Sci-Fi Storm

Never mind Bilbo’s adventure out of the Shire…it looks like Warner Bros. is picking up the Shire and going home…or at least somewhere else. Due to the unsettled union issues surrounding production in New Zealand, Warner Bros. is planning to move the production to possibly the studio used for Harry Potter in the U.K., and is getting offers from other countries for breaks to move the production to their locations. “Next week Warners are coming down to New Zealand to make arrangements to move the production offshore. It appears we cannot make films in our own country even when substantial financing is available,” according to Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. Although the matter could still be settled, it is not an uphill battle for New Zealand to keep the production.

Update: It appears that the acting union has now dropped their plans for a boycott…which should allow other unions’ actors to join the cast, but the bridge may have been burned already…

Reports are hitting the streets that The Hobbit has finally gotten the go ahead for formal production – TheWrap reports that the production has been given the green light, with Peter Jackson agreeing to direct in addition to his producing and writing duties, although The Hollywood Reporter says that the acting union issue is still a key hurdle to be overcome to make the hoped for February filming date, and that the MGM debt/funding issue is not necessarily settled, but shouldn’t be a stopper.

Update: – It’s official now, as New Line president Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. President Alan Horn, and MGM co-CEO Steve Cooper jointly announced it, with principle photography to begin in February.

What should be a slam-dunk movie just can’t catch a break. With all of the MGM woes preventing a green light, now an Australian actor’s union with a unit in New Zealand is attempting to “do damage” according to producer/director Peter Jackson, saying the terms for the actors are below standard, and other large actor’s unions (including SAG and AFTRA) are supporting them by issuing alerts warning their memberships not to accept work on the film. What may be at issue is whether it is legal for the studio to actually negotiate with them, given the tangled web of labour laws in New Zealand.

Update 9/28: Studios are now chiming in with support for Jackson.

Apparently there was a growing optimism among the Tolkien fans that there would be a pending announcement on August 21st – hopefully the greenlight on production of The Hobbit – based on a private event following a “refurbishment” being held at the Weta Cave. But later reports showed that the event is nothing special. But if the sets are indeed being unpacked, there is still hope.

First among the rumors, there is the possibility that David Tennant could take over the apparently vacant role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in The Avengers; now there is a rumor, although not necessarily a high confidence one yet, that 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy has been cast in a role in The Hobbit, possibly in the role of Bilbo Baggins – a role he lost out to Ian Holm for The Lord Of The Rings. Lending credence to this is the fact that McCoy is 12 years younger than Holm, and the role is for a younger (relatively, in halfling years) Bilbo…

Just an update on the latest of the Hobbit saga – the production, not the story: Peter Jackson is reportedly meeting with actors this week in LA, with NY and the U.K. on the schedule, even though the production has not yet received a green light from studios WB and MGM due to MGM’s financial situation. WB is reportedly negotiating with MGM – which really means they are negotiating with creditors who probably see this as MGM’s only major franchise…

Given all the doubts about when production will begin, or even who the director is, this is a good sign: images from the Shire, or that which will be the set for the eventually upcoming Hobbit features. Looks like the same attention to detail is being used…

The making of The Hobbit could be as much a saga as the story itself. With the departure of Guillermo del Toro as director of the project, there is a void to fill – if production ever gets moving again. Currently at the top of the void-fill rumor list David Yates, who has directed the last 4 Harry Potter films, including the yet-to-be-released two-part finale. Can he move from one epic series to another?

Shock: Guillermo del Toro has officially announced his departure from The Hobbit as director. “In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming ‘The Hobbit,’ I am faced with the hardest decision of my life”, Guillermo said. At this point he will continue co-writing the screenplay. Update 6/1: Peter Jackson says that he might direct instead.

When will The Hobbit go before the cameras? Director Guillermo del Toro doesn’t know. “You know, there cannot be any start date, really, until the MGM situation gets resolved, because they do hold a considerable portion of the rights,” del Toro said in a conference call, referring to MGM’s financial troubles, with the studio looking for a buyer to avoid bankruptcy. He also states unequivocally that “It’s not green-lit. That’s categorical. It is not green-lit.”