DEL TORO: ‘THE HOBBIT IS ON HOLD’
Director GUILLERMO DEL TORO has confirmed upcoming LORD OF THE RINGS preq uel THE HOBBIT has been put on hold indefinitely because the movie has be en caught in a "tangled negotiation" over the future of the MGM movie stu dio.
The film, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s first book in the fantasy series, w as reportedly due to begin shooting this summer (10), but has been mired in delays.
Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson, who will act as producer on t he new film, recently dismissed rumours of trouble with the picture, insi sting: "It’s not really been delayed, because we’ve never announced the d ate".
But Del Toro has now spoken out, revealing the film is the latest victi m of the ongoing problems at MGM - the famed media company was put up for sale last year (09) after falling millions of dollars in debt, but a buy er is yet to be found.
He tells Comingsoon.net, "It’s not greenlit. That’s categorical. We’ve been caught in a very tangled negotiation. There cannot be any start date s until the MGM situation gets resolved. They do hold a considerable port ion of the rights." But Del Toro admits preparation work has already begun so the film can begin production as soon as the go-ahead is given.
He adds, "We have designed all the creatures. We’ve designed the sets a nd the wardrobe. We have done animatics and planned battle sequences. We are very, very prepared for when it is finally triggered." The next instalment in the James Bond franchise has also been suspended indefinitely due to the uncertainty over the future of MGM. Production o n the 23rd Bond movie, which was scheduled for a 2011 or 2012 release dat e, was suspended last month (Apr10).
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