Guillermo Del Toro, il visionario regista messicano di Hellboy e Il labirinto del fauno, scelto da Peter Jackson, per scrivere e dirigere i due prequel de Il Signore degli Anelli, ha abbandonato il progetto.
La causa principale è da attribuirsi ai continui ritardi nella produzione, che si sono prolungati per molti mesi, in ragione del possibile fallimento della MGM, che coproduce il film e ne detiene i diritti.
La situazione della major è ancora del tutto instabile: gli azionisti non hanno ancora deciso se cederla in blocco, o se vendere solo i diritti di sfruttamento delle opere più prestigiose, se invece arrendersi al fallimento e ricominciare daccapo.
La prospettiva di rimanere ancora per molti mesi nel limbo dell’incertezza sulle sorti del progetto, ha convinto Del Toro a dedicarsi ad altro.
Le dichiarazioni di prammatica sono improntate al riconoscimento del reciproco lavoro fatto ed al dispiacere nel non poter concludere un progetto nato con grandi ambizioni:
In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit,” I am faced with the hardest decision of my life”, says Guillermo. “After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wlsh the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director.
Peter Jackson, che gli aveva affidato una delle sue creature più preziose, forse dovrà ritornare ad occuparsene in prima persona…
We feel very sad to see Guillermo leave the Hobbit, but he has kept us fully in the loop and we understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone’s control – has compromised his commitment to other long term projects”, says Executive Producer Peter Jackson. “The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn’t feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years. Guillermo is one of the most remarkable creative spirits I’ve ever encountered and it has been a complete joy working with him. Guillermo’s strong vision is engrained into the scripts and designs of these two films, which are extremely fortunate to be blessed with his creative DNA.
Stanze di Cinema 