Its official! After 4+ months of talking and wasting precious time, it has been announced that Guillermo Del Toro will be directing The Hobbit. We heard last week at the New York Comic Con that we would hear something one way or another, and now we have the good news that he will be lending his creative imagination to Middle Earth.

According to Variety, del Toro will be moving to New Zealand for 4 years to work with Peter Jackson and company on filming the two Hobbit prequels back-to-back. It is expected that Ian McKellen and the rest of the required cast will return.

Things had been uncertain for the Hobbit films, with lawsuits over the rights and New Line Cinema folding and becoming part of Warner Bros. However, it seems things have been sorted out, or are in the process.

Peter Jackson was originally going to direct the first Tintin movie, however he gave that job to Steven Spielberg so that he could focus on The Hobbit. Jackson will now be directing the second movie in the Tintin trilogy.

No news on when filming will begin, however del toro has already said that he has spoke to WETA, along with designers and other crew members so pre-production in underway. He will be writing the script with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, who both wrote the Lord Of The Rings scripts.

This is officially the best news of the week! (in the movie world)

After a few months of waiting to find out whether Guillermo Del Toro will be travelling to Middle Earth to take on The Hobbit, we will finally get an answer. Del Toro was on the panel for Hellboy II: The Golden Army at New York’s Comic Con, and he revealed some major info!

From Cinematical:

According to Del Toro, he will know in about 4 to 5 days whether or not he’s doing The Hobbit. He hopes that he gets to, but every day brings new battles, but he (and the world will) will know within a week whether he’s on board.

If he doesn’t do The Hobbit, he’ll be doing Planet Saturn: End of Days. It will be a smaller film that follows a boy named Saturn, who goes out to the grocery store, and watches the apocalypse happen. Fire raining from the sky, doom and destruction, you name it. Del Toro considers it his third “childhood” film — sounds as good and dark as his earlier work.

I’m glad we will find out one way or another. I would love Del Toro to direct The Hobbit. His past movies are filled with wonderful creatures and they are simply amazing, especially Pan’s Labyrinth. However, if he does not end up directing it bring up some more questions. Firstly, why isn’t he directing not, and secondly, if not Guillermo Del Toro…then who?

Ever since the wonderful Guillermo del Toro’s name was in the same sentence as The Hobbit, people have been asking, begging, praying and demanding to know if he will end up being the director…and most importantly, when. There has been a lot of confusion, with respectable newspapers saying that he is a 100% lock, whereas del Toro himself says things are not a done deal just yet.

Well today Guillermo del Toro gave the fans another update via the the official message boards for Hellboy II: The Golden Army. As usual, he says that he hasn’t signed anything yet, but this time he says a little bit more that is quite interesting.

Whew- Not yet. BUT there has been a lot of movement. And for the last few weeks there has been a lot of creative / cast / crew / visual talks and agreements and we have witnessed great progress in areas that I cannot disclose or that have already leaked from other sources.

I am dying to share news but I have to be patient and wait until the papers are done and my attachment is real. Nevertheless- a LOT of progress in defining the films, their cast and crew. And, may I add, we are all happily in synch about all creative aspects so far and all willing and eager to move forth.

I cannot say more but if all’s well the time will come To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and sealing wax — Of cabbages — and kings –

May Luck be with us

GDT

PD my silnece means nothing more than the fact that we are RUNNING against an impossible deadline on the HBII film, poster, campaign, ADR, VFX, etc I am SWAMPED.

BUT- Expect good things in the next 2 weeks and a nice item at COMICON. See you there-

Its nice to hear that The Hobbit is moving along nicely, even though New Line Cinema bit the dust. However, I think they should hurry up and get Guillermo del Toro signed up. They know it will happen, he knows it will happen and we know it will happen. It’s just a case of when! WHEN!!!!????

…if him and Peter Jackson have anything to do with it anyway. Ian McKellen often answers questions sent in by fans on his website, and today was the day a new batch was presented. You can check them all out by clicking here. They are all Lord of the Rings related and you can find out about some cool things that happened on set and some extra Rings knowledge. A couple of people asked McKellen about The Hobbit, and whether he would be returning.

Will you again be our Gandalf in “The Hobbit” now that the deal is settled?

A: Yes I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor.

Q: Have you been approached yet by Peter Jackson or anyone else about reprising your wonderful role as Gandalf for the two upcoming “Hobbit” movies. I read that principal photography begins in 2009, and I can’t imagine those movies without you!

A: Encouragingly, Peter and Fran Walsh have told me they couldn’t imagine The Hobbit without their original Gandalf. Their confidence hasn’t yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!

