#144 Bringing The Hobbit back to Middle Earth

Continuing New Zealand-Hollywood links...

Bilbo is coming back to New Zealand! After searching for months to find writers for The Hobbit films, executive producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo del Toro have decided no one is better suited for the task than the Lord of the Rings writing team. del Toro will team with Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to adapt the J.R.R. Tolkien book.

Three factors have come into the decision. 1. Both Jackson and del Toro originally thought their schedules were too full to allow them to take part in the writing process, but they’ve since been freed from other commitments. 2. During the search and subsequent discussions, they both realised how much love they have for the material. 3. They’ve also realised that since the search took so long, the release date is looming – so who better to do the job efficiently than the people who have the most intimate knowledge of Tolkien’s Middle Earth. (aka Jackson, Walsh and Boyens.) Oh and 4. New Zealanders do it best!

The films will be shot simultaneously like the Lord of Rings trilogy, with principal photography tentatively scheduled for a late-2009 start. New Line and MGM hope to release The Hobbit in 2011 and its sequel in 2012.

p.s. Anybody else notice a striking resemblance between Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro? I guess if you're going to try and get into the mindset of a hobbit, looking like one can't hurt the process!