In Search for The Hobbit's Director

For those who are absolute fans of Peter Jackson's version of LOTR, the news that The Hobbit might happen is something that would cause nose bleeds of excitement in our little mortal lives.

I've lost touch with the Tolkien site I've frequented to in the past. And obviously I've been too busy to even log on to read e-mails.

Anyway, one hot sleepy morning, right off from work (I work nights), I turned on the TV and caught one of them gossip entertainment channels. They were talking about The Hobbit.

What shook me to wakefulness was this news that Peter Jackson and the production company were not agreeing about certain things which made Jackson back out of the project. This caused a little bit of sadness because let's face it, Jackson's the only director fit to make this movie. I mean, the whole planet wouldn't know LOTR if not for the efforts of this New Zealander. And besides that, that would mean there wouldn't be a reunion of the New Zealand crew, which I am also a fan of (check out the crazy things they had to go through in the making of LOTR - it's in the Extended Version DVD). The crew and Jackson, for all I can deduce, are package deal.

Aside from this, the production company still wants to make a go for this project and there are rumours that Spiderman director Sam Raimi might be hired to make the prequel. Sam Raimi's reaction to this is that he will only direct the movie if he gets Peter Jackson's blessing.

I had mixed emotions to this. As much as I would like to see The Hobbit in the silver screen, I wouldn't want it to be rushed into being made for the sake that it has been made. Sam Raimi's a great director. He revived the Spiderman franchise. But I can't imagine him doing a Middle Earth movie. If he ends up taking the helm though, I hope to God he's not going to destroy what Jackson's team built for almost 10 years of their lives.

In light of this, if there is a final decision that Peter Jackson will not direct The Hobbit, I thought of directors who could possibly direct the movie.
Some of the nominees are really so far out, but I think they are worth into consideration.

Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth)
- Let's face it. The reason Peter Jackson was so succesful was that he made ample use of his imagination as far as he could (I think the horror flicks he made earlier fueled this). Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth recently won the Oscar's Best in Art Direction, Best in Cinematography, and Best in Make Up. Guillermo del Toro was nominated for Best in Original Screenplay and the movie's music was also nominated. I've seen the movie and I totally agree with the nominations and awards that this movie took. And if ever Peter passes the directorial seat to del Toro, I think this guy can do it.

Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean)
- I absolutely love what Gore did to this franchise. Disney was even surprised with the success of it. The original plan was to make only 1 movie. But because of the 1st movie's overwhelming success, Deadman's Chest and At World's End were made. Ok let's not discount the Johnny Depp or the Orlando Bloom factor, but if you look closer at the sets, the visual effects, costumes .. you know the director took pains in making sure of the details. I am confident he could fit in Peter's boots (Useless Trivia: Peter loved walking barefoot while shooting LOTR.)

Any director from the series CARNIVALE
- This series was shown in HBO and was created by Daniel Knauff. There were numerous directors that shot this series but the constant thing was that the cinematography and effects were really impressive. I think this series did win a lot of Emmy's in that department including screenplay ... which I had to say is very very well-written. It's a huge leap from TV to movie screen, but then sometimes talent comes from places you will never imagine. And besides, Carnivale being a good VS evil story to the core, LOTR will be familiar territory.

Tim Burton
- Everybody knows who Tim Burton is and what movies he directed. He would be any Gothic's director of choice due to his wonderful DARK renditions in everything he directed (Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Big Fish, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Planet of the Apes, Mars Attacks, Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow). He is WEIRD to the core and I know some eyebrows would be raised for this preposterous nomination but please do consider that the flicks mentioned above, no matter how weird or dark they were, were very well-made. And wouldn't it be interesting how his version will look like? I mean those elves, beatific as they looked in Peter's LOTR, will definitely be rendered with Tim Burton's little subconscious dark touch (I'm starting to imagine My Chemical Romance's "I Don't Love You" video). And the beauty of this is that it's 100% sure that those orcs and the creatures of Mordor will be badder and nastier ... this realm of Middle Earth falls in Tim's backyard of freaks, and I'm sure he'll make it a mission to add more black evil to these characters.

Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban)
- Yes, I am also a fan of Harry Potter and I have read and watched the movies. My favorite book would be Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. But as for the movies, Alfonso Cuaron's version of Prisoner of Azkhaban was the best. There is something about the movie's direction that is subconsciously dark and compelling and so far away from the kid's coloring book movies. That's why I'm praying real hard that the producers will recruit him again for The Half Blood Prince. I daresay anyone who can make a real good Harry Potter flick can do an LOTR flick.

Other far-out mentionables:

Stephen Sommers (The Mummy)
- I immensely enjoyed the Mummy. The Mummy Returns was kinda stretched though. I guess they ran out of ideas making the second movie. But looking at the set and direction, I was thinking Stephen can do LOTR. He's no stranger to visual effects.

Jean Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement)
- This has to be my most far-out nominee. But do consider, these two flicks have EXCELLENT and SUPERB cinematography. The digital grading of the movies is also wonderful ... like straight out of a dream. Very vivid. But it would be strange to hear Gandalf speak French (as if understanding Quenya is bad enough)and what character would Audrey Tautou play, I wonder?

George Lucas
- Yeah, yeah. He can direct The Hobbit. After all, Star Wars was created because he was not able to make LOTR in the first place. And I also know he helped Peter in some of the areas that Peter could not attend to due to time constraints. But then, he already made history with Star Wars, so I'm thinking that it's better to give other directors out there a chance to shine. Besides, the idea that Jar Jar Binks might do a cameo is just a nightmare.