by the fans for the fans

BESIDES THIS GUY HAVING A NAME LIKE MINE LOOKS LIKE MGM IS HAVING FINANCIAL PROBLEMS AND HAS GUILLERMO DEL TORO DROPPING OUT OF DIRECTING "THE HOBBIT". STILL, GUILLERMO DEL TORO IS IN GOOD STANDINGS WITH WARNER BROTHERS AND CAN POSSIBLY OPEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO DIRECT ROBOTECH LIVE ACTION MOVIE.




How the Wall Street crisis hit Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Hobbit’
By STEVEN ZEITCHIK
Los Angeles Times

Read more: www.kansascity.com/2010/06/03/1988361/ho...t.html#ixzz0ptsEAHHJ


www.kansascity.com/2010/06/03/1988361/ho...reet-crisis-hit.html

Fanboys and the rest of us suddenly find ourselves the unexpected victims of Wall Street woolliness.

Guillermo del Toro had been keen to direct “The Hobbit,” the much salivated-over adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mystical tale — so keen that he uprooted his family and life for it. Del Toro turned down every other film and spent almost two years prepping a shoot that was to begin later in 2010. The two movies were to be released over the holidays in 2012 and 2013.

That has all changed. What seemed like so much doomsday speculation last year, back when it became apparent that co-financier/co-producer MGM was hitting the rocks, became a very tangible reality on Sunday. It didn’t happen with high drama: MGM didn’t pull the plug on this “Lord of the Rings” preamble the way venture-capital projects were suddenly stopped in their tracks by the credit and investment freeze. It didn’t have to.

The current incarnation of MGM was formed six years ago thanks to an influx of Wall Street money and lending that was rampant at the time. Several private equity groups, along with Sony and Comcast, sank in hundreds of millions of dollars, and rich credit facilities with the likes of J.P. Morgan Chase were set up.

But now, MGM labors under a debt of almost $4 billion, which has hampered its ability to finance new productions and made the company unattractive to prospective buyers. So deep is the uncertainty (and the debt) that the studio’s production schedule has been significantly slowed, and del Toro is walking away.

“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. 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,” del Toro said in a posting on Tolkien fan site www.TheOneRing.net .

It shouldn’t have been a complete surprise. MGM has been clinging to “The Hobbit” like a last-ditch lifeline even as its other projects have skittered away. The 23rd James Bond movie went from an MGM-centric enterprise with a big directorial name (Sam Mendes) to a film that was indefinitely on ice.

A movie that had already been completed and earning high test scores, “The Zookeeper,” was handed over to Sony. Several other development projects were frozen in place. It was only a matter of time before some kind of unfortunate fate hit “The Hobbit.” And while technically neither MGM nor co-producer New Line was shutting down production, few could blame del Toro, watching all of this happen and feeling as if his own production schedule was clouding up to the point of murkiness.

The world of independent-film financing has until now born the brunt of the crisis, as those less expensive, one-off pictures are, paradoxically, the ones that needed the cash from this more slippery world. With this news, one of the most anticipated and reliable franchises — a Tolkien adaptation from an A-list group of creators — is getting hit too.

Meanwhile, producer Peter Jackson, who directed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and the others developing the tale of Bilbo Baggins say that it will continue to move forward. Jackson said he and del Toro, along with longtime collaborators Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, would continue writing the screenplay together.

Will Jackson step in to direct? His publicist says no. But it’s not a definite no.




WHAT’S THE STORY?
Before he wrote “The Lord of the Rings,” J.R.R. Tolkien ventured into Middle-earth with “The Hobbit.” The wizard Gandalf persuades little Bilbo Baggins (Frodo’s uncle) to join some dwarves on a quest for a dragon’s treasure. Along the way Bilbo outsmarts the creature Gollum (top photo) to snatch away a magical ring, a ring that plays a much larger role in the subsequent trilogy.

Read more: www.kansascity.com/2010/06/03/1988361/ho...t.html#ixzz0ptsfKdid

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Guillermo Del Toro Steps Down as 'The Hobbit' Director
by Elisabeth Rappe May 30th 2010 // 8:03PM

www.cinematical.com/2010/05/30/guillermo...o-leaves-the-hobbit/

Reporting on The Hobbit has become fraught with difficulty. Say it's delayed, and you will see a flurry of denials from every respectable corner of the Internet. But now there appears to be some definitive bad news to come out of the pre-production. According to TheOneRing.net, Guillermo Del Toro is departing The Hobbit. Lest you think this is fansite speculation, the statement was officially made by Del Toro and Peter Jackson to the site.

Del Toro won't direct the film, though he will continue to co-write the screenplays with Fran Walsh, Jackson and Phillipa Boyens. He cites the delays (those delays that supposedly aren't real) as the reason for leaving the production. "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 ... 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."

LETS SEE WHERE WB ROLES THE DICE WITH PICKING A DIRECTOR FOR ROBOTECH LIVE ACTION MOVIE. WOULD BE NICE TO TAKE IT INTO A DARK FEEL WITH GUILLERMO DEL TORO DIRECTING IT.