This is great news. Gandalf is probably my favourite character in the Lord of the Rings and Ian McKellen was a big reason for that. It’s also interesting to point out that Mckellen has been kept up to date with the project and is referring to Guillermo del Toro as the director, even though del Toro is still saying nothing has been signed yet.

McKellen also talked about New Line, as they were known for being a bit shifty when it came to paying people.

Bob Shaye (Co-Chairman) and Michael Lynne (COO), formerly at New Line, have always been friendly and supportive to me in person, though I did feel the need to tweak the latter’s nose once, when he seemed to be trying to diddle the cast of LOTR out of their well-earned share of the profits. It was at a party in Berlin after the opening of The Return of the King. I said “That’s for all the trouble you’ve been causing!” I don’t know who was more surprised: Michael, that I had taken his nose in my finger and thumb and twisted it gently, or me for having dared do it! At least one of us enjoyed it.

New Line Cinema as we know it is coming to an end. Today New Line’s Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne sent an email to their colleagues, informing them about New Line merging with Warner Bros.

To: New Line Colleagues
From: Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne
Subject: Our CompanyThis afternoon, Time Warner is announcing that New Line will become a unit of Warner Bros. This is, of course, a very difficult and emotional time for all of us who have worked at New Line. While there is not much we can say that can lessen the impact of this announcement, we did want you to know about the decision before you read about it in the press.

New Line will maintain its own identity and will continue to produce, market, and distribute movies. But New Line will now do so as part of Warner Bros. and will probably be a much smaller operation than in the past. Time Warner hopes that operating New Line as a unit of Warner Bros. will allow New Line to focus on the creative side of movie-making, while reducing costs and taking advantage of Warner Bros.’ distribution systems. The company will be holding group meeting with New Line employees tomorrow in Los Angeles and New York to discuss this announcement, and is committed to letting employees know as soon as possible about how this change affects them individually.

For our part, we will be stepping down as Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOS of New Line. This was a painful decision, because we love New Line and the people who work here have been like our second families. But we will be leaving the company with enormous pride in what all of us at New Line have accomplished together. From its humble beginnings 40 years ago, our studio has created some of the most popular and successful movies of all time. Those movies are a tribute to the amazing creative energy and entrepreneurial abilities of the talented people at New Line. They are a legacy that will endure forever.
Although we are stepping out of New Line, we intend to remain actively involved in the industry in an entrepreneurial capacity, and will keep you advised of developments.
We thank all of you who have worked so hard to make New Line such a success. We are very proud of every one of you.

Bob & Michael”

New Line is not dead. Warner Bros plans to maintain New Line as a “separate development, production, marketing, distribution and business affairs operations.” However, it will “closely integrate and coordinate those functions with Warner Bros. to maximize film performance and operating efficiencies, achieve significant cost savings, and improve margins.”

This brings up a few questions. What’s going on with The Hobbit? And…errm… well that’s all I care about really. What’s going on with The Hobbit?

We have just heard news about Dominic Monaghan joining Wolverine, and now we have word from a fellow Hobbit, Elijah Wood. The last we heard on The Hobbit was that Guillermo Del Toro has not signed anything as of yet, so he is still not officially on board to direct, but that didn’t stop Elijah from expressing his thoughts.

“I think [Guillermo’s] the perfect choice,” “Lord of the Rings” star Elijah Wood told MTV News. “I think he would certainly honor the previous work that Peter had done.”

“He hasn’t [talked to me yet about coming back], no. I think they’re just literally trying to figure it all out and work out who’s gonna do it and who’s gonna write it, but if it happens [that they want me]?” Wood said. “I’d certainly [return].”

Its good that Frodo approves. We couldn’t make the film knowing Frodo wasn’t happy with Jackson not directing. I am pretty sure all of the other cast members will approve if Jackson has personally approved of del Toro. They just need to get him signed so they can get started!

I have posted a lot of things about The Hobbit recently, and Guillermo Del Toro’s name has been in 99% of it. The ‘nearly Hobbit director’ spoke to Empire about:

His status on the film:

“I wish it was definite, but it isn’t,” he told us. “It’s still in talks, there are still a lot of ‘T’s to cross and ‘I’s to dot. It’s certainly not certain yet…But, as far as I’m concerned, [if it was definite] I would be packed in ten seconds”.

The recent lawsuit that could mean that New Line have their rights to The Hobbit terminated:

“I heard that, but I’m quite zen about those things,” Del Toro continued. “Since that news broke, I have not exchanged a single phone call with my lawyer or my manager or anyone. They talk about it and I have received some emails, but, as far as I’m concerned, until I’m on board I should not worry about it. I read about it, but there’s nothing I can do about it. This week seems to be the lawsuit week in Hollywood”.

