Cita:ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER PETER JACKSON AND NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM TO PRODUCE “THE HOBBIT,” EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASY ADVENTURE EPIC

NEW LINE AND MGM TO CO-PRODUCE AND SHARE WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS

PETER JACKSON AND FRAN WALSH TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE TWO FILMS BASED ON “THE HOBBIT”

Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, December 18, 2007) Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson; Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of New Line Cinema have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements:

* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

* Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) Trilogy.

Said Peter Jackson, “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”

“Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making ‘The Hobbit,’” said Sloan, MGM’s Chairman and CEO. “Now that we are all in agreement on ‘The Hobbit,’ we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film.”

Bob Shaye, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO comments, “We are very pleased we have been able to resolve our differences, and that Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with ‘The Hobbit’ movies. We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy.”

“Peter is a visionary filmmaker, and he broke new ground with ‘The Lord of the Rings,’” notes Michael Lynne, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO. “We’re delighted he’s back for ‘The Hobbit’ films and that the Tolkien saga will continue with his imprint. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Harry Sloan, who has been instrumental in helping us reach our new accord.”

The two “Hobbit” films – “The Hobbit” and its sequel – are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of “The Hobbit” release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.

The Oscar-winning, critically-acclaimed LOTR Trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box-office. In 2003, “Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the eleven categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The Trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.

For more information about “The Hobbit” films, please visit http://www.TheHobbitBlog.com.

About New Line Cinema Corporation:

Celebrating its 40th anniversary year, New Line Cinema is the most successful independent film company in the world. Its mission is to produce innovative, popular and profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. In addition to the production, marketing and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, the fully-integrated studio has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, merchandising and an international unit. In 2005, New Line partnered with HBO to form Picturehouse, a new theatrical distribution company to release independent films. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line’s Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most successful film franchises in history. New Line is a division of Time Warner, Inc. (TWX).

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., through its operating subsidiaries, is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music and licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., United Artists Films Inc., Ventanazul, MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM Networks Inc., MGM Domestic Networks LLC, MGM Distribution Co, MGM International Television Distribution In, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Worldwide Digital Media, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in international TV channels reaching nearly 120 countries. MGM ownership is as follows: Providence Equity Partners (29%), TPG (21%), Sony Corporation of America (20%), Comcast (20%), DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (7%) and Quadrangle Group (3%). For more information, visit http://www.mgm.com.

About Peter Jackson/Wingnut Films:

Peter Jackson is one of the world’s most successful filmmakers. His monumental achievement co-writing, co-producing and directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy (with fellow Academy Award winners and frequent collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) earned a total of 30 Academy Award nominations and 17 Academy Awards. Jackson and Walsh received their first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for their acclaimed film Heavenly Creatures. Jackson, through his New Zealand-based Wingnut Films banner, also was responsible for the globally successful 2005 remake of King Kong which earned over $500 million worldwide and 3 Academy Awards. Currently, Jackson is directing an adaptation of The Lovely Bones, from the acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold. He is also developing a trilogy of films with Steven Spielberg based on Tintin, the world renowned comic book series by Herge

LUIS escribió:Guillermo del Toro dirigirá El Hobbit!


Excelente noticia :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin:

Cita:Guillermo del Toro to direct 'Hobbit' (posted April 24th 2008)

Filmmaker signs on helm feature and sequel

By DAVE MCNARY

In a major step forward on “The Hobbit,” Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct the New Line-MGM tentpole and its sequel.
The widely expected announcement -- which had been rumored for several weeks -- came Thursday afternoon jointly from exec producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, New Line president Toby Emmerich, and Mary Parent, newly named chief of MGM’s Worldwide Motion Picture Group.

Del Toro’s moving to New Zealand for the next four years to work with Jackson and his Wingnut and Weta production teams. He’ll direct the two films back to back, with the sequel dealing with the 60-year period between “The Hobbit” and “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the first of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

New Line is overseeing development and will manage production. Both pics are being co-produced and co-financed by New Line Cinema and MGM, with Warner Bros. distributing domestically and MGM handling international.

Del Toro won’t leave for New Zealand immediately as he’s still in post-production on U’s “Hellboy 2,” due out in July. His previous pic, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” was released through New Line’s Picturehouse and set a record as the highest grossing Spanish language film in U.S. box office history.

The official signing of Del Toro comes four months after New Line settled a lawsuit with Jackson over “The Lord of the Rings” and announced that it had agreed with MGM to turn J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” into two live-action films. Sam Raimi had been preceived as the initial front-runner as director but Del Toro had emerged in recent months as the likely candidate.

The studios didn’t give a start date on production and don’t yet have a script. Though no screenplay deal’s been set, it’s expected that the “LOTR” scripting team of Jackson, Walsh and Philippa Boyens will collaborate with Del Toro.

