Genre: Fantasy/Adventure.
Studio:
New Line Cinema.
Production Company:
Wingnut Films.
Project Phase: In Development.
Who's In It:
Unknown.
Who's Making It:
Peter Jackson (Director); Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh (Screenwriters, Producers);
Saul Zaentz, Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein (Executive Producer); Alan Lee, John Howe (Conceptual Artists);
Weta Digital (Special Visual Effects); based upon the J.R.R. Tolkien book
The Fellowship of the Ring from the trilogy The Lord of the Rings.
Premise: A darkness has swept the lands of Middle Earth: a troop of 'dark riders' destroy everything in their path. To stop their advance, a group of adventuring humans and Hobbits must find and then destroy a powerful magical ring. But to wield the ring means surrendering to its evil...
Release Date: Unknown.
Comments: To call Tolkien's classic work an epic adventure is to understate it. Judged by many in literature to be the greatest modern work of fantasy, Tolkien populated his Middle Earth with an assortment of remarkable beings and terrifying evils. An animated feature by Ralph Bakshi was released in the late '70s; with the advances in computer generated imagery, we expect that the developers will make extensive use of this technology to realize Bilbo Baggins and his world.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
January 27, 1997... Saul Zaents owns the film and merchandising rights to all of Tolkien's works. Recently the producer has been approached by DreamWorks SKG, Miramax and Universal Pictures, all interested in developing the property; of the three, Miramax is said to be in serious discussions with Zaents. Rumors also have Peter Jackson as the frontrunner to helm any adaptation. [Scoop supplied by 'Rittenhouse'; additional reporting done by 'Hodgson'.]
February 4, 1997... Someone who claims to be close to Peter Jackson tells CA that this project is indeed based on Tolkien's The Hobbit. We're kinda confused, as our source told us it was a Lord of the Rings adaptation. Until we can find out more (or if, by chance, someone can confirm it in a means we can accept as genuine), we'll keep our ears open. (And no, that wasn't a cheap shot at Bilbo's ears, ok?) [Scoop sent in anonymously.]
September 14, 1997... This scooper's friend was recently asked if he would be willing to relocate to New Zealand to create a miniature effects unit for an upcoming Peter Jackson film. When the artist inquired as to the genre of the film, his potential employer said that it was fantasy, "One of the Tolkien books..." The scooper stressed that since neither his friend nor the employer in question "could give a rat's ass about either fantasy or Tolkien", they felt that this was a very strong indication that the rumors surrounding the Tolkien project were definately true. "While the job was still labled 'potential', I must stress that the offer was real," the scooper added. [Info sent to us by 'whcressall'.]
September 21, 1997... Another makeup artist also received an invitation from someone named Richard Taylor. "Richard Taylor said that he couldn't say what movie it is, but at the same time he said that it's kind of official anyway and said I could check the latest issue of Cinefantastique," the scooper told us in their email. "So I did and there it said 'Lord of the Rings'." [Sent in anonymously.]
September 23, 1997... 'Post it and they shall email you.' Richard Taylor is an NZ-based FX artist who has handled special effects on several Peter Jackson films, including Braindead, Meet the Feebles and Heavenly Creatures. [Thanks to 'jfmorris'.]
January 14, 1998... A scooper comes into our hobbit hole to share some details about the film's planning so far:
Miramax is financing the film, with Peter Jackson's Wingnut Films producing it. Jackson is defintitely directing it. "Pre-production is at a very advanced stage here in Wellington at Peter Jackson's Camperdown Studios in Miramar...Major set pieces have been built at various locations around Wellington, most notably a small village set has been constructed in Island Bay, a suburb of Wellington..."
The scooper confirms that Connery will play Gandalf, though again, no official announcement has been made.
WETA Digital, Jackson's computer graphics department of his WETA FX house, will handle the digital chores. "WETA Ltd have been recruting like crazy for the last six months, but are awaiting additonal funding and the green light from Miramax before the hiring of additional staff," the scooper tells us. They're finishing up work on Phantoms and expect to begin working full-time on The Hobbit in early '98. "Peter Jackson is playing this one extra close to the chest on this one afterwhat happened to King Kong...but resassured this film is getting made, and will be absolutely awe inspiring..." [Thanks to 'mindlight', our Hobbit friend.]
January 19, 1998... It turns out those "major set pieces" in Island Bay are actually for a children's TV show called Willam Tell and not for The Hobbit after all. The William Tell show was a project Weta Ltd worked on some months ago.
