Jackson and del Toro Will Write Hobbit Pics

More good news for Hobbit fans. The executive producer and director of the two forthcoming films based on The Hobbit, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, have announced they're keeping the writing duties at home, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

After an unsuccessful eight-month search for the right screenwriter to adapt the novel and conjure up a sequel, Jackson and del Toro have decided to write the pictures themselves alongside Jackson's writing collaborators from The Lord of the Rings, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

Jackson had said he'd be unable to help write the screenplays because of prior commitments, but his schedule has freed up; besides, Jackson, who was deeply immersed in the development and writing of Lord of the Rings, really wanted to get involved himself. The intimate familiarity of the team with the intricacies of Middle Earth will also help the production meet release dates more easily and free up more time for getting visual magic onscreen.

The films will be shot simultaneously starting in late 2009. Co-distributors New Line and MGM hope to release The Hobbit in 2011, with the second film, covering events between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, slated for the following year.