Who should direct "The Hobbit"?

[Thenamir]

For the moment, Peter Jackson is slated to be one of the executive producers, as his schedule is already too full to direct The Hobbit. So who would be your choice for the Director's chair? Defend your position!

[Galendor]

I'm hoping for Guillermo del Toro.

I liked the look and feel of Pan's Labyrinth, serious and dark. I would like to see what he would do with The Hobbit.

[Finduilas]

I'm afraid my vote was from limited information, as I have only watched movies from three of the directors meantioned. But Peter Weir did an excellent job with Master and Commander, and he did the character in his movie very well, and pretty near the book characters. I'm afraid I don't care for the director of Narnia, but it didn't help my opinion that I almost know the Narnia books by memory. And Jackson? I have given some complaints on other threads, and don't think I will do so here. But any way it goes, I still believe I will be seeing it.

[Thinlómien]

Is this a serious thread? I mean, are we supposed to argument reasonably and make rational suggestions or say anything that would make an interesting film (like nominate a dead director or anything like that)?

[Thenamir]

Yes, this is a serious thread. And if you don't like one of the choices above, please feel free to suggest a different director (please, keep it to realistic possibilities).

[Thinlómien]

I'm not going to vote just yet, but I think I would love to see Tim Burton's Hobbit. (It was discussed on some thred some time ago, but I've totally forgotten where and am too lazy to find it right now.) Of those you listed, I'd prefer Guillermo del Toro. I'd rather let someone else than Jackson have his/her chance on M-E, Adamson would possibly be too simple and childish, Raimi too action-ish and Weir too dry. Pan's Labyrinth was a very intriguing movie and it would be more than appropriate if similar intense magic would be found in The Hobbit. Ooh, just imagine del Toro's Mirkwood...! All in all, I think it should be someone with vision who could approach the world of the book innovatively, not just someone who'd cut half of it away and do the rest exactly as was said in the book (or worse, simplify it) and Middle-Earth should definitely not look like a faerie candyworld.

[Thenamir]

Just for grins, I have added Tim Burton to the poll. Anyone who wishes to switch their vote let me know.

[Sauron the White]

My first choice would be Jackson. If its not broke don't fix it. If that is not in the cards I would like to see Spielberg get the nod, at least on the first one - HOBBIT.

I've heard a lot of people mention Alfonso Cuaron as a consideration...

... but my vote (second to PJ, of course) would be for Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean).

I consider him much like PJ in style, and like PJ he too has a very workable knowledge of effects and uses them to enhance his story, not just effects for their own sake.

[A Little Green]

Tim Burton, absolutely. I think he has not only a stunning vision of fantasy and myth, but also a lovely twisted sense of humour. I'd love to see what he'd do with the Hobbit. Of the others, well, Guillermo del Toro would be interesting as well.

PJ, on the other hand, would do well to leave the Hobbit for someone else. I'm quite bored of his massive, effect-oriented style of picturing Middle-Earth and I'd love to see another director's vision as well. Besides, I wouldn't like ME becoming known only by PJ's versions.

[Groin Redbeard]

I would love to have Peter Jackson do the Hobbit, since he was the one who started the Lord of the Rings he should finish it, but if I could pick any other directer it would be Peter Weir. Both he Jackson stay pretty true to the books, that they make into movies.
Jackson and Weir would make an awsome team!

[Nogrod]

Given these options it should be Peter Weir (to have a quarantee of a good film) or Tim Burton (to have a quarantee of an interesting and fresh film).

[Sauron the White]

Daily Variety is reporting this today

After "Drag Me to Hell," Raimi is expected to go right back up the mountaintop and take the helm of "The Hobbit" films for New Line and MGM now that Peter Jackson has made it clear he won't direct.

Sam Raimi -- is he on anybodys wish list?

In my opinion Get Peter Jackson anyway, by hook or crook!

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Tim Burton? Goodness gracious me, no! Lots of black make-up, just for the sake of it? Johnny Depp as Bilbo, or more likely Gandalf? And the inevitable created part for ol' Big Hair herself, Helena Bonham-Carter? Gollum, perhaps?

No thanks.

Also, Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth featured completely the wrong mood for the Hobbit, so I wouldn't trust him for this particular fantasy tale.

