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Hold Please

By Cindy Davis | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (38)

GDT_400.jpg

Update: del Toro has announced that he has left The Hobbit, releasing this statement to One Ring:

“In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life. After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wlsh the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director.”

******

(The following is the original post)

Hey it’s a slow news weekend, so here’s your update on the extremely gradual progress of The Hobbit. Guillermo del Toro is ready to shoot the moment MGM is sold or the film rights are transferred. Commenting that they’ve been caught in a tangled negotiation, he asserts that the film has not been greenlit, has no start date; nor is there any truth to rumors of 3-D. The current budget is for 2-D filming, though of course that could change.

Lest you think the project is at a complete standstill, del Toro says that in the two years he’s been on the project, creatures and sets have been designed, animatics and many sequences have been planned.

So, er…go back to your beer and barbecuing and please stand by.









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Comments

Beer? BBQ?

How about work and no beer?

*Shakes fist*

My life sucks.

Posted by: DeistBrawler at May 30, 2010 3:15 PM

Do American really spell 'barbequing' that way?             ~giggle~

Posted by: Poultice at May 30, 2010 3:32 PM

Lisa: (reading): Come to Homer's BBBQ - The extra B is for BYOBB.

Bart: What's THAT extra B for?

Homer: That's a typo.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at May 30, 2010 3:34 PM

it's crazy that it's been nearly 10 years since the first films release. Why do I feel so old at 27?

Posted by: adam at May 30, 2010 4:11 PM

Bleh, does it even matter at this point if this problematic project gets off the ground?

I'm past caring.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at May 30, 2010 4:36 PM

I hope it gets cancelled altogether. This Hobbit Bobbit Hoober Bloobit crap is miles beneath del Toro's talents. This is the man who made Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, and Pan's Labyrinth for fuck's sake. Tell him to focus his attention on finally bringing 3993 to the screen...not these fuzzy gnome, "D&D" geek turds.

Posted by: Case at May 30, 2010 5:35 PM

Hey Case -

Get fucked, guy. The Hobbit rocks.

Posted by: Kyle at May 30, 2010 5:38 PM

If it's between The Hobbit and Del Toro finally making In the Mountains of Madness, I say Del Toro go Lovecraft and leave Tolkien behind.

Posted by: Fredo at May 30, 2010 6:13 PM

"Get fucked." Wow, now there's a well-thought-out, intelligent, well-informed response. Whatever you say, dork. Now go watch Star Trek again. Oh, and if we're gonna stoop to those levels, I will be getting fucked soon...your mom said something abut stopping by, so...

Fredo - Here, here.

Posted by: Case at May 30, 2010 6:26 PM

Aaaaannd . . . now it appears that he's left the project entirely. Shitdamnfuckit.

Posted by: Lauren at May 30, 2010 7:12 PM

* I would post a link but onering.net is temporarily shitting itself.

Posted by: Lauren at May 30, 2010 7:13 PM

Do American really spell 'barbequing' that way?

Unless you're under 20, and then it's B4RB3(U1|\|9

Posted by: mswas at May 30, 2010 7:33 PM

"Aaaaannd . . . now it appears that he's left the project entirely. Shitdamnfuckit."

Yessssssssssssssssssssss...now he can make something that I might actually watch. Oh, and, I'd also like a million dollars, magical, wish-granting gnome who must be reading this talkback!

Posted by: Case at May 30, 2010 7:44 PM

Of course a Tolkien article would bring out the cuntish Trolls.

Posted by: laredo at May 30, 2010 8:25 PM

I let spell check spell barbecue this time because there seem to be so many ways to do it.

Well, how do you like that? Soon as I put this up he quits the whole shebang. Can't say as I blame him - the man is too talented to sit around waiting.

Posted by: Cindy at May 30, 2010 8:56 PM

“In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life. After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wish the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director.”

Translation

After two years of trying to find a fucking way to get out of this fucking nerdapocalypse disaster that is the fucking “Hobbit.” I’ve finally came up with an excuse that I hope these motherfuckers believe. I’m Guillermo de Toro motherfucker! The fuck I look like running around in motherfucking middle earth? Nigga please, I can fly out to Cannes and get my jimmy waxed any day of the week. Did you motherfuckers really believe I was going to do the Hobbit when I can go make a movie in Hollywood with any bitch I want to and tap that ass when I feel
like it. Anyway, thanks Peter maybe we can do some shit in the near future.

