And here I thought we would at least get to Wednesday before we had another lame duck story to write about The Hobbit. I was wrong. The news today is that Peter Jackson, the confirmed producer and yet to be confirmed director of the two film series set in the Shire, is in Los Angeles meeting quietly with actors, trying to put together a large, international cast. The film is still in limbo, as Warner Bros. is furiously trying to wrestle away control of the production from the sinking ship that is MGM. Jackson is expected to go on tour with casting director Victoria Burrows, hitting New York and the U.K. next. In other news, I’ve decided to postpone getting a haircut today and instead, I will take a nap. The haircut has been delayed, like The Hobbit, indefinitely. But I’d also like to see it happen in 2012, with a sequel in 2013. [Heat Vision]

For weeks we’ve been going back and forth, hemming and hawing over who may or may not direct The Hobbit and its subsequent sequel. Names ranging from David Yates to Neill Blomkamp to (sigh) Brett Ratner have all been tossed around. And yet, the one constant that has remained no matter who the rumor of the day might be has been Peter Jackson. Every new rumor came with a caveat: if Peter Jackson would just man up and direct them himself, all would be right in Middle Earth. Today, it appears as if all will be right.

What a relief. Only days ago I wrote a (somewhat) nasty little piece about why Neill Blomkamp should keep more than a ten-foot pole between himself and The Hobbit. And now it appears as if all the anxiety was for not. It’s now being reported that the District 9 director will not be taking a four year trip to the Shire. Consider this writer relieved.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who saw District 9, but Neill Blomkamp is a good director. Critics know this, fans know this, and the film’s producer Peter Jackson knows it as well. Jackson knows it so well that he’s apparently begun looking intently at Blomkamp to take over directorial duties on The Hobbit, a seat recently (and not shockingly) vacated by Guillermo Del Toro.

Just after Guillermo Del Toro exited the director’s chair of The Hobbit, we took to the streets with our own list of 7 Directors Who Should Take Over. Among them was Peter Jackson — writer, producer and gatekeeper of all things Lord of the Rings. He is perhaps the easiest choice to take the reigns, having been on the project from day one co-writing the script with Del Toro. In fact, Jackson stepping up might be one of the only sure-fire ways to give fans what they want — a pair of actual Hobbit movies.

As I’m sure we all know by now, fan favorite director Guillermo del Toro has vacated the position as director of The Hobbit. That leaves the production with a big hole to fill. Which leaves us with plenty of room for idle speculation, guessing and (hopefully) something that seems like a logical path for the future of The Hobbit.

Guillermo Del Toro is no longer going to be directing The Hobbit. This after two years of pre-production in New Zealand with producer Peter Jackson and his WETA team. It was announced today by Jackson and Del Toro via the Lord of the Rings fansite The One Ring.

To be honest, we were just way too busy positing alternate actresses to replace Megan Fox in Transformers 3 that we had not time to think about who might actually end up in the movie. This and more in today’s B-Roll.

What’s the bare amount of news that’s fit to print? A rumored start date and title for a District 9 sequel!

According to Frank O’Connor, former content editor for Bungie Studios and current creative director for Microsoft’s 343 Industries, a Halo film is still only a matter of the time being right.

This week’s Culture Warrior looks absolutely fabulous in that suit.

Kevin Carr sits his chubbiness down and sees if The Book of Eli, The Spy Next Door and The Lovely Bones can make the grade.

Childlike excitement, courtesy of Sony Picture Home Entertainment. That is the best way to describe my unboxing and first impressions of District 9 on Blu-ray. For the long-form description, click on through…

Die hard fans of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings franchise could be the most punished DVD buyers in the history of film. And now it’s just going to get worse.

Kevin Carr sits his chubbiness down and sees if The Princess and the Frog, Invictus and The Lovely Bones can make the grade.

Kevin and Neil find themselves in not-so-familiar territory by not totally fighting about this week’s movies. While Neil hasn’t seen The Princess and the Frog, he and Kevin pretty much agree about the other new releases like Invictus and The Lovely Bones.

This week’s Culture Warrior gives an exhaustive review of the decade that you won’t find anywhere else on the Interwebs.

This one goes out to those of you who are clamoring for a sequel to this year’s sci-fi surprise District 9.

No one is accusing Peter Jackson of rushing through production on The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings prequel that he and Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labrynth) are currently scripting.

It’s no secret around my neck of the woods that I’m a rabidly-obsessive Middle Earth fanatic. So what’s the newest casting rumor to hit the interwebz? It seems Brian Cox just may be joining Bilbo Baggins on the quest to evict Smaug from the Lonely Mountain.