Live Chat Transcript
Bringing it fresh and live from you from the weta event:
(Will format when time available> sorry for the inconvenience)
Here is the live chat online today at 2100 GMT with weta digital
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The Hobbit: Live Chat with Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro
wetahost: 20 - Will you be doing less location shooting this time because
your set builders, digital effects teams etc have become so proficient?
Peter_Jackson: Middle-earth is location, with very few structures really.
It's a natural countryside and that's where a lot of shooting will take place.
Guillermo_del_Toro: Location will be favored and real set construction. I
love REAL set construction and think that sets are very important part of the storytelling and scope of a film...
Peter_Jackson: Hi David - It is unlikely we will need any
locations outside of NZ which has always been the perfect Middle Earth.
there is nothing yet that tolkien has described that we haven't managed
to find in this amazing little country and I expect the Hobbit to be no
different.
aust: Will Howard Shore be returning to do the score?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Yes- absolutely, Shore is the VOICE of these
films and we will absolutely be invited back. Peter and Fran have
talked to him a couple of times already and Ive exchanged emails about
the subject. He will return.
wetahost: 19 - May i congratulate on your new appointment as director of The
Hobbit, Guillermo. My question is to Guillermo, what can we expect from
your vision and approach with this picture and I'm guessing there will
be alot of dark elements to this film, but how far will you go in terms
of horror and violence?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I hope that Mirkwood can be pretty scary but
not graphic, I hope Riddles in the dark has an element of fear and
suspense and to be deeply atmospheric but still allow the ingenious,
engaging contest to take place. And Smaug should be all shock and awe
when he unleashes his anger so, it will be pretty intense but not gorey.
Peter_Jackson: Hi Icaroz - We are working on a blu ray version
of the LOTR trilogy with Warner Bros at the moment, not sure when it is
due for release. It certainly won't be this year.
Guillermo_del_Toro: At this time the voice of Smaug is down to a
very few choices in my head and I have a completely specific one, Ron
has a good chance but I have other plans for RP... we will see...
Galdor_Felagund: Will you use the Hobbit holes usd in LotR?
Peter_Jackson: Hi Galdor-Falagund - yes we hope with the
permission of the land owner that we will rebuild Hobbiton bigger and
even better than what it was for LOTR in exactly the same location
wetahost: 18 - Peter & Guillermo: What do you envision Gandalf's role will be
in this film? He seems to go off on his own and disappear in several
sections of the book. Do you want to stay faithful to that or give him
a more active role? How do you think you'll ingratiate his character
into an effective, cinematic storyline?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I believe that Gandalf is meant to be used
in that way- coming and going in and out of the narrative. If anything,
this creates the perfect setting for those “gaps” to be bridged by the
second film…
Peter_Jackson: Those gaps are great! There's a lot of stuff going on, which is
distracting him. I'm just pleased to be getting Gandalf the Grey back
for two more movies. Ian and I loved him best. We were a little sad
when the Gandy the White took over.
RSG1050: Mr. del Toro, have you started keeping a notebook of sketches on this film yet?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I have started already and shared some of the
design and ideas with Alan Lee and John Howe during a very excited
lunch in London.
wetahost: 17 - Dear Peter Jackson, I enjoyed your
cameos in the LOTR movies, Will you have a cameo in this Hobbit, and
what character would you like
to play?
Peter_Jackson: I actually haven't thought about it. My convention is to do cameos
in films I direct. I don't know if that extends to films I produce.
Iguess we'll find out. I love Hobbits! I am a Hobbit, in very many
respects, as were my parents. Tolkien wrote about a type of people he
knew, in pre-war England, and somewhere along the line, he must have
bumped into my relatives!
Guillermo_del_Toro: Unllike Peter, I'm a Dwarf ( a coarse creature I am)- but I studiously avoid cameos…
Peter_Jackson: Dear Jesslyn - at this point in time the plan is to
write for the rest of this year and start early conceptual designs.
2009 will be dedicated to pre-production on both movies and 2010 will
be the year we shoot both films back to back. Post productin follows
one film at a time with The Hobbit being released Dec 2011, and F2
release Dec 2012. That is the schedule in about as much detail as we
have ourselves at the moment.
wetahost: 16- Peter: What was it about Guillermo
that made you feel he was the right guy to continue on the saga of
Middle-earth? Are the two of you on the same page for the vision,
direction, and style that these movies will have? If the two of you
disagree on a point, who wins out?
Peter_Jackson: I'll talk more about this in a later question, but watching his films, he has
respect for fantasy. He understands it, he's not frightened by it.
