Despite the IMAX press release that caused quite a stir amongst filmgoers, by listing Lord of the Rings prequel movie The Hobbit (amongst a slew of other big movies) as having a release date penned in for late 2012, the film’s director; Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy); has dashed the hopes of most fans, by once again asserting that there is no official start date as yet.
There have been problems ever since MGM Studios went up for sale, with not only The Hobbit, but other expected blockbusters (such as the next James Bond movie) being hit especially hard; as MGM can’t afford to make the pictures that might save them from financial ruin, but also don’t want to see the rights sold on for a pittance, only to watch one of their bigger rivals get extensively richer.
Del Toro confirmed this (to a point) in one of his statements, by saying that “there cannot be any start date until the MGM situation gets resolved” because “they hold a considerable portions of the rights”, and as a result “it’s not greenlit.” But Del Toro, and his producer Peter Jackson (who was the real driving force, and director, behind The Lord of the Rings trilogy) have used their time wisely, and “designed all the creatures, designed the sets and the wardrobe” and even “planned battle sequences” meaning that they “are very, very, prepared for when it’s finally triggered.
Casting still hasn’t been finalized however, as whilst the pair have viewed a large number of actors, and probably have a size-able number of potential hopefuls waiting in the wings, as well as the confirmed must-have’s (such as Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf), no-one can officially commit until there is a final, and definitive start date.
Guillermo also spoke about the possibility of filming the two Hobbit movies in 3D, but believes that the proposed budget leaves “no consideration for stereoscopic shooting”; an issue that is fairly redundant at this point, because as the rights are almost guaranteed to change hands, the budget could move up or down extremely easily; and for now, thinking of such things is mostly pointless, because until the trouble with MGM gets resolved, The Hobbit is condemned to sit in development hell, with the 2012 release date slipping further and further out of reach, and becoming more of a hopeful pipe-dream each day.
