Peter Jackson, the academy award winner for his work on the legendary ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, has been working on a similar project over the years named ‘The Hobbit.’ ‘The Hobbit’ tells a story of Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, who journeys to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by a group of dwarves to reclaim a treasure taken from them by the dragon Smaug. ‘The Hobbit’ is scheduled to be split into two parts with Part 1 coming out sometime in December 2012, while Part 2 is scheduled to be released exactly a year later on December 2013. The 2 part story is being written by Peter Jackson himself. Originally, Peter was not on board to direct the film. He was set to only be the writer as well as a producer.
Guillermo del Toro, the director of such films as Blade II, Hellboy I+II as well as Pan’s Labyrinth, was on board to direct both parts of the franchise, but suddenly backed out of the project around a month ago. There has been no word as of yet as to why del Toro backed out of the sure to be a successful franchise, but rumours have been circling that Peter Jackson will take on the project.
The issue being considered is how much the studios can offer the A-list director. Peter Jackson is on board for producing the franchise which means he will be receiving a fair share of the profits, but adding director to his title will greatly increase his right to revenue from the movies.
How much is the studio willing to pay Peter Jackson and will they reach an agreement in time to start production as planned?
We will keep you posted as soon as new information turns up.
Published: Jun 26, 2010 07:52 pm