From Hellboy to Hobbit

Oddly enough, I was taking a break from re-watching "Hellboy" out in the kitchen and Dirty Harry tipped me to the following:

Guillermo del Toro, director of the Hellboy movies as well as Pan's Labyrinth, just signed on to direct "The Hobbit" and a sequel. Previous talk of splitting up The Hobbit into two parts have either been thrown out or were rumor; the sequel will cover the timespan between Hobbit and LOTR.

Hellboy, by the way, is a terrific film. I don't read the comic book, but the movie made me think that I should... and considering what a DC-drone I am, that's a great compliment. Story-wise, the movie could be better, but it's a superb cast (of Ron Perlman, all I can say is "perfect"), the special effects aren't too annoyingly CGI-ish, and the movie has style and artistry to spare. More importantly, the characters have time to work out their relationships (Hellboy fighting with his "Dad", chafing at the arrival of the new guy, struggling with his self-hatred and the barriers in his relationship with Liz, etc...), and all too often big blockbusters won't waste time on those kinds of elements. (I should know, I just suffered through re-watching Spider-Man 3, which bungles its character arcs badly.) Surprisingly, there is a pantload of character development for such an action-packed movie. As I recall, the Hellboy film was a success but not the colossal blockbuster fans would have liked. Here's hoping the sequel does well.