TheHobbit

The 3D and IMAX train keeps on a'rollin.' When will it stop? Beats me. I'm going to say, oh, about 2013. Unless the world ends in 2012 and then we'll have bigger things to worry about than $15 ticket prices.

Two new reports on the future of cinema today, but I'm combining them into one article for your reading pleasure (and because I'm not sure if they're all that interesting separate, but together, you have a tasty morsel of movie news).

The first is that Guillermo Del Toro's soon-to-begin-production (I hope and think) The Hobbit may very well go 3D. Awhile back, Mr. Del Toro clearly and plainly stated that there were no discussions about The Hobbit going 3D and that if there ever were, he'd make sure we knew right away. Avatar came, saw and conquered and Del Toro is a man of his word. You can read his original posting over at The One Ring or you can be like me and check out Coming Soon, which places all of this in a more helpful context.

The second bit of today's "Movie-Going Experience of the Future!" news comes from /Film, where they confirm that Tron Legacy will pull a Dark Knight and have five sequences shot exclusively for IMAX. If you've seen a movie in IMAX before, you know (or at least should know) that the IMAX screen is shaped for a 1.7:1 ratio while most movies are shot in 2.35:1 or 1.85:1 these days. This results in black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. If you saw The Dark Knight in IMAX, you surely remember how the entire screen was suddenly filled for key action scenes and shots. I remember because it was dizzying, disorienting and amazing. I'll let you follow that link for the technical details and I'll just say "Cool! Big pictures!"

I'm not quite sold on 3D but I am sold on IMAX, so I'm going to call this a mixed bag of goodies. If Del Toro does pursue 3D (or if he's forced into it), I hope they shoot in 3D and don't convert in post. That will mean the difference between crystal clear, Avatar 3D and washed out, blurry, migraine-inducing 3D. As for the guys on Tron Legacy...let's see that trailer already!

The Hollywood Reporter has a quick Q & A with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola concerning his design work on Guillermo Del Toro's film adaptation of The Hobbit. The comics legend was brought in for a week to lend a hand on pre-production designs, but felt that he really wasn't needed -- not when he's sitting beside the same artists who successfully established Middle Earth for Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.

I guess that answers some questions about Del Toro's design approach. While it sounds like he's looking for ways to make it his own, he's also keeping it in visual line with Jackson's established universe. Mignola has a very specific design sense, and even he seems to think that his work won't be as visible here as it was in previous projects like Atlantis: The Lost Empire or the Hellboy movies.

I've been a Mignola fan since Rocket Raccoon back in the 80's, and I'm always pleased to hear him involved on any project, whether on film or on the printed page.

Peter Jackson is, to put it lightly, a very busy man. As a producer, he brought us District 9, is knee deep in preparing The Hobbit films, has Dambusters looking at a release sometime next year and, oh, a little project called The Adventures of Tintin. His latest directorial effort, The Lovely Bones, is rolling out across the country. And according to one New Zealand newspaper, Jackson may also be working on an adaptation of Phillip Reeve's Mortal Engines.

According to The Dominion Post, Jackson has had the rights to the award-winning post-apocalyptic novels. There are five books so far (the sixth will be released in April 2010) in the series, set in a world where cities have become massive moving entities that most devour one another in order to survive.

Jackson's publicist deferred to the writer/director/occasional genius, who was unavailable for comment. If this all pans out, it should be very interesting to see what Jackson and his Weta Workshop can do with some good 'ol steampunk. Personally, I have not yet seen The Lovely Bones, but just looking at the cover image for Mortal Engines, this seems like the sort of thing the Weta people could really sink their teeth into.

(via The Dominion Post)

Well, it's already been quite a day for the 'ol geek-tastic rumor mill. My fellow SciFi Squad-ers Erik Davis and John Gholson have the Deadpool and Spider-Man 4 rumors/reports handled, respectively, over at Cinematical, so do check those out if you haven't already. But as if those two pieces weren't enough already, we've got some casting speculation for The Hobbit, courtesy of Ain't It Cool News.

Now, AICN tells us this little bit of speculation comes via a "trusted anonymous name", which of course means take the following with a serious grain of salt people. According to said anonymous source, Tom Waits is being considered for a role in The Hobbit. The Guardian went on to further speculate that Waits was likely up for the voice of Smaug, the dragon, which is not only a logical leap to make, but one suggested way back in January of 2008 by an AICN talk-backer. Nice call Nice Marmot. For what it's worth, Guillermo del Toro used Waits's song "Heartattack and Vine" in Hellboy to introduce the all-grown up version of the character, whose face actually kind of looks like Waits when you think about it.