As our scooper informs us, "It's all rather frustrating actually. Work is still being done on the script...but no one as yet has an offically anounced a working title." The gang around Wellington calls it "The Hobbit" but professionally it's still refered to as "Jackson's next major project". Mmmm...kinda has a nice ring to it, don't it? [Thank ye to 'Mindlight' for the update.]
April 11, 1998... The project is still definitely alive and kicking. Tolkien licensees were told that Miramax paid for the option extension. [Anonymous.]
July 1, 1998... While delivering a speech at Ohio State University on Friday June 5th, director Kevin Smith confirmed that this project is based solely on The Lord of the Rings and not The Hobbit. The scooper would also like to add "If anyone gets a chance to see Kevin speak, please do so, it was an incredible experience for anyone interested in film." [Thanks to an anonymous OSU student.]
July 28, 1998... We were just scooped that Jackson's Lord of the Rings project had been placed in turnaround by Miramax three weeks ago. Our scooper said Jackson's plan was to do LOTR and The Hobbit back-to-back. He's currently in Los Angeles trying to find new takers for the project. Of course since Tolken's will states Disney can't have any involvement in a film version of LOTR, and Miramax is owned by Disney...well, now you know why there's been problems. [Anonymous.]
August 25, 1998... Jackson's found a taker in the form of New Line Cinema. NLC will finance the production of all three Lord of the Rings films -- The Fellowship of the Ring (set for release Christmas 2000), with The Two Towers (Summer 2001) and The Return of the King (Christmas 2001) following behind. All films will be shot consecutively and on location in New Zealand. Principal photography will last approximately one year, and it is expected that production on the first film will begin by mid-1999.
Variety broke the news that Jackson will be using computers to 're-size' existing actors to meet the height requirements to play the Hobbits. 1,200 computer effects are planned for the first movie alone.
Conflicting what CA was told, Jackson told Variety that the reason he and Zaentz (who owns the film rights to the Tolkien's books) took the property to New Line was that the Miramax people wanted to compress the plots of all three books into one feature film. Now set up at New Line, Miramax will retain some kind of "interest" in the film. This information clashes with the scoops we've been told: that according to Tolkien's will, Disney will have no say with any adaptions of his work. With Miramax owned by Disney, there was an obvious issue blocking the film from advancing ahead. ['Xadrian', 'Imrahil', Mike, 'Begsy1', 'noisylnd', 'Ashe', Mark Bevan, 'Dante', 'Dredd', 'Humlan', 'nadasky', Matt James, 'MikeA1129', 'tnaran', 'Jester', 'bhaworth', Jayson, and many anonymous Tolkien fans; some material originally appeared in Variety.]
Speaking in a New Line Cinema press release, Robert Shaye, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of New Line Cinema, said of the potential franchise "This deal represents a unique collaboration between competitors in the independent film world, and an unprecedented production commitment on behalf of New Line Cinema. Anyone who is familiar with Tolkien's work knows that this is one of the most internationally beloved pieces of fiction ever produced. We are completely committed to Peter Jackson's vision for this trilogy, and we will make sure that he has the necessary logistical, financial and creative support to complete a project of this size and scope."
"It has taken 45 years for filmmaking technology to finally catch up with Tolkien's imagination" director Peter Jackson said. "We are fortunate down here in New Zealand to have both the computer technology and the natural landscapes to bring the unique world of Middle Earth to life. It's very exciting to be making The Lord of the Rings as a trilogy. Shooting three feature films back-to-back has never been done before, and it shows tremendous vision on the part of Bob Shaye and New Line Cinema. Not only will we create a unique cinematic event, but we will be treating Tolkien's work with the respect and integrity it deserves." Well, you certainly can't say he's unenthusiastic about the whole deal, can you? [A big thanks to 'byareakirk' for the assist.]
There will be over 60 speaking roles and thousands of parts for extras. Jackson is speaking to famous actors to play in cameo roles or as the older denizens of Middle Earth. [Thanks to 'nzriq'.]
These scoopers adds that Weta Digital has already developed the computer animation software that will be used for the film. Jackson's been developing it for close to two years now. [Thanks to 'Xadrian' and 'byareakirk'.]
Another scooper heard that Jackson will continue his tradition of making a cameo in his films. He's thinking of playing an "nasty Orc" in the first film as the director says it best suits his disposition. [Send in by 'noisylnd'.]
|
Copyrights and trademarks for the film and related entertainment properties mentioned
herein are held by their respective owners and are used with
permission or solely for the promotional purposes of said properties.
All other text and images copyright © 1995-98 Corona Productions. Last updated: Wednesday, 26-Aug-1998 00:58:34 PDT. webmaster@corona.bc.ca |