In news that shouldn’t really come as a shock to anyone who has been paying attention, Peter Jackson tells German website Movie Reporter that The Hobbit won’t be filming in March after all, and that he expects it to start shooting next summer.

Says Jackson: ‘We’re currently working on the second script which we hope to have completed by the end of this year or beginning of next. When the scripts are completed, we can begin with the exact calculation of the necessary budget. We hope to start filming in the middle of next year. However, we’ve received no green light from the studio yet.’

That first script, by the way? I’m hearing it’s great. One of the things holding it all up is the slow demise of MGM, who is involved in the rights. The longer their death throes take, the longer it’ll take to get everything sorted out for The Hobbit to start filming. And Summer 2010 for shooting is fine, as Jackson wants to open The Hobbit in the Lord of the Rings spot in 2011 and 2012. It’s if the filming gets delayed past next summer that things start getting hairy (well, hairier than they already are when you have famed beardos Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro working together on a project).

via Coming Soon

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