OBSESSED WITH FILM ON... FOUR DIRECTORS FOR THE HOBBIT Since Monday, our attention has turned to the question of who could replace Guillermo Del Toro in the directing chair for The Hobbit at Warner Bros. and New Line. A role that in usual circumstances would be much sought after by the A-list Hollywood elite but with the triple whammy of A) having to work under Peter Jackson's vision, perhaps being his surrogate film-maker, B) absolutely no guarantees that the hard work put into pre-production will result in actual filming as the financial woes of MGM won't go away and C) having to move to New Zealand for a couple of years - you really have to wonder how many of the top brass would be interested in coming aboard. If The Hobbit does actually get made (has to be huge question marks over it now), the only scenario we could see working is Warner Bros. sending a large chunk of money MGM's way to give up their part of the rights to the series, allowing WB and New Line to begin filming early next year. Otherwise it's going to be swings and roundabouts, no matter who they hire, as MGM are in no position for this film to get made. So IF the film does get made, here's OWF's top FOUR picks on who could direct... OWF'S PICK:Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) For... Peter Jackson of course is the obvious choice, some might say the only choice for reasons I have already outlined. Briefly: it's his script, his vision, his cinematic universe in truth. Filming needs to begin at the end of the year/early 2011 if it has any chance of hitting it's late-2012 release date so there's barely anytime to get someone else in-tuned to what Del Toro/Jackson had been prepping. He is undeniably wounded from The Lovely Bones commercial & critical reaction, and Middle-Earth is clearly close to his heart and it's his baby, it certainly feels like the timing is right for him to amaze us again with what he can do with this universe. Against... He has already turned down the chance to direct The Hobbit once, making the decision to hire Guillermo Del Toro to act as his surrogate director. There's also the legal fracas he had with New Line head Bob Shaye over money owed to him from his time on The Lord of the Rings, which even led to the studio firing Jackson - only to begrudgingly allow him back in as executive producer. This very public lawsuit drained Jackson and led to him passing on the directing duties. Then there's the fact that Jackson has said he has contractual obligations to other studio's since Del Toro's resignation statement and the likliehood is he won't be able to make it, even if he wanted to. He's got Tintin on the horizon and won't be able to get out of it. Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Evil Dead) For... A huge LOTR fan who we believe was No. 2 in New Line's list of potential shortlisted directors back in 2007, and was very public in his desire to get hired, eventually losing out to Del Toro. He comes from the same B-movie horror origins stock as Jackson, both men's career's mirroring each others in many ways. He has proven his ability to make highly popular big-budget blockbusters (Spider-Man franchise) and his last movie Drag Me To Hell, was hugely atmospheric and full of energy. Against... Raimi was so gutted by The Hobbit snub that he soon boarded the World of Warcraft franchise to adapt as a movie, a similarly epic fantasy universe which ironically now looks likely to keep him away from Middle-Earth. Simply put - he would have to break that contract to board this movie and after the time he had on his unrealised Spider-Man 4, I think it's fairly obvious he wants to board a steady production and actually see his hard-work come to fruition this time. And in truth, Raimi's B-movie sensiblity which he has never been able to shake off even in his more serious films, might look a little silly blended with Tolkien's writings. Neil Blomkamp (District 9) For... Jackson's padawan, and the man he wanted to direct the huge fanboy movie Halo before no movie studio in town would come up with the cash. He then went on to make District 9, a $30 million science fiction modern classic that was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Jackson has huge faith in Blomkamp, seeing a lot of energy in the young kid that he once had himself. Blomkamp can direct, he has chops, he knows what he is doing. Against... His wasted time on Halo has made him hesitant to become involved with properties that aren't his own, and we believe he has turned down more than one big comic book movie over the past 12 months. Despite clearly showing his talents with District 9, he still only has one movie on his CV and is hard at work on his next sci-fi movie right now. Unless he is a massive LOTR fan (we don't even know if he is a small one at this point), then it's highly unlikely he would be interested in moving to New Zealand for at least three years