Guillermo also understands character, and how the power of any movie is
almost always linked to how closely we empathize with characters within
the story. His work shows great care and love for the main characters
he creates. He also has supreme confidence with design, and visual
effects. So many film makers are scared of visual effects - which is no
crime, but tough if you're doing one of these movies!
If we disagree, the director has to win, because you should never force
a director to shoot something they don't believe in. But we're both
reasonably practical and ego-free, and I believe that if we disagree, we
both have the ability to express our differing theorys - state our case, like lawyers - and
between us, work out what's best for the movie.
Peter_Jackson: Dear Reguba - interesting Q. The truth (and this is the
truth) is that you don't plan for extended editions up front an
extended edition is the result of left over scenes that have been
deleted out of theatrical cut. In an ideal world the script is written
lean and tight and therefore there are no scenes left on the cuttring
room floor and therefore no extended edition. However when writing 3
epic LOTR films there was no way we could keep the writing process as
lean, so the extended edition was a result of seeing our thought
process during the writing and shooting play itself out on screen with
scenes we no longer needed when we finally cut the films together.
Whether there will be an extended edition of the Hobbit will depend
entirely on the final theatrical cut and what we have left over.
Guillermo_del_Toro: That one is REALLY too early to answer... but being
a DVD freak (now a B-Ray freak) I think that if you have enough
alternative material you can make it accesible on DVD (or B-R)
format... Is not a priority that one decides this.
wetahost: 15 - Will you be using the same production team ie. Special
effects, art directors, cinematographers, composer etc..
Guillermo_del_Toro: Many of them will be back. I will supplement the FX departments,
the design departments (with very interesting names), but the crew will utilize as many of the original elements as possible.
wetahost: 14 - In the Hobbit book, we have talking
trolls and the Eagles and Smaug talks as well, however in the LOTR
Trilogy, trolls did no more than grunt, Fellbeasts screamed, and the
Eagles, who were meant to talk, just stayed silent. How much will the
portayle of
such animals change in the Hobbit?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I think it should be done exactly as in the book- the “talking beast”
motif has to exist already to allow for that great character that is
Smaug. It is far more jarring to have a linear movie and then – out of
the blue – a talking Dragon.
wetahost: 13 - Hi. Do you intend to play this one by the Book (The Hobbit that
is) and make it a very light childrens tale on film, or do you plan to
stick with the much darker treatment- in keeping with the LotR films -
particularly the latter ones. My personal preference would be for the
latter - cannot see how eg. the Rivendell Elves could
regress from their nobility in LotR to those "...Tra-la-la-la...."
singing versions which were in the Hobbit Book. Thank you.
Guillermo_del_Toro: We’ll see about the “Tra-la-la-“ later- but the book, I believe, in
echoing the “loss of innocence” England experienced after WWI, is a
passage form innocence to a darker, more somber state- The visual /
thematic progression should reflect that in the camera style, color
palette, textural choices, etc.
Peter_Jackson: As I said earlier, I personally feel that The Hobbit
can, and should have a different tone. The "tone" of these stories
shouldn't be defined by the pressure our characters were under in LOTR.
The world is a different place at the time of the Hobbit. The shadow is
not so dark. However, what should stay the same is the reality of
Middle-earth, and the integrity we bring to it as film makers.
Guillermo_del_Toro: The idea is to shoot them "back to bacK" with a
small break to breathe and to reconstruct certain sets and have time to
reasses... But a schedule of a year is expected.
Peter_Jackson: Hi Shane - Yes the movies will be shot back to back and
the shooting of the movie will be driven by which actors are working
with us at a given time and what locations we are in. For instance, if
we are shooting hObbiton scenes for Hobbit movies we would also shoot
Hobbiton scenes for F2. So during our year of filming we will be
shooting both movies at the same time out of sequence.
reel1: Hi, Guys. Was it intentional to release the first Hobbit film on the 10 year anniversary of FOTR?
Peter_Jackson: Dear Razor - No this is the first time I have actually
thought about it ... that is nice I will claim credit for the idea from
this day forward
Peter_Jackson: Q12 ....
wetahost: 12 - Peter: During production of the trilogy, there were days where
there were several filming crews working simultaneously, with different
people directing. Would you ever want to head up a crew and direct the
shooting of a scene for a day?
Peter_Jackson: Most directors prefer to direct everything themselves. I thought I
could on LOTR, but very quickly found out that the sheer scale
prevented it. Instead of a 15 month shoot, we would have shot for 3
years! Guillermo always shoots his own material, so we'll do our best
to construct a schedule that allows him to do that. It will depend a
lot on how the scripts break down.
I'd happily shot some second unit stuff, anytime Guillermo asked me to.
But let's see what happens.
Are you already go to New Zealand, Mr.Del Toro ?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Yes- Ive been actually been thyere already
-secretly- shh- and will be there shortly after HELLBOY II opens and
will be getting a LOT of frequent flyer miles in the next few months-
Peter_Jackson: Hi Greg - F2 is referring to Film 2
wetahost: 11 - Guillermo del Toro is an
accomplished director. I just wondered whether ok not, he will bring
more prostetics, animatronics and physical effects to the film, as he
does with such films as Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth (which are great
films by the way)? Or will Weta Digital still have their work cut out
for them with VFX?
Peter_Jackson: Hi Greg - F2 is referring to Film 2
wetahost: 11 - Guillermo del Toro is an accomplished director. I just wondered
whether ok not, he will bring more prostetics, animatronics and
physical effects to the film, as he does with such films as Hellboy and
Pan's Labyrinth (which are great films by the way)? Or will Weta
Digital still have their work cut out for them with VFX?
Peter_Jackson: Here comes Q11
Guillermo_del_Toro: I plan to mix CGI and PHYSICAL in such a way that
your eye wonders which is which- keep you mind busy but NEVER allowing
for the weaknesses of either tool to take over. Yes, I have, by trial
and error, learned that both tools need to be mixed and how much they
must be mixed to succeed in creating environments and living creatures.
WETA is the lead house, absolutely but we will expand the creature team
and beef up the prosthetics team. Imagine a physical creature with a
radio controlled muscle / facial system but with partial CGI
replacement on the head or mouth, etc and you’ll start to get the idea…
Guillermo_del_Toro: And now for the question...
Vampireta: So how was your first meeting with each other?
Peter_Jackson: Hi Vampierta - The first time I remember meeting
Guillermo was at Bob Shay's hosue during a LOTR party. Obviously at
that time we had no concept of what the future held!!
Guillermo_del_Toro: We finished a tray of shrimps together and agreed
that NEW LINE should keep hiring round, bearded directors with funny
accents...
Peter_Jackson: Q10 ....
wetahost: 10- Hi there, thanks for giving this opportunity. my question: will
Alan Lee and John Howe be on board again? I really admire their work.
good luck for this project and have a lot of fun.
Guillermo_del_Toro: As aI said, I had a marvelous lunch with John and Alan in London a few days ago
and we all got very excited as we discussed my ideas on Smaug,
Mirkwood, etc They are most definetly back!
Peter_Jackson: Impossible to imagine it without them!
Trotter_the_Ranger: What will be the title for the second movie?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Too early- but not "H2 Electric Boogaloo" that has been discarded.
Peter_Jackson: Hi Trots - the second movie doesn't have a title yet and
probably won't until we write the script. As you will see we have the
incredibly boring name Film Two which I assure you will not last for
very long. Just bear with us.
tigerlily: Hello Beren, as no bugger is going to
answer our questons we may as well talk to eachj other! I guess we
should have submitted questions earlier on as it seems they are being
answered!!!
Peter_Jackson: Hi Tiger Lily - the buggers in Wgtn and London are
wading through 6000 Q as best we can. Every Q answered represents a
number of similar questions.
Guillermo_del_Toro: As they say in Family feud: "Survey Says:"
Peter_Jackson: Truth is "Executive Producers" do a range of things on movies from
a lot to virtually nothing! I see myself being one of a production
team. My interest is helping Guillermo make the very best films he can.
I love writing and I'm looking forward to that. Guillermo will be
writing, along with Fran, Philippa and myself. As a director, I could
never direct something I didn't have a hand in writing, and we're not
expecting Guillermo to do that either. If the director is part of the
writing, it means he was there when the discussions took place, story
decisions were made ... he knows why things are the way they are, and
what they need to achieve. Everything is in a script for a reason, and
only by being part of a writing team (or writing it yourself), do you
really understand the intention of every beat.
I see my role as being part of that writing team, which will create the
blueprint, and then helping Guillermo construct the movie. I want
Guillermo to make his movies, and I want to make sure we end up with a
5 movie series that's as good as it can possibly be.
Merlkir: any ideas about the talking wargs? the
wargs in hobbit are remarkably different from the "hyena" ones in the
LOTR movies..
Guillermo_del_Toro: Absolutely: they will be different from the Hyena
ones established in the Trilogy- they will be faithful to the creatures
in the book and will be redesigned accordingly.
lordlinton: Loved the video diaries for King Kong, will you guys be doing something similar for the Hobbit?
Peter_Jackson: There is a lot of questions about production diaries for
the internet - the truth is that Guillermo and I haven't even discussed
this topic yet, now do we have a real plan in place for the internet
and DVD side of the film. You have to realise that although this was
announced and is all round the world we are at the very beginning of
the process just starting to think about the scripts. We are not trying
to fob anyone off but we simply haven't got that far in the process yet
and it is a plan we will put into place during the course of 2009.
lordlinton: Loved the video diaries for King Kong, will you guys be doing something similar for the Hobbit?
Peter_Jackson: There is a lot of questions about production diaries for
the internet - the truth is that Guillermo and I haven't even discussed
this topic yet, now do we have a real plan in place for the internet
and DVD side of the film. You have to realise that although this was
announced and is all round the world we are at the very beginning of
the process just starting to think about the scripts. We are not trying
to fob anyone off but we simply haven't got that far in the process yet
and it is a plan we will put into place during the course of 2009.
Guillermo_del_Toro: This is a big one-- Allow me to quote form my random responses at Onering.net…
Quote:
I am a big Dragon fan. I've said it before- And I was fortunate
enough to be born a Dragon in the Chinese Horocope...
And although its always impossible to agree on the "greatest" of
anything, I bring forth these two as the main film contenders for that
title: Eyvind Earle / Disney's Maleficent dragon ( a triumph of
elegance of color and design) and Vermitrax Pejorative from
Dragonslayer.
In my opinion, every other design has borrowed heavily from these two.
I plan to create something new and groundbreaking.
Smaug should not be "the Dragon in the Hobbit movie" as if it was just
"another" creature in a Bestiary. Smaug should be "The DRAGON" for all
movies past and present. The shadow he cast and the greed he comes to
embody- the "need to own" casts its long shadow and creates a thematic
/ dramatic continuity of sorts that articulates the story throughout-
In that respect, Smaug the CHARACTER is as important, if not more
important, than the design. The character will emerge form the writing-
and in that the Magnificent arrogance, intelligence, sophistication
and greed of Smaug shine through-
In fact, Thorin's greed is a thematic extension of this and Bilbo's
"Letting go" and his noble switching of sides when the dwarves prove to
be in the wrong is its conceptual counterpart (that is a hard one to
get through, Bilbo's heroism is a quiet, moral one) and the thematic
thread reaches its climax in the Bilbo / Thorin death bed scene.
Anyway, back to Smaug: One of the main mistakes with talking dragons is
to shape the mouth like a snub Simian one in order to achieve a dubious
lip-synch. .. A point which eluded me particularly in Eragon, since
their link is a psychic one.
To me, Smaug is the perfect example of a great creature defined by its
look and design, yes, but also, very importantly, by his movement and
-One little hint- its environment - Think about it... the way he is
scaled, moves and is lit, limited or enhanced by his location, weather
conditions, light conditions, time of the year, etc. That's all I can
say without spoilers but, if you keep this curious little summary
you'll realize several years form now that those things I had in my
mind ever since doodling the character as a kid had solidified waaay
before starting the shoot of the film.
A big tool is also how and when he is fully revealed. I could give you
specifics- beat-by-beat in fact (I'm geeking out to do it), but...
I will say no more in order to save you from ruthless spoilerage (we
have a few years to go, you now...?) and increased anxiety.
Let me, however, say that this is actually one of the points I feel
most enthusiastic about.
As to his voice- well, each reader has a Smaug voice in his / her head,
just like you always do when "hearing" a great character in a book.
I have mine... and it will be revealed in time...
|
manuthevif: Guillermo, Will Peter be directing Hellboy 3 at some point?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Offers have been made but he remains elusive- we will be in talks soon.
swjedi18: Will we be seeing The While Council in The Hobbit?
Peter_Jackson: Hi swjedi18 - To early to say before the scripts are written but it is definitely an idea we are discussing.
Peter_Jackson: Now for Q7
Guillermo_del_Toro: There's a very good chance if the "gaps" are filled in some form in either narrative. Too early...
Guillermo_del_Toro: There's a very good chance if the "gaps" are filled in some form in either narrative. Too early...
wetahost: 7 - how important is it to you to create overall consistency between
Peter's LOTR films and Guillermo's? in terms of the actors, look and
feel, scenery, score, fx -- is your aim to have
them stand on their own or sync up with the trilogy?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I believe that it’s a little bit of both- the world must feel like
the same world. The aspect ratio, music, essential established costume
and production design trademarks but I would love to bring a lot of new
flavours to the table. THE HOBBIT is, in essence, an overture to a
massive Symphonic work so main themes are reprised but new modulations
and new colors are introduced, thematically and texturally.