Ciao,

“G”

Posted by: Pookie at May 30, 2010 9:28 PM

I will be getting fucked soon...your mom said something abut stopping by, so...


Posted by: Case at May 30, 2010 6:26 PM

----------------------------------------------

She ain't going anywhere until I'm done with her, bubba.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at May 30, 2010 10:15 PM

I must admit that one of the joys of reading Pajiba is the high level of intellectual discourse.

Posted by: The Wanderer at May 30, 2010 10:53 PM

Isn't it just, Wanderer? It's a delight.

Anyway...I'm sad to see him go, because he could've put a truly awesome spin on the movies. Now they're going to get some other lameo director, or worse, it'll be Peter Jackson again and it'll just be another pretty box of nothing. I loved the trilogy, but...PJ ain't all that.

So I think we can forget about this project for a very, very long time. It'll be at least four or five more years.

It's odd that this is so problematic. You know they'd make a shitload of money. Maybe it's the lack of, well, mancandy potential. It's 13 dwarves and 1 short dude. Oh how will we get an audience!

Plus I read that Del Toro just had a tough time committing to the +6 years of living in New Zealand that this entire project would take. Smart dude.

Posted by: figgy at May 31, 2010 12:58 AM

Word, spent all day making vegan food, hemming pants inot shorts, then I went to the burger bistro shit to eat that veggie burger & drink belgian beer, but I left early to bring food to my girlie, then she went to bed, so I hollered at Travis & went to his redneck brother's shitty party, but it was all good because he had that good beer plus I saw some Dave Matthews motherfucker trying to play left handed guitar & get laid, dude that chick's like 19 wtf

Posted by: the new transproted man at May 31, 2010 1:12 AM

Eh-Although I liked the movies, my big complaint was far too much focus on the elves and too little on the hobbits-How much slow mo posturing do you need? And of course leaving out the Battle of the Shire, even if only as an extra sucked-wait, what was my point here? Oh yeah, that I'm a big geek who should just shut it.

Oh, and it would be nice to treat the dwarves like actual characters as well, instead of wacky sidekicks. Because The Hobbit is all dwarves and well...hobbits.

Posted by: mrcreosote at May 31, 2010 1:19 AM

I actually hated the way they did the elves in LOTR. I thought the stupid silver lights they used on them made them all look like a giant metrosexual tuberculosis ward, except in that one scene from the extended version where Galadriel's in the sunlight seeing the hobbits off and she looks wonderful.

Also, Liv Tyler has a bit of a mushy round jaw and they kept putting her in dresses that emphasized it and shrank her shoulders and made her look chubby even though (whatever my complaints about her acting abilities or lack thereof) she's pretty slim and gorgeous in reality. What the fuck, costume people.

But this is not the place to air my LOTR grievances. I'm not even that big a fan of the books, I just have issues with the way the movie was handled.

I'm glad Peter Jackson got rid of Bombadil though. What a dick.

Posted by: Nat Kittyface at May 31, 2010 1:27 AM

Translation:

I am not fucking filming the fucking Hobbit, the book which gave me a lifelong love of fantasy, in fucking 3D so studio suits can masturbate over an additional ten percent bump opening weekend. Seriously, did you fucks see Clash of the Titans? Didn't that suck? Do you think I want the motherfucking Hobbit anywhere close to being related to that? Do you think I want to spend a whole fucking year redesigning every shot so it doesn't look like ass? Do you think I want to spend a year having to phone up James Cameron for advice on 3D shooting? That fucker will talk your ass off for two hours about deep sea diving bullshit before he tells you anything constructive and he'll do it on fucking purpose.

Posted by: mightygodking at May 31, 2010 1:29 AM

Case, for a troll, you have a surprisingly low tolerance for fantasy.

I agree that ItMoM is a better use of Del Torro's talent, but The Hobbit has the potential to be very dark and menacing. I really think he would have done well there.

I'll see Hobbit, regardless. Unless Michael Bay gets anywhere near it, which he was itching to in the earlier stages of development.

And now, for my usual crass insult; Case, I really hope you get fucked by a sandpaper demon.

Posted by: Dagon at May 31, 2010 1:47 AM

Case,

You mentioned Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, and Pan's Labyrinth but I also noted that you neglected to mention Hellboy, Hellboy II, Blade II (which was the best one), and Mimic. Any reason you neglected to mention those? Oh right, because they suck.

