Slashdot Mirror
Tolkien Enterprises To Film Hobbit With Jackson?
cyclomedia writes "TheOneRing.Net has a new scoop on the ongoing Hobbit Movie saga, sourced from elbenwald.de. Apparently the rights to make the Hobbit film fall back to Saul Zaentz 'next year.' He claims that, under their stewardship, The Hobbit will 'definitely be shot by Peter Jackson.'
For the whippersnappers amongst you: Mr. Zaentz is the head honcho of Tolkien Enterprises, which originally acquired exclusive rights to productions of the LOTR and Hobbit material in 1976, prior to overseeing the Bakshi animated version of LOTR."
Depends on the original agreement. Generally you have to start production by a certain date. Sometimes there's extensions of rights based on filming a version. Corman was hired to make an unreleased version of Fantastic Four to extend the rights. It's intended to allow for sequels but they were able to use that provision to retain the rights as well.
70 years after the death of the author in the UK, so you'll have to wait until 2043.
The Hobbit was first published September 21, 1937, nearly seventy years ago. Tolkien died on September 2, 1973. The EU/British term of copyright, updated in 1996, seems to be the author's life plus 70 years. Sometime in 2043, we should be able to enjoy Tolkien's works without restriction. This assumes that copyright law won't change in the interim, of course. . .
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entry id=381433
Looks like Tolkien Enterprises isn't the only one who wants to let Jