Peter Jackson to produce (not direct) The Hobbit

[Mavs Man]

Peter Jackson to produce `The Hobbit'
By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
43 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy "The Lord of the Rings."

Jackson, who directed the "Rings" trilogy, will serve as executive producer for "The Hobbit." A director for the prequel films has yet to be named.

Relations between Jackson and New Line had soured after "Rings," despite a collective worldwide box office gross of nearly $3 billion — an enormous success. The two sides nevertheless were able to reconcile, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) splitting "The Hobbit" 50/50, spokemen for both studios said Tuesday.

"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. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth."

Two "Hobbit" films are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, similar to how the three "Lord of the Rings" films were made. Production is set to begin in 2009 with a released planned for 2010, with the sequel scheduled for a 2011 release.

New Line Cinema is owned by Time Warner. Sony and Comcast are among the owners of MGM.

 

[Danny White]

Peter Jackson to produce `The Hobbit'
By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
43 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy "The Lord of the Rings."

Jackson, who directed the "Rings" trilogy, will serve as executive producer for "The Hobbit." A director for the prequel films has yet to be named.

Relations between Jackson and New Line had soured after "Rings," despite a collective worldwide box office gross of nearly $3 billion — an enormous success. The two sides nevertheless were able to reconcile, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) splitting "The Hobbit" 50/50, spokemen for both studios said Tuesday.

"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. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth."

Two "Hobbit" films are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, similar to how the three "Lord of the Rings" films were made. Production is set to begin in 2009 with a released planned for 2010, with the sequel scheduled for a 2011 release.

New Line Cinema is owned by Time Warner. Sony and Comcast are among the owners of MGM.

Sounds great. Not sure it needs to be done over two movies, though.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Sounds great. Not sure it needs to be done over two movies, though.

Agreed...but hopefully that just makes it better in the sense that they won't have to cut out too many things.

 

[Mavs Man]

Sounds great. Not sure it needs to be done over two movies, though.

Of course it does!

:jackpot:

 

[Yeagermeister]

Hopefully he does a better than that POS King Kong.

 

[Dallas]

The Hobbit is a very long story. There are so many sub stories in it. I can see Jackson doing 2 movies from it. This is great news.

Smaug is going to be AWESOME.

 

[Mavs Man]

Hopefully he does a better than that POS King Kong.

I thought that was King Kong/Jurassic Park IV? :laugh2:

 

[Crown Royal]

Agreed...but hopefully that just makes it better in the sense that they won't have to cut out too many things.

Yep.

The first movie will probably end when they are caught by the tree elves. Just a thought.

Maybe when they are caught by Orcs.


I hope with a new director that the art is still like the Trilogy.

 

[theogt]

From what I've read, they're not splitting it into two movies. One movie will be The Hobbit and will cover the entire book and the other will be a bridge between The Hobbit and LOTR covering all new material.

 

[Meat-O-Rama]

I just started reading The Hobbit to my son a couple of weeks ago, so I'm thrilled to see the movie is finally going to be made...