Hobbit goes ahead without Jackson

Lord of the Rings Trilogy Forum

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has been told he will not be employed on The Hobbit, the next film adaptation of a JRR Tolkien novel. New Line Cinema, with whom he has been in dispute about income from the first LOTR film, was not using him, he said.

Jackson had refused to discuss a Hobbit film until the case was settled but New Line said it now wanted to move on as it had "limited time" to make the film.

The Rings trilogy generated nearly $3bn (£1.6bn) in cinemas around the world.

Jackson's film company, Wingnut Films, brought a legal action against New Line resulting from an audit the company undertook on The Fellowship of the Ring.

Jackson, a devoted Tolkien fan, said he had been removed from the Hobbit project by New Line, who also hold the rights to a second Lord of the Rings prequel.

The Oscar-winning director said New Line would not allow him to make the films unless he dropped the lawsuit.

Fans of Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings films have long called for a film version of The Hobbit.

The book tells the story of how Bilbo Baggins took the ring from Gollum.

"We have always assumed that we would be asked to make The Hobbit and possibly this second film, back-to-back, as we did the original movies," Jackson's e-mail to TheOneRing.net fan website read.

"We assumed that our lawsuit with the studio would come to a natural conclusion and we would then be free to discuss our ideas with the studio, get excited and jump on board."

Meetings with film executives had been planned, Jackson explained, but then New Line called his manager to tell him that the company "would no longer be requiring our services on The Hobbit and the prequel".

New Line was "actively looking to hire another film-maker for both projects", Jackson added.

"This outcome is not what we anticipated or wanted, but neither do we see any positive value in bitterness or rancour.

"We now have no choice but to let the idea of a film of The Hobbit go and move forward with other projects."

Chris Pirrotta, co-founder of TheOneRing.net, said the fan site had a long-running relationship with Jackson.

Fans were "very upset", Pirrotta told Reuters. "We are seeing calls for everything from letter-writing campaigns to a boycott of the studio."

A spokesman for New Line declined to comment.

Was that "$3bn" to mean 3 BILLION?
and they're arguing? Obviously Jackson did something GOOD. I hope this ends up slapping New Line in the face for going with someone else. YOu don't mess with a good thing. lame-os.

Unless Jackson was stealing money or something and that was the reason for the audit. i dunno... But, making the HObbit into a movie sounds cool.

Jackson is a hobbit.

Can't say I'm mad another 4 1/2 hour movie about hairy midgets walking around trying to ditch a ring isn't coming out.

-HECK!

@ Heck!

I'm somewhat dissapointed by this, but oh well, hopefully they'll do a good job regardless. what intrigues me is the fact they have a second prequal in mind. whats that about?

I think that they are making a huge mistake by not have Peter Jackson doing this movie. First off, he is a HUGE Tolkein fan, and he will really bring it to life, in my opinion, like no one else will/can.

I'm with SS... a second prequal?

Tolkein not doing The Hobbit? I won't accept that, he truly did a great drop with the original trilogy. To just drop him because you don't want to pay him is wrong on New Line's part. Now they'll employ some guy who will just make a crappy movie.

And, it's going to piss off a lot of fans too, I bet. People will be angry with New Line... don't you think?

I can film this movie. Hairy dwarves, some costumer jewelry, barbershop floor hair to paste on the dwarves- movie magic.

-HECK!

I do read Dreamzwalker. I was being hilarious. Didn't mean to offend your inner Hobbit

-HECK!

lol - you didn't
i just was making sure


though the movie may suck if PJ isn't doing it.

Eh, I agree with those that say the future of this film is in danger without Peter Jackson. They could surprise us, however... chances are they won't.

I agree with Gaboman. as to the second prequel, the only thing that readily comes to mind is the massive backstroy that is the Silmarillion, and its not something i'd consider movie making material, much less cramming it all into seemingly 1 movie

I can't see HOW they could make the Silmarillion into a movie.

Well I am disappointed, but there are so many Tolkien fans out there, that Jackson can not be the only talented one. I am an optimist that believes that JRR Tolkiens wonderful story will be told and it with transcend any crap that New Line can do to it.

Shadow, I think the only real bankable story in the Silmarillion is the tale of Beren and Luthien.

Fans protest over Hobbit decision

The decision to drop Oscar-winner Peter Jackson as director of The Hobbit film has led to an online petition of 1,100 people asking for him to be reinstated.

