We already knew Guillermo Del Toro was directing The Hobbit but now the news is set in stone
It’s no secret that we here at Awards Daily pledge our undying love for Guillermo after having given us Pan’s Labyrinth. Who knows what he’ll do with The Hobbit but we do know that his and Peter Jackson’s sensibilities aren’t altogether THAT different. Jackson was one of the few directors who could have done the LOTR series justice in that there wasn’t a whole lot of cutesy going on. Hopefully Del Toro will adhere to the same. Cute should not be an issue.
I’m cautiously optimistic about GDT and the Hobbit, as well as the ‘bridge’ movie. He’s a unique filmmaker, and should be able to create a fitting prequel to LOTR.
As for ‘holding up’ I think the LOTR films will hold up (despite advances in CGI) because, for all the flaws, PJ concentrated as much if not more on the characters as he did on the special effects, something I always found lacking in Star Wars.
Spark up the demons! Brew up some brimstone! The 2010 Best Picture Campaign starts now!
I disagree, jjj. While its effects look primitive compared to today’s, the original Star Wars trilogy holds up very well (and is more impressive given the relatively primative nature of technology at the time). LOTR holds up way better than the CGI-dependent films that succeeded it. Plus, as Tufas (with whom I’m in rare agreement) said, the effects can be refined if necessary.
Ummmm… I’m seeing a lot of paragraphs being written in response to this… but I think all that needs to be said is “w00t!”
but thats the thing about special visual effects… techinques get better and better, and older movies sometimes get facelifts when dealt with new approaches… Peter Jackson went back to all 3 LOTR films before the extended dvd cuts to polish things up, and i’m betting he will / someone will again go back to those films and create adequate transfers to, say 1080 HD versions, refining visual effects if need be. It is NOT rocket science.
That being said, according to Del Toro’s recent interview with theonering.net concerning The Hobbit (Ian McKellen is in.. yey!), he’s taking a more conservative view of effects, which will probably serve authenticity – if such a word is adequate for a fantasy project – a lot better.
T.
Lord of the Rings will look worse and worse as time goes by, people working with digital effects are really at the mercy of history, ‘hand made’ movies always look better and ‘full’ so I’m not really looking forward to any movie that relies so heavily on digital effects, except the digital animated films where they don’t have to rely on matching real life.
It’s not like Jackson’s had any misfires, either. The Frighteners, while not a bad film, certainly isn’t on par with his other efforts.
lol, I know Rex, right?!
I thought Del Toro hates the Tolkein books anyway?
I don’t understand why people say Guillermo Del Toro is a mediocre filmmaker, or someone who’s not on the same level as Jackson. Cronos and The Devil’s Backbone are two of the best horror films of the 90’s. Hellboy is vastly underrated. Blade 2 is the only Blade movie with a sense of fun, and easily the best of the series (though admittedly that’s not saying much.) Okay, Mimic’s pretty bland, but Pan’s Labyrinth…now that’s a movie! Far surpasses anything by Jackson, and I’m a huge Jackson fan, ever since Bad Taste. The only problem I have with him doing the Hobbit is that with Jackson as executive producer, Guillermo won’t be able to put the personal spin on it I would have liked to have seen. Oh well. Either way, it’s a chance for him to truly break out, and do some amazing stuff in the future. By the way, wouldn’t it be cool to see Jackson go back and do some splatstick movies again in the future?
Ok.
Love Peter Jackson – love him! – BUT: the man abuses slow motion and bended angles like there’s no tomorrow.. not since Mel Gibson have we seen so much slo-mo on movies. King Kong showed he mght have difficulties getting over this. I have high hopes for Lovely Bones, but to be brutally honest, Del Toro is better at framing.
Both would excel at The Hobbit, and I too hope there’s not much cutesy going on, but the novel is basically a kid’s book, much more than LOTR.
Bring it ON!
T.
You’ve got a point there Alan, and as I’ve said elsewhere, by the closer the movie gets, the more excited I’m likely to be. I’ll be there opening day for sure.
This is very dissapointing. Del Toro’s work has never been on the same level as Jackson. I’m sure his movies will be servicible but I would be very suprised if they ever reach the same heights as the original trilogy (especially Two Towers).
No cutesy going on? The violent stuff is what I hated the most in the series – especially the so-called action sequences with the human warriors. Jackson laid on the violence with a trowel. Even though I consider Return/King classic, my consideration is in spite of the 17 interminable battles.
(Sorry, SeattleMoviegoer. Couldn’t resist.)
cj, I wouldn’t worry about being middle-earthed out. Chances are the Hobbit won’t be out for at least a couple more years given the production demands, so by then you may be craving more of the mythology.
It’s kinda freaky how much jackson and del toro look alike–it’s like the latter is the latin mirror image of the former.
I’m torn.
The Hobbit was my childhood introduction to Middle Earth and I treasure it in a way even surpassing Lord of the Rings, but I have to say I’m kind of Middle Earthed out and this means del Toro will be gone for 4 years bringing someone else’s imagination to life instead of his own.
On the other hand, who better to do the Hobbit justice? When we get closer to the first film coming out, I’ll drop this “glass is half empty” BS and get truly excited, but for now I was sort of hoping he’d get to work on the Saturn and the End of Days project he’d been talking about instead.
no cutesy going on?
the cutesy stuff is what i hated
the most in the series–especially
the so-called comic sequences with
the hobbit boys. Jackson laid on
the sentiment with a trowel.
even tho i consider RETURN/KING a classic,
my consideration is IN SPITE OF the
17 interminable cutesy/sentimental
endings
So my question is this: Which Del Toro we getting?
The visionary behind the haunting THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE and the wonderful PAN’S LABYRINTH?
Or the fat nerd who shot the meh-ish HELLBOY and BLADE 2?