Del Toro Not Right for 'Hobbit'?

by Eric Kohn Apr 27th 2008 // 11:15AM

Filed under: RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Movie Marketing, Politics, Columns

With all the excitement this week over the news of Guillermo del Toro's confirmed role in the director's chair for the two Hobbit movies, it's a little refreshing to find a dissenting opinion, if only to keep the excitement from getting to exaggerated. Salon's Andrew O'Heir doesn't take kindly to the news in his Beyond the Multiplex blog, structuring his argument against the latest report in a calculated manner. First, O'Heir quotes from an interview he did with del Toro at Cannes in 2006, where the director stated his disdain for "heroic fantasy." It's quite possible that he has changed his stance on this, and not just because of The Hobbit: As recently as a few days ago, he was spotted at a protest staged by HETFET (Humans for the Ethical Treatment of Faeries, Elves and Trolls), which may or may not have been a publicity stunt on his part.

The rest of O'Heir's piece holds water. He thinks the franchise has been ensnared by greed and too many people are in charge. Reflecting on Peter Jackson's expansive power, O'Heir questions the director's comfort with handing the story over to another filmmaker ("It smells of George Lucas") and predicts an incoming conflict. He likes del Toro's work, but worries that the director might be working in somebody else's back yard. "We've got one of the true cinematic visionaries of our age, spending four years of his life in a universe created by another one," he writes. "It's just too many cooks in the kitchen."

What do you think? Is del Toro getting in over his head?

16 Comments

Tags: andrew oheir, AndrewOheir, fantasy, george lucas, GeorgeLucas, guillermo del toro, GuillermoDelToro, hetfet, lord of, lord of the rings, LordOf, LordOfTheRings, peter jackson, PeterJackson, the hobbit, the hobbit 2, TheHobbit, TheHobbit2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-27-2008 @ 11:44AM

Rich P said...

The things Del Toro said recently make me think otherwise. Salon uses things from two years ago. On theonering.net Del Toro says he was devouring all of Tolkiens books and sounded genuinely excited about the films. Salon dude just has "a hunch" or "feels bad" about things. Not sure why, but he seems a little too cynical.

I trust everything and everyone down in New Zealand too. Its a new place to do new things. And I don't think there are egos involved. I'm excited about the movies.

4-27-2008 @ 11:55AM

NvM said...

I think that Del Toro will truly be true to the style of the books while being of the same quality of Jackson.

4-27-2008 @ 11:58AM

Philip said...

Didn't Heath Ledger acknowledge his lack of enthusiasm for comic book movies, right before going on to give what is believed to be maybe his best performance ever, in a comic book movie?

I wouldn't make too much of this.

4-27-2008 @ 5:27PM

LiqwidZero said...

Contradiction can lead to amazing surprises.

4-27-2008 @ 12:06PM

CT-Jake said...

Personally, I don't understand all the fuss over del toro. The 3 movies of his I saw ranged from mediocre (Pan's Lab.) to just awfull (tie between Blade II and Hellboy). While he does have an interesting visual style, he is not good at telling a story. He's going to screw up the Hobbit big time, even if Jackson does leave him alone. The Hobbit is a great narrative and needs a director who can carry that. del toro is not that director. IMHO. Jake

4-27-2008 @ 12:19PM

Josh Fontenot said...

What's really awful is comparing Jackson to Lucas. Lucas is a terrible director and producer.

4-27-2008 @ 12:39PM

Chad said...

I couldn't care less about these films.

4-27-2008 @ 1:25PM

Jordan said...

I think what really merits discussion is the fact that there's an organization called Humans for the Ethical Treatment of Faeries, Elves and Trolls.

4-27-2008 @ 2:55PM

Jim said...

If del Toro can deal with Mike Mignola on his baby which he created, wrote, and pencilled (it ain't like Jackson wrote The Hobbit), I think he'll be fine.

4-27-2008 @ 3:41PM

Gina said...

Oh heavens, a director working in "the universe" started by another director! The horror!

Seriously, how is it possible to get that worked up over something like that? Good grief.

4-27-2008 @ 10:18PM

Jim said...

I agree that Pan's Labyrinth was mediocre, at best. I read about how SO MANY people loved that movie, but then I saw it and realized that the story was pretty much pointless (as I write this, I can't even remember the plot, other than a girl during WWII see fantastical creatures. Pretty bad that it doesn't even stick in the memory. I didn't like the Chronicles of Narnia, but at least the plot is still fresh in my mind long after I saw it). And big deal, GDT put eyes in the palms of some creatures hands, and now is using that same gimmick over again in Hell Boy II. There is a lot of money involved, and a lot at stake for many people. So despite my reservations about de Toro, I don't believe he'll deliver an aweful movie. I just hope he is forced to stick to PJ's vision, rather than his own.

4-27-2008 @ 5:25PM

LiqwidZero said...

Guillermo will do a fantastic job. Don't believe me? Watch Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage, and Peter Jackson's LotR Trilogy.

These Del Toro and Peter Jackson will make an amazing duo, especially if they're both writing the screenplays.

4-27-2008 @ 11:09PM

Brice_J said...

Having directors play in other's backyards have brought on some pretty spectacular outcomes with the Star Wars universe, why not LOTR?: Genndy Tartakovsky's animated Clone Wars was pretty awesome, and even Empire Strikes Back which (arguably) is the best of the bunch was directed by Irvin Kershner as opposed to George Lucas himself..i'm choosing to trust del Toro. Peter Jackson does and that's enough for me.

4-27-2008 @ 7:26PM

Jon said...

And Jackson is working in "the universe" that Spielberg created by going Dreamworks to do Tintin. Shocking that two powerful directors can collaborate but it's happened since the birth of the industry with often incredible results. Do I really need to list all of the examples? Del Toro made those comments back in '06 when New Line was in power struggles with Jackson over revenue from the franchise - isn't it obvious Del Toro was already siding with Jackson back then?

4-28-2008 @ 9:07AM

ML said...

I am a fan of del Toro. Was I bowled over by Pan's Labyrinth? Actually, no. It had some great moments, but compared with Cronos and The Devil's Backbone ... well. On the other hand, I didn't consider it "pointless," nor do I have any trouble remembering the plot. It might be that some of the fantasy-world story twists were fresher for some viewers than they were for me.

As for del Toro as a director of The Hobbit, I'm keeping an open mind because I've never seen him tackle anything like this. The reason that I'm most disappointed that he's taking this on is that I heard he was going to do At the Mountains of Madness, which I was hugely excited about. That's a challenging project that I trust few to do correctly and I thought Mr del Toro might come close. Now this will be put off for years, maybe forever. Sigh.

4-29-2008 @ 9:35AM

Bhist said...

McMurtry put down the western novel before he wrote his Pulitzer Lonesome Dove.