There are talks of a potential acquisition of MGM by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. This is definitely not a done deal however as Lions Gate has its own issues. The main one being majority stock holder Carl Ichan. As recently as March, Ichan opposed Lions Gate purchasing film libraries...like MGM. He also has clearly not been overly happy with where Lions Gate has been going as he has threatened a proxy fight to elect his own board of directors for Lions Gate. This has been put temporarily on hold until July 19 while Lions Gate makes the case for some acquisitions. Could MGM be one of these acquisitions? Nobody can definitely say for sure as nobody is talking. There are only a few things known about this issue. The first is that there is $3.7 billion in debt that MGM is saddled with has won another reprieve from its debtors which will last until September 15, 2010. The second is that Lions Gate Vice Chairman Michael Burns has been meeting with some of the MGM investors of that debt. Third, the debtors do not have a unified position on what to do about MGM's debt. Fourth, Lions Gate does not want to add debt to their balance sheet.

What does all this mean? It means that there is a lot of unknowns right now. It means that James Bond still appears to be in limbo. It also means that The Hobbit is continuing to move forward without an official green light.  And yes, it is still moving forward. It appears that Peter Jackson is in Los Angeles this week meeting with actors and working on casting The Hobbit. He will also move on to New York and the U.K. while on this casting trip. He still isn't officially the director of The Hobbit movies but it appears that this will inevitably happen. The sticking points are mainly the MGM financial issues and Jackson's insistence that the movies still be released in 2012 and 2013. These negotiations are taking place mainly with Warner Bros. who is the lead studio in the production of The Hobbit. The trick will be once again MGM as they have to sign off anything that happens. This could be difficult as currently MGM doesn't have direction. What is needed is a strong leader at MGM because they clearly seem rudderless... but even if they did have a rudder I don't know that they'd know where they want to go. I just hope that something is figured out soon though and we can add The Hobbit to our list of movies that we are looking forward to in 2012! What do you think? What would you do if you were in charge? Leave your comments below! I'd love to hear from you!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

As I have mentioned before, The Hobbit is in a holding pattern. Guillermo Del Toro has left the project because of the budget uncertainties brought upon it by the financial situation at MGM. Since then, a couple of rumors of potential directors have surfaced but nothing concrete has emerged. The most recent rumors was that David Yates (of Harry Potter fame) was the new director of The Hobbit but this has been flat out denied. Peter Jackson has said that if no other suitable director can be found, he’ll do it. Personally, I love this idea. I like the idea of the continuity he could bring to the history of Middle Earth. I understand him wanting some fresh perspective brought to the table but it just seems like he is the guy for the job. . . once the job is actually available. It does seem that things are inching along or not moving at all due to MGM’s negotiations with creditors, trying to find a buyer, and restructuring by its debtors. This has also put the next James Bond flick on hold indefinitely as well. I really hope they can get things in order or someone can be found that can get this venerable old studio back on track. Both The Hobbit and James Bond films are projects I am really looking forward to!  The people involved with The Hobbit are still holding to a 2012 release for the movie but we’ll see if that is realistic in the coming months I would guess. For the sake of all the fans let’s hope so! I’m sure it would be a major stress relief for Peter Jackson as well!

Last week, former director Guillermo Del Toro announced to the world via The One Ring that he would be unable to continue as the director of The Hobbit. Here is what was posted on The One Ring:

“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”, says Guillermo. “After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wlsh the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director”.

As I mentioned before, this restarts all the questions and speculations about who will be directing these two movies. To me, it seems quite obvious that the man who should really do it is Peter Jackson. He has the vision, he has the commitment, and he has the track record. I like the idea of continuity he could bring in bridging between The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In the past, Peter Jackson has said that he doesn’t want to direct these two movies as he wants a fresh perspective on Middle Earth. However, with the departure of Del Toro, he has now indicated that he could indeed end up directing if nobody suitable can be found for the job. Let’s hope this happens. I, along with most fans of LOTR, would agree that he is the best guy for the job! There are others who could probably do a decent job but this really is Peter Jackson’s baby.

What do you think though? Could someone else direct The Hobbit? If so, who would you like to see? Post a comment below, would love to hear what you think!

It sounds like things are continuing to move forward with The Hobbit movies. . . just not as quickly as many fans would hope. Nikki Finke posted over at deadline.com says that, 

movie that they called a trilogy. 

The Lord of the Rings has been released for home viewership several times now. If memory serves, it was released first individually as it was seen in theaters. Then they released it as a box set. Then there was extended release box set with all those amazing extras. That, for me, set the bar VERY high for extras on a DVD. I think that I still haven't found a better set of extras on a DVD or BluRay release to date. They shared everything you could ever want to know about the movies but at the same time made it interesting, if not entertaining! 

