Thinkin' About: The Hobbit

Have to admit, I am extremely excited that 1) Peter Jackson will be executive producing The Hobbit (as a two-film package) and 2) Guillermo del Toro will be directing. While I'll miss Jackson behind the camera, his association with the movies will ensure that they are "of a piece" with his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy. This means the Shire will look like (wait for it) the Shire, and Lonely Mountain--as well as Smaug--will be titanic, something folks will need to see on the big screen.

Del Toro is a visionary fantasist on par with Jackson; both men like effects but (even better) know how to use them strategically. Neither has lost a movie's story to an overwhelm of CGI, stop motion or any other fancy visual trickery--if anything, they (like a handful of other filmmakers) really get what effects can and cannot do.

Like I said, I cannot wait. I only hope they get right to work--we need more good movies in the theaters.