With Del Toro blocking out four years for the project, it’s likely that the studios are aiming at starting shooting next year and releasing the films in late 2011 and 2012.

Jackson’s WETA stages, post-production and visual effects facilities -- built for “The Lord of the Rings” -- will be used for both films. And New Zealand will again be the site of Middle-earth, with the story centering on Bilbo Baggins taking the Ring of Power from Gollum.

Vicco escribió:Dijera el Sr. Burns... Excelente! Bien por el Gordo del Toro... aunque esto signifique que Hellboy 3 y otros proyectos personales originales (como El Laberinto del Fauno y El Espinazo del Diablo) tendrán que esperar.

Cita:Los Ángeles (EE.UU.), 1 jul (EFE).- El cineasta mexicano Guillermo del Toro aseguró hoy que la adaptación de "The Hobbit", de J.R.R. Tolkien, a la gran pantalla constituirá un serio reto tras el éxito cosechado por la trilogía "The Lord of the Rings", basada en la obra del mismo autor.
PUBLICIDAD

En una entrevista con Efe con motivo de la promoción de su próxima película "Hellboy II. The Golden Army", Del Toro declaró ser consciente de las grandes expectativas que ha generado "The Hobbit".

"Es un reto a tomarse seriamente. Millones de ojos ya están atentos a esta película, algo que no sucede nunca porque normalmente el filme tiene que crear su propia dinámica de interés con el público", afirmó.

El director de "El laberinto del fauno" (2006), cinta ganadora de tres premios Óscar, confirmó que "The Hobbit" constará de dos partes, aunque la primera mostrará "un mundo más audaz" que la segunda, en la que se repetirán elementos conocidos que servirán de nexo entre esta historia y "The Lord of the Rings".

De esta forma, Del Toro y el director de la famosa trilogía, Peter Jackson -que en esta ocasión ejercerá de productor- contarán los acontecimientos que antecedieron a la trilogía de "The Lord of the Rings".

"Seré muy cuidadoso y atento, estaré en el ajo", insistió Del Toro que, no obstante, indicó que se tomaría algunas libertades "inevitablemente".

Los filmes, que se rodarán simultáneamente en Nueva Zelanda, país que escenificó la "Tierra Media" imaginada por Tolkien en "The Lord of the Rings", se encuentran en fase de preproducción, a la espera de conocer el reparto de actores.

"Ha habido algunas propuestas para el protagonista, yo por ejemplo para el papel de Bilbo Baggins -el personaje principal- no he hablado con absolutamente nadie. Espero que para el invierno podamos saber quién es Bilbo, será como un regalo de navidades", comentó Del Toro.

James McAvoy ("Wanted", 2008),que hasta ahora sonaba como principal candidato para encarnar a Bilbo, desmintió recientemente que hubiese mantenido contactos para protagonizar el filme.

Por su parte, y a falta de la confirmación oficial, tanto Ian McKellen como Andy Serkis (Gandalf y Gollum en la trilogía, respectivamente) ya anunciaron su presencia en "The Hobbit" e incluyeron el título entre la filmografía que figura en sus páginas web.

Del Toro, especializado en recrear mundos mágicos y personajes sobrenaturales, declaró que más allá de "The Hobbit", un proyecto que supondrá cuatro años de su vida, tiene previsto seguir apegado a la fantasía.

"Una película tradicional en la que no aparezca una criaturilla... ¡qué perezón!", exclamó este cineasta que dirigirá en el futuro "At the Mountains of Madness", basada la novela de ciencia ficción del estadounidense H.P. Lovecraft, y la cinta apocalíptica "Saturn and the End of the Days".

Este mexicano confesó que con el paso de los años ha conseguido desprenderse de su autocensura y se ahora se siente "más libre y con más confianza a la hora de dirigir".

Preguntado por sus ilusiones como profesional, Del Toro manifestó que le gustaría grabar en la pampa argentina, por sus "enormes paisajes", aunque señaló que podría quedar "saciado" de grandes exteriores con la filmación de la obra de Tolkien en Nueva Zelanda.

Está previsto que la primera parte de "The Hobbit" llegue a los cines en 2011 y que un año después vea la luz su secuela.

smellwing escribió:Smaug es el único que habla en el libro.
Los Trolls... bueno, sabemos que en el Hobbits hay unos trolls que salen en LOTR, libro y peli. asi que si hablan.

Vicco escribió:Si mal no recuerdo, hay unos lobos y wargs o como se llamen que se burlan de los enanos cuando estan trepados en los árboles, además de treebeard o como se llame el wey que se convierte en oso.

Eliseo escribió:A poco en el libro de LOTR habia algunos animales que hablaban? Bueno, me imagino que las aguilas, aunque si se vio que Gandalf se puede comunicar con ellas.