and halting the momentum on his career right now. Peter Weir (Master and Commander, The Truman Show) For... Peter Weir was on the original New Line shortlist back in 2007, and is one of the great American cinematic storytellers. His Master and Commander is a fantastic adaptation of highly respected ensemble literary material and there's a colour scheme in his work, an emotional viscerality and sense of direction that just feels right for Middle-Earth. He puts everything into his movies, only taking on projects that he believes he can churn out gold with. He's from Australia, so time spent in New Zealand won't feel like homesickness. Against... He only made one movie in the past decade. He is not a director that is prolific and seeing as though he is on post-production on his first movie in seven years with The Way Back, and considering he is 66 later this year, maybe he won't have the energy to move into The Hobbit? And working under the vision of another helmer doesn't sound like the Peter Weir way. THE REST OF NEW LINE'S ORIGINAL DIRECTOR'S SHORTLIST OF 2007...Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, G.I. Joe) - Has since seen his stock levels drop significantly after the bombing of G.I. Joe - the most forgettable summer blockbuster in years. His latter movies have lost the energy of his earlier works and he has kind of become a parody of himself. Is currently trying to adapt Edwin Balmer's novel When Worlds Collide, which will keep him busy from this. Michael Bay (The Island, Transformers) - I would gauge my eyes out if he was to win the job of directing this. Obviously he won't because he is about to shoot Transformers 3 which thankfully will keep him busy when Warner Bros./New Line want to shoot this. Brad Silberling - (Land of the Lost, Lemony Snicket) - Like Sommers, he has seen his stock levels drop with his last movie. Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Kinsey) - Has now become attached to Twilight: Breaking Dawn and wouldn't be able to move into this series, even if he wanted to. DIRECTORS FROM AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND (logistically, easier to attract these talents)... Andrew Adamson (Narnia, Shrek)- God, no. Jane Campion (Bright Star, In the Cut) - Free schedule. Not a bad choice, no? Andrew Dominik (Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Chopper) - would go gaga if he got the gig but he is busy with a Naomi Watts led Marilyn Monroe biopic. Roger Donaldson (The Bank Job, Species) Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Australia) - Can you imagine it? Andre Niccol (Lord of War, Simone) - But is busy trying to crack Stephanie Meyer's non-Twlight movie The HostPhillip Noyce (Salt, Clear and Present Danger) Alex Proyas (I Robot, Knowing) - Would love to see this guy get the gig. Christian Rivers (The Dambusters remake) - Another protage of Jackson, a visual effects artist on LOTR, King Kong and The Lovely Bones who is developing The Dambusters for Jackson. Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, Next) POTENTIAL CONTENDERS AS THEY HAVE A CLEAN SLATEJuan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage) - A protage of Del Toro, and director of the superb horror The Orphanage. Has yet to make his English-language film-making debut but will come highly recommended from Del Toro. Troy Nixey (Don't Be Afraid of the Dark) - Another protage of Del Toro, who he chose to direct the screenplay he co-wrote for a Katie Holmes led remake of the 70's horror t.v. show. Probably too soon in his career for this as that was his first movie. Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Ring) - Has to be a contender? Paul Greengrass (Green Zone, The Bourne Ultimatum) Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) - No way he would go back to MGM though after his problems with Bond 23. David Slade (30 Days of Night, Twilight: Eclipse) - Knows the pressures of franchise material. David Yates (most recent Harry Potter movies) - former British t.v. director who won the job of making the last four Harry Potter movies and seemingly didn't drop the ball. He has proven himself with fantasy ensembles and has the mindset for the pressures of making highly popular franchise movies. He is currently filming the last scenes in Harry Potter, and so would be able to move straight into The Hobbit if Peter Jackson wanted him. DIRECTORS WHO WOULD BE CONTENDERS IF THEY WEREN'T BUSYAlfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban) - Will be shooting his sci-fi movie Gravity with Robert Downey Jr. George Miller (Mad Max, Happy Feet) - Will be making Fury Road, another addition to his Mad Max franchise. Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Dr. Parnassus) - Is supposedly making The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. But his Hobbit would be something to see, no? DISCUSS: Who do you think should direct The Hobbit?
