Thursday, June 12

• Update: The Hobbit Lawsuit
  

  Not so fast Mr. del Toro.
  
  As we reported back in February, the Tolkien estate is suing New Line Cinema (or maybe now Warner Bros.) claiming that New Line still owes Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien, a sizable portion of the profits from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien is also looking to prevent the filming of the new Hobbit movies under director Guillermo del Toro.
  
  A jury trial date of October 19, 2009 has been set to determine whether Tolkien has the right to block the Hobbit prequels.
  
  Meanwhile, on June 6th a California judge will issue a ruling as to whether New Line still owes money to the Tolkien estate. Tolkien is also seeking to prevent the use of a collection of memoirs entitled "The Silmarillo" as source material for the Hobbit movie.
  
  We'll continue to update you as this story unfolds.
  
  
  
  

  Posted 06/12/2008 by Jeff

  Guillermo del Toro | The Hobbit

Thursday, April 24

• It's Official: Guillermo del Toro to Direct Hobbit Flicks

  After months and months of speculation, it's finally been confirmed that Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro has officially signed on to direct both The Hobbit and its as-yet-untitled sequel. Variety reports that del Toro, currently hard at work putting the finishing touches on Hellboy II: The Golden Army, will soon be packing up his belongings and moving to New Zealand, where he'll spend the next four years making the films with the help of Lord of the Rings demigod Peter Jackson and his WETA wizards.

  The recent announcement throws one heck of a monkey wrench into del Toro's already packed schedule of upcoming projects, including a possible third Hellboy movie. Somehow I think the fanboys will find a way to forgive him.

  Source: Variety

  
  

  Posted 04/24/2008 by Thomas

  Peter Jackson | Guillermo del Toro | The Hobbit | Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Friday, February 22

• New Hellboy comic to debut at WonderCon

  As if you fanboys needed another reason to attend this weekend's WonderCon in San Francisco, Universal announced today that they'll be handing out free copies of Hellboy: The Golden Army, a new comic written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola from a story by director Guillermo del Toro. A prequel of sorts to the highly anticipated Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the 16-page comic explains the rise of the Golden Army, the coalition of bad guys bent on bringing down Hellboy and the rest of the BRPD.

  Three different versions of the comic, each with its own collectible cover, will be handed out at various fanboy events leading up to Hellboy II's July 11th release. The S.F. WonderCon version will feature Liz (pictured above -- click on it for the full-sized version as well as images of Abe and Hellboy). Head over to the official Hellboy II site for a five-page preview of the comic.

  
  

  Posted 02/22/2008 by Thomas

  Ron Perlman | Selma Blair | Guillermo del Toro | Doug Jones | Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Monday, January 28

• Welcome to the Shire, Guillermo del Toro

  Lord of the Rings geeks have reason to rejoice this morning. According to the The Hollywood Reporter, fanboy favorite Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) is currently in talks to direct the two-part adaptation of The Hobbit, based on LotR author J.R.R. Tolkien's follow-up to his acclaimed fantasy trilogy. It's a welcome development for Tolkien aficionados, the majority of whom would likely list del Toro as their second choice to helm The Hobbit after LotR director Peter Jackson, who has opted for Executive Producing duties on the highly anticipated pair of films.

  Del Toro is currently hard at work putting the finishing touches on Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, which opens July 11, 2008.

  
  

  Posted 01/28/2008 by Thomas

  Peter Jackson | Guillermo del Toro | Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Hellboy | The Hobbit

Thursday, November 8

• Fanboy newz: Prince of Persia and Champions

  Disney is eyeing the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time videogame as a possible franchise opportunity. That is to say, the Mouse House is courting Mike Newell to direct a live-action feature based on the game, with hopes of sequels in the future. Newell has franchise experience, having directed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. His latest movie, Love in the Time of Cholera, hits theaters next week.

  And Spanish phenom Guillermo del Toro will be writing, directing and producing a sci-fi action adaptation of Champions, a British TV series from the '60s about 'secret government agents who are rescued from a plane crash by an advanced civilation and given superhuman abilities.' The subject matter is right in the wheelhouse for the director behind Hellboy II and Pan's Labyrinth. Del Toro also produced The Orphanage, a ghost thriller that was chosen as Spain's entry into this year's Best Foreign Film category for the Oscars.

  Source: Variety.

  
  

  Posted 11/08/2007 by Heather

  Guillermo del Toro | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Champions

Monday, November 5

• Check out the concept art for Hellboy II

  Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the long-awaited follow-up to Guillermo del Toro's sleeper hit of 2004, has finally wrapped production in Budapest with a release date set for July 11, 2008. That's quite a long ways away for those of us eager to see Ron Perlman and Doug Jones reprise their signature roles. Thankfully, the folks at Universal have set up a pretty detailed Hellboy II site, featuring some cool concept art, to help tide us over until the big day arrives.

  Catch a glimpse of Hellboy's famous Big Baby Gun and more over at www.hellboymovie.com.

  
  

  Posted 11/05/2007 by Thomas

  Ron Perlman | Guillermo del Toro | Doug Jones | Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Hellboy