Dec 19, 2007 by B. Alan Orange

Sam Raimi Says They'll Have to Drag Me to Hell Before I Direct The Hobbit!

Sam Raimi has chosen the supernatural thriller Drag Me to Hell as his directorial follow-up to the Spider-Man trilogy. According to Variety, the film was co-written by Sam and his brother Ivan Raimi.

The film revolves around the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse. Producer Rob Tapert says, "Sam calls it a 'spook-a-blast,' a wild ride with all the chills and spills that "Evil Dead" delivered, without relying on the excessive violence of that film. When one has done three very expensive movies, they get used to eating caviar. Sam will have to ponder what it means to come down from the mountaintop for a moment."

Tapert also said, "The appeal to Sam on Drag Me to Hell was returning to what he had once done and loved doing, which was entertaining a very specific group of fans and providing a roller coaster ride for them. He doesn't have the enormous pressure here that goes with handling a hundreds of millions of dollars franchise."

The film will begin shooting early next year. When Raimi is done directing this scary little picture, he will most likely direct The Hobbit, which Peter Jackson is producing.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey comes to theaters December 14th, 2012 and stars Cate Blanchett, Saoirse Ronan, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman, David Tennant, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee. The film is directed by Peter Jackson.


Sources: Variety

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Comments (37)

  1. THE JOKER

    actualy yes i did know they made him put in Venom. and i agree the film would have been completely different. and they also told him to do more than that,,,add more to the love story and all that crap. yes they told him to do all that but the fact that he didnt want it done doesnt mean the film was terrible. it was an awful film. It did not fit the other two at all. I think Raimi should continue with Spider-man and create it in his vision and not do what they always wantn him to do because thats what destroyed the film. He is a great director and i would be very happy to see him save Spider-man

    4 years agoby @mcleve02Flag

  2. Radimus-83

    the onkly real problem i had with spidey 3 was that moaning hag Aunt May!! jesus..... every 5 mins she was talking poop!! felt like they wasted half the bloody with her going on "ooohh Peter,, oooh Peter" should have wiped her out at the start and that would give spidey a good twist! but its a kids film and always will be! Raimi is a pretty good solid director, it's the casting of actiors i'm worried!

    4 years agoby @radimus-83Flag

  3. Memo74

    I can't think of someone better than Raimi to replace Peter Jackson for this film

    4 years agoby @memo74Flag

  4. Josh

    Please, all you people who are bitching about Raimi ruining Spiderman 3, shut up. Don't you realize that Spiderman 3 probably would have been the best of the trilogy had it remained as Raimi had planned it. It was the damned studios who told him to go back and write Venom into the film AFTER the story had been scripted. Raimi never even wanted to do a film with Venom in it, and he was forced, which is the reason why the third film ended up being a clusterf*ck of plotlines.
    Leave the man alone. While I for one am wary of anyone but Jackson directing the Hobbit, it's blessing enough that he's even being involved with the movie. He's not going to let it be screwed with.
    Before LOTR came out, NO ONE would have chosen Peter Jackson to direct such a dramatic epic. He and Raimi both came from origins of b-grade horror flicks, and they both proved they're capable of handling big-name franchises. I for one would at least give him a shot. Besides, the tone of the Hobbit is far lighter and more humorous than LOTR ever was; in a way it makes sense to have someone else's vision.
    I just really hope they don't recast Gandalf and Elrond, because McKellen and Weaving are perfect in the roles, and chew scenery like it's Wheaties.

    4 years agoby @shuabertFlag

  5. The Kwisatz Haderach

    Kaya Savas your right on, the dialogue was aweful in spidey and Rami should not direct The Hobbit! He has his own style which works in some of his films, but not everywhere.

    4 years agoby @the-kwisatz-haderachFlag

  6. Rama's SCREEN

    May Sam should go to hell for ruining Spiderman 3

    4 years agoby @ramasscreen-comFlag

  7. Kaya Savas

    Who honestly would have thought that Peter Jackson would be the right choice to do the LOTR trilogy? Both Sam and Peter come from campy horror backgrounds and Peter Jackson delivered an amazing cinematic achievement.

    While I absolutely hate the Spider-Man franchise cause of the bad acting and horrible dialogue I honestly wouldn't mind seeing him try The Hobbit. The only thing I'm worried about is that LOTR was a dream project for Peter Jackson and he always wanted to do it. In this circ*mstance it looks like Raimi will be added to the project instead of fronting it like Peter Jackson did with the trilogy.

    4 years agoby @kayaFlag

  8. twobenz22

    HELL NOO!! I DONT WANT THIS GUY DIRECTING THE HOBBIT! HE SUCKS!

    4 years agoby @twobenz22Flag

  9. CelluloidDreams

    The Hobbit meets Evil Dead!!!!!

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  10. CelluloidDreams

    Besides Sam Raimi directing the "Evil Dead" films and "Spider Man" as well as "A Simple Plan", I did enjoy his western "The Quick and the Dead"!! That wasn't a bad film at all, actually very good!!
    I just hope with "The Hobbit" Bruce Campbell shows up as a Hobbit!!!!

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  11. CelluloidDreams

    I have said it once I will say it again:

    Spider-man 3 wasn't even his fault... And after he made Spider-man 2 and 1, can't we give the man some respect? The directing was fine. The screenplay sucked, and whomever thought it would be a good idea to write three frickin storylines into one movie should be fired!

