Peter Jackson to direct The Hobbit in 3D? (Lots of rumours, little fact)

[KiwiHopeful]

We can only hope this is *all* true!

Peter Jackson to direct The Hobbit in 3D?

Hard and fast on the bloody trail of Beowulf in 3D comes the rumour of a 3D version of The Hobbit, in two parts to be directed by Peter Jackson. Wow... Peter Jackson IS Directing The Hobbit - In 3D! is the headline over at Screen Rant.

The ease with which this latest rumour about The Hobbit movie has proliferated on the web proves once again how poor journalistic standards on the web are, how easy it is to believe anything so long as it is written, and how hungry many of us are for news about The Hobbit, especially if it mentions Peter Jackson.
In the end though there is only one source for this story ? Jim Dorey over at Marketsaw. And let?s be frank, it?s unsubstantiated. Which is not to say that it might not in fact prove to be true. We certainly hope it is, and as we?ve said before, we?d be surprised if Peter Jackson doesn?t end up directing The Hobbit; given his achievement with the Lord of the Rings movies, he is the obvious (and as far as we?re concerned, the only) choice. But as Quint over at Ain?t it cool news points out Jackson?s schedule with Tintin and Lovely Bones has him tied up for the foreseeable future. Quint followed up this rumour by contacting ?Jackson?s camp? for confirmation and got a ?resounding no?. Ironically, of course, this proves nothing as we?d expect them to say no until they?re ready to make an official announcement.

For those who haven?t heard the ?news?, it goes something like this: Peter Jackson will now direct The Hobbit, his dispute with New Line put aside or resolved. The movie will be in two parts, the first released in 2010 and the second in 2011 (the fact that it wil be in two parts is not news as such as that was reported as early as October 2006). The second part of the movie will apparently be influenced by The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle Earth, and will, according to Marketsaw, ?lead us up to creation of the Fellowship in a graceful and logical fashion?. Furthermore the movies will also be in 3D, and apparently the Lord of The Rings trilogy will also be converted to 3D and re-released between 2012 and 2014.

So there you have it. While we?re hoping that Jim over at Marketsaw has reliable sources, we?re treating this one with a fistful of scepticism until Peter Jackson or New Line come out with an official statement confirming or denying it.

Until then folks, this is no more than a pleasant rumour.

[jimdorey]

Hey - It's Jim here from ** ** - I saw your post concerning the Hobbit and I wanted to let you know that I trust my sources a great deal. They risk their jobs and careers to deliver the info the world wants to know so I go to bat for them.

I am 100% sure he will direct The Hobbit. The remaining info is not at 100% but is definitely enough for me to post it and to stand by it. I invite you to come to ** ** and read the posts yourselves and make your own minds up.

Always available for communication too. Just use my "Contact Me" form on my blog.

Best,
-jim
** **
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** Admin Edit - Link Spam **

[KiwiHopeful]

Hi Jim!

I gotta admit, *that* is a dedicated track back!

I don't dismiss your sources, but there's been *so* much written about The Hobbit and so many repeated denials, it's hard to know what's what.

I checked out your site. Didn't have any idea there were so many 3D movie theaters in the US.

Also, I apologize for the fact that the link to your site, which was in the original post, didn't copy over into my post here. Wouldn't it be nice if all forums and blog programs worked the same way so we wouldn't have to remember which one does which tricks?

[MotherBear]

Jackson signs deal for The Hobbit - but won't direct
10:10AM Wednesday December 19, 2007
By Russell Baillie

Peter Jackson landed back in New Zealand today with a surprise Christmas present for his Wellington studio team - the greenlight to reprise Middle-earth once more with two films adapting The Hobbit.

Plans to make J.R.R. Tolkien's earlier tale about Bilbo Baggins, which set the scene of the Lord of the Rings, had been snared in litigation and between Jackson and New Line, the studio which backed the trilogy over earnings from the films, as well as rights issues with another studio, MGM.

But all parties have come to an agreement meaning Jackson and partner Fran Walsh are to executive produce the two films to be shot back-to-back in 2009. At this stage no decision had been made on who might direct the films.

Spokesman Matt Dravitski said Jackson was hesitant to direct it himself and likened his involvement to that of George Lucas' in the original Star Wars trilogy - having established the franchise, Lucas had other directors do parts two and three.

More here .

[KiwiHopeful]

So much for Jim's sources, eh?

[selchie]

I had read in the paper something similar to MB's post. I had wondered why they were making it in two parts, considering The Hobbit was a relatively slim volume. I suppose by adding mythology/legend from the Silmarillion, they will change the flavor of what was originally a children's story.

[KiwiHopeful]

I, for one, won't complain when they start making movies that are longer than the books that they are based on.