On April 6, The Lord of the Rings was released on BluRay. I can't wait to see how Middle Earth looks in HD. From the reviews I've been reading, the difference between the DVD and BluRay is absolutely phenomenal. My own personal experience reviewing the technology has definitely confirmed this to be true as well. Here is where the real quandary begins. Is it worth the money to buy The Lord of the Rings in BluRay just to see it in HD? There aren't any new features which is a bit of a disappointment. They also probably will be releasing the extended versions on BluRay in the next year or so. And there my friends is where I stand stuck. Has anyone purchased this yet? What did you think? Worth it? If I find an amazing deal on Amazon or something, I most likely will get it. For now, I'll sit here stuck on the fence. 

In other news about The Hobbit, director Geillermo del Toro has been looking into making The Hobbit 3D. Some sources are saying it is already decided and that both halves of The Hobbit will be filmed in 3D and Weta Digital. Other sources are saying simply that there are discussions about the possibility of The Hobbit being filmed in 3D. My prediction here on GEEKS CORNER is that it will indeed be filmed in 3D when all is said and done.

Lastly, there isn’t a whole lot to report about casting. Both Tobey Maguire and Matthew Goode have auditioned for the role of Bilbo but there hasn’t been any announcement on casting for that character.  In January, Peter Jackson said the casting of Bilbo was a month or two away so I would expect an announcement to come out shortly. We do know that Ian McKellen will reprise his role as Gandalf. Andy Serkis should return as Gollum. Hugo Weaving is expected to return as Elrond.

Well that’s all I’ve got for today about The Hobbit. If you find out anything that is verifiable, let me know on facebook.com/mrdaps or twitter.com/mrdaps. Have a great Thursday everyone!

After the phenomenal success of James Cameron’s Avatar, Hollywood directors are taking a look at some of their classic movies and thinking it might be a good idea to “retro-fit” their movies with 3D technology. To date, Avatar has already taken in more than $1.14 billion proving that 3D can work with more than just animated flicks.  Many experts are predicting that within five years 3D theaters will be the multiplex standard!

It takes about four months to manipulate the original copy of a film to make it 3D. Peter Jackson has previously said that if Avatar led to an opening of enough 3D screens. Judging by the reception of Avatar, this definitely could have a possibility of happening! Apparently the guys over at WETA Workshops have already started playing with some of the battle scenes from The Lord of the Rings and according to them; they are “gob-smacking.” I’m not entirely sure what that means but it sounds good! The way things should in theory play out would be that The Lord of the Rings would be released once Jackson is done producing The Hobbit (both movies). This could mean that a 3D The Lord of the Rings could be in theaters by Christmas 2012.

Now for George Lucas. “George cannot leave it alone,” said an associate. “He is salivating at the opportunity to play with it again. This time the Death Star is really going to explode all over the audience and leave them gasping.” According to some websites, it would cost about $10 million to convert the original Star Wars movie to 3D.

Currently there are only about only about six companies that can make movies 3D from their traditional form. One of these companies, Legend Films, said their phones were “ringing off the hook” since the success of Avatar. Some new movies that are already in production are being retooled to be 3D and there are even talks of 3D ending up in homes on people’s televisions. ESPN is already working on that actively.

So what does this mean for the average consumer? We appear to be entering a new era of film entertainment. These transitions definitely do not happen often. As I sit here I think of the transition from silent films to “talkies.” The next perhaps could be from black and white to color. The transition to digital effects could conceivable be considered one with Gollum in The Lord of the Rings being a prime example of how far computers have progressed in movie making. With all that said, it seems that 3D movies are here to stay. I wonder if this means we’ll all be buying new camcorders in the next few years.

Andy Serkis appears to be returning as Gollum in the upcoming The Hobbit movies and I for one couldn’t be more than pleased. Director Del Toro has indicated that he hopes Serkis will be returning as Gollum. I think this is a must as I cannot imagine anyone else as Gollum, much as I can’t imagine anyone but Ian McKellen being Gandalf. I’m not overly worried about who they cast as Bilbo as he just isn’t as iconic as the aforementioned characters.

Del Toro also left a message on the forums of theonering.net with some updates. Here is what he had to say:

So, now that PJ’s Lovely Bones tour is almost over, I thought it wise- seeing how some can whip up into a frenzy- to drop by and chat a bit.

A) About ONLY 3 actors returning: I think the emphasis on “only” is what slant the news the wrong way. I cannot imagine Gollum being played by anyone but Andy and in the second script there is still much in discussion to lock everything for now. Both PJ and I chime in on things “as they are at the moment” and, of course, things change.

I, for one, understand where Peter’s coming from since 30% of my STRAIN tour questions, HELLBOY II, ORPHANAGE promotion questions, etc, etc where about the Hobbit. At different time we have been closer in locking on a piece of casting or hoping to get a script delivered, etc and things simply changed as we went along. So, don’t etch this in stone or anything we both have said in the past, in stone since we communicate what we can when the window of exposure to the press and fans happens.

