With the news that Guillermo Del Toro has dropped out of directing "The Hobbit," my question is should they just put a bullet in this movie and call it a day.
I'm not saying this because I'm not a "Lord of the Rings" fan, I'm saying this because this film has had an endless amount of delays and issues.
First and foremost, the rights are owned by MGM in conjunction with New Line Cinema. MGM is currently for sale and deeply in debt to the tune of $3.7 billion. The studio's troubles have already delayed the next James Bond film. Now, MGM claims its troubles have not had an effect on "Hobbit's" production, though I find that hard to believe.
From day one there have been production and casting delays, which tells me that this film is not ready to become a reality. While Del Toro was a perfect choice for a fantasy film of this magnitude, the list of directors who can take on a project like this is very short.
Producer and co-writer Peter Jackson would be ideal, but he has other projects he's already committed to, so he can't direct. Other names thrown out include Tim Burton, Alfonso Cuaron, Sam Raimi and Sam Mendes.
Most fans seem dead set against Burton and he usually likes to control his own vision. Raimi certainly knows how to do a big budget studio project and can do fantasy, so he is a viable choice. Cuaron has the same unique style as Del Toro and has experience with big budget fantasy, so his name will also be on the short list. Mendes is known more for seious character driven drama, so this would be way out of his comfort zone.
There is also the added pressure that the film would constantly be compared to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which is an unreasonable burden to place on any film.
To me, all this adds up to the conclusion that "The Hobbit" should be shelved unitl they can get everything just right.
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