GUILLERMO DEL TORO (LEFT) AND PETER JACKSON (RIGHT) ANSWER FANS’ QUESTIONS.
The live Internet chat “An Unexpected Party” between The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro, producer Peter Jackson and thousands of excited fans lasted only one hour but offered a wealth of information about the upcoming film(s).
According to Weta’s website, “close to 6,000 fans asked almost 4,000 questions before the chat started and then asked another one question per second during the hour the chat was running.” In the end they answered 60 questions. One for every minute of the chat.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF WETA
Here are some quick-hit facts about The Hobbit from the creators:
>> There will be two movies that make up The Hobbit. The second film does not have a title and probably won’t until they finish the scripts.
>>They will be writing screenplays for both movies for the rest of this year.
>>2009 will be dedicated to pre-production on both movies
>>2010 will be the year they shoot both films back to back.
>>The first movie will be called The Hobbit and will be released in December 2011. The second film will be released in December 2012.
>>Both movies will have the same rating as the LOTR trilogy, PG13. Guillermo added it will be “an intense PG-13.”
>>The movies will have a different, lighter tone than the LOTR movies as they take place before those dark times.
>>Like the book, the movie will feature many talking animals, including the dragon Smaug.
>>While they would not officially confirm their appearance, it seems like Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum are locked into those roles. As Jackson said “There can never be “too much Andy.” No casting yet on the 13 dwarves, but they will all have distinct characteristics and be given quality screen time.
>>Howard Shore will be composing the scores as he did with the LOTR trilogy.
>> The shape-shifting character Beorn will be featured in both movies.
If you want to see the entire chat in PDF format click here.
