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Peter Jackson Hints At The Hobbit

Hellboy0101 writes "News.com.au is reporting that New Line Cinema is currently in talks to purchase the rights to the film adaptation of The Hobbit. There are apparently some difficulties with getting the go ahead from Tolkien's son Christopher, who is executor of the estate. When asked if New Line has approached him about the project, Jackson said he has not ruled it out, but not until after King Kong is done. 'New Line, which spent $US300million ($415 million) making the films, is already planning to continue its Rings success with an adaptation of Tolkien's novel The Hobbit. More difficulties with the Tolkien estate were looming, said Jackson, who added that he would be keen to get involved after he finishes remaking King Kong in 2006. "New Line haven't actually talked to me about The Hobbit. I know there's difficulty about the rights, certainly if they want to talk to me about it I'd be keen," he said.'"

24 of 721 comments (clear)

  1. Keen? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The 50's called. They want their lingo back.

    1. Re:Keen? by thdexter · · Score: 5, Funny

      Proper English called. They want their apostrophe back.

      (Apostrophes, you recall, are for OWNERSHIP.)

      --
      I'm on a road shaped like a figure eight; I'm going nowhere but I'm guaranteed to be late.
    2. Re:Keen? by Decaffeinated+Jedi · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, apostrophes can also denote missing (or missin') letters/characters. So, the proper way to refer to the decade would be the '50s.

      --
      DecafJedi
      my weblog: apropos of something
  2. Gandalf aging backwards? by kutuz_off · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If they plan to do it, they better do it quick. The only (I believe) common character of the trilogy and the Hobbit is Gandalf. Ian McKellen isn't getting any younger.

    1. Re:Gandalf aging backwards? by ObviousGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

      The Hobbit story happens before the Rings story, so maybe they could get Ewan McGregor to play Obi-wan.

      --
      I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    2. Re:Gandalf aging backwards? by Mr_Icon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Gandalf is not a man -- he is istari, an immortal Maya (sort of a "lesser god"). He came to Middle Earth a few thousand years before the action of LOTR takes place and he was already old back then, considering he's been around in one shape or the other since the creation of Arda. :)

      See more here: Encyclopedia of Arda

      Damn... Did I just fail the geek outing test?

      --
      If you open yourself to the foo, You and foo become one.
  3. LOTR actors by Xpilot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I wonder if they can all get Ian Holme, Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving and Andy Serkis to reprise their roles as Bilbo, Gandalf, Agent Elrond and Gollum. It would be cool if it were kept consistant with LOTR.

    --
    "Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
    1. Re:LOTR actors by professorhojo · · Score: 5, Funny

      > I wonder if they can all get... Andy Serkis

      if?

      i think he's already waiting in the studio carpark.

      prof.

  4. Re:My personal opinion by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yea, and then... the Silmarillion.

    Tolkien's rewrite of the bible, spoken in elvish. Mel Gibson is slated for involvement, I hear.

    --
    The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
  5. Re:ATTN: PETER JACKSON by thdougherty · · Score: 5, Funny

    And my axe!

  6. For the Community by CaptainCarrot · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From the article: If he can't have a museum, Jackson wants a bronze statue of the film's characters in Wellington to thank the people of New Zealand for their support - and the $NZ300 million ($265 million) tax break they gave the producers. "We have appealed to (the Tolkien estate) at various times to do something for the community but they keep saying no," Jackson said.

    Someone should tell Jackson that there's a whole lot you can do for a community besides put up a museum or a monument to what you did with their tax break, and it need not even be an eyesore like that statue he wants. How about building parks and playgrounds? Contributing to local health programs? Financial aid for economically depressed areas? Charities? Libraries? Help for schools?

    These and a whole lot of others are ways to give back to the community in ways that really help. And they don't require the permission of the Tolkien estate either.

    --
    And the brethren went away edified.
  7. Re:Please, no hobbit! by Penguinshit · · Score: 5, Insightful

    actually, if the movie is tailored for a wide audience (PG-13) then most kids will get a chance to read the book before they're old enough to see the movie.

    When I was seeing the "The Two Towers", before the movie started, my wife and I started talking to this young girl (must have been under 8) who was there with her mother. She was seated in front of us and doing the usual young child sit-backward-in-the-seat-and-gape-at-strangers trick. We asked her if she'd seen the first movie; she said yes. We asked her if she liked it; she said yes. I asked her if she liked reading the books (hell, I first read them when I was about her age) and she replied, "Oh no, I don't have to read the books - my mom is buying the DVD!".

    I didn't know who to slap - the little girl or her mother.

  8. Re:ATTN: PETER JACKSON by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 5, Informative

    Besides, the animated version of The Hobbit is already a gem.

    Have you ever seen the damned thing? I have to admit I think it got the mood right, but man, those misshapen heads- and they really screwed up the elves! They were like little gremlins! The cartoon creators were obviously thinking of the elves that live up at the North Pole making presents for Santa. That's the wrong kind of elf. Although they did refrain from skateboarding down stairs while shooting arrows. That's one thing they did get right.

  9. Re:Hinting at the Hobbit? by fenix+down · · Score: 5, Funny

    Uh oh. I've been using that one for taking a dump. Perhaps this explains some of those looks...

  10. Re:Please, no hobbit! by drkich · · Score: 5, Insightful

    An author was once asked about a film adaptation of his movie that was just awefull. The person making the comment said that they ruined the book.