Details on the Guillermo del Toro directed, Peter Jackson produced two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit have been slow coming so far. Fans of Lord of the Rings are dying to know who, if any, of the trilogy's original cast will be returning in the new films; as well as who exactly will be filling the biggest roles from the book. Well now del Toro has stepped up to the plate and announced, via a translation of an interview with the director that aired on German TV, a new cast member for the film: himself.

Yep, the Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth director has set aside a tiny little cameo in the form of a small monster found in Middle Earth: "I had a hand on the design of the creature and I will personally sculpt the appliances that will be applied on my face and hands. I used to sculpt the creatures for NECROPIA (my FX company) and I miss it a bit. I will have a line or two and die quickly."

That's about the extent of the detail he gives, which has me wondering whether it'll be a noticeable cameo (as Peter Jackson's was in Fellowship of the Ring) or whether he'll be a background goblin that blends in with the horde. Whatever the case, I find it very, very cool that he'll be creating the make-up effects for the apperance himself. Should be an interesting Easter Egg to keep your eye out for when The Hobbit releases in a few years.

If you happen to speak German, feel free to watch the entire interview below, which deals mainly with del Toro's vampire project, The Strain.

What will The Hobbit films be like? That's been the big question since word of the adaptation hit, and especially once we learned that Guillermo del Toro was coming on-board. While we still don't know much, it looks like Gandalf fans will be satisfied. Ian McKellen has read the scripts for the films and talked to Sci Fi Wire about his thoughts on the adaptation. Well, his vague thoughts shackled in secrecy.

Turns out the script is aiming to cater to McKellen's talents: "The other Gandalf was written for, well, just as Gandalf," but this time, it's written specifically for him, and "There's lots for me to enjoy, in all sorts of ways. And I couldn't be happier. But I'm sworn to secrecy. I'm not to say anything at all about the script."

And if you're at all concerned about the change in command (with regards to Guillermo del Toro taking over for Peter Jackson): "They are the same person. They were separated at birth. They're twins. They have the same attitude. ... And I think the script, because I have read it, plays very much to Guillermo's strengths, as I've seen them. I have seen his other movies, and people act very well in them. So I think it's all fine. And Peter will always be there."

Now if only they could find Bilbo...

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening:

Ian McKellan talked with Empire about The Hobbit recently, and he says not many of the LotR characters will be coming back, save for Andy Serkis. He notes, "The scripts for the two films will be delivered very soon. Then they'll be budgeted, and then they'll be cast. And they'll be going when they've always said they would be, which is next spring – March or April. Guillermo even told me at one point, 'We're going to film for 383 days.' He's got that artistic autism! Jackson's the same; they're very, very, very alike. They also very different, but they've so much in common. They both can't stand Hollywood and have wonderful imaginations, and they're both obsessed with gore and fantasy." McKellan also knows nothing of a Magneto movie, hasn't seen a script and figures he won't be involved at all.

Don't worry -- Dollhouse's ratings might be super-low as they air, but The Live Feed reports that DVR is really helping the series and Fox will air all of this season's 13 Dollhouse episodes.

Are you a fan of Dirk Gently? According to Total Sci-Fi Online, news has emerged from Hitchcon that Douglas Adams' holistic detective will be heading to the BBC.

Lars von Trier, now that he's spooked hordes of people with Antichrist, is getting busy with planetary doom by getting busy with Planet Melancholia, so says Variety.

Airlock Alpha is fighting rumors that Caprica will be axed before it airs, and according to Jane Espenson, things are going well.

Neil Gaiman, BBC Audiobooks, and Twitter are circling together for an exquisite corpse experiment, according to EW.

Don't ask me how Guillermo del Toro works on four hundred projects at once, because it always amazes me to see how much he's got going on, and it's also inspiring to see a filmmaker that passionate about creating and conceptualizing and coming up with awesome new things for the world and his fans. Guillermo del Toro is exactly the kind of guy we want handling some of these more fanboy-ish properties because he's a true geek -- and while other filmmakers are using their celebrity status to attend parties at the Playboy mansion, this mofo is designing creatures and drawing in his sketchbook and working hard to please us.

Round of applause before we move on ...

In a new interview on BBC Radio, Del Toro let loose that he's already cast friend (and collaborator) Doug Jones as Frankenstein in his planned adaptation of the classic tale, and will begin testing things like make-up within the next few weeks -- though he admits (to Digital Spy) that he's "not in a hurry" and is perfectly fine shooting the film five or six years from now. "You have one shot in your lifetime at these things and I don't want to do it the wrong way."

As far as The Hobbit goes, Del Toro confirmed to BBC that Ian McKellan is back, as well as Andy Serkis and Hugo Weaving, all of whom will be reprising their roles from the original trilogy. The writer-director also confirmed that there will only be two Hobbit movies, not three, which is a fact that was revealed earlier this year.

News on Del Toro's other projects after the jump.