It's been over a decade since Ian McKellen donned Gandalf's robes on the set of the first film in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Now 10 years later, the British actor is itching to revisit Middle Earth. He recently read the script for the first of "The Hobbit" films, but with no start date for production, the guy is getting a little antsy.

"Gandalf is a fantastic part and I long to do it," McKellen told MTV News, adding that both he and "LOTR" director Peter Jackson prefer the earlier Gandalf the Grey version to his later, post-resurrection incarnation. "He was more humane somehow. He was the guy who liked to hang out with the hobbits and drink too much and smoke too much." Read more...

Yesterday, we posted some of Eric Ditzian's interview with Sir Ian McKellen, who plays the wizard Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" and upcoming "Hobbit" movies. In one of the more compelling bits, the actor revealed that the scripts for the two films with feature plotlines culled from other J.R.R. Tolkien sources.

McKellen wouldn't elaborate any further than that, but a recent interview Guillermo del Toro gave to TotalFilm may shed some additional light on what the Gandalf actor was referring to. "We are respecting the structure established by Professor Tolkien because the order of the adventures in 'The Hobbit' is well known to generations and generations of kids," the director said. "You don’t want to be moving stuff like that." So what's new? Read more...

Ah, "The Hobbit." At long last, movie-goers will once again have a chance to be whisked away to the real-life Middle-earth that Peter Jackson created for his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Only this time that vision will be guided by director Guillermo del Toro. News has been relatively light on the project, which is understandable considering that it's still a few years off.

We fans will still take any update we can get, right? The latest comes from no less a personage than Sir Ian McKellen, aka Gandalf the Grey, speaking in an interview with Empire. The actor knows the score with "The Hobbit," and he had an update on where the powers-that-be are in the process of pulling the adaptation together. Read more...

For the record, there's nothing wrong with "The Road" star Viggo Mortensen not knowing much about the plans that Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro have in place for their two-part big screen telling of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit." Aragorn, his "Lord of the Rings" character, doesn't actually factor into that story. That doesn't mean he can't be written in, but clearly no one's mentioned anything to Mortensen.

Speaking to the actor last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, MTV's Josh Horowitz got the actor talking about his potential involvement in... the post-"Hobbit" bridge film. Director del Toro exclusively told MTV over the summer that he won't be directing any bridge film. Still, even though there's no new information in the below video, I know plenty of women who would want to see it anyway. For Viggo. So... here you are!

Guillermo del Toro's D-related announcement is now out of the bag. The renowned director has produced some of the darkest visions of fantastic landscapes and animated created in recent popular cinema with "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Hellboy." Now, he will partner with the Walt Disney Company to leverage that imagination and produce new films under the label "Disney Double Dare You." Announced at the company's D23 Expo, the new partnership will look to create new all-ages animated projects that still manage to thrill and frighten.

"It is part of the Disney canon to create thrilling, unforgettable moments and villains in all their classic films," del Toro said. "It is my privilege for DDY to continue in this tradition." Read more...

In the pantheon of bearded, nerd-loving filmmakers, Guillermo del Toro is still a lesser lord. A Duke to Prince Peter Jackson and King (or is it Emperor?) George Lucas, if you will. His power has been on the rise these past ten years, as his mainstream Hollywood history shows. From monster-movie-by-numbers fare like “Mimic” to the fantasia of bad-assery that is “Hellboy II,” del Toro is on track to be one of the greats.

While “The Hobbit” seems primed to be del Toro’s crown jewel, I’m personally more psyched about this “D”-related announcement he is teasing. “The Hobbit” will be good but the potential for greatness here is limitless. Here are five possible projects that could put del Toro over the top. Read more...

And it's about damn time! With all of the comments from director Guillermo del Toro and producer Peter Jackson, not to mention the avalanche of rumors, it's been easy to forget that the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" has been the victim of a legal dispute.

In February 2008, HarperCollins Publishers and the JRR Tolkien Estate jointly filed a lawsuit against New Line's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy relating to the deal under which the original rights-holders were to be paid for the films' box office intake. It's the sort of dispute which created a roadblock to the upcoming "Hobbit" movies being made, and it's a roadblock that's now been cleared. The parties have reached a settlement -- the particulars of which remain undisclosed -- which officially puts an end to the dispute (via ComingSoon.net). Read more...

Due to the success of “The Final Destination” over the weekend, we can expect to see a lot more 3-D movies going into development over the next few months. Just this morning The Hollywood Reporter had news of a film in the works titled “Drive Angry,” which will feature Nicolas Cage popping out at you in three dimensions.

Also in the past few days were reports of a possible 3-D “Swamp Thing” remake and confirmation that The Weinstein Co. is moving ahead on a third “Halloween” movie that will be made in 3-D and released next summer. Read more...

-- Ian McKellen told attendees at an all-night "Lord of the Rings" screening that an actor has been selected to play Bilbo in "The Hobbit." There are no further details than that, though McKellen also mentioned that he'll be getting the script "within the next week." This falls very deeply into the rumor territory for now, though I have little doubt that a script exists or that there's a Bilbo short list. Especially since "Hobbit" director Guillermo del Toro told us as much in an interview. (TheOneRing.net)

-- The word is the "Fight Club" and "Zodiac" director David Fincher is all set to direct the Aaron Sorkin-penned "The Social Network," also known as "the Facebook movie" in some circles. As you might expect, the story follows the rise of the beast that we call Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. Sorkin and Fincher make for odd bedfellows; I'll definitely see this one. (End of Show, via /Film) Read more...

I really hate to step up on my digital soapbox and be "that guy" right now, but some wild rumors concerning the Peter Jackson-produced, Guillermo del Toro-directed adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" popped up yesterday and the record needs to be straightened out. Of the four key components to this latest round of hopeful fanperson musings, three are easily debunked.

Blogspot site MarketSaw, "a blog focused on 3D motion pictures," reported yesterday that (1) "The Hobbit" will be presented in stereoscopic 3-D, (2) it will unfold across two movies, with a third bridge to follow them, (3) Peter Jackson will direct said bridge and (4) the dragon character Smaug will be "darker than in the book." While number four is certainly feasible with del Toro at the helm, one through three directly contradict Peter Jackson's own words on the subject of "The Hobbit." Check out the video below for his own words and then hit the jump for the down and dirty debunkings.

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