord of the Rings and Ian Holm is nearly 80 so they obviously needed to recast the role. Personally, I hope Martin Freeman (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Hot Fuzz) gets the part, however we shall see…