Saving the Hobbits

Sir Peter Jackson will take up the role of director for the film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit if it meant he was able to protect Warner Bros’ investment, he has said in an interview with the The Dominion Post. Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro said he was withdrawing as director of The Hobbit, citing the continuing delays of its start of production. The film is planned to be released in two parts in 212 and 213 by MGM, which put itself up for sale last year and is still seeking buyers. Jackson said his directing The Hobbit was not an impossibility. “If that’s what I have to do to protect Warner Brothers’ investment, then obviously that’s one angle which I’ll explore,” he said, adding: “The other studios may not let me out of the contracts.” The Hobbit films, which are being made in New Zealand, are said to have a budget of $15 million. The Wellington Chamber of Commerce told The Dominion Post the project is worth “many millions of dollars” to the city. Jackson continues to work on The Adventures of Tintin trilogy, Dambusters and science-fiction film Mortal Engines.