[troutman]

http://www.kristinthompson.net/blog/?p=159

MGM’s original idea seems to have been to make The Hobbit in two parts. That would make sense. Of course, Tolkien’s first novel is shorter than Rings, but a lot had to be left out of the trilogy in the adaptation. The Hobbit breaks into two almost equal halves, with the break coming where Gandalf leaves Bilbo and the Dwarves at the edge of Mirkwood. Making two three-hour parts would allow the filmmakers to adapt the book without eliminating much of anything. Despite its quest/journey structure, The Hobbit is actually quite carefully structured, and there are no incidents that can simply be eliminated as easily as, say, the Tom Bombadil portion of Rings.

Still, the announcement is for a one-film adaptation and a sequel that takes place before the action of Rings. That’s a gap of sixty years, years about which Tolkien left only the sketchiest of indications. Such events as we know of come primarily from mentions in Appendices A and B and in exposition given by Gandalf in the “Shadow of the Past” chapter in Rings and by various characters at the Council of Elrond.

So who might end up directing? The 24 December-6 January 2008 print edition of Variety ran a brief statement in its “In the News” section (p. 2), noting the settlement of the lawsuit and declaring, “Helmer Sam Raimi will direct, and Jackson will produce.”

Pre-production is to begin “as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of ‘The Hobbit’ release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011