Facing insurmountable odds, the LA Times reports that “The Hobbit” is only days away from getting an official green light to begin production from Warner Bros., New Line and MGM.
According to their sources, Peter Jackson is close to finalizing a deal that will see him direct both films in the two-part set, overseeing a production that will cost an estimated $500 million. Both parts will be shot together and the first film is being tentatively slated for a holiday 2012 release, with part two arriving in December 2013. But before you get too excited, the project still faces a few hurdles it will have to jump even if the switch is flipped.
First of all, MGM is bankrupt, and while they are said to be close to reaching an agreement with the over 100 debtors they owe money to, the project will need to find half of its financing. Spyglass Entertainment chiefs Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, who are widely expected to be taking over management duties at MGM, will have Barber approaching potential investors including 20th Century Fox or Warner Bros. themselves to put up the rest of the budget. Warner Bros. may potentially throw in additional funds in exchange for additional distribution rights in various territories.
As for the very public, and ugly, union battle? The LA Times says that the situation is close to being resolved and even some lingering rights issues with the Tolkien Estate are said to have been cleaned up to allow everything to move forward without delay.
All that said, January is the magic date that filming will need to begin. If it doesn’t start in the first quarter of 2011, the project will most likely be delayed again, and we would imagine, Peter Jackson, who has stoically stood by the film in its darkest hours, would probably move on.
There are a lot of little gears that need to be oiled for the machinery on “The Hobbit” to get rolling, but it looks like the once creaking project is bubbling back to life. As we reported this summer, Jackson has already quietly been taking meetings and watching tapes and we would guess he already has his talent selected and agents will be ready to sign deals once production is given the thumbs up. Sylvester McCoy and Martin Freeman have already been strongly rumored to be joining the cast.
So, hope is still alive, Middle Earthers. Not all is lost yet on “The Hobbit.”