Irresponsible movie sites are saying that production of The Hobbit has been delayed until later this year. Delayed from when? From July, when Ian McKellan’s web page said the movie would shoot? Is that suddenly a reliable source? Do people on the internet honestly believe Ian McKellan sits down and hand codes the start date of The Hobbit in HTML as soon as he signs his papers? Or do you suppose that maybe someone updates the site for him and updated the start date based on incomplete info?

So yeah, there is no delay in the start of The Hobbit because there has been no official date announced for the start of The Hobbit. Meanwhile, The One Ring has ‘sources’ telling them that filming may not start until the end of the year because of MGM’s current financial situation, which includes being auctioned off, probably to Warner Bros. Are these sources just people who read the paper? I ask because NO DUH that the auction of MGM, current rights holder to The Hobbit, would interfere with the movie getting started. Come on already – anybody who has been paying attention to MGM’s situation for the last year would have known that The Hobbit wasn’t getting started until all the MGM business had been straightened out. Hell, I bet you that the rights to The Hobbit are high on the list of reasons why Warner Bros is being so aggressive in trying to buy the studio.

But that’s the internet for you – people who don’t know what they’re talking about spouting bullshit endlessly. Yes, The Hobbit will likely not shoot until later this year, but anyone who thought a July date was realistic wasn’t paying attention in the first place.

Where we stand right now: The Hobbit is not delayed because there has been no official start date yet announced to delay.

And to my distinguished competition, who are hit whoring by running ‘The Hobbit is delayed’ non-stories: you’re probably actually causing agita and irritation for the good people who are gearing up to make the movie. If you’re going to report rumor and speculation, at least understand the rumor and speculation you’re reporting.