In an exclusive interview with TheOneRing.net, Guillermo del Toro talks about Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Howard Shore, Animatronics vs CGI, the �tone� of the upcoming �Hobbit� films and much more!

How did this whole process get started?

GDT: I met Peter (Jackson) a long time ago when we were planning on doing �Halo� together, I really love how they have that setup in New Zealand, I call it �Hollywood the way God intended it�. New Zealand has all the technical advantages when doing a big movie and you are shooting it in paradise, both in terms of artistic freedom and commitment.

When �Halo� didn�t happen, Peter and I stayed in contact on a regular basis, and last winter I started getting inklings that �The Hobbit� may come this way, mainly from the studio. The first thing I said was that I would only be interested if Peter was involved and the (New Line Lawsuit) problem gets resolved. When that issue was resolved I got a call from Peter and we chatted, and it started from then, it was my Christmas gift!

Fans are all abuzz about �The Second Film�, can you tell some of your plans for it?

GDT: You know, I traveled to New Zealand just a little while ago, and one of the main reasons for going was to sit down and talk about the second film. �The Hobbit�, the book, is really one self-contained film, so for the second movie we sat down and worked it out. When we did this we got really excited because this second film is not a �tag on�, it�s not �filler�, it�s an integral part of telling the story of those 50 years of history lost in the narrative. There will be certain things that we will see from the first movie but from a different point of view, but it will feel like a volume, in the 5 volumes of the entire story. It will not feel like a bridge, I�ve been hearing it called �a bridge film�, it�s not, it�s an integral chapter of the story, and I think we�re all on the same page.

You will be moving down to New Zealand for 4 years, is that right?

GDT: Approximately, my whole family, but the first stages of design and R&D will be done with me going back and fourth from LA and New Zealand because there are a lot of things I need to put to bed before I finally move to New Zealand. I�m going much sooner than my relatives would like!

We will officially be doing a lot of prep on �The Hobbit� this summer, there is so much to do, its amazing. Just the reforestation of The Shire, re planting all those trees and plants will take months, and we�re going to be as exact as possible.

Films like �Pan�s Labyrinth� used a few studio sets to simulate outdoors, will you be doing the same for �The Hobbit� or will you be making use of New Zealand�s wilderness like Peter did?

GDT: I think green screen photography is exactly like CGI, it is a tool, I don�t think it should be overused. Things like �Pan�s Labyrinth� and �The Devil�s Backbone� are incredibly dependent on location, we shot on location for more than half the time. Those locations can be enhanced by technology however, both digital and physical. What I would like to avoid is the recreation of the natural environments in CG, I don�t like doing that. The movie is essentially a journey movie, I think you need to use locations as much as possible.

You�ll be using WETA Digital for the effects?

GDT: Yes, the essential elements for keeping continuity are on track, in the last few weeks I�ve been chatting with a ton of people via email, phone, and in person from the previous films. People like Andy Serkis, Sir Ian McKellen, Howard Shore, John Howe, Gino Acevedo, Richard Taylor next week I�m meeting Alan Lee. I�m doing this to ensure that whatever we do we keep continuity with the other films, yes it�s a world that is slightly more golden at the beginning, a very innocent environment.

What I�m trying to do is keep the elements in place but allow you to feel a progression from �The Hobbit� until �The Return of the King�. I believe �The Hobbit� is a very crucial volume in The Lord of the Rings, it is a narrative that starts out very much in an innocent and golden way. It is permeated from England going through World War One, so there is a loss of innocence and a darker tone as the book and the film progresses. We�ll be doing that in the first film, taking you from a time of more purity to a darker reality throughout the film, but I think that is in the spirit of the book. All these guys, Alan Lee, John Howe, these guys are integral for us to map out that progress in the two movies, and allow you to completely blend in to the universe that is already in place. But this will be a progression, it should not feel at the start of the film that this is the same time (as the beginning of �Fellowship�). 50 years in Shire time, is not the same as 50 years in human time, if you think about how our world has changed in only 7 or 8 years, you can think of it as decades of turmoil, those 50 years in Middle-earth.

Do you have any roles cast?

GDT: Well, I had the most charming meeting with Sir Ian, and all bureaucracy pending, he�s on board, as is Andy Serkis. We will continue giving you progress reports as the occur. It is our intention that we will not lose any of the key elements.

What will differ from your films versus Peter�s?

The only thing I will be pushing for more in these films that the other three are full animatronics and animatronic creatures enhanced with CGI, as opposed to CGI creatures themselves. We really want to take the state-of-the-art animatronics and take a leap ten years into the future with the technology we will develop for the creatures in the movie. We have every intention to do for animatronics and special effects what the other films did for virtual reality.

Another thing people will notice, at the beginning of the film will be the palette, that will be slightly different, the world will be the same but it will be a more �golden� world, a more wide-eyed world. But by no means will we depart from the canon, we will take the three previous films as canon. When I become part of a world that I love, such as this, I really come with a lot of enthusiasm and hard work, and we know we are recreating and creating a world that is part of the mythos of millions of people and we will approach it as passionately and respectfully as it needs to be taken.

Jackson to make 'The Hobbit' into a trilogy

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Peter Jackson is adding a third film to what was planned to be the two-part series "The Hobbit."
The director of the Oscar-winning "The Lord of the Rings" movies said Monday that after viewing a cut of the first film and part of the second that there was room for a third.

Jackson says in a statement that a lot of J.R.R. Tolkien's tale of Bilbo Baggins would remain untold if a third film wasn't made. The films are set in the fictional world of Middle-earth 60 years before "The Lord of the Rings."

"We recognized that the richness of the story of 'The Hobbit,' as well as some of the related material in the appendices of 'The Lord of the Rings,' gave rise to a simple question: do we tell more of the tale?" Jackson said in a statement. "And the answer from our perspective as filmmakers and fans was an unreserved 'yes.' "

"We know how much of the tale of Bilbo Baggins, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur would remain untold if we did not fully realize this complex and wonderful adventure," he said.

Warner Bros. and MGM will continue their partnership to make the trilogy.

The first film, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," hits theaters Dec. 14, while the second, "The Hobbit: There and Back Again" is set for release on Dec. 13, 2013.

The third film will come out in the summer of 2014.

All three movies are being shot in digital 3-D in New Zealand, which is home to Jackson's Weta Digital special effects house. Principal photography recently finished on the first two films.

Jackson, his wife Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro are listed as co-writers of the first two films.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...6cd5dd6952b853f

What about gsc? Will they be screening the hobbit at 48fps?

Please be informed that the team in charge is working on it on selected cinemas. Kindly do visit our website and facebook for the latest update.

Should you need further clarifications, please feel free to email or contact me at 03-7806 8888 (Mon – Fri, 9am -6pm).

Hi Ninja, we will be screening The Hobbit 3D in 48fps at TGV KLCC, Sunway, Bukit Tinggi, Tebrau City, SetiaWalk & Wangsa Walk. Please stay tuned for more updates on the tickets advance sales ya. Thanks!

Got anymore updates bro?
How to know which screening is 48fps? I'm assuming all IMAX screenings at Sunway will be 48fps, right?

Hi Ninja, just to update, we apologise for the info given earlier. We have received an updated info that IMAX The Hobbit will be screening in 24fps instead of 48fps. However, we will be screening normal 3D in 48fps in TGV KLCC, Sunway, Bukit Tinggi, Tebrau City, 1Utama, SetiaWalk, Wangsa Walk. Thanks!