Belle doesn’t have any lines, right?

Oh dear oh dear, this seems to be a production that can’t catch a break. After numerous set-backs, problems and funding issues, director Guillermo del Torro has announced that he will no longer helm The Hobbit; the much awaited prequel of the Lord Of The Rings films.

Werewolves, zombies and 1970s Italian art-house slash, oh my! Horror film fans are flocking to this year’s incendiary offerings at London’s Film 4 Frightfest 2010. Be there or be buried in a bone garden.

The first trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is here, and we’ve gone all super-sleuth on it to find you as many titbits of Middle-earth info as we can. Need some opinions? We’re literally giving them away:

Guillermo Del Toro is set to become the scurge of cinema cleaners everywhere, as they try their hardest to remove the brown stains from many a seat.

First picture of the cast of continually problematic The Hobbit

How much more can go wrong?

After bloody years of speculation, Martin Freeman has finally been confirmed in the role of Bilbo for Peter Jackson’s much-delayed Hobbit project.

The Hobbit will begin filming in February 2011, unless a giant eagle comes and crushes Peter Jackson’s head on behalf of underpaid Kiwi extras. What? Only a wizard could delay one project for SO BLOODY LONG.

After all the boycotting and burning regarding The Hobbit, the Prime Minister of New Zealand has offered to intervene in the dispute between Peter Jackson and an actor’s union before he ups sticks and ships the whole production off to deepest, darkest Eastern Europe.