The Hobbit movies to start filming in February 2011. Possibly.

16 October 2010

Gerard Wood

According to The New York Times, a deal has been reached between Warner Bros. and MGM to finance Peter Jackson’s two Hobbit movies, allowing filming to proceed after years of delay.

The project, which has reputedly cost US$100 million before a single frame has been shot, has been plagued by legal and other issues from the outset, including a dispute between New Line and the Tolkien Estate over the share of profits earned by New Line for the Lord of the Rings movies. That dispute apparently had the potential to bring production of The Hobbit to a grinding halt before it had even begun, but when the dust had settled, it paled into insignificance when the extent of MGM’s financial woes became apparent. 

MGM, which owns the rights to The Hobbit movies, has been a financial basket case for some time and as a consequence was unable to finance the project, but was unwilling to let it go. As a result of the uncertainty over when filming would commence, if ever,  Guillermo Del Toro gave up the directing job of a lifetime despite having already dedicated two years to the project. Del Toro remains involved as a script writer, but as we all know, Peter Jackson has stepped in to direct.

All that remains to be resolved before filming can commence is a difference of opinion between the filmmakers and the unions in New Zealand over whether it’s possible to enter a collective bargaining arrangement with the actor-contractors. The unions say yes, the filmmakers say its not legally possible. Assuming the dispute is resolved, filming should kick off in February 2011.

The next bit of news should be who has been cast as Bilbo. The most recent name thrown into the ring was that of Martin Freeman (The Office, Sherlock, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). I’m not sure where things stand at the moment (apparently Freeman was unable to commit due to a scheduling conflict with the next series of Sherlock), but the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that Freeman might be the right choice.