On the Quest for the Lonely Mountain depicted in J.R.R. Tolkien's seminal fantasy novel "The Hobbit", hairy hero Bilbo Baggins had to contend with Stone Trolls, Giants, Goblins, Gollum, a magic Ring, Wargs, giant Spiders, unfriendly Elves, the Dragon Smaug and the Battle of the Five Armies; however, even Bilbo might have been hard-pressed to overcome the series of troubles which have plagued the cinematic adaptation of the classic tale since before its inception.
First, financial disputes and a subsequent lawsuit between Director Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema over profits from the original "Lord of the Rings" trilogy lead to a massive rift between the filmmaker and the studio, prompting one New Line exec to state that the studio would never work with Jackson again. The dispute was resolved toward the end of 2007, just in time for the 2007/2008 Writer's Strike which prevented the writing of the films to move forward for months. The Writer's Strike was resolved, and Guillermo del Toro was selected as Director for the new Duo logy, but later in 2008 the global economy collapsed, sending studio MGM, partial holder of "The Hobbit" rights, into bankruptcy. "Pre-pre-production" on the films inched forward, but last May del Toro dropped out of the project due to the ongoing uncertainty around the production and the MGM financial situation, again leaving the films director-less.
Now, in the latest turn of a saga worthy of Tolkien himself, International Actor's Guilds are warning their members not to work for the non-union Hobbit films:
“Members of Canadian Actors Equity, US Actors Equity, the Screen Actors Guild, UK Actors Equity, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (Australia) and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists are advised not to accept work on this non-union production. If you are contacted to be engaged on The Hobbit please notify your union immediately.” As detailed in full on TheOneRing.Net, the production had been planning on making offers to actors in the near future, only to encounter yet another hurtle.
It doesn't seem possible that any film, let alone one so highly anticipated, coming on the heels of the most commercially and critically successful franchise in history, could face so many major obstacles in getting into full-on production. One thing's for sure, though: if "The Hobbit" ever does get made, it will feel like a victory as miraculous has those of our heroes in Tolkien's far-off land of Middle-earth.
^^^ Bilbo reacts to the Actor's Guilds Press Release^^^