The Hobbit: What Director Will Find Them, Bind Them?

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 20, 2007

Which director is going to take the helm on The Hobbit? Allow us to break it down for you…

Peter Jackson has recently suggested that he won’t be the one to helm the New Line - MGM monster in waiting epic The Hobbit, though he’ll stay on with producer duties and have a lot of creative control of the project. Certainly the studios would prefer to have Peter “LOTR made a Gazillion Dollars” Jackson in the director’s chair, but in fairness to the fans, he says his schedule is just too full at the moment.

So who is up for it? The most often cited name as PJ’s replacement is Spider-Man wonder director Sam “2.4 Billion Worldwide” Raimi, a popular genre choice. FirstShowing has Raimi at the top of their list after his next feature, a low budget horror flick called Drag Me To Hell. Glancing at Raimi’s upcoming schedule, he does appear to be open to begin work on The Hobbit very quickly. With a lower budget horror flick, expect 3 months pre-production, about 45 shooting days, and 3 months post-production. Meaning Raimi could be directing hobbits as early as September 2008, with pre-production starting earlier.

SlashFilm brings to our attention that the Spanish flavored maestro behind Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro, may sit in the director’s chair before it’s all over. A peak into Guillermo’s future shows a list of projects a mile long that he’s attached to as producer, as well as three projects he’s slated to direct. Ok, well the sequel to Hellboy is wrapped on shooting, but he still has 3993 and At the Mountains of Madness lined up. Del Toro himself doesn’t have a lot of confidence he’ll land the directing job on The Hobbit, but admits simultaneously to thinking that would be heavenly and that he has never read The Lord of the Rings. He has, however, read and enjoyed The Hobbit.

The third name in the wizard’s beard comes to us from ComingSoon and they throw out the name Alfonso Cuaron. Cuaron directed the masterpiece that is Children of Men and also has a the Spanish-language media darling Y tu Mama Tambien under his belt and the well received Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Looking at his monthly planner reveals no less than four films he’s attached to direct already. His dance card is looking a bit full, too.

So who’s the likely choice? Let’s consult the fight cards!

	Sam Raimi Weight: 2.4 Billion Dollars Height: Spider-Man Franchise Reach: Genre dominator
	Alfonso Cuaron Weight: 3 Oscar Nominations Height: Children of Men Reach: Academy Members, Spanish Viewers
	Guillermo del Toro Weight: 1 Oscar Nomination, BAFTA win Height: Pan’s Labyrinth Reach: Critical acclaim, Blade fanbase
Surprise Contender!
	Peter Jackson Weight: Oscar Wins for Best Picture, Best Director, Step-Father of LOTR, box office dominator. Height: Lord of the Rings Return of the King wins 11 Oscars. Reach: Limitless.

And the projected results are in…

This is Peter Jackson’s movie if he wants it. The studios want him to have it. He’s not so entirely busy that he couldn’t take it on, and most fans would wait an extra year for him to helm it. I would not be surprised at all if he ends up directing it. However, if he passes…

Sam Raimi is the first Runner Up. While Spider-Man 3 was subject to well-deserved harsh reviews, you can’t argue with his box office, his genre appeal, and his wide open schedule. He’s proven he can handle big budgets, lots of special effects, and he has a unique directing style.

Guillermo del Toro is Second Runner Up. Now, I get the feeling the studios might want Cuaron a little bit more, but del Torro has proven he’s got the fantasy act down, as well as working with complex CGI environments and shots. Guillermo brings a nice freshness and down-to-earth tone to many of his films, even though they deal with everything from vampires to faeries.

Alfonso Cuaron comes in last. Now, Children of Men was an excellent movie. However, some of his other work has left me cold, namely Y tu Mama Tambien, I just didn’t dig it. That said, it looked good and his Harry Potter entry was done well, though I don’t consider it the best of the series. His box office numbers are significantly lower than Raimi’s and his word of mouth is less powerful than del Torro.

So if you’re betting, I’d put my money down on these odds:

Peter Jackson: 3-1

Sam Raimi: 3-1

Guillermo del Toro: 6-1

Alfonso Cuaron: 8-1

Read more articles by Robert Fure