Stick a fork in this franchise..

[Dregor Thule]

It's done.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=17619

Sigh.

[Drinsic Darkwood]

Fucking lame. Now I'm irritated.

[Animalor]

Uwe Boll's The Hobbit

[Cotto]

FFFUUUCCCCCCCK

[Lalanae]

That's really unfortunate. They will be hard-pressed to find anyone with even a fraction of Jackson's dedication to, not to mention experience with, the content. Whatever they'd lose in settling whatever lawsuit is preventing this, they'd recoup in profits. It's too bad they can't work it out.

[Funkmasterr]

That does suck. I am kind of curious as to what the mystery second movie could be? The idea of trying to make the silmarillion (sp?) into a movie is a complete joke.

[cadalano]

we've just received reports of a zombified mutant Tolkien rampaging through the streets of Oxford. And you won't believe what was inside this flaming bag left on a local man's front porch! Watch at 11 to find out!

[masteen]

I am kind of curious as to what the mystery second movie could be?

It's a lighthearted sex comedy starring Gollum.

[noel]

Here's the info I could find on the lawsuit. Note that the CNN article appears to have been pulled:

CNN is reporting that Peter Jackson has filed a lawsuit against New Line for unpaid profits from the Lord of the Ring. Here's an excerpt from the article:

One of the principal claims of the suit is that Time Warner Inc.-owned New Line engaged in various forms of "self-dealing" with affiliated companies, an issue that has been vigorously pursued by plaintiffs attorney Stanton "Larry" Stein.

It seeks unspecified damages, restitution and an order barring New Line from striking any more deals without seeking the most competitive and beneficial terms from unaffiliated third parties. The case stems from a 1998 written agreement for Wingnut and New Line to jointly produce and distribute the three films. Among other terms, Wingnut got paid a fixed fee and shared in "first dollar" gross receipts.

New Line is accused of improperly deducting certain home video costs that were not spelled out in the agreement, paying an incorrect royalty rate for DVD sales, delaying the reporting of certain licensing revenue and failing to audit subdistributors, including those affiliated with New Line. The latter claim goes to the broader issue of self-dealing, in which Wingnut accuses New Line of allowing its subdistributors to charge a higher fee than would be expected from nonaffiliated companies.

[Winnow]

Rumor is that Peter Jackson is directing Halo.

[Hesten]

Uwe Boll's The Hobbit

That was NOT funny.

On the other hand, maybe we could get a cool movie set in our currect year, with the dwarves being rejects from a circus, Gandalf a street bum, and Smaug could be Osama Bin Laden (why not, Uwe seemed to hint about putting him in his version of Postal.

[cadalano]

Rumor is that Peter Jackson is directing Halo.

he's producing it

[kyoukan]

The Halo movie got shelved a couple of weeks ago.

Am I the only one that could easily wait another 10-15 years before another Peter Jackson Tolkein movie?

[Dregor Thule]

Ian McKellen can't tho!

[kyoukan]

I doubt they'd use him anyway. The Hobbit took place when Bilbo was a lot younger.

Maybe they can get DiCaprio to do it.

[Zamtuk]

They both seem like money grabs to me. The Hobbit, while pretty cool, couldn't possibly stack up to the other three (obviously). And that other 'prequel', are you fucking joking me? That would be certain shit, regardless of who helmed it.

[noel]

I doubt they'd use him anyway. The Hobbit took place when Bilbo was a lot younger.

Ian McKellan played Gandalf. No reason he shouldn't look the same or nearly the same as his Gandalf the Grey role in FotR.

[Drinsic Darkwood]

Ian Holm was the actor behind Bilbo. And honestly, I doubt the team behind the LotR trilogy would have that much trouble making him appear young (or younger anyway).

[Kaldaur]

Right, but Ian McKellen is getting up there in age. 10-15 years from now, he may not be available to act. Gandalf was timeless; he did not age. He would look exactly the same in Hobbit as he did in LoTR, except for the robe change in movies two and three.

[kyoukan]

Right, I meant Ian Holm. I get my doddery old british actors mixed up since Richard Harris died.

[Nick]

If they didn't get Ian Mckellen to play Gandalf it would probably be a piece of shit anyway.

Personally I don't care if Peter Jackson makes the Hobbit because whilst LOTR was spectacular, his direction for the characters (esp the hobbits Legolas and Gimli) was fucking abysmal.

Still, there's no point making it now if they don't hire the same actors.

[Kwonryu DragonFist]

"The two have made it clear that New Line has passed them up, due to Wingnut Films' lawsuit against the studio regarding "The Fellowship of the Ring," and that the studio is looking for a new director to take on The Hobbit and a mystery second "Lord of the Rings" prequel."

What's all this about? What lawsuit.

[Aslanna]

What's all this about? What lawsuit.

