Writing Hobbit

Peter Jackson and renowned director Guillermo del Toro ("Hellboy," "Pan's Labyrinth") have been on the hunt for writers to bring the classic Lord of the Rings prequel tale The Hobbit to life for film have decided that no one is better suited for the task than they are.
The Hollywood Reporter gives the three reasons why the filmmakers made the choice they did:
1) The filmmakers saw their schedules open up, 2) During the general discussions about the films, they realized how much affection they had for the material, and 3) They also realized that in order to make the release dates, the process required people intimate with Tolkien's world of Middle Earth.
The Hobbit and its sequel will be shot simultaneously starting in late-2009. The first Hobbit movie is expected to hit theaters in 2011 and its sequel the following year.