Lange,+Stewart+13

The film version of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit will begin shooting in July in New Zealand. Mexican-born film-maker Guillermo del Toro will direct the film and its proposed sequel. The films will be prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Oscar winner Peter Jackson. McKellen added that the script was still being worked on, saying "the first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle-earth". Del Toro, best known for the Hellboy movies, has called the directing role "an absolute dream come true". His acclaimed Spanish-language fantasy Pan's Labyrinth won three Oscars and three Baftas in 2007. According to studio New Line, the first film will be an adaptation of The Hobbit, the novel Tolkien published before his Lord of the Rings cycle. The second will be an original story focusing on the 60 years between the book and the beginning of the Rings trilogy.

BBC: [] TV New Zealand: []

Both Articles covered this really well. The article from TVNZ had more quotes from Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) about the movie. The article from BBC had more quotes about the movie and the directors.

I think that this is really cool that they are making the movie of the hobbit. I would want to go see it when it comes out. The book is really good and I am suprised it took them this long to make the movie.