Peter_Jackson: I love Guillermo's symphonic allusion. The "overture" can have a
different flavour, a different texture, yet be a carefully crafted
introduction to what's to follow. Film Two is perfect to dramatise the
shift in Middle-earth that propells us into the dark days of LOTR. If
LOTR is World War One, then the Hobbit is like an Edwardian
adventure tale, set in the days before world notices the looming storm
clouds.
Junaid: Is The Hobbit harder or easier than LOTR to adapt as a script?
Peter_Jackson: Hi Junaid - Both are equally difficult to be completely
honest. The Hobbit has its own unique problems, different to those of
LOTR.
Guillermo_del_Toro: Not easy- I tell you that-
Peter_Jackson: Here comes Q6 ...
wetahost: 6 - Will Weta be releasing figures for this film like it did with
Kong and Narnia?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I would hope so!! I want them all!!
Galdor_Felagund: How does Christopher Tolkien feel about the two new films?
Peter_Jackson: Hi Galdor - Christopher Tolkien did not wish to be
involved in the LOTR movies and I would assuem his feelings are the
same with these two films. I totally respect him for that since he is
looking after the legacy of his father's books and does not wish to be
involved in someone else's interpretation of those stories.
Peter_Jackson: Here comes Q5
wetahost: 5 - Having recently reread the Hobbit with my children, it strikes me
that the Hobbit contains a fairly linear story that doesn't necessarily
follow the "three act" formula typical of movies. What do you see as
the biggest challenge adapting the story to the big screen?
Guillermo_del_Toro: There are so many- I am all for trying to preserve every idiosyncrasy
the novel has- the very things that seem “unfilmable” and that – in my
mind- will make it thrilling as a film. The novel is much, much more
inventive and dislocated in its narrative (Bilbo being hit by a rock
during the Battle) than you may think at first. I think that you can
treat a classic like a museum piece –stuffed and mounted- or you can
make it a living, breathing narrative that is unfolding right then and
there.
Peter_Jackson: Structure is important in film, but as Guillermo says, there's
often structure to be found in the most unlikely of places! It's quite
possible to build a structured story and retain idiosyncrasy. It's
going to be part of the joy of writing this.
Lukas-Eldarion: Will you do another chat later on in the process?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Gladly- gladly- Im in!!
Peter_Jackson: Hi Lukas - we would love to this has been a lot of fun.
Let us just get the last of the official questions out because we are
working down to the most popular ones in the final few
Peter_Jackson: Now for Q4
wetahost: 4 - Will Gollum play a role in the
second film? If not, any plans to find a different role for Andy
Serkis? Because, and I think most
will agree with me, everything is better with more Serkis.
Guillermo_del_Toro: Yes! As all of you know, Gollum has a rather
fascinating arch to go through and his alliance to Shelob or his period
of imprisonment in
Thranduil's, etc but it is early still- so early in fact that to reveal more would tie our hands and be counterproductive.
Guillermo_del_Toro: There can never be "too much Andy"
wetahost: 3 - Hello from New Orleans! What
production challenges do you feel will be different for The Hobbit and
the sequel compared to the experience of making The LOTR?
Peter_Jackson: Yikes! Every film is a challenge. I always say that making a movie
is like film school - you're always learning. But unlike most schools,
you never get done with it. You never learn everything. Over time, you
get to anticipate problems a little better - but new ones hit you. You
get to figure out solutions, but there are always extreme problems you
could never guess.
One of the things I'm going to enjoy in this experience, is that I'll
be better placed to help anticipate the problems and fix them. When
you're directing, you're right at the coal face, always exhausted,
often emotional - and I'll enjoy being a couple of steps back from that
and simply helping where I can. Having done it 3 times as director,
there's a lot I know that can help smooth the way for Guillermo.
Peter_Jackson: And we will now do 2
wetahost: 2 - Hello Mr. Jackson and Mr. Del Toro! Thank you very much for this
time. My question is one that I think you will hear alot of from many
of us...from what material will you pulling the second movie from? I
know it'll be great with you two on board, but I am mighty curious. I
am a huge fan of both of you and I look foward to more Tolkien films!
Guillermo_del_Toro: The idea is to find a compelling way to join THE HOBBIT and FELLOWSHIP
and enhance the 5 films both visually an in their Cosmology. There’s
omissions and material enough in the available, licensed material to
attempt this. The agreement is, however, that the second film must be
relevant and emotionally strong enough to be brought to life but that
we must try and contain the HOBBIT in a single film.
