Just some 24 hours after Guillermo del Toro departed from the project and another 18 after Peter Jackson’s manager Ken Kamins said the filmmaker couldn’t consider directing “The Hobbit” because of outstanding obligations and project commitments, Jackson himself is now not ruling out the possibility of helming the project if necessary.
“If that’s what I have to do to protect Warner Bros.’ investment, then obviously that’s one angle which I’ll explore,” Jackson said about potentially directing “The Hobbit” to New Zealand’s Dominion Post, however, that might not be as easy as it sounds “The other studios may not let me out of the contracts.”
The films he’s referring to are his obligations to co-complete and and direct two other films, “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” which Steven Spielberg already shot (and Jackson and WETA are overseeing the extensive mo-cap effects and post-production) and its sequel which Jackson is supposed to start digging his pre-production heels into early next year (‘Unicorn’ is slated for December 23, 2011, the sequel has no date yet, but presumably 2012 at the earliest).
Yesterday, Jackson’s manager told Anne Thompson that Jackson could not take on “The Hobbit” because at this time, “he has and has had other commitments and obligations to other projects. That said, he and Fran will stop at nothing to protect this franchise and the investment made by New Line, Warners and MGM. [He] will turn his attention to Tintin 2 in the new year.”
So even if Jackson is dying to jump back onto “The Hobbit,” his “Tintin” obligations may not allow him and would the filmmaker really want to disappoint or jump ship from his first collaboration with Steven Spielberg? The only scenario we could imagine is Spielberg encouraging the filmmaker to tend to his baby with his full blessing, but that sounds complicated as the two directors have significant gross percentage deals in both films and three studios are involved Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks and Columbia and none of them want to lose out on their investment.
Any “Tintin” bailout would need the full Spielberg cooperation as it it his passion project (not Jackson’s) and one he’s been trying to bring it to the screen for about 25 years. So, what do Jackson’s comment signify then if a return to the project is out of his hands? Probably a reassurance to the fans and to New Line and MGM, that he is at least willing to do whatever humanly possible he can, but if it’s contracts that he’s beholden to, his sentiment will mean little in the end. However, will Spielberg et. al be put in a position where they’re being looked at as the launch blockers to one of the most beloved films in history and in the end, will they care?
As it stands now, “The Hobbit” is planned as two motion pictures, co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM and they are scheduled for release in Dec 2012 and Dec 2013. Even if Jackson were to sign on tomorrow, that rescuing hail-mary maneuver would not magically make MGM’s massive financial debt and issues disappear. One option we could potentially see happening is Warner Bros. (New Line’s parent company), buying out MGM’s rights on the project and then finding another studio to help foot the bill, but that wouldn’t be any kind of legal cake walk either.
The New Zealand paper said Jackson and studio representatives met yesterday to begin the search for a new director, so you can expect all parties to fully explore this option first before they even attempt to think of Jackson as the helmer. Jackson confirms the rumors of a November start date, but now says that’s the earliest the film could shoot (probably not going to happen). “I just don’t know now until we get a new director,” he said about the start date. “The key thing is that we don’t intend to shut the project down. We don’t intend to let this affect the progress. Everybody, including the studio, wants to see things carry on as per normal. The idea is to make it as smooth a transition as we can.”
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the five directorial candidates who we think could not only handle the coveted gig, but feasibly could be asked to take on the task.