Fanboys everywhere wet their pants with the announcement that Guillermo Del Toro would direct a pair of Lord Of The Rings prequels, an adaptation of The Hobbit and an original, presumably setting up the story threads that paid off in Lord Of The Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien never felt the need to write such a book, but hey, what did he know?
I just find this news kind of depressing. Del Toro has made three of the finest fantasy films of recent years, Cronos, The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth. Sure, he's done big dumb throwaway stuff before--Blade II, Hellboy and its upcoming sequel--but though nothing special, they were at least infused with the director's sensibility.
This time, though, he's leaving his home base of Mexico and moving to New Zealand for four years (!), becoming a cog in the Peter Jackson Blockbuster Factory. Jackson, of course, was also once a director with a distinctive voice, who lost all sense of proportion (and possibly, his talent) while toiling away on his Tolkien adaptations. Jackson will executive produce and co-write Del Toro's films, and no doubt serve as unofficial co-director.
I can only think of two reasons why a filmmaker of Del Toro's stature would spend four years of his life submitting to another director's will: 1) Money, money, money! 2) He actually thinks this is a good idea.
In the first case, he's a mercenary. In the second, he's not as original a talent as I believed him to be. Either way...bummer.
