It almost seems that the San Diego Comic-Con becomes the center of the entertainment Universe for a few days. Maybe it does. We were there presenting a panel, meeting fellow fans, conducting trivia, grooming sources, hanging out and watching the celebration of popular arts. Despite pen stabbings, incredible (or impossible) lines and vexing shuttle buses, it remains an incredible experience.
TORn was among the very first panels to kick the week off and it helped produce a torrent of film industry folks and fans who wanted to touch base on ‘The Hobbit’ films.
It is Saturday morning at Comic-Con and before we head out to spend time at the Weta booth, meeting fans and enjoying the biggest celebration of the popular arts the world has ever known, we though we should give you a taste of the experience so far and what we have learned (and have time to type):
* Tolkien fans are amazing digital scavenger hunters
* Guillermo del Toro can make another Haunted Mansion movie sound special
* The New York Times might be listening
* Aspects of Comic-Con have “jumped the shark”
* Liv Tyler is still taking on genre films and is still beautiful
* Out of 450 people surveyed, 450 don’t want 3D for ‘The Hobbit’ (at the TORn panel)
* Warner Bros. has SDCC marketing figured out, imagine what they will do with ‘The Hobbit’
* Halloween is a costuming practice run for this week
* Shaking the ‘Hobbit’ rumor tree, drops a lot of fruit (more later!)
* Studio executives feel confident ‘The Hobbit’ is doing just fine, fans are freaked out
As we all know from his elequent recent departure from The Hobbitproduction, Guillermo del Toro still has very strong feelings regarding the future of these films.
“As a fan, I hope those movies get made,” del Toro mentioned to an audience at ComicCon during a Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark presentation. He added “And I hope to God Peter Jackson directs them. They’re beautiful and they’re needed in the world.”
The situation at MGM is believed to be the main obstacle for getting The Hobbit off the ground. But the production could ramp up reasonably quickly with del Toro noting that 98 percent of the first movie is already designed along with approximately half of the second one.
Update: thanks to message board member Theodred for finding a short clip of an interview with Guillermo at Comic Con where he discusses this topic. View the video at mtv.com.
Update: There is another exclusive interview with Guillermo del Toro discussing the same topic, including additional comments on The Hobbit. Read the entire article at Deadline | Hollywood.
TheOneRing.net would like to congratulate Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr on their recent wedding, and wish them many happy years together.
“Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr and actor Orlando Bloom have tied the knot, just a month after announcing their engagement. The couple married overnight, announced a statement released through department store David Jones. Kerr, 27, is an ambassador for the upmarket store. Bloom, 33, is one of Hollywood’s top leading men, with roles in the billion-dollar box office movie franchises Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as Troy, Ned Kelly and Elizabethtown. The pair confirmed their engagement on June 21.” Read More…
In his first move since deciding not to direct “The Hobbit” movies, Guillermo del Toro has decided to bring Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride to the big screen.
Del Toro announced his involvement in the project today at Comic-Con in a surprise appearance at the end of the “Tron” session. Before his appearance, he offered The Hollywood Reporter an exclusive account of how the project came together.
Del Toro, who checked out of “The Hobbit” in May because of ongoing production delays, will co-write and produce the movie, to be called “The Haunted Mansion.” He may direct the film as well. Read More…
From the New York Times Art Beat blog: At Comic-Con, even the lines have lines. One way to join the line for a Thursday morning rundown on the “Hobbit” movies from staff members of TheOneRing.net, a fan site that has consistently broken news about the Middle Earth movies, was to first get in another line for those without credentials (even if you already had one). Then you could scoot through the big registration room, out the other end, and into the Hobbit line — just in time to grab one of about 300 seats.
Waiting around has become something of a habit when it comes to “The Hobbit.” For weeks, executives at Warner Brothers and its New Line Cinema unit have been trying to close a deal under which Peter Jackson, who is a producer and writer of a planned pair of Hobbit films, would also direct them. More than two weeks ago, word buzzed through Hollywood that a deal was almost done, but things, as of this writing, are still in suspense. Read More…
It almost seems that the San Diego Comic-Con becomes the center of the 