Peter_Jackson: I'm really looking forward to developing Film Two. It gives us a
freedom that we haven't really had on our Tolkien journey. Some of you
may well say that's a good thing of course! The Hobbit is interesting
in how Tolkien created a feeling of dangerous events unfolding, which
preoccupy Gandalf. There's an awful lot of incident that happens during
that 60 year gap. At this stage, we're not imagining a film that
literally covers 60 years, like a bio-pic or documentary. We would
figure out what happens during that 60 years, and choose one short
section of time to drop in and dramatise for the screen. I'm really
interested in how it effects The Hobbit - do we show what happens to
Gandalg during his trips away? We'll see. We may well have seeds for
Film Two that we'll subtly sow during The Hobbit.
Peter_Jackson: Lets do a few more random questions before the final grand question.
wetahost: Hi Guys my question comes in two parts. Firstly will we notice a
significant shift in visual style from LOTR
to the Hobbit due to Guillermo's unique asthetic? And if so will there
be a complete re-imagining in the design of places seen in both books
(ie Bag End and Rivendell) due to this differing style?
wetahost: Gentlemen, a two part question. 1st, shooting on film or HD? 2nd,
scope or flat?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I normally use 1:85 but I thoroughly plan to
respect Peter’s choice of format used in the Trilogy (2:35:1) but it is
my intention, for now, to shoot this on film, not HD.
wetahost: How will the new Gollum differ from the
Gollum of the LOTR trilogy, if at all?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Once again, only in the passage of time (he’s half
a century “younger”) but it will be Andy and the established design
will be our Template
wetahost: Will the Mirkwood Elves be different from the Rivendell Elves of the LOTR trilogy?
Guillermo_del_Toro: That is definetly my intention but I cannot reveal anymore at the moment.
wetahost: Considering that you're stretching The Hobbit into 2 movies can we assume that Beorn will be featured and
will not be given the Tom Bombadil treatment?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I may be in the minority, but I absolutely LOVE
Beorn and I intend to feature him in the films. BTW I also like TB
quite a bit…
wetahost: I would love to know how you are going to deal with goblins in the movie. Will they look like the smaller orcs
in the LOTR movies or are you going to make a completely new design?Also will everything look like it did in the LOTR movies or will you be redesigning it to fit your vision?
Guillermo_del_Toro: This is an area in which I hope we can expand and
enhance a LOT from the established designs in the Trilogy. I plan to
come up with a very strong, new treatment for the Goblins. I also think
the Wargs should be readdressed for their role in The HOBBIT.
wetahost: One thing I love about watching movies from different film makers is seeing their own visions put on
screen. But since these HOBBIT movies are being made to tie in with the LOTR series, does this mean Mr. Del
Toro's wonderfully imaginitive vision will be limited to follow the rules set up by Mr. Jackson?
Guillermo_del_Toro: It is my privilege to roam through roads previously
traced but I definetly intend to take you to new and exciting places
that the Trilogy did not explore. Nevertheless it is our intention
that, once done, the 5 films will play like a symphonic work that
seamlessly transports you through this world.
wetahost: Hi there,i'm Beren from Romania and i'd like to ask Mr. GDT if he plans to use(as PJ did) extensive matte
paintings and "big-atures" to portray the vast panoramas and cities of Middle-earth or the more simpler CG effects?Thanks and cheers.
Guillermo_del_Toro: Peter and I both love “old school” techniques. I
adore physical miniatures and try to use them as much as I can and have
a bit of a fetish about that. Matte Paintings and “Big-atures” will
definetly be in these.
wetahost: Question for Guillermo, assuming they are all returning to
write the screenplay, will you be writing alongside Peter, Philippa and
Fran also?
Guillermo_del_Toro: I intend to. Their input in the literary creation
of the screenplay is a must. I depend on them and expect to spend many
delightful months wandering through Middle Earth.
Peter_Jackson: Writing a screen play with a group of collaborators is
like the Lennon McCartney collaboration .... sometimes one or two
people do more than others on certain parts of the process and vice
versa, it all comes out in the wash and we share equal credit in what
everyone has done, with 4 of us we will be able to divide the work up
in interesting ways and everyone will be able to help craft these films.
wetahost: I'd comment on the awesomeness of director
choice,
but I'm sure that gets old. Concerning The Hobbit and the numerous
Dwarves, I was wondering if all of them are going to find their way
into the film. In Lord of the Rings, you had 9 in the Fellowship, but
you had three movies to flesh them out. In the Hobbit, you have 13
Dwarves and one film to throw them all in. I'm definitely hoping to see
all 13 make their way in, but what are you doing about this?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Tolkien wrote 13 dwarves and I intend to use 13
dwarves. I am, in fact, thrilled to keep them all and have them be
distinguishable and affecting as characters. Much of the drama and
emotion in the last third of the book and film will come from them.