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  12. The Kwisatz Haderach

    haha emo hobbits! thats funny as hell! Rami killed spiderman, it sucked monkey balls! But as long as Peter Jackson is involved I will hope it will kick ass.

    4 years agoby @the-kwisatz-haderachFlag

  13. raw_bhl

    lolz! Maybe they'll all become stylised with emo haircuts to!

    4 years agoby @raw-bhlFlag

  14. CelluloidDreams

    Gay dance number..?? WTF!?!?!

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  15. PUNISHER

    As long as Bilbo doesnt break out into a gay dance number I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

    4 years agoby @cerealkillerFlag

  16. The Narrator: The Better Man

    wtf. Raimi is a cool director n could make the hobbit work(barely), but i highly hope that pj helps him out. also he jus f****d up venom. but he deserves a shot.

    4 years agoby @narratorFlag

  17. CelluloidDreams

    The Lord of the Rings ( a single epic, NOT a trilogy) was written to cash in on The Hobbit's success. Tolkien wanted to get on with the more serious work of his mythology, and ultimately that is what happened with The Lord of the Rings. It became attached to his mythology, and became as important to him as The Silmarillion!

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  18. CelluloidDreams

    "The Hobbit", or "There and Back Again" while it stands in its own right, it is often marketed as a prelude to Tolkien's monumental novel The "Lord of the Rings"
    Also "The Hobbit", an animated version of the story, produced by Rankin/Bass, debuted as a television movie in the United States in 1977.
    The biggest problem with this novel is perception. Tolkien wrote this story for children; to be more specific, this was written for HIS children. There were several stories like this, but it was this, The Hobbit, that was his master achievement in children's literature.
    The biggest problem with this novel is perception. Tolkien wrote this story for children; to be more specific, this was written for HIS children. There were several stories like this, but it was this, The Hobbit, that was his master achievement in children's literature.

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  19. Phatlightning

    i really wish raimi would not direct the hobbit, he comes in and screws up sequels, leave lotr be

    4 years agoby @sxers2k1Flag

  20. Clockworkcookie

    lol, no matter what people say (it's not his fault, WHATEVER), I just lost my respect for this guy because of what he did to my all time favorite villain, Venom. I will probably not watch a The Hobbit directed by him, out of fear for what he could ruin, specially since I grew up reading Tolkien books. No one but Peter Jackson should direct this.

    4 years agoby @clockworkcookieFlag

  21. brew1701

    but Jackson should be directing it, and whats up with the hobbit sequel, isn't LOTR the sequel??

    4 years agoby @brew1701Flag

  22. brew1701

    i think that he is capable of doing the hobbit, PJ is producing and im sure will give him help on the project, and special effects will be done by weta, even with all that said its not even official yet, so we shall see things may change

    4 years agoby @brew1701Flag

  23. LEO: Lord Epsilon Omega

    Huh. Looks like Sam's goin' back to his Evil Dead days. That's cool. But I still want Peter Jackson to direct the hobbit. He's the only man for the job.
    And raw bhl, give the man a break. Spider-Man 3 was cool, even if it wasn't the best of the trilogy. The only thing I don't like about SM3 was there wasn't enough Venom.

    4 years agoby @epsalonFlag

  24. CelluloidDreams

    What a hoot it would be to see Bruce Campbell as a hobbit or a wizard!!!

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  25. CelluloidDreams

    There is an article dated 11/29/2007 (Rotton Tomatoes)which state:

    When the falling out between Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema led to speculation of a new director for The Hobbit, the only satisfying rumor was Sam Raimi. Now that New Line is trying to reconcile with Jackson, even Raimi is hoping for Jackson to complete the quadrilogy.

    "I think there's no better choice to direct The Hobbit than Peter Jackson," said Raimi. "I'm a giant fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Peter Jackson's a brilliant filmmaker. He would be the guy I think everybody would like to see direct it. I hear they're talking too, from reading the trade magazines. I don't really know firsthand but that's good. Hopefully he will direct it and give us his great version of it."

    Spider-man 3 wasn't even his fault... And after he made Spider-man 2 and 1, can't we give the man some respect? The directing was fine. The screenplay sucked, and whomever thought it would be a good idea to write three frickin storylines into one movie should be fired!

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  26. raw_bhl

    noooooooooooo nooooooooooooooooo noooooooooooooooooooo, raimi is gonna ruin it. peter jackson please direct it, don't let him ruin the hobbit like he did with spiderman 3

    4 years agoby @raw-bhlFlag

  27. CelluloidDreams

    I think if "The Hobbit" had some dark humor to it, then it would make the film more fun!!

    4 years agoby @2movieguysFlag

  28. JustKrisK

    Sam Raimi is good on what he does, and that's Spider-Man, and Evil Dead. Other than that, to give him such an epic story, The Hobbit should be in better hands. I mean if they seriously get Sam Raimi on this, why don't they just get Michael Bay as the assistant director. This way we can have a Bruce Campbell cameos, with high explosive car chases in middle-earth. Seriously though, why not get someone like Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) to take on the project, at least the film would be dark and edgy, and without any slapstick humor that Raimi likes to add in his films. Or just pay whatever it will take to get Peter Jackson in the directors chair.

    4 years agoby @justkriskFlag

  29. btrobinson

    the hobbit will blow

    4 years agoby @btrobinsonFlag

  30. The Kwisatz Haderach

    That would be hilarious.

    4 years agoby @the-kwisatz-haderachFlag

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