This news comes to us from the Hellboy messageboards, where Del Toro posts regularly, via Compa-Mighty:
- Q: So is The Hobbit with GDT official?
GDT: Whew- Not yet. BUT there has been a lot of movement. And for the last few weeks there has been a lot of creative / cast / crew / visual talks and agreements and we have witnessed great progress in areas that I cannot disclose or that have already leaked from other sources. I am dying to share news but I have to be patient and wait until the papers are done and my attachment is real. Nevertheless- a LOT of progress in defining the films, their cast and crew. And, may I add, we are all happily in synch about all creative aspects so far and all willing and eager to move forth. I cannot say more but if all´s well the time will come To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and sealing wax — Of cabbages — and kings…(Quote from Lewis Carroll- Ed).
- Del Toro went on to say that he was swamped by the last push to finish Hellboy II, but LOTR fans could expect some news in two weeks time (this was posted on April 2, so very soon) and “a nice item at Comicon”.
The big question on everyone’s mind these days seems to be ‘Is Guillermo del Toro directing “The Hobbit”?’ And with a series of enigmatic answers from people like Sir Ian McKellen, and even GDT himself, its no wonder people are desperate for confirmation. A few blogs and movie sites seemed to have jumped the gun this weekend in announcing that GDT himself has confirmed, well…not so fast. While the Mexican director has been very open to the idea of doing it, neither he, or MGM/Warner Bros./New Line have confirmed his involvement. I am certain we will hear something on the matter soon, don’t loose hope!
Ransom (from mentalfloss.com) writes: It looks like New Zealand is my (somewhat unintentional) theme for the week, which inevitably leads me ’round to my favorite thing about New Zealand — director Peter Jackson. Most folks know the affable, formerly rotund Jackson for his monumental Lord of the Rings trilogy — the amazing locations of which have driven New Zealand tourism of late as much as anything — and for his recent, remarkable King Kong remake. But I discovered Jackson’s work back in early high school, wandering through a local video store with a friend. He picked up what looked like an average low-brow horror flick called Dead-Alive, and showed me the box. It stood out for one reason only: on the back, a critic credited it as being “perhaps the bloodiest movie in cinematic history.” Needless to say, watched it post-haste. 
London’s Daily Mail reported that the lucky lad is 17-year-old British actor Thomas Sangster, who has appeared in Love, Actually and Nanny McPhee and has a role in Jane Campion’s Bright Star, which is about to begin filming. A spokesman for Spielberg’s DreamWorks studio declined comment. While specifics about the project have been kept under wraps, Andy Serkis, who is set to play Tintin’s globe-trotting buddy, Captain Haddock, recently told the IndieLondon website that he is about to begin work on the back-to-back features, with Spielberg handling the first film and Jackson taking the directorial reigns for the second.