wetahost: Guiilermo, I have always thought of you as a visionary
director, and I love your work- could you please tell me what was the
deciding factor that made you agree to direct The Hobbit?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Of all of Tolkien literary work I was only familiar
with THE HOBBIT. I purchased it at age 11 and it struck a chord with me
but, back then, I failed to connect with the Trilogy and the
Silmarillion (Which now I find delectable) eluded me. I found them
–unlike the HOBBIT- to be “too dense” for my young mind. I dreamt of
Mirkwood and Smaug for ages (in fact, a Smaug-like dragon was scripted
as part of the “fairy tale” Ophelia narrates to her brother in PANS
LABYRINTH and was sculpted but was cut for budget reasons) but when I
saw Peter undertake the Trilogy I thought thet the HOBBIT would never
come to be for me. The proposition of spending half a decade crafting
these films received- as Peter will atest- a 5 second “YES” from me. To
people in my industry I’m usually a guy that tries to generate his own
projects and I remain very elusive when people try and attach me to big
projects. For decades I have passed on films of enormous scope but this
is a fantastic privilege and I immediately said “Yes”.
wetahost: My question is, when Del Toro has acknowledged his disdain for Hobbits and "sword and sandals" fantasy, how can he do justice to the movie? Why can't Peter direct it himself after The Lovely Bones? He can direct these 2 movies and then direct the 3rd Tintin movie.
Guillermo_del_Toro: Okay- If by “Sword and Sandal” you mean “Sword and
Sorcery” I stand by the general lines of my statement in 2006. But
allow me to reproduce the following paragraph from ONERING.net and
expand it-
Since the age of 4 I became an avid reader and collector of books;
manuscripts, pamphlets, first editions, small press or worn-down
paperbacks... they all find a home at my library which has grown so
cumbersome and obtrusive that I had to move to a separate home from the
family one...
For many decades my main area of interest has been horror fiction:
Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, MR James, LeFanu, etc and classic
Fairy tales and literature about the engines of Myth: unabridged Grimm,
Andersen, Wilde, Bettelheim, Tatar, etc
Now and then I indulge in Science Fiction (not hardware oriented but
more humanistic things) and thus I count Bradbury, Ellison, Sturgeon
and Matheson amongst my favorites.
My area of interest gets much narrower when we deal with another genre... the genre that is shelved under Fantasy.
As a youngster I read Moorcock, Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany, Lloyd
Alexander, Fritz Leiber, Marcel Schwob, RE Howard and a few others.
Nevertheless I was never propelled into an aleatory addiction to
sub-genres like Sword & Sorcery or indiscriminate fantasies about
magical this or that- Like any other genre or subgenre there's a great
abundance that makes it hard to discern when a new "trilogy" or
"chronicle" comes from as genuine a place as Tolkien's or derives from
genuine fervor -religious or otherwise- like C.S. Lewis' did.
But here I am now: reading like a madman to catch up with a whole new
land, a continent of sorts- a Cosmology created by brilliant
philologist turned Shaman.
As if he grasped an existing universe outside our Platonic cave,
Tolkien channels an entire world, weaving expertly from myth and lore.
The oustanding virtue is that all this scholarly erudition doesn't
reduce his tales to mere Taxidermy. He achieves an Alchemy all of his
own: he writes new life in the freshly sculpted clay of his creatures.
I have, through the years become familiar with the very roots of
Tolkien's myths and the roots of Fafhrd or Elric or Hyperborea and many
a time I have relished the intricate ways in which demonic wolves,
shape-shifter and spindly-limbed pale warriors can be woven into those
many tales that become, at the end, the single tale, the single saga-
that of what is immortal in us all.
In creating Pan's Labyrinth I drank deep of the most rigid form of
Fairy Lore and tried to contextualize the main recurrent motifs in an
instinctive rhyme between the world of fantasy and the delusions of War
and Politics (the grown man's way of playing make-believe) and in
re-reading THE HOBBIT just recently I was quite moved by discovering,
through Bilbo's eyes the illusory nature of possession, the sins of
hoarding and the banality of war- whether in the Western Front or at a
Valley in Middle Earth. Lonely is the mountain indeed.
When that statement was made- at different times during PANS
LABYRINTH’s promotion, many a time I made the distinctive call to say
that althought I had not read Tolkien outside THE HOBBIT I had been
fascinated by the Trilogy films. A statement that I already had the
chance to make in 2005 when PJ, Fran and I met about HALO.
So, no, generally I am NOT a “Sword and Sorcery” guy or a “Fantasy”
guy- By the same token, I'm not a sci-fi guy but I would make a film
based on Ellison in a second- or on Sturgeon or Bradbury or Matheson.