Would he bring back the Middle Earth cast?

“Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been pretty much incredibly open about the things that I love and don’t love in the past. I’ve turned down huge franchises in the past because there are parts of that world I don’t gel with. The reason I took Blade 2 is because I love the characters that Stephen Norrington created and the actors he used. That times ten is the reason why I’m interested in The Hobbit”

He was right about the lawsuit week in Hollywood, there seems to be a new one every day! I just want them to hurry the hell up and sign the contract so that he is director and they can get on with it. New Line wont have them rights forever!

New Line have just solved one lawsuit with director Peter Jackson regarding the profits for The Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Rings, and now they are faced with another. Variety are reporting that the Tolkien estate, a British charity called The Tolkien Trust, and original Lord of the Rings publisher HarperCollins, are suing New Line, seeking more than $150 million in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and a court order giving the Tolkien estate the right to terminate any rights New Line may have to make films based on other works by the author, including The Hobbit. The lawsuit claims that New Line was required to pay 7.5% of the gross from the Lord Of The Rings trilogy to the estate…but haven’t. 7.5% may not seem much but considering the trilogy has earned a massive $6 billion worldwide, 7.5% is a LOT!

The trustees’ UK lawyer, Steven Maier, of Manches LLP, said:

“The Tolkien trustees do not file lawsuits lightly, and have tried unsuccessfully to resolve their claims out of court. But in this case, New Line has left them no option at all. New Line has not paid the plaintiffs even one penny of its contractual share of gross receipts despite the billions of dollars of gross revenue generated by these wildly successful motion pictures. To make matters worse, to date New Line has even prevented the plaintiffs from auditing the last two films of the series. The trustees are very aggrieved by New Line’s arrogance.”

Bonnie Eskenazi, the trustees’ US counsel who filed the complaint, said,

“New Line has brought new meaning to the phrase ‘creative accounting.’ I cannot imagine how on earth New Line will argue to a jury that these films could gross literally billions of dollars, and yet the creator’s heirs, who are entitled to a share of gross receipts, don’t get a penny.”

If the estate win the case and New Lines rights for The Hobbit are terminated, then that will leave the movies in a bit of a mess. I am with the Tolkein estate, as New Line have been a bit sneaky with money in the past, which was the reason Peter Jackson filled a lawsuit against them. However, there are millions of people out there that want to see The Hobbit brought into the big screen. Things have been looking good recently with Peter Jackson finally coming on board and rumours of Guillermo del Toro taking the directorial role. For New Line to lose the rights now would be, in a word, crap!

The first film is currently planned for 2010, with the second in 2011, with filming hopefully beginning next year.

Since the 5th November 2007 members of the Writers Guild of America have not written, typed, engraved or sprayed any words down on whatever they would normally write, type, engrave or spray on. People have lost jobs, sleep and most likely, weight, due to all the protesting instead of sat on their backends writing. But most importantly, production on some of the most anticipated movies ever have been halted.

In most cases the studios have done what they can under the circumstances, such as storyboarding, thinking and possibly scribbling down those thoughts down. But no script means no filming. So now that the writers could be back at work within days, what movies can we now look forward to? Read more…

Its official. After nearly 4 months of strike action, the WGA have struck a deal. The WGA West board of directors and the WGA East Council will meet Sunday to formally endorse the contract. And writers could be back at work as early as Monday, depending on whether the WGA’s ruling bodies decide whether to end the three-month strike at those Sunday meetings. You can read all of the details, including a letter from WGAE President Michael Winship and WGAW President Patric M. Verrone to the WGA members announcing the tentative deal, over at Variety and ComingSoon. Here is a excerpt:

To Our Fellow Members,
We have a tentative deal.

It is an agreement that protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery. It creates formulas for revenue-based residuals in new media, provides access to deals and financial data to help us evaluate and enforce those formulas, and establishes the principle that, “When they get paid, we get paid.”

Specific terms of the agreement are described in the summary on our website and will be further discussed at our Saturday membership meetings on both coasts. At those meetings we will also discuss how we will proceed regarding ratification of this agreement and lifting the restraining order that ends the strike.

So what movies can now be made now the strike is over?

Transformers 2, The Hobbit, Thor, Tintin, Magneto, Conan, Jurassic Park 4, Justice League and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time to name a few. There is also a possibility that Fantastic Four 3, Cloverfield 2 and Pirates 4 could begin work. Spiderman 4’s script has been put on hold so screenwriter James Vanderbilt can continue and it is likely that Terminator Salvation will go through a re-write. There are probably quite a few other movies that can now begin to roll forward thanks to the strike ending.

Lets hope the writers are back to work on Monday!