Well, production is moving ahead despite MGM's troubles, and as the decision has obviously been made to film in 3D, project developers have clearly given themselves the green light. They are obviously not waiting around for the bean counters to get their act together. Whoever finally ends up with MGM will be forced to pick up the mantle of a film already in production, and there is no reason they would balk at such a lucrative property. Jackson's production company is no doubt counting on this and forging ahead, hoping that the project itself (already underway) will pull MGM's woes out of the fire.

[b:2rf1n92n]GB[/b:2rf1n92n]

I get your point Eldo. But who's paying for the pre-production, and why would they bother building sets unless they were certain? The thing is, producers of hot properties have been known in the past to damn the torpedoes and forge ahead, pulling the studios along behind them. Scriptwriting is one thing, set building is another thing entirely.

[b:3m88bacy]GB[/b:3m88bacy]

[quote="Gandalfs Beard":23wl3u4w]But who's paying for the pre-production, and why would they bother building sets unless they were certain?[/quote:23wl3u4w]

It's possible that the pre-production is being paid for by PJ, or that Warner Bros. is simply taking a gamble by going ahead with set-building, etc. No one in their right minds will let The Hobbit fall through when it's pretty much guaranteed to give two hit movies, and I think Warner Bros. just wants to be ready in case the deal comes through quickly. If it takes a while, at least they're ready and can start filming as soon as the financial/legal stuff falls into place.

[quote:23wl3u4w]The thing is, producers of hot properties have been known in the past to damn the torpedoes and forge ahead, pulling the studios along behind them. Scriptwriting is one thing, set building is another thing entirely.[/quote:23wl3u4w]

See above: they're almost certainly going to film at some point. I don't think them building sets is enough to disprove the reports that a final budget has yet to come through. There may be an unofficial or ad hoc budget in place, but it seems they're still waiting for all the formalities and contracts to be finished.

I believe we do agree, yes. Though I don't think PJ can carry the film on his own through production. Then again, he is quite rich, so maybe he'll pull a Lucas and finance the whole thing. Hopefully he won't imitate too many other behaviors of Lucas though.

MGM really can't approve anything now since they are billions of dollars in debt and scrambling to find someone willing to buy them. The new owner(s) will, presumably, be able to meet MGM's commitments with regards to The Hobbit.

Whatever I may say about PJ, I am very glad that he didn't go overboard with the CGI like Lucas did. I actually think LotR's CGI tends to be better than that of the Star Wars prequels on a technical level, but PJ was able to limit his use of it and also employ models, miniatures, and the like. I think that makes the films feel more gritty and real. PJ has said that he was inspired by the 'used future' look of the original Star Wars, and while Lucas largely abandoned that in the prequels, PJ was able to apply it quite well to the mythical past.

And of course, as you mention, the acting in LotR is much better.

[url=http://newboards.theonering.net/forum/gforum/perl/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_threaded;post=248174;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;:30d0q016]GDT has confirmed this rumor on TORn's forums.[/url:30d0q016]