    On the contrary said the author, my book still exists in its original form. Nothing has changed except that a new movie was made.

  11. You are in a comfortable tunnel like hall by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 5, Funny

    You are in a comfortable tunnel like hall.
    to the east there is the round green door.
    you see:
    the wooden chest.
    Gandalf. Gandalf is carrying
    a curious map.
    Thorin.
    Gandalf gives the curious map to you.
    Thorin says " Hurry up "

    > HIT THORIN

    You attack Thorin.
    But the effort is wasted. His defense is too strong.
    Thorin attacks you.
    With one well place blow Thorin cleaves your skull.
    You are dead.
    You have mastered 0.0% of this adventure.

    --
    READY.
    PRINT ""+-0
  12. Re:King Kong Bomb by Uma+Thurman · · Score: 5, Funny

    They are making it because Hollywood has turned introspective, looking at itself for plots. They're obviously on a 100 year cycle, and are starting the second iteration. Every 100 years is going to be just like the last 100 years, but updated. If you are lucky, improved medicine will let you stand in line in the year 2077 to see a cool little movie about a guy in a galaxy far, far away. Except, you'll smell the wookie.

    --
    This is America, damnit. Speak Spanish!
  13. Re:ATTN: PETER JACKSON by RedWizzard · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you watch carefully you'll notice that Gimli grabs (and shatters) the axe of the dwarf sitting next to him. He's one smart dwarf, that Gimli.

  14. Re:Please, no hobbit! by Overly+Critical+Guy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh, please. Peter Jackson captured the whimsical nature of Hobbiton and that first half of Fellowship of the Ring perfectly. Every scene between Gandalf and Bilbo was magic. It'd just be that same tone throughout the Hobbit, with hints of the darker world to come in the LOTR trilogy.

    It would, quite frankly, rock.

    --
    "Sufferin' succotash."
  15. Re:King Kong Bomb by BJH · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are you sure that's not $400 million New Zealand dollars? (That's about $US200 million.)

  16. Re:King Kong Bomb by Ores · · Score: 5, Informative

    After some googling i found this. $100million, not that unreasnoble (and if it goes over budget jackson foots the bill personally) This is far more than a rumour, its already in preproduction and has been for a while. It has been his plan to remake it well before LOTR, with scripts availiable online dating to 1996. It seemes to me you are being overly critcal.

  17. Fact check -- STOP blaming the Tolkien Estate! by geekwench · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The Estate (and Christopher) are not behind any difficulties currently facing a Wingnut Films production of The Hobbit. Warner Bros. Pictures, however, is.

    In 1976, the Saul Zaentz Co., doing business as Tolkien Enterprises, acquired rights to both The Hobbit and LotR. This agreement included the film rights. Tolkien Enterprises entered into an agreement with WB so that they could film the Rankin & Bass animated version of The Hobbit. Now comes the fun part: WB still has those rights, and they're sitting on them like a broody hen with only one egg.
    New Line can't greenlight Peter -- they don't have the rights, and aren't likely to get them in the near future. Rumor has it that a few of the key brass over at the Frog Studio are a little cheesed off about the fact that a bunch of Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, and other assorted mangy fairy-tale creatures have been collectively kicking the backside of a certain boy wizard at the box office for the past two Christmases running. Heh.

    Now OTOH, the Tolkien Estate is being a pain in the butt about the idea of a movie museum in Wellington. And for that, Christopher Tolkien can rightly be accused of behaving like the dog in the manger.

    --
    Doing my level best to piss off the religious right wing...
  18. Yes, it's travesty called "not reading the post" by Shadowlore · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is not insightful, it is flat out wrong on so many things wrong.

    Scroll to the top and reread the story.

    Wait, don't both here it is:
    "New Line, which spent $US300million ($415 million) making the films, is already planning to continue its Rings success with an adaptation of Tolkien's novel The Hobbit. "

    That plainly says they spent the money on the LoTR series, not on the King Kong Remake. Further hints include the little know fact that "films" is plural, whereas "the King Kong remake" is singular. ;)

    Oh, and not to pick any nits or anything, but Universal is the one paying Jackson to do the remake of King Kong, and has budgeted 100 million to the project.

    The only "insight" is that Simonetta didn't seem to read the original post. The tragedy is that s/he went off on poor defenseless strawman, and got a +5 insightful.

    Just goes to show that put enough monkeys at a keyboard and let them bang away, eventually they'll mod anything and everything up to +5 insightful.

    --
    My Suburban burns less gasoline than your Prius.
  19. Re:The problem with long copyrights by jkantola · · Score: 5, Insightful


    Try reading the Silmarillion or the Unfinished Tales. Why, take a look at the Books of Lost Tales as well.

    It is quite possible that those beautiful, indeed, essential volumes in the tale of the Middle-Earth would not exist without Christopher, or at least wouldn't, in all probability, fit in so well with the original published works of JRRT. Christopher is, quite understandably so, the best Tolkien scholar par none.

    It's actually interesting how real life mirrors the fantasy. What Christopher's been doing with his father's writings is very much the same thing that Frodo and Sam did for Bilbo's Red Book.

    I for my part am forever grateful for Christopher for publishing any- and everything his father left behind. And I understand his grudge with the franchising of Middle-Earth, even as I love the movies on their own accord.

    Are they selling McLembas already?