Guillermo del Toro Has Left The Hobbit
I've got some pretty terrible news for all of you. I hate to be the barer of bad news, but Guillermo del Toro is no longer going to direct The Hobbit. Last week Del Toro gave an update on what was currently going on with The Hobbit, and I knew if something didn't actually start happening quick the production would start falling apart, and now Del Toro has dropped out of the project.
This is all due to MGM's financial problems. They can't seem to get it together, and Del Toro just couldn't wait around anymore. After all... he's got a ton of other film projects that he wants to start working on. Del Toro announced the news himself through the Lord of the Rings fan site The One Ring.
So, Del Toro will not direct The Hobbit, but he will continue to collaborate with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens on the films scripts, until they are completely done.
Who will step in to take del Toro's place as director? Who knows, but at this point the only person I would trust is Peter Jackson, will he do it though?
Here is What Guillermo Del Toro had to say:
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.
This is really quite sad! I hate to see this talented guy leave the production! Here is what Peter Jackson said about his departure.
We feel very sad to see Guillermo leave the Hobbit, but he has kept us fully in the loop and we understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone’s control – has compromised his commitment to other long term projects…The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn’t feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years. Guillermo is one of the most remarkable creative spirits I’ve ever encountered and it has been a complete joy working with him. Guillermo’s strong vision is engrained [sic] into the scripts and designs of these two films, which are extremely fortunate to be blessed with his creative DNA.
Guillermo is co-writing the Hobbit screenplays with Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and myself, and happily our writing partnership will continue for several more months, until the scripts are fine tuned and polished…New Line and Warner Bros will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for the Hobbit. We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work.
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