And ordinarily I would object to the two-movies thing, but it fits if they’re adding in all the concurrent unseen action that Tolkien said was happening in later works (i.e. what Gandalf was doing all those times he left, and how that relates to Sauron & ties into Lord of the Rings). That’s why I’m skeptical about the “bridge movie” rumour: all the bridging should take place within “The Hobbit” itself.

It should be a normal length, family movie. It’s just a nice tale about a little gnome guy going on an adventure and a dragon and treasure and a magic ring, and should be left at that. I fear people take Tolkien far too seriously these days.

There are just some old “classics” better left alone than trying to ruin our memories with a remake just because you can do the fx better now. There is just so much sf literature available that can be done now that couldn’t before (evidence LOTR–okay, that is fantasy not sf) that I will never understand the suit mentality that thinks reinventing the wheel is more profitable than WOWing us with visual STORIES that have been waiting to break out of the pages. We didn’t need Cameron’s Avatar in 3D to revitalize Hollywood–we just need good, creative stories with characters and ideas we can get excited about. Those kind of stories have been lying dormant for years waiting for the Camerons, Jacksons, Abrams and the like to uncover and bring to the big (and small) screen for us to enjoy–in ways that are true to the original stories on the page but recrafted for the visual medium.

Sorry for the rant–it’s just there are so many sf stories/novels I have read over the years that still seem light-years ahead of some of the crap Hollywood still cranks out (like Jason Part XXX or Alien ad nauseum). We deserve better than these rehashed stories–Star Trek 09, Dark Knight or BSG are the rare exceptions to the rule because the forces behind them challenged themselves to be creative rather than simply dressing up old ideas in new fx clothes.

‘Nuf said…

Otherwise, it sounds like there is a lot in store for the next couple of years. I’m starting to think Iron Man 2 and the Hobbit are going to be some of the best of the new bunch…

I object to “The Vampire Chronicles: The Vampire Lestat” being called a “franchise reboot” when there barely was any “franchise” anyway (regarding the movies, of course, not the books). There was “Interview with a Vampire” fifteen years ago, which no one would expect this movie to follow too closely anyway, and there was “Queen of the Damned”, which nobody watched.

And by the way — reboot the X-Files? Now? You’ve gotta be kidding.

I’d say go for late 1950’s though. A la the colorized parts of Pleasantville… or even almost to the series Mad Men’s era. Just as long as Clark Kent gets to wear a hat. The George Reeves era was such fun…. it would be great in movie form….

I wonder how Tom Welling would look in a hat and black hornrimmed glasses and a grey suit?