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First James Bond and now this?!  On Friday of last week it was reported that Guillermo del Toro had made clear in some conference calls that the current state of MGM was pretty much putting an indefinite hold on the status of THE HOBBIT.  If you’re unaware, MGM is financially bust, and in holding patterns with all of its films and franchises until someone comes along and buys them out.  This situation has already brought the next Daniel Craig 007 to stop.  Guillermo was quoted by SlashFilm to say:

We have been caught in a very tangled negotiation…Now I have been on the project for nearly two years. We have designed all the creatures, the sets, the wardrobe, animatics and planned action sequences and we are very, very prepared for when it is finally triggered. We don’t know anything until the MGM situation is resolved.

And today comes the news we all dreaded but are hardly surprised by.  TheOneRing.net has direct quotes from Guillermo and Peter Jackson stating the del Toro will in fact no longer be directing THE HOBBIT.  The first quote comes from Guillermo:

“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 wish 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”.

And the next set of quotes come from Peter Jackson:

“We feel very sad to see Guillermo leave the Hobbit, but he has kept us fully in the loop and we understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone’s control – has compromised his commitment to other long term projects”, says Executive Producer Peter Jackson. “The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn’t feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years. Guillermo is one of the most remarkable creative spirits I’ve ever encountered and it has been a complete joy working with him. Guillermo’s strong vision is engrained into the scripts and designs of these two films, which are extremely fortunate to be blessed with his creative DNA”.

“Guillermo is co-writing the Hobbit screenplays with Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and myself, and happily our writing partnership will continue for several more months, until the scripts are fine tuned and polished” says Jackson. “New Line and Warner Bros will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for the Hobbit. We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work”.

Well, I suppose this shouldn’t be surprising considering what all is going on behind the scenes, but it is nonetheless sad. The big question now is who will be the new director?  Hmmm…. how about PETER JACKSON?!?!  As much as I love Guillermo, and genuinely wanted to see him helm THE HOBBIT, it would totally make sense for Jackson to step in and save this project with his own sensibilities.  Plus THE LOVELY BONES didn’t exactly set the world on fire, and Peter needs to remind folks why he’s the big name that he is.  What better film to do it with?  We’ll keep tabs on this and let you know what’s happening.  What are your thoughts?  Tell us in the comments below.

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