FIRST TOBEY MAGUIRE WAS RUMORED TO BE IN THE HOBBIT. NOW WOULD HOPE HE CAN PULL GUILLERMO DEL TORO.

No one would be able to deny the robotech movie if Guillermo Del Toro directed it. Without a doubt!!!!!!!!!!

GUILLERMO DEL TORO AVALIABLE: DIRECT ROBOTECH

Not quite!

Project - Involvement - Year - Status

The Hobbit: Part 2 - Writer (screenplay) 2013-Script
The Orphanage - Writer (screenplay), Producer-2013-Unknown
The Hobbit: Part 1 - Writer (screenplay) -2012-Script
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Director -2012-Script
Drood - Producer -2012-Optioned property
Frankenstein - Director -2012-Script
Death: The High Cost of Living-Exec Producer -2011-Unknown
Pinocchio - Writer(story),ExecProducer- -2011-Treatment/outline
Saturn and the End of Days - Writer (screenplay), Producer, Director 2011-Unknown
The Witches - Writer (screenplay), Director -2011-Script
Champions - Writer (screenplay), Producer -2010-Unknown
Hater - Producer -2010-Unknown

As you can see, his project schedule is fairly full already.

If GDT did do RT, that would be AWESOME, but we would have to have a greenlit project and so far we don't so THAT IS A PROBLEM!!

Lancer wrote:

If GDT did do RT, that would be AWESOME, but we would have to have a greenlit project and so far we don't so THAT IS A PROBLEM!!

Not only that, but with the recession most studios have already spent their development budgets for this year according to industry insiders. So nothing new is on the horizon other than what's been announced.

How that affects the RT development process is unclear.

Zinjo wrote;

Not only that, but with the recession most studios have already spent their development budgets for this year according to industry insiders. So nothing new is on the horizon other than what's been announced.

That's completely incorrect. Movie studios fare well under recessionary and depressed economies. Historically, going by what has happened in every recession and including the depression in the 1930's. Studios had their biggest record breaking revenues in these types of economies and because of this fact, this helps to convince sponsors for additional funding.

Check out the following links.

www.kitv.com/news/22849535/detail.html

www.fox8live.com/news/local/story/Film-i...jG0u_4BkTaXzTiQ.cspx

247wallst.com/2009/12/27/the-recession-proof-movie-industry/

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8551237.stm

And that's a small list of links available.

Up here in Canada, the film industry is still booming exponentially, especially in 2010. More films are being made and most of these films including those in the US are subsidized in part by sponsors willing to fund such projects.

To say that most studios already spent their development budgets for the year is incorrect and is too vague, not all production cycles start in January 1st. They can start at anytime and some development budgets can last for years.

For example, Peter Jacksons LOTR's took years to develop and sure the budget did go overboard at the time. But the returns from the theaters and merchandising tie-ins made more than it's ROI.

As for Guillermo Del Toro being a canidate for WB's Robotech LAM. This will depend on what WB is eyeing for a director that best suits the movie they have in mind. If they movie fits Guillermo Del Toro's style then i'm all for it. If not, then find another director that will suit that vision.

Let WB be! They will make the right choice after all this is going to be a tentpole franchise as they claim, and acquiring the merchandising and video game rights tied to the film only confirms WB's committment to making this film happen in a big way.

Enough, the con season is here. Eventually you will know all!

Mav...

You guys know do that is a picture of Peter Jackson, right?

LOOKS LIKE GUILLERMO DEL TORO WILL BE DOING A MECHA MOVIE IN "PACIFIC RIM".

www.tdotsociety.com/v32010/?page_id=5562

Posted on Monday, May 9th, 2011 by Germain Lussier

Guillermo Del Toro has his leading man for the upcoming monster vs. robot movie Pacific Rim. Deadline reports that Charlie Hunnam is in negotiations to star in the film, which will be Del Toro’s first directorial effort since 2008′s Hellboy: The Golden Army. Hunnam starred in Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks follow-up Undeclared, the upcoming drama The Ledge but is best known for his role as Jax Teller on Sons of Anarchy.

Pacific Rim is about an alien race attacking the Earth on either side of the Pacific Ocean and how humans create huge, advanced robots to battle them. Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. hope to have it in theaters Summer 2013 with shooting to begin in September. There’s more after the jump.

Deadline first broke the news of the casting which was then quickly followed by The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the Hollywood Reporter piece, Pacific Rim – which was written by Travis Beacham – is influenced by mecha, a sci-fi and animation sub-genre which features humans piloting giant robots. Some more famous examples are Gundam and Evangelion. Hunnam’s role, the lead of the movie, is rumored to be of a pilot of one of the mechs forced to climb back into one because of the impending doom.

Let’s start with the point of this post: Hunnam. I’ve been a fan ever since Undeclared and though I don’t watch Sons of Anarchy, I have seen The Ledge as well as some other of his films not only is the guy talented, he’s got tons of range. He’s way overdue to breakout in a big movie like this.

As for Del Toro, this certainly feels like a much bigger movie then he’s ever done – sort of Godzilla meets Transformers meets Independence Day – which is odd considering this was his fall back project when Universal pulled the plug on At the Mountains of Madness. The difference being Pacific Rim seems to be more PG-13 friendly.