It smells like Del Toro has broken his pledge to never again sell out his vision the way he did in Mimic. I am a big fan of his original work and I am seriously disappointed if he doesn't go on to make the works he had previously announced.

They're going to make "The Hobbit" and...a planned sequel?! For cryin' out loud, Jackson already MADE the sequel!

I'm right there with you. I couldn't articulate it as well as you did, but they are both better off doing their own projects.

So you don't like Guillermo Del Toro *OR* Sam Raimi?

I think Raimi is a better action-movie director than Del Toro. You're right, Del Toro is better suited to direct H.P. Lovecraft stories, but we'll see how the 2nd "Hellboy" thing turns out.

As a casual geek, let me be the first to say I don't care who directs what as long as it turns out to be good and I don't have to watch commercials for McDonald's "Hobbit Happy Meals" for months before and after the film's release.

One thing I will say is that it's rather sad how all the most high-powered, creative-minded directors end up making fantasy, sci-fi and superhero movies. Seriously -- you're considered the very best in the field, so you make movies geared toward a 12-year-old mentality? About hairy-footed halflings and insecure men in tights? That's the apex of your career aspirations?

How many talented director's careers have gotten lost in that creative cul-de-sac? Bryan Singer? Christopher Nolan? Ang Lee? Some of their movies turn out pretty good, but the directors end up all becoming alike. There's always some new director re-imagining an old superhero/fantasy classic, angling for a darker, grittier version.

Anyway, who cares? What I want to know is what ever happened to George Miller's career? The man makes one of the best action movies of all time, then a few other little films, then he goes AWOL and comes back to make a couple movies about a pig. And that's it. What a waste.

Clickety-clackety-OUTRAGE-clickety-Andrew O’Hehir-clackety-clickety-Tolkien-clickety-clickety-clackety-New Zealand-clickety-clackety-HELLBOY?!?-clickety-clack-clickclack-a donkey's arse.

Clack! Click-Clack!

(...and...Send.)

Hmmm, what to think? del Toro has such a great visual style he brings to his work; it always strikes me when I see one of his works, his aesthetic comes through clearly. I don't think it's a good fit, necessarily -- I hate the idea of trying to link up "The Hobbit" with "LOTR" like that, so I kind of agree with Mr. O'Hehir's reservations on that. But I'd like to think that del Toro could at least wed his own visual style with Jackson's vision -- and everybody knows that the producer really runs the show in a movie; if anything, Jackson recognized del Toro's skill behind a camera and figured he'd be the right person for the job.

I love Sam Raimi, but del Toro's a better fit for that kind of job, if it's handled well with writing. Poor writing, always overlooked in cinema. I just hope they pay attention to that, to get the spirit of "The Hobbit" to come through well.

Let's just hope that Sauron's minions in Hollywood don't bone things up too royally.

Instead of asking why so many talented people choose to 'waste their time' on fantasy, you might ask yourself whether it's not your view on fantasy that's childish and narrow. Get off your fucking high horse.

Peter Jackson and New Line have been squabbling over a HOARD of money. There is no such thing as a "horde" of money, dammit.

I completely agree. Del Toro is just wrong for this movie. He might make something interesting but Jackson's already proven he can turn the Tolkien stories into perfect film interpretations. Why mess with perfection and piss off so many loyal fans?

He just recently wrote/produced/directed Happy Feet which was quite successful and won him an Oscar.

Who knows, maybe Peter Jackson actually knows what he's doing more than Andrew O'Hehir, who, I seem to recall, can't even tell a Celt from an Anglo-Saxon.

...and I hope Del Torro brings his own vision to The Hobbit and the sequel (which could be very, very cool--Saruman and Gandalf fighting the Necromancer (Sauron's first reincarnation on Middle Earth before he became the Eye) being one of the key events). I personally don't need another LOTR--the first three are good enough for me (and are some of my favorite films). That's not to say that I'm not looking forward the Hobbit, because I am, but rather I am hoping to see something fresh and original. Even if Jackson were to be at the helm again, I'd hope that he would do something a bit different from his original films (and I bet he would--who would want to go back and do 4 more years of the same?).

Also, I do have to agree with Del Torro about Tolkien--he is very difficult to read, especially the LOTR books. The Hobbit is a much easier read--it's actual entertainment whereas LOTR feels like work to read (and it always made me hungry--Tolkien really had this thing with food...)

I'm going to remain optimistic for the time being. I like Del Torro a lot and really do think that he can bring that necessary "breath of fresh air" to what's already been done. Jackson, Fran, and Phillipa will (hopefully) be there to ensure that the seam between these new films and the old ones is blurred enough so that they still feel compatible in the same world, but Del Torro will make it different enough to be a unique, fresh trek back into Middle Earth.

I'd rather see Dildo Bugger brought to life in a sleazy CGI saturated adaptation of the Harvard Lampoon's "Bored of the Rings." I hate Tolkein, and in particular, the people who are so deeply involved in all things Middle Earth, so much so, that they are about one slim centimeter away, from being profoundly, and most peculiar of all, proudly, mentally retarded. Retards rejoice! Frito Lives!