Movie's director was admitted to the hospital after suffering a perforated ulcer.
By Gil Kaufman
Peter Jackson
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Perhaps director Peter Jackson should consider tinkering with the title of his upcoming "Lord of the Rings" two-part prequel. Instead of just "The Hobbit," might we suggest "The Curse of the Hobbit" or perhaps "The Haunted Hobbit"?
The star-crossed road to filming the movies, for which Jackson is director, executive producer and screenwriter, hit another roadblock this week when the start of filming was pushed back after Jackson was hospitalized. Deadline Hollywood reported that Jackson was admitted to a hospital in Wellington, New Zealand, on Wednesday with acute stomach pains and underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer.
"Sir Peter is currently resting comfortably and his doctors expect him to make a full recovery. Sir Peter's surgery is not expected to impact on his directing commitment to 'The Hobbit' beyond a slight delay to the start of filming," read a statement from the movie's production company.
It's just the latest setback for the films, which were put in limbo for a while when studio MGM froze production while it went into bankruptcy, and then dealt another major blow last summer when director Guillermo del Toro announced he was dropping out after nearly two years of prep work. Then there was a dustup with the New Zealand actors union that almost caused the production to pick up stakes and move elsewhere.
When Jackson is ready to begin again, his cast for the 3-D prequel will be ready to go. Elijah Wood's recent deal to reprise his "Lord of the Rings" role as Frodo was accompanied by news that Andy Serkis has signed on to once again play Gollum, and it's looking like Ian McKellen is poised to reprise the part of Gandalf in what's being called "a major role" in the new films. Cate Blanchett has already signed on to play Galadriel, Christopher Lee is in talks for Saruman, and Ian Holm is in talks for the elder Bilbo Baggins, whose younger version will be played by Martin Freeman. There's no word yet if Orlando Bloom, who portrayed Legolas in "LOTR," will return for "The Hobbit."
Check out everything we've got on "The Hobbit."
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