The Hobbit executive producer, Peter Jackson, has posted an open invitation today at the WETA website (www.wetanz.com) for all fans to join him and director, Guillermo del Toro, for a live Internet chat later this month.
The chat session called “The Hobbit – An Unexpected Party” will take place on May 25 at 6am Sydney time, hosted by WETA. Interested fans can register now and submit one question about anything, then Jackson and Del Toro will attempt to answer the most common 20 questions at the one-hour chat session.
In addition to the 20 questions, Jackson and del Toro will also take additional live questions and chat about the projects with those logged on.
Jackson had done similarly in 1998 prior to commencing production on the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy when he was surrounded by controversy and concerns from die-hard Tolkien fans. Questions were moderated at the site Ain’t It Cool News, where fans could submit their questions via email and 20 were short-listed.
To that experience, Jackson in his open invitation said: “For me, it was an important and enjoyable moment, when I was able to begin a relationship that helped define our attitude to that unique project. It gave me a sense of responsibility that stayed etched into my brain for the next five years.”
With the announcement of del Toro’s involvement as The Hobbit’s director made official late April, Jackson had felt it fitting that del Toro be involved in this upcoming open dialogue hosted officially by WETA.
The Hellboy director has been signed on to complete The Hobbit and its sequel back to back, and will call New Zealand home for the next four years.
When contacted, WETA refused to make any comment at this time.
Register for “The Hobbit – An Unexpected Party” at http://www.wetanz.com/party/register/
The chat will happen worldwide, at these times based on time zones:
Los Angeles (Pacific) Saturday 24 May 1pm
New York (Eastern) Saturday 24 May 4pm
London Saturday 24 May 9pm
Paris, Berlin, Rome Saturday 24 May 10pm
Sydney Sunday 25 May 6am
Wellington, Auckland Sunday 25 May 8am
A retrieved transcript of “Peter Jackson Answers THE GEEKS!!!” is available here
http://members.tripod.com/peter_jackson_online/lotr/articles/20_questions.htm
Along with his open letter to Ain’t It Cool News readers
http://members.tripod.com/peter_jackson_online/lotr/