I still prefer to keep the dialogue open- inexact as it may get- that to remain mum or one-sided with the community that can really understand this project.

B) The target for production. Its simple: we may say what we want but until there are two scripts delivered and budgets and schedules to support them we will be all under a yellow light of development. THAT we have not stopped. As I have reported in the past, we are scouting, designing (my last 3 hour meeting with Weta was this morning) and will not stop. BUT the greenlight and thus commencement can only be granted by the studio. Pete as producer and me as director will do everything we can in the meantime.

C) Is there any trouble brewing with WB? Not at all. All I can say is that they reacted to our delivered script with great delight and we have been receiving strong support in our development.

Smaug is being animation tested, we are editing the previs, doing final selections on Dwarven War Artifacts and Gear and starting many fabrication tests for armies, prosthetics and wardrobes, etc

However, I do plan to be less and less in the public spotlight for two simple reasons: One: I am damn busy prepping this two Behemoths. Two: quite likely, I’ll have very limited, if any, promotional time for “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” or “The Fall” (Second Strain book) myself but fear not- I will drop in as much as possible, as always.

Love

GDT

I should note that this was posted about two weeks ago, before principle casting began last week. I do like that Del Toro is in touch enough with the fans and cares enough to leave notes with some nuggets of information. Let’s hope this continues throughout the process and as things gain momentum, maybe they will even start updating www.thehobbitblog.com! I’ll do my best to keep you updated with what is going on. As for now, there are more questions than answers. I would imagine that in coming weeks information will start leaking about casting choices and then eventually the second screenplay. For now, we’ll just have to look forward to The Lord of the Rings trilogy coming out on BluRay!

The world has changed and some things that should not have been forgotten were lost…thankfully The Lord of the Rings is not one of these things. Instead, it is being remembered even better…in high definition on BluRay disc! The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King will be available to watch on your own HD TV with matching sound system on April 6, 2010. To say I’m excited about this would be an understatement. These movies are made to be watched in high def and they are going to blow away my living room! It will also mean there will be a full length movie nights with all three movies played back to back just as they were originally meant to be.

For those of you who aren’t The Lord of the Rings fans, The Lord of the Rings was originally intended by Tolkien to be a single volume. This would be half of a two volume set that would also include The Silmarillion. Publishers had different ideas however and The Lord of the Rings was split into three books, skipping The Silmarillion at the time all together. The Lord of the Rings took J.R.R. Tolkien 12 years to write and was finished in 1949. Tolkien began writing when he was 45. Part of the reason for it taking so long was that Tolkien was a full time professor at Oxford. It wasn’t fully published until 1955 when Tolkien was 63. Since then, it has been translated into over 38 languages and has become one of the most popular works of literature.

Personally, I think this was probably the greatest trilogy to be made in the last decade, if not longer. While I grew up with Star Wars and consider myself a fan in that world, The Lord of the Rings definitely gives Star Wars a run for its money. I would have a very hard time choosing which one is better or a favorite between the two, so I won’t. I will say that I’m incredibly excited about being able to watch The Lord of the Rings in HD whenever I want. It will also help move time along before the release of The Hobbit. Ironic that The Lord of the Rings was written as The Hobbit’s sequel but that’s ok because we will be getting both! Oh, and here is the trailer for The Lord of the Rings on BluRay. What do you think?

Peter Jackson, in an interview with MTV the other day revealed some more casting news for The Hobbit. Sadly only THREE of the original cast of The Lord of the Rings will be returning for The Hobbit. The first was no surprise as he announced that indeed Ian McKellen would be returning as Gandalf. He continued on to say that “There’s a couple of other characters: Elrond, who was played by Hugo Weaving [in the original films], and there’s a possibility of Galadriel, who was played by Cate Blanchett.” In explaining why only three of the original cast were returning Jackson explained, "In book terms, the world of 'The Hobbit' takes place 60 years before 'The Lord of the Rings,' as it was written by Tolkien. So, not a lot of the characters actually feature, because they weren't around yet."  As for casting Elrond and Galadriel, "They are elves, so once again, in the realm of Middle-earth, they're immortal, they don't age," Jackson said. "We have a process that would start with showing them the script. We're not [beginning] any official process until we have the 'official' script that they can read."

An interesting omission from his interview was that Andy Serkis, who was Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, was not mentioned. Hopefully this was just because it is a foregone conclusion that he will be returning and not because Gollum is being recast. Serkis is on imdb.com as rumored to be playing Gollum… let’s hope this rumor turns out to be true.

Jackson also confirmed that filming should begin during the first half of 2010 and that the second screenplay is about halfway done. Scouting also has been taking place but I’ll save that for another post.  It’s great to see progress being made and I can’t wait for future details!