MGM plans to bring The Hobbit back to the big screen
September 11th, 2006 at 11:22pm madgunde
According to an article posted on Chud.com, MGM Studios is planning on producing a live action film version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. MGM’s planned budget for the film will be in the $150-200 million (USD) range, and MGM chairman Harry Sloan is said to be hoping Peter Jackson will come back to make it. The article also makes mention that the story may be told in 2 installments.
While nothing would make me happier than to know this is all in fact true, part of me wonders how they could manage to stretch a book that is less than half the length of just one of the LOTR trilogy books into two movies. Whereas in LOTR they had to cut a lot out to get the story to fit into three 3-1/2 hour movies, they’d almost have to make up a few new scenes to pack into a The Hobbit double feature, just to act as filler. I think trying to make the Hobbit into two movies will make the pacing seem completely inconsistent with LOTR at the very least, and at most, it will make for two movies that have lots of slow moments. The only way I could see them pull it off is if they made each movie no more than 2 hours long, but some fans of the LOTR might be a bit disappointed, being accustomed to the extra-long movies of the LOTR Trilogy.
I think MGM has a guaranteed winner on their hands with this, regardless of whether they get Peter Jackson on board or not, but without Jackson, I worry that it’ll get butchered. The last thing I want to see is a crappy Hollywood-ized version of the Hobbit, and after the cinematic masterpiece that was the LOTR, viewers expectations are going to be pretty high. In any case, if this news is true, here’s one Tolkien fan that will be going to see it opening night. 
Entry Filed under: Business, Entertainment
1 Comment Add your own
1. Shleppinstein | September 12th, 2006 at 11:16 am
I’m actually inclined to say that I will only see it if Peter Jackson is involved. If the style or look of the Hobbit was changed from that established by Jackson in LotR, it will just seem inconsistent and silly. Some other director would have to do a very good job of imitating Jackson’s style in order for the movie to not seem terribly out of place; and I think WETA (who did all the costumes, special effects, scenery, etc.) would have to be involved. Since WETA is Jackson’s company, this seems unlikely unless he’s on board.
As for turning the book into 2 movies, I don’t think they’d be slow at all. While the Hobbit is certainly not as mature or complex as LotR, a lot happens. I think you forget just how much was really cut from the LotR movies. I think The Hobbit would easily translate into 2 3-hour movies and still be very exciting.
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