Force of Hobbit

Now that Peter Jackson and New Line have kissed and made up, the big screen version of The Hobbit seems to be finally moving forward ... or as much as any project can in these strike-torn days.

Unfortunately, Jackson will only produce the film, along with yet another one that will take place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings saga (presumably culled from the many other works of J.R.R. Tolkien). Rumors are swirling about possible directors, with Spider-Man's Sam Raimi and Pan's Labyrinth's Guillermo del Toro leading the pack (I vote for the latter, although the former seems to have the edge).

Of course, unlike the Rings trilogy (which easily overshadowed memories of the awful Ralph Bakshi atrocity), The Hobbit has some big furry feet to fill, as anyone with fond memories of the delightful Rankin Bass animated television production from thirty years ago can attest. Say, I wonder if they'll have Enya do a cover of Glenn Yarbrough's haunting ballad, "The Greatest Adventure", or perhaps ... The Chipmunks?

Click here to buy the original The Hobbiton DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via HollywoodReporter.com, EW.com, Variety.com, Imdb.com and YouTube.com.