I know. You were hoping against hope that somehow, someway The Hobbit would make it in front of your eyes by 2011, but alas it has become increasingly clear over the last few weeks that that simply isn’t going to happen.
Earlier this month the target shooting dates were detailed in a Production Weekly tweet (maybe “detailed” isn’t the right word, in reference to a tweet…) and the 14 month schedule had shooting set to run from June 2010 to August 2011. This would have only left a few months for post-production (perhaps a bit more, if there was a mid-shoot start to the process), which is completely impossible even with a practical-effects-loving director like Del Toro.
In an article from Variety about the slate of a restructured New Line, exec Alan Horn puts the nail in the coffin of any unrealistic hopes…
“Horn won’t predict when the first of the two “Hobbit” films will be out, but says the most probable scenario would be a release in the fourth quarter of 2012.”
There is still another script to be delivered, and many key pre-production details (casting being the most obvious) that must be addressed before they can even begin rolling, so keep your fingers crossed that they get moving on schedule. If they can make that date, we’ll at least get a few days with the film before the world ends.