I'm not into Barbarians with swords but i would kill to tackle Fafhrd
and Grey Mouse... and so on and so forth... I'm a believer but not a
Dogmatic.
Allow me to put a final, finer point to our discussion. The aesthetics
of HELLBOY II are completely Pop and color-saturated, much more comic
book / modern than I would ever use in THE HOBBIT but- I spend two
years creating a world of Fairies, Elves, Trolls, etc
Two Years. A career / creative decision that precedes any inkling of
THE HOBBIT. I wrote the script years before I met with PJ or Fran. In
other words I dedicated the last 6 years of my career (between PL and
HBII) to create Fantastical world inhabited by Fairies, Fauns, Ogres,
Trolls, Elves, etc
In that respect- I guess I am a Fantasy guy when the particular world
appeals to me. Back in the Jurassic Period (1992 / 1993) when CRONOS
won the Critic’s Week at Cannes I was referred to as an “art house
guy”- I followed that with a giant cockroach movie that proved
successful enough to spawn two sequels and allow me to co-finance THE
DEVILS BACKBONE which send me back to being an “art house guy”. Then I
did BLADE II and people thought of me as an “Action guy”- PJ went
through a similar mercurial career with HEAVENLY CREATURES, BAD TASTE,
DEAD ALIVE, etc I squirm away from a tag and I hope I can avoid being
just a “Fantasy guy” after PL, HBII and H…
I do the tales I love (regardless of what shelf Barnes & Noble classifies the book under) and I love the HOBBIT.
I love it enough to give it half a decade of my life and move half a world away to do it.
Peter_Jackson: Having directed the LOTR Trilogy, I really felt that I put my heart and
soul into dramatising this world and story, only a few years ago. The idea
of going back in and essentially competing against my own movies, seemed to
be an unsatsifying way to spend the next 5 years. However, I love Tolkien
and care deeply about the movies we made. I couldn't bear the idea of
somebody else making them without our involvement. Being a writer and
producer is the perfect way for me to work here. Guillermo has the ultimate
responsibility of directing, and for him it's easier to make these movies
feel different, simply because he's not me, and he therefore has an original
vision, with new ideas to offer.
Believe me, I thought long and hard about this, and what we're doing here
will result in better movies, I promise you. And that's all that counts!
Peter_Jackson: OK we are almost done here folks and we have our last Q
which was the most popular Q from the 1000s of people who sent Qs in
advance.
wetahost: 1 - Which of the actors from LOTR will be back to reprise their roles
in The Hobbit and its companion film?
Guillermo_del_Toro: Obviously, at this stage, the second film is still being figured out-
so the actors that have been approached may or not have appeared in the
HOBBIT as a literary work but still may appear in the second film as it
“blends” into the Trilogy and expands. Therefore what can be said is:
Unequivocally, every single actor that originated a role in the Trilogy
will be asked to participate and reprise it. If Health, availability
or willigness become obstacles – and only in that case recasting would
be considered.
Peter_Jackson: Like Guillermo says, apart from extreme circumstances, we would
never recast a character who appeared in the LOTR trilogy. You can read
The Hobbit and pretty much see which characters play a part. The
unknown facter is Film Two, which we are still developing. If we wished
to write one of the LOTR characters into the narrative of Film Two, we
would only do that with that actors blessing, and willingess to take
part. Otherwise we'd take the writing in another direction.
Guillermo_del_Toro: Time is up-
But I can proudly say that only a FEW asked "How can I be an extra?" so
my heart swell withy pride with the many questions that you were kind
enough to submit- More chats and wandering in the message boards await
us- See you soon...
Peter_Jackson: So that is it for us for this morning or this evening,
or middle of the night wherever you are. We are sorry that is all we
could get through but we did try to have each of the Qs represent
similar things that many of you have asked. So hopefully it gives you a
little bit of info. As I said the truth is there are a lot of
unanswered Qs for us as well at this stage of the process. We will know
a lot more once the scripts are written which is the next job that we
will be doing and it will take most of the rest of this year I imagine.
Hope this has been helpful and thank you for all the incredible support
now and in years gone by. Best wishes, Peter J.
Guillermo_del_Toro: May the hair on your toes, etc-
Peter_Jackson: The transcript of this chat will be available here on
the Weta site in a few hours time. Everyone here at Weta is looking
foward to continuing this relationship with you throughout the hobbit
experience and there are a lot of fun surprises to come over the next 4
years.
Guillermo_del_Toro: Viva WETA and the many "toys" they make! And may Cthulhu give me more shelves to put them on...
koshime.com
I thought this was the script for the new movie.
