View Full Version : Peter Jackson out of "The Hobbit"
riverplate
22 Nov 2006, 11:53 PM
From the New York Times
Peter Jackson, the New Zealand-based director of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, has been informed by New Line Cinema that someone else will direct “The Hobbit,” the novel in which J. R. R. Tolkien introduced Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Gollum and Middle-earth to the world, Reuters reported. The news came in a letter from Mr. Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh to TheOneRing.net, a Tolkien fan site, in which they said that a New Line executive had called to “let us know that the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker.”
Fans of “The Lord of the Rings” “are very upset,” said Chris Pirrotta, a founder of TheOneRing, Reuters reported. “We are seeing calls for everything from letter-writing campaigns to a boycott of the studio.” Mr. Jackson has sued New Line Cinema, and his lawyers said it could owe him $100 million for his work on the “Lord of the Rings” films, according to a report last year in The New York Times. That film trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide. In his letter to TheOneRing, Mr. Jackson said that he had refused to discuss directing “The Hobbit” until the lawsuit had been settled, but that New Line, which recently told him the studio held the rights to produce the movie for only a limited time, felt it had to go ahead without him.
Belgian guy
23 Nov 2006, 02:32 AM
McKellen reportedly only would have agreed to the Hobbit if Jackson was on board. So if he is true to his word, this news means we'll see someone else as Gandalf as well.
And now, 1/6th of the population of New Zealand will need to find a new job. :D
That being said, I can't imagine "The Hobbit, directed by... Brett Ratner", for some reason. :eek:
BananaShot
23 Nov 2006, 03:51 AM
WTF! Seriously, I can't imagine "The Hobbit" to be directed by someone else than Jackson ... this just sucks 8(
Motterman
23 Nov 2006, 11:52 AM
Typical :rolleyes:
royalstilton
23 Nov 2006, 02:12 PM
McKellen reportedly only would have agreed to the Hobbit if Jackson was on board. So if he is true to his word, this news means we'll see someone else as Gandalf as well.
well, i think that Robert Redford would be a good choice. Gandalf would have been a bit younger, wouldn't he? another excellent choice would be Glenn Close. she's quite the tall one, especially compared to Hobbits.
if Redford = Gandalf, maybe he would direct. the film could be made in Yosemite and Utah. if Glenn Close = Gandalf, then i would vote for Ridley Scott or maybe
Todd Solondz. Ridley Scott because he's used to directing tall women. i think the Todd Solondz choice speaks for itself.
Alex_K
23 Nov 2006, 04:28 PM
well, i think that Robert Redford would be a good choice. Gandalf would have been a bit younger, wouldn't he? another excellent choice would be Glenn Close. she's quite the tall one, especially compared to Hobbits.
Gandalf isn't human, he's a Maiar. He has been on Middle-Earth for more than 2000 years already (since year 1000 of the Third Age) at the beginning of LOTR, so I doub't the few years between The Hobbit and LOTR would make any difference at all.
.
.
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Yes, I'm a geek when it comes to Fantasy literature... SO WHAT? :D
TheSlipperyOne
23 Nov 2006, 11:54 PM
Eh.
I'd rather Jackson stretch his wings and get working on The Lovely Bones again. Get back to his smaller and better directing.
DoctorD
24 Nov 2006, 11:37 AM
This may give Dave Sarachan his chance.
argentine soccer fan
24 Nov 2006, 12:57 PM
This is probably posturing by Both sides. NL has to know that they need PJ.
MeridianFC
24 Nov 2006, 01:31 PM
Not only am I glad that Jackson is not coming back, I'd hope New Line gets someone to do something interesting with the story.
riverplate
29 Nov 2006, 01:37 PM
More from the Times...
To Web Fans, Peter Jackson Is the One True Director (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/movies/29hobbit.html?ref=movies)
When it comes to power games, some in Hollywood are beginning to learn a basic lesson of digital politics: the Internet plays rough. Such is the case with a growing spat between New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson, the A-list director of the “Lord of the Rings” movies and a savvy player when it comes to the power of the Web. Last week Mr. Jackson posted a letter on a fan Web site, theonering.net, explaining that he had been dumped by New Line from “The Hobbit,” a movie based on the book by J. R. R. Tolkien, and still in the planning stages.
“This outcome is not what we anticipated or wanted, but neither do we see any positive value in bitterness and rancor,” Mr. Jackson wrote with his producing partner and wife, Fran Walsh. “We now have no choice but to let the idea of a film of The Hobbit go and move forward with other projects.” But to legions of avid Jackson and Tolkien fans, the news was a bombshell that went whizzing through cyberspace.
“This is a big blow to the LOTR community, I feel like there has been a death in the family,” wrote a Web master called Xoanon, referring to the “Lord of the Ring” trilogy by its initials. “Why couldn’t New Line come to an agreement with P J? Is there really a time option on the film rights for New Line? Who will they get to direct?”
Within hours thousands of other fans weighed in on lordotrings.com, onering.com and other sites, worrying about the future of the Tolkien enterprise and asking New Line, which has an option to produce the film until 2009, to back down. Theonering.net was among those calling for a boycott of any Hobbit film not made by Mr. Jackson.
argentine soccer fan
29 Nov 2006, 11:19 PM
More from the Times...
To Web Fans, Peter Jackson Is the One True Director (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/movies/29hobbit.html?ref=movies)
LOL! The LOTR community? I knew that the Tolkien books and the NL movies were hugely popular, I think the story is fantastic, but now it has its own community?
At any rate, sounds like PJ is playing the so called 'LOTR community' to help him in his power struggle with New Line.
I do hope he does The Hobbit. He proved he can bring Middle Earth to screen. But he's playing dirty.
Stogey23
30 Nov 2006, 11:14 AM
LOL! The LOTR community?
You don't know their motto?
The LOTR Community: Making BigSoccer Nerds look cool since '98.
LOL! The LOTR community? I knew that the Tolkien books and the NL movies were hugely popular, I think the story is fantastic, but now it has its own community?
Theyve been around forever.
Mr. Bandwagon
05 Dec 2006, 02:42 AM
Yawn...Who cares about the Hobbit anyway? I want to know who has optioned the Silmarillion?
(And I'm only half joking)
argentine soccer fan
05 Dec 2006, 03:04 AM
Yawn...Who cares about the Hobbit anyway? I want to know who has optioned the Silmarillion?
(And I'm only half joking)
There are some good stories in there. Like Beren and Luthien, Turin Turambar, the fall of Gondolin and so on. They'll be tough to adapt to screen though. Much more difficult than 'The Hobbit'.
Rowdies4ever
05 Dec 2006, 06:38 PM
LOL! The LOTR community? I knew that the Tolkien books and the NL movies were hugely popular, I think the story is fantastic, but now it has its own community?Where have you been? There's been a LOTR community since before most of you guys have been alive. The books came out in the 50's and became a huge hit in the 60's, and there's been a huge LOTR community ever since. The Internet and the NL movies made it grow even more.