You might want to reread the thread. It's in there somewhere.

[Dregor Thule]

Good news!

The One Ring continues to rule them all.

New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson have made nice in their blood fued over Lord of the Rings royalties, paving the way for the Oscar-winning filmmaker to oversee an epic version of The Hobbit.

"I'm very pleased that we've been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line," Jackson said in a statement Tuesday. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth."

Jackson and his on- and offscreen partner Fran Walsh sued New Line in 2005, claiming the studio cooked the books and seriously shortchanged the couple for a franchise that looted $3 billion at the worldwide box office and won a clutch of Oscars.

The filmmaker had even issued a statement saying the ill-will would keep him from shooting The Hobbit, the J.R.R. Tolkein adventure about Bilbo Baggins and his ring-discovering, dragon-conquering quest that serves as a launchpad for the LOTR series. And to the chagrin of fans, New Line boss Bob Shaye said he'd find someone else to direct.

The project festered in development and faced an uncertain future, especically with would-be stars like Ian McKellen, who received an Oscar nod for playing LOTR's Gandalf, a part that figures prominently in The Hobbit, publicly stated their support for Jackson.

But fans held out hope as MGM honcho Harry Sloan said he was committed to brokering a truce between the warring parties and bring The Hobbit to the big screen. MGM has a big stake in the film's success, because the studio controls the distribution rights.

"Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making The Hobbit," Sloan, MGM's chairman and CEO, said Tuesday.

In September, a key ruling in the case went against New Line, with many observers predicting it would end the impasse between Jackson and the studio.

All the while, New Line has seen its own fortunes falter. Its latest expensive fantasy gamble, The Golden Compass, has underperformed at the box office and the studio has yet to greenlight the other two films in the prospective trilogy.

Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but all parties expressed happiness the row was over.

"We are very pleased we have been able to resolve our differences, and that Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with The Hobbit," said Shaye. "We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with The Lord of the Rings."

"Now that we are all in agreement on The Hobbit, we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film," Sloan added.

It is not clear what specific roles Jackson and Walsh will play. The joint press release simply says the couple, who also produced and cowrote LOTR, will serve as executive producers of The Hobbit and "manage the production."

Jackson already has his hands full, shooting his adaptation of The Lovely Bones and with Tintin on the docket for next fall, so he apparently won't helm The Hobbit. There's no word on will adapt The Hobbit, which will be divided into two parts for the big screen.

Likewise, no casting has been announced. Of the key actors in LOTR, only McKellen, Ian Holm (Bilbo) and Andy Serkis (Gollum) figure in The Hobbit's story line.

Once those details get ironed out, production will begin "as soon as possible." Like LOTR, both halves of The Hobbit will be shot simultaneously. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with MGM and New Line splitting the costs and sharing distribution duties.

The first film is slated for 2010 and its sequel in theaters the following year.

Hot, hot, hot!

[Taison Earbiter]

Now I'm curious who will write and direct. With Peter Jackson being so busy for the next several years I'm not sure if he'll have time to be hands on, at least the way he was with the LoTR trilogy.

[Nick]

The less Peter Jackson has to do with everything Tolkien the better. I liked the LOTR series, but that was in despite of Jackson's direction, not because of it.

As for making "two new films", as the reports go...if they split the Hobbit into two films they deserve a serious fucking slapping.

[Zaelath]

It's funny really, while I enjoyed LotR (the book), I think The Hobbit is a much better story. It's much less "questy" and Bilbo doesn't have a clue WTF is going on for much of it. Plus it's much more succinct, and lacks the cast of thousands that made me wonder who the hell Flarfin Threednoodle was when he was reintroduced to the story after a short introduction 500 pages before. (yes, there is no Flarfin, but you would be hard pressed to be sure if you only read LotR through once).

The Hobbit is full of awesome villains, scenes that would work wonderfully in film, and phat lewtz without the ponderous moral overtones that weigh down LotR.

If it's got anything like the production values of Jackson's first effort, and is kept to 2 hours run time, I give it 9.5/10 right now

[Canelek]

2 films is questionable, but he managed to weave the scripts well enough in the LOTR films...then again, there are fewer storylines in The Hobbit....

My biggest question is how they are going to handle the plethora of singing!

[Aslanna]

Ian Holm was the actor behind Bilbo. And honestly, I doubt the team behind the LotR trilogy would have that much trouble making him appear young (or younger anyway).

RIP Ian Holm. Enjoy the Grey Havens.

And yeah The Hobbit (movie) was terrible. Probably. I only watched the first one. They should have stuck to the source material and not introduce other characters and also contain it to only one movie. Two max. But preferably one.

[Kwonryu DragonFist]

So, what do you think of Amazon of The Rings so far?


Gotta love Morfydds delivery "THERE IS A TEMPEST IN ME!"