A website has also been set up urging a boycott of producer New Line Cinema, and fans have used weblogs and forums to question the studio's judgement.

Jackson refused to discuss a follow-up to his Lord of the Rings trilogy until a dispute about DVD royalties was over.

But New Line said it had only "limited time" and was proceeding without him.

A petition created this week on the Petition Online website - and signed by more than 1,100 people - called for The Hobbit to be filmed "the way it was meant to be or not at all".

The petition said that a Hobbit movie without Peter Jackson and his writers and special effects team was not what fans wanted.

"The characters and scenery will all be new and unfamiliar and props, costumes, and the backdrop of New Zealand will all be lost," it said.

"Most likely even the original actors will not sign on to do it - can you imagine someone other than Ian McKellen playing Gandalf the Grey?"

A user of fan site theonering.net has registered the domain name boycottnewline.com, which links to another petition.

"Something must happen to get New Line and Jackson to talk about the legal case, which has been hanging over future Tolkein-related productions since 2005," the owner has written.

"The only way to get New Line to budge is to boycott future New Line productions until they sit down and hash things out with Peter Jackson."

Before the story emerged this week, there was already a site - thehobbitfilm.com - encouraging fans to ask top studio executives to get on with making the movie with Jackson.

It urged people to send letters or postcards because "the only way we are going to reach our goal of having a live-action version of The Hobbit from Peter Jackson and his team is by keeping after the studios who own the rights".

Film studio MGM said Jackson's involvement was "far from closed"

However, other fans were more relaxed about the way the project was progressing.

"That's the best news I've heard concerning Peter Jackson in about five years," wrote one person on the ringbearer.org site.

"He's exactly the wrong guy to handle The Hobbit in any way shape or form."

Another, on theonering.net, said: "I'm sure The Hobbit will turn out to be a success even without the help of the great Peter Jackson."

A spokesman for distributor MGM told Variety newspaper that the matter was "far from closed", leaving some people hoping Jackson would return.

"Hopefully they will see the light and involve the two people who have proven worth in telling the stories," one person wrote in the chatroom at theonering.net.

Neither New Line nor MGM was available for further comment.

Sweet Jesus, don't these turds have anything better to do?

-HECK!

As happens with so many sequels, they seldom reach the quality of the first. The poetic eloquence of The Fellowship, the attention to charactor development, the glimpse into hobbit society and other details that gave life to tokein was watered down in each sucessive film until longtime readers of the books could hardly recognize the stories. The Return of The King entirely ignored the enslavement of the Shire by Saruman and the killing of Saruman by Wormtongue and conveniently won the battle for Middle Earth with a flood of undead who perform an acidic dissoloution of all foes including oliphants.

It was a sad rendition of JRR's vision and any true affectionado would welcome a fresh interpretation. Few of those protesting could have read the books closely. I agree with Heck for once.

They did leave out all that happened in the Shire. So many of us who really are into the book were very disappointed with it. I know that I for one hate it when people mess with Tolkien.

I do believe that Ian was the perfect Gandalf, and I hope they throw him some serious cash to get him to sign on as Gandalf again.

If they can get Sir Ian McKellan as Gandalf and Ian Holm as Bilbo then the movie would at least link to thePeter Jackson version Lord of the Rings movies and you would know that the movie wouldn't be rubbish because of the quality of Actor involved.

I'm sure McKellen and Holm would love to do the move anyway.

It would be best to film in New Zeeland because that is now a recognised landscape for middle-earth after Peter Jacksons films.

Whatever happens and who ever directs the Hobbit too many thing cannot be changed. Fans of the Lord of the Rings and of Tolkien have widely accepted Peter Jackson addaptation of the Lord of the Rings as the best addaptation of Tolkiens book, to simply remove Jackson and his team from the picture all together would be a mistake.

Perhaps Jackson and his team could be in a consulting role if not incharge and still help to make the movie.

The Hobbit is a big book in many peoples childhood. Because of this and because it is being made after the Lord of the Rings has been completed the Hobbit is a bigger challenge than much of the Lord of the Rings because people expect not only the Hobbit to forfill their idea of what the movie should be like but also to live up to the standard set by Peter Jackson and his team.

In short this movie will be a big challenge to who ever is directing whatever happens.