As a side note IMDB does have him "In Development" on Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Pinocchio just to name a few. Is it just me or would somebody else really love to see a del Toro Pinocchio?

Posted by: DeistBrawler at May 31, 2010 2:58 AM

Not a surprise. TBF, Del Toro has about a dozen other projects in various stages of pre-production that he can start next week with a studio that isn't on the verge of going under.

Billy the Bull will be OK. His geek-cred will not be hurt by this.

OTOH, MGM is in a world of shit. They can't afford either one of their major franchises (The Hobbit or Bond) and so keep pushing them back, hoping to raise enough cash to greenlight one of them in the near future. There's no reason 2010 will end without a new Bond movie or the first Hobbit movie.

MGM is going to go under and all this work would get tossed out. Might as well jump ahead of the train crash.

Posted by: Fredo at May 31, 2010 8:03 AM

The debate over how to spell "barbecuing" misses the point entirely. Here, allow these gentlemen to explain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY

Posted by: sansho1 at May 31, 2010 8:52 AM

"you neglected to mention Hellboy, Hellboy II, Blade II (which was the best one), and Mimic. Any reason you neglected to mention those? Oh right, because they suck..."


Awwww, now who's trolling? Mimic, maybe. But seriously, Blade II? and Hellboy? They sucked, really?

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at May 31, 2010 9:58 AM

For you folks with hearts so a-flutter for Del Toro, dumping The Hobbit for something more his style, live Lovecraft:

I believe a lot of folks said for a long time that Tim Burton was perfect for Alice in Wonderland, because it fit his style. It was like a no-brainer to them. And how well did that turn out, exactly?

Be careful what you wish for, is what I am saying. Maybe the guy who seems so damn perfect isn't.

And Hellboy 1 & 2 didn't suck.

Posted by: Vermillion at May 31, 2010 10:04 AM

Oh, and another trasnlation:

"MGM ain't got no money. These other folks do. Peace out."

Posted by: Vermillion at May 31, 2010 10:05 AM

Hey Case, if you don't like the things that other people enjoy, it's okay just to state a preference, rather than berating and belittling others. Or if you absolutly MUST be snarky (I can empathize), at least try to construct an intelligent series of insults rather than just tossing out ye olde' "I'll fuck your mom." I'm not saying I don't dig the insult (it will always have a seat at the hilarious, infantile debates table -- right next to "Nu-uh" and my personal favorite "Nu-uh, YOU shut up!"), but is that really all you have to offer at your debute? Yo-Mamma-insults? These people have seen MUCH worse. We worship an ass-eating human centipede for fucks sake; we can handle a yo mamma dig.

So listen, I'm not saying, "Don't comment." We're an inclusive group (some of us, anyway -- lookin' at you LindsEy, you rotton fuck). I'm just saying, "Comment well." We have a low boredom threshold.

Posted by: superasente at May 31, 2010 10:35 AM

Ugh...I can't stand the Hellboy movies. I argue with my friend all the time of how they're giant piles of shit.

By the way...who is fashionbags and why did they straight up steal/plagiarize my shit?

Posted by: DeistBrawler at May 31, 2010 10:39 AM

Looks as if Spambot McSpammerson has come up with a new method.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at May 31, 2010 11:11 AM

Dustin, you know me, I've been reading for years, I've written 3 book reviews for you, I've recommended you to countless friends, but if that damn popup beer add doesn't go away soon, I'm leaving. The popups were okay when they sometimes appeared on entrance to the site, but not every time I click anything EVER for the LOVE OF GOD. My blood pressure can't handle this.

Posted by: dsbs at May 31, 2010 11:24 AM

@Vermillion:

Ah, but I think the big difference between Del Toro doing Lovecraft and Burton doing Carroll is that Guillermo del Toro doesn't suck :D

Posted by: Royalewithcheese at May 31, 2010 11:40 AM

Ah, but I think the big difference between Del Toro doing Lovecraft and Burton doing Carroll is that Guillermo del Toro doesn't suck hasn't crawled up his own ass believing he's some kind of super-auteur.

Posted by: Fredo at May 31, 2010 11:48 AM

HOLY. SHIT.

NEW ZEALAND IS IN THE NEWS.
This is going in my scrapbook.

Posted by: The Only New Zealander at May 31, 2010 6:42 PM

I must admit that one of the joys of reading Pajiba is the high level of intellectual discourse.

Posted by: fashionclothes at May 31, 2010 9:21 PM