IC Forum Archive

DeusJester · Posts: 1388

All because he decided to sue New Line over the DVD royalties on the LotR trilogy.

What a shitty way to end a collaboration.

Read for yourself.

Mr. Mechanical · Posts: 1890

Aw, hell no! This really sucks, I was looking forward to seeing him do The Hobbit.

Captain EO · Posts: 371

I hated Lord of the Rings so I'm not going to cry myself to sleep over Jackson not directing The Hobbit.

108 · Posts: 2600

the article wrote:

Peter Jackson may not make a film based on author J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

Ging · Posts: 841

tl;dr

aderack · Posts: 5018

More people should read my livejournal.

I wrote:

So you've probably heard by now that New Line has axed Peter Jackson from the project. The reason cited is that they only have the rights for a limited time, and that Peter Jackson's demands (including a lawsuit over profits from the first Rings movie) will take too long to clear up before he can get started. MGM is appalled, as they want two Hobbit movies directed by Peter Jackson -- that's what they signed up for! They say they're not giving up on this yet. New Line has suggested Sam Raimi as a replacement, which... doesn't sound bad, certainly; there are a lot of parallels between the two directors. Still, awkward! Raimi apparently hasn't even been approached, though.

Now. Thing is, New Line was right: its rights are expiring next year. And in a recent interview, Saul Zaentz -- to whom the rights will default -- suggested that PJ has been stalling until this happens, knowing that he can just buy the rights himself and make the movie on his own terms. If anything, Zaentz seems tickled with the idea. So no wonder New Line is in such a damned rush! And given that, whatever happens to New Line's options, MGM will still hold its half of the rights... well, hey. No wonder they're so much more willing to wait and negotiate.

So basically it sounds like PJ's involvement all depends on whether New Line can force the issue within the next twelve months or so. If they do, he's probably out and they'll be forced to make the movie by whatever means necessary, whatever the outcome. Though I don't know if MGM will allow that. So. Yeah, New Line's in an unwinnable situation here. Thus, desperate inanity.

aderack · Posts: 5018

Captain EO wrote:

I hated Lord of the Rings so I'm not going to cry myself to sleep over Jackson not directing The Hobbit.

Thank you for constructively contributing to this discussion.

Captain EO · Posts: 371

aderack wrote:

Captain EO wrote:

I hated Lord of the Rings so I'm not going to cry myself to sleep over Jackson not directing The Hobbit.

Thank you for constructively contributing to this discussion.

you're welcome

108 · Posts: 2600

Yeah, I think Jackson knows what he's doing. He's a damned clever guy.

Still, Sam Raimi really wouldn't be a bad choice -- style-wise. Though I seriously doubt he has the love for the story that Jackson does.

I want Jackson to make this film, make HALO (with Blommkamp) on his own terms, and make it an excellent, thought-provoking film, and make lots of money on it.

Then I'd like to see him try to make something kind of original. You know. Not a remake/homage.

klikbeep · Posts: 485

I think turning Halo into . . . something cinematic, or whatever, would be pretty original.

Actually, I think it would be easier than a lot of game movies. You have something generic as Halo, it can actually be about damned near anything.

108 · Posts: 2600

klikbeep wrote:

I think turning Halo into . . . something cinematic, or whatever, would be pretty original.

Actually, I think it would be easier than a lot of game movies. You have something generic as Halo, it can actually be about damned near anything.

Yeah, except he's not directing it. And by "original" I mean not "based" on anything.

So yeah.

Clash! · Posts: 631

So they want two Hobbit movies? I never read Hobbit, but would it be stretchable into two movies? I think people would get annoyed with another multi-parter in the LotR series, even more so knowing that they could jam all the other books into their own dedicated movies.

George · Posts: 1656

Other than featuring the awesome Ian McKellan, I don't think a Hobbit movie will be a great success with or without PJ. It's a kid's book, and while it's not a bad one, it will be weird to release it after the teen and adult oriented LOTR trilogy. I'd be quite happy if they cancelled the whole thing, but if it is made I sure hope it's PJ or Raimi and not fucking Paul WS Anderson.

Maztorre · Posts: 1175

108 wrote:

Blommkamp

It will be a crime if this guy doesn't get to make a movie about videogame cyborgs.

Next up: Shinobi adaptation by Nolan/Goyer!!

aderack · Posts: 5018

Clash! wrote:

So they want two Hobbit movies? I never read Hobbit, but would it be stretchable into two movies?

Yes; there's actually a hell of a lot of material there; enough that it would be tough to cover in one three-hour-something movie. It's certainly more eventful than any one of the three Rings books (though it's closest to Fellowship). Also, there's a natural breaking point exactly halfway through; the first half would be an adventure, like Fellowship, and the second would be much slower-paced, full of suspense and war.

Plus!!! There's a hell of a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, as later revealed, which wasn't actually covered in the book: Gandalf's dealings with the White Council, driving Sauron out of Mirkwood, and so on.

Also, George, PJ has gone on record saying he's aware of the different tone to The Hobbit, and that he intends to match the movie to his earlier Rings films more than to the book. Which, you know, makes sense.

However, there's also been talk of making the movies rather different: one simply being The Hobbit, and the other one being sort of a bridge movie between the events in that book and Lord of the Rings proper, using the wealth of supplementary material. I don't know how that would work, though; it seems it would be mostly original.