More views on Hobbit film:

Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films, has voiced dismay over the decision to drop Peter Jackson as director of The Hobbit.

"I'm very sad as I should have relished revisiting Middle Earth with Peter again," the actor wrote on his website.

"It's hard to imagine any other director matching his achievement in Tolkien country."

Movie studio's are full of really really stupid people. I think they are all lawyers.

http://www.inreview.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=686764


Hobbit Hostilities Escalate
by Josh Grossberg
Thu, 11 Jan 2007 01:46:00 PM PST


One ring might rule them all, but one lawsuit's threatening the future of one of Hollywood's biggest franchises.

New Line Cinema cohead Bob Shaye has lashed out at The Lord of the Rings ringmaster Peter Jackson, calling the Oscar winner greedy for suing the studio over disputed profits from the first film in the trilogy. He also left little doubt that New Line considers the director persona non grata when it comes to future projects, including the highly anticipated big-screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

"I do not want to make a movie with somebody who is suing me," the studio chief told Sci Fi Wire while making the publicity rounds for his own directing effort, the family-friendly fantasy film The Last Mimzy. "It will never happen during my watch."

Shaye, who made the gutsy decision to greenlight simultaneous production on all three Lord of the Rings films, took particular offense at what he said was the New Zealander's "arrogance" and ungrateful attitude in the wake of his success.

"Not that I don't think Peter is a good filmmaker and that he hasn't contributed significantly to filmography and made three very good movies. And I don't even expect him to say 'thank you' for having me make it happen and having New Line make it happen," continued Shaye, who was an executive producer on the trilogy. "But to think that I, as a functionary in a company that has been around for a long time, but is now owned by a very big conglomerate, would care one bit about trying to cheat the guy...he's either had very poor counsel or is completely misinformed."

The executive was also irked when many of the LOTR stars declined to participate in a video celebrating New Line's 40th anniversary—mainly, he believed, because of their affection for Jackson.

"I don't care about Peter Jackson anymore," Shaye said. "He wants to have another $100 million or $50 million, whatever he's suing us for. He doesn't want to sit down and talk about it. He thinks that we owe him something after we've paid him over a quarter of a billion dollars...Cheers, Peter."

Such remarks would seem to put the kibosh on Frodo fanatics' dreams of Jackson returning to Middle Earth and helming The Hobbit and possibly another prequel.

Of course, it's possible both sides are simply engaged in high-stakes brinksmanship to get what they want.

In Shaye's case, by cutting Jackson out of the franchise that made his career and won him a trio of Oscars, the executive might be able to leverage a settlement to his liking. On the other hand, he could simply be reacting to Jackson, who, in a preemptive move, tried to force New Line's hand in late November by sending an open letter to theonering.net, voicing his issues with New Line.

In it, Jackson informed Tolkien devotees that the studio planned to move forward on The Hobbit without him, because New Line wanted to get the prequel in production before resolving his lawsuit.


The news prompted peeved fans to launch a letter-writing campaign urging the studio not to cut ties with the 45-year-old filmmaker or else face a boycott. In one hopeful sign, MGM—which owns the distribution rights to The Hobbit—told E! Online the "game is not over" and Jackson was still a possibility to direct.

Meanwhile, in response to Shaye's remarks this week, Jackson's company fired back with a statement Thursday, calling his former boss' comments "regrettable" and restating his case.

"Fundamentally, our legal action is about holding New Line to its contractual obligations and promises," the filmmaker said. "It is regrettable that Bob has chosen to make it personal. I have always had the highest respect and affection for Bob and other senior management at New Line and continue to do so.

"But the studio was and continues to be completely uncooperative [regarding an open audit of the films' books]," Jackson continued. "This has compelled us to file a lawsuit to pursue our contractual rights under the law. Nobody likes legal action, but the studio left us with no alternative."

Jackson also balked at Shaye's assertion that LOTR actors dissed the studio because of the bad blood between the filmmaker and the suits.

"I have never discussed this video with any of the cast of the LOTR. The issues that Bob Shaye has with the cast predate this lawsuit by many years," Jackson said.

An unnamed person Jackson's camp was quoted in Variety saying Shaye's disparaging remarks were an attempt to put the focus on the millions of dollars Jackson made instead of any book-cooking on the studio's part. The trade paper also reported that both parties appear to far from a settlement in the lawsuit.