So, Billy Boyd...

[El Duderino Diablo]

has apparently let slip that Peter Jackson is considering making The Hobbit.
Really, it was only obvious that it would come up at some point. Personally I'm all for it.

Thoughts? Rants? Collective pissing and moaning from the Tolkien purists and literalists?

[The Baron]

Just my opinion, but I think Peter Jackson needs to make a live-action The Hobbit. In fact, I would almost go so far as to say he's obliged to make it. That wretched Rankin-Bass animated, Made-for-TV version never sat well with me. (Orson Bean as the voice of Bilbo... Give me a break. Everytime Bilbo spoke, all I could think was, "Orc Number One, do you work in a service-oriented indsutry?") I believe that Jackson could do justice to the book that started it all, as well as create a the complete set. I know that I would enjoy sitting down to watch this epic, which is really just one long story, in chronological order.

And Tolkien fans shouldn't bitch. They wanted back stories? Well, The Hobbit is the biggest back story of LotR.

[Furious D]

Originally posted by The Baron
And Tolkien fans shouldn't bitch. They wanted back stories? Well, The Hobbit is the biggest back story of LotR.

Actually, if everyone wants real backstory, then Jackson could do the SIMARILLION. It's just a little book of Tolkien's that covers Middle Earth's History from the creation of the Universe to the LOTR story.

Now that's a big backstory.

[Pete Vonder Haar]

I try not to recycle crap from my weblog on these forums, but I addressed just this topic about a month ago:

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It isn't bad enough Jackson refused to keep the "Where There's A Whip" song in "Return of the King," now the Kiwi bastard's going to completely erase our beloved memories of the original 1977 TV adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Make your concerns known, write Jackson and insist that he address the following questions:

1. Will the new version of "The Hobbit" have elves that look like Eddie from Iron Maiden? (probably not, since we've already been stuck with pretty boys like Orlando Bloom)
2. Will he keep the furry spiders? (unlikely, given the depressingly unimaginative look of Shelob in the "RotK" trailer)
3. Is that hack Howard Shore going to compose the musical score, or are you bringing back the musical titan most closely identified with Tolkien's movies: Glenn Yarbrough? Follow-up: does Shore have a hope in hell of capturing the sublime brilliance of "Going Down to Goblin Town?"
4. Is vintage Burt Reynolds available to play Bard of Laketown? How about Dave Sheridan?

Today's discerning moviegoing public will not abide an inferior remake, Mr. Jackson. We are the TV-addled thirtysomething generation, and our numbers are legion - though not quite as legion as the Baby Boomers...or that generation behind us. Just to be on the safe side, remember the following rules put down by the canonical Rankin-Bass version of "The Hobbit:"

+ "orcs" are called "goblins"
+ cavalry:Westerns as eagles:Tolkien TV-movies
+ dwarves should look like lawn gnomes

We've given Jackson a pass with those three Lord of the Rings movies because, well, there's no Jar Jar. This doesn't mean he should presume to think his immense studio clout, personal F/X company, and directorial skill can hope to improve upon the visionary genius of Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass, however.
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I pity the fool what disses Orson Bean.

[Bongwater]

Honestly, I'd say that they should quit while they're ahead. Lord of the Rings kinda went above and beyond and was more than just your average film project. The Hobbit might not get the same attention.

If King Kong turns out really well, maybe I'll change my mind.