Defamer was at the Los Angeles Film Festival yesterday where they eavesdropped on a Q&A with Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy II screens Saturday night as part of the festival’s weekend programming; you can read Devin’s review here) and managed to come away with a bit of information on his Hobbit adaptation, particularly concerning the oft-question-marked Film Two.
“We believe there is a second movie,” del Toro said. “If there isn’t, there will not be. If we find it, we will shoot it, but by God, if we do not find it, we will not shoot it. I am anxious to shoot the book, and I’m willing and able to dedicate myself to shooting the [second film].”
The piece makes it sound like a single Tolkien adaptation from del Toro and producer Peter Jackson would be short-changing both MGM/Warner Brothers (née New Line) and fans of Middle Earth alike, but I find del Toro’s wariness more encouraging than anything. The filmmakers only have access to a select amount of Tolkien’s prose, so why drag out the franchise with a superfluous second entry? Oh right, The Hobbit is being co-produced by the studio that wants to remake Robocop.
On the matter of his incredibly creative hand being forced, Guillermo makes his feelings pretty clear. “I hate institutions… I wish they’d burn to the fucking ground,” he quips. “I hate anyone who fucks us every day and wants us to thank them.
“I do have antisocial impulses, but I channel them toward my movies.”
Thank God for that, ‘mirite?