TORn’s panel, “Making The Hobbit Happen,” presented by staffer Larry Curtis and co-founders Chris Pirotta (Calisuri) and Bill Thomas (Corvar) was a centerpiece of Tolkien Track programming, given on Saturday and again on Monday in the Hilton’s International Ballroom.
They took us through the Power Point presentation now posted here, which reviews the complicated publication and film rights history of Tolkien’s works, especially as they relate to “The Hobbit.” Critical dates in this history to keep in mind are:
1969: Tolkien sells the film rights to his works to United Artists/MGM.
1970: UA/MGM sells the film rights to Saul Zaentz for $10,000.
1997: Saul Zaentz sells the film rights to Miramax (Harvey and Weinstein).
1998: New Line purchases rights from Miramax.
2004: In its annual April Fool’s Day parody article, TORn announced that Paul Anderson (director of “Alien Versus Predator” and “Resident Evil,” among others) was set to direct “The Hobbit,” generating lots of attention from fans, studios, and attorneys alike.
A petition signature campaign was led by Lynn Machie (LithQ) to rally fan support. (See this site) On September 22, 2006 the petition, over 2000 pages containing over 62,000 signatures, was delivered to MGM and New Line Cinema.
March 2005: Peter Jackson initiates suit against New Line, requesting a audit of the books of The Fellowship of the Ring. Often, this type of court is settled out of court, but Peter felt strongly, and continues to feel, that there were important underlying issues which needed to be brought to light about film production and revenue accounting.
November 2006: In an open letter to TORn, Peter Jackson releases the project, providing background on his reasons why. (Read the letter here) In the same month, Saul Zaentz reaffirms his support of Peter Jackson as director of The Hobbit.
January 2007: Bob Shaye essentially blacklists Peter Jackson from his studio, and Peter responds on Aint It Cool News.
July 2007: Bob Shaye begins to soften his stance. While Sam Raimi continues to be mentioned as director, discussions suggest that Peter Jackson could exec produce, thereby able to bring his vision for “The Hobbit” to the screen while remaining free to develop other projects.
Discussion at the panel was very lively. The TORn presenters outlined the possibility of “The Hobbit” as two films: one a straightforward adaptation of “The Hobbit” and the second a bridge film that would carry the story over to “The Fellowship of the Ring.” There is material in Tolkien’s works that could be developed in a second film, remaining true to the characters and the spirit of the books. For example, the death of Frodo’s parents and the development of his relationship with Bilbo, the White Council, Gandalf’s earlier activities in Middle Earth, Gollum’s earlier life and history, back story on other members of the fellowship, on the relationship of Aragorn and Arwen, on Aragorn’s personal history, travels and time spent in Gondor and Rohan, and much more.
Presenters and audience had a great deal of fun speculating about characters, cast, and locations for “The Hobbit.” For example:
Bilbo: probably not Ian Holm due to age/infirmity, nor Elijah Wood.
Gandalf and Gollum: No reason Ian McKellan could not return to play Gandalf and Andy Serkis to play Gollum, dates and contracts permitting.
Gloin: John Rhys Davies could play Gloin, father of Gimli, though he’s expressed a strong desire not to wear the makeup and prostheses for the dwarf costume again.
Dwarfs: Some of the dwarfs would be fully developed as characters, like Thorin and Balin, but most would remain unnamed, or at least undeveloped, in the film.
Elrond: Hugo Weaving could reprise his role as Elrond. Another suggestion offered was David Bowie.
Bard: Bard will be the high profile hunk of “The Hobbit.” Who should play him? Clive Owen? Gerald Butler? Hugh Jackman?
Smaug: Smaug the dragon will most likely be a WETAhttp://www.wetanz.com Digital creation, but as with Gollum, the voice of the actor playing him is critical to establishing character. Alan Rickman? Jeremy Irons? Morgan Freeman? Edward James Olmos? Michael Clarke Duncan?
Locations: The New Zealand public park used for Rivendell and the private land used for Hobbiton could be most likely be used again.
Props and Sets: A great many of the props and set materials still exist, though they are the property of New Line Cinema.
There was discussion consensus at the panel that “The Hobbit” will be made, as one or two films, simply because of the huge revenue potential from theatrical release, DVD sales and rentals, and associated merchandising/licensing. “Star Wars” (6 films) and “Harry Potter” (5 so far, 2 more to come) are only two franchises that demonstrate fans aren’t satisfied with just three films. The financial potential is big enough to bring together industry people to get the project funded, produced, and distributed, regardless of personal feelings or history. Even the rights issues can be resolved with the promise of a big enough financial pie to split.
At the end of the session, various prizes were given away, including a copy of Kristen Thompson’s “The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood.” Larry, Chris, and Bill also encouraged fans to stay active in the fan community and to let Dragon*Con organizers know how important, valuable, and enjoyable the Tolkien Track is. (Staff and email links here)
A Google search of “The Hobbit + Movie” yields over 1.1 million results, with only some relating to the 1977 Rankin-Bass film. Studios, licensors, suppliers and manufacturers, producers and directors, cast, crew, the nation of New Zealand, and especially fans worldwide stand to win if the film/s come about. So let’s “Make the Hobbit Happen!”
Fans start gathering next Thursday night for the 21st annual Dragon*Con convention in Atlanta, which runs through Labor Day. Tolkien Track programming this year covers art, costuming, music, literary discussion, live action role play, film screenings, fan fiction, collectibles, and New Zealand travel, not to mention Saturday morning’s Parade, Friday night’s Evening in Bree with Emerald Rose
and the Brobdingnagian Bards, authors Peter S. Beagle and Sherrilyn Kenyon, Tolkien scholar Anne Petty, and “Making the Hobbit Happen,” led by TORn founders William Thomas, Chris Pirrotta and staffer Larry Curtis. (Corvar, Calisuri and MrCere respectively).
Many of the panels will be given twice during the weekend, to accommodate your wish to see the Weasley twins over on the Young Adult track or check out the Miss Klingon Beauty Contest on TrekTrac.
The main Tolkien Track room (except for parties and such) is the Clayton Room on the second floor of the Atlanta Hilton. Also, we are trying to get a few copies of Kristin Thompson’s “The Frodo Franchise” to give away as prizes!
Highlights include: Meet & Greet: Find old friends and make some new ones before An Evening in Bree! (5:30PM Friday)
TORn panel: Join William Thomas, Chris Pirrotta and Larry Curtis for “Making the Hobbit Happen” (Saturday at 2:30PM and Sunday at 1:00PM)
Music: Emerald Rose, with their new “Con Suite” CD, plays Friday night at “An Evening in Bree” (8:30PM) and Sunday night at the Yule Ball (8:30PM)
The Brobdingnagian Bards play at An Evening in Bree and at Sunday’s late night Pirate party (11:30PM)
Film: Saturday night’s film program (10:00PM) includes “Ringers: Lord of the Fans” and MARS Productions’ “Middle Earth Idol,” along with some surprises!
Peter Beagle and Felix Silla talk about Ralph Bakshi’s animated Lord of the Rings (1972) at 4:00PM on Saturday. Catch Peter showing The Last Unicorn on the Young Adult track at 8:30PM on Saturday.
Dragon Smackdown: Come prepared to support your favorite dragon in Anne Petty’s discussion of Glaurung vs. Smaug. (Friday at 2:30PM and Sunday at 11:00AM)
Costuming: Join professional armor and sword maker Michael Cook of Celebrate Studios and award-winning master costumers Marcia Banach and Jules Kelly for their Saturday afternoon double session on “Bringing Your Costume to Life.”
(Oh yeah, and watch for Marcia’s new LOTR costume this year – A Return of the King character you’ve never seen before!)
Art: Discuss artists who have brought Middle Earth to life in a panel discussion featuring LOTR and Star Wars artist Sarah Wilkinson. Saturday at 5:30PM
and Monday at 10:00AM.
FanFic: Join Zhie and friends at the FanFiction Luau, Sunday night at 10PM. Age 18+ or with parent/guardian – IDs will be checked!
Travel: Thinking about New Zealand or been there and want share your story? New Zealand IS Middle Earth – Sunday at 1:00PM
Parade: The Dragon*Con parade is Saturday morning at 10:00AM. If you haven’t registered yet, please do so at the Parade Table when you arrive in Atlanta. You’ll see it when you pick up your convention badge.
Mark, both observant and wise, writes in with a nugget about Ian McKellen in New Zealand and his comment on a possible Jackson “The Hobbit” movie. No news, but as Mark commented, “I’m just hoping this is more of “things are progressing behind the scenes but we can’t talk about it” and that the apparent thaw in relations is continuing. Not a bad read on how things might be going, especially when combined with other similar signs. Read the full story here.
TORn friend Mark from Chicago sent along this story from the New York Post and it may signal a softening from the New Line brass about Peter Jackson and a future version of ‘The Hobbit’. It may also be an attempt to smooth the ruffled feathers of fans who may have been bothered when the dispute over the future billion dollar film got a bit personal. The story is about New Line in general but Bob Shaye said, ” “There’s nothing I can really talk about except to say that I believe ‘The Hobbit’ will be made,” says Shaye. “I don’t like to have issues with anybody. Any issues with Mr. Jackson, I would prefer to have them closed, rather than open.” ” Read the full story here.
New Line’s option to make The Hobbit expires in 2009; maybe they don’t think Peter Jackson can get the movie made in time. The company is also already turning its attention to another mega-budgeted fantasy franchise, the His Dark Materials trilogy. But the studio’s motivations became more clear in January, when New Line co-CEO Robert Shaye couldn’t refrain from a retort.
“I do not want to make a movie with somebody who is suing me. It will never happen during my watch,” he said, and then referred to Jackson as “misinformed” and “myopic.” [More]
Ted Nasmith is a Canadian artist, illustrator and architectural renderer. He is best known as one of the world’s most prominent illustrators of J. R. R. Tolkien’s works — The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. More than just an artist, Nasmith is also considered a Tolkien scholar who is well-read in ancient history, religion, and other areas. His talent and knowledge makes Nasmith a highly sought-after guest speaker at Tolkien-related gatherings and conventions — and he is a prominent member of several Tolkien-related organizations (such as the Tolkien Society, the Mythopoeic Society, and Mensa’s Beyond Bree).
TheOneRing.net asked Ted to comment on the recent activity regarding The Hobbit, here is what he had to say:
The Hobbit film: Will Peter Jackson direct, or …?
After King Kong came out I lost respect for PJ, unfortunately. I remember someone in our group raving at the time, hoping PJ would surely direct The Hobbit soon, but I wasn’t feeling quite so impressed. As it happened, I was having a difficult night then for unrelated reasons, and wasn’t well disposed in general. King Kong, in true LotR epic fashion (as we expected) ran about 3 hours, but which for me was roughly 60 minutes too long for that particular tale, and was a clear case of style and seemingly unlimited budget over substance, if ever there was. Mr. Jackson is nothing if not ambitious, and whatever else you can say about his chosen projects, he is a director who undeniably loves the Big Spectacle, and who is clearly the man of the hour for CGI epics now and to come.
With The Lord of the Rings, PJ undeniably achieved a far greater epic piece of cinema, though. Here there simply was plenty of substance, more than enough. He had something to prove, too, having had the normal constraints imposed on him by his financiers, as we know (and to be quite fair, often dealing with blatant interference; its downside). And yet here too, he still went for the Big Shot more often than the more nuanced, exquisitely poignant moments, at least ones I missed seeing. The ironic thing is, PJ has demonstrated his ability to convey certain terrible beauties in Tolkien, such as Arwen and Aragorn’s bittersweet love, but his adaptation and emphasis too often seemed more geared to set up the cast of thousands mayhem and other mainstream staples like comic relief via Gimli and Legolas than it was the melancholy or solemn scenes and moods of the original. However, one expects these compromises in Hollywood cinema, and PJ ultimately gave us the grand epic we’d so long anticipated, lovingly and painstakingly realized.
I now think that PJ probably can and will do a perfectly unique and effective re-imagining of The Hobbit, but I also still believe other directors might produce a different but no less loving adaptation, too—just not with the same continuity. There’s the rub. Continuity is obviously a problem if you want to link the two stories up via a 3rd, LotR prequel, a la Star Wars. The main argument then is of course that it’s agreeable and important to keep Mr. Jackson at the helm, his having already established the actors in their roles, and in order to have the artistic continuity of both actors, settings and the rest of the established apparatus. It makes eminent sense, and I do hope cooler heads prevail and Peter can decide freely whether he wishes to take it on after all this.
As to the your specific questions, I think there are other locations available with easily as great a resemblance to Middle-earth; you’ve got the breadth of Europe to consider, places like Russia, Poland, Scandinavia, Germany, or beautiful lesser known regions such as Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria or Ukraine—and of course Britain itself! Like many, I love Sir Ian McKellen’s portrayal of Gandalf, but I think audiences have accepted key casting switches in the past, and Gandalf isn’t quite as prominent a role in The Hobbit as in LotR. (How many Supermans and Batmans have we seen just in recent years, for instance?)
On the question of a LotR prequel, scripted from the LotR appendices etc.; I think it is an interesting proposition, and if handled intelligently it could be worthwhile. It would certainly be fun to have a full trilogy of stories, but many will rightly question it. If it’s the third of three films, in which the first two complete the tale of The Hobbit, then presumably you’ve got a problem with what sort of story you’re telling and whether it amounts to just a pastiche of apocryphal material. Would this final installment end up a bit of an anti-climactic dud? If it were to give us glimpses of the sinking of Numenor, the history of Sauron and his occupying, then abandonment of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood, or Gollum’s capture, and other episodes normally ‘offstage’, then it could be quite intriguing, but is it a proper story?