I'd prefer Kevin Costner, as director and to play the part of Gandalf.

[Finiel]

If Tim Burton's gonna be the director dont be surprised if Depp would be casted.
Sam Raimi is more like an action film director than a fantasy movie director.

I like the guy who directed the 3rd Harry Potter film and a 3D cartoonish movie would be a good idea since its a children's book. The movie should convey Bilbo's wonderment in seeing everything new in Middle Earth--> seeing Elves and Trolls for the first time.

Its a movie with a bit of humor in it too

[Azaelia of Willowbottom]

I think that none of these directors would be bad. I

Del Toro would be a very interesting choice. He has a great sense of the artistic. I am a bit worried about the darkness factor--I wouldn't mind seeing a darker Hobbit, not at all, but Pan's Labyrinth approached the pitch-dark, midnight type of deal, and while it was interesting, it was also painful to watch in a way that I don't think it is necessary for TH to be.

I like Peter Jackson. Just for the sake of contenuity, I want TH's Middle-earth to look and feel like the same Middle-earth of the three LOTR movies.

I also like Adamson's spirit. He seems to at least know how to conduct business in a very heavily effects-laden project, and I really enjoyed his Narnia. I think that he can handle more grown-up fare (Narnia gave me that impression), and I'd be curious to see what he made of Middle-earth.

Peter Weir wouldn't be an awful choice, though I don't know so much about him. I saw Master and Commander, but it really wasn't my type of movie at the time (I'd probably like it better, now), through no fault of his.

Tim Burton is probably not my first choice. His style is too much his own, and I feel like there's always an element of the stylized or unreal (or surreal) about his movies. Not a bad thing--I actually enjoy what I've seen of his work (though I've avoided Charlie and the Chocolate factory like a very special kind of plague)--but not quite right for Middle-earth. His Hobbit, like Del Toro's, would, at the very least, be visually interesting.

Raimi is ...meh. While they were hugely successful, the first two Spiderman movies weren't bad (I didn't bother with the third), but they also weren't great. They struck me as, I don't know, a little too mainstream and uncomplicated, or something. Perhaps that's unfair. I don't know what else I would have been expecting from a summer blockbuster. I think he has a passion for the project, and I like that he'd try to preserve PJ's style of Middle-earth. However, I just don't know if he has the artistry to carry it off.

[Sauron the White]

here is the latest on Del Toro from TORN

TheOneRing.net reported here at the end of January that Guillermo del Toro was 99 percent sure to direct “The Hobbit”. Since then the Tolkien Estate filed a lawsuit against New Line Cinema (a copy of which can be found here) and the movie studio has been folded up and put in the pocket of its owner Warner Bros. and its bigger parent Time Warner Inc.

After all the speculation and angst, the director of two “Hellboy” films (the second set for a July 11 release) still seems to be the top choice for director and despite the legal uncertainty, the quiet movements by the key players seem to suggest the film will still be made and sooner rather than later. So in this season of waiting, TORn was finally able to contact the fan-friendly director.


“At this stage anything I say is of no consequence for I am not yet signed to do “The Hobbit.” Negotiations advance but are still ongoing,” he said.
The Mexican born director is busy however researching not only the Hobbit but the greater J.R.R. Tolkien library.

“All I can say is that I am diligently going through all Tolkien material related to Middle-earth but only as a way of bridging a gap in my reading. I still respond the strongest to “The Hobbit,” but as an avid reader of Mythology I find a lot of his other writings fascinating. A perfect Cosmology forged from very eclectic sources,” he said.
He described himself as a bibliophile and his study of Tolkien’s mythology fits in with his passion for myth.

“I bought my first book at age 4 and my last one, last week an original pamphlet edition of Calmet’s (Augustine Calmet) dissertation on Ghosts and vampires from the 18th century.”
The director embraces Internet communities and has his own fan site at www.Deltorofilms.com where he participates and corresponds with fans.

“It is my belief that your community will be a joy to be a part of, whether I do “The Hobbit,” or not,” he said.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by GdT

A perfect Cosmology forged from very eclectic sources

That's quite a positive observation, bodes well. He's into the mythological/fairie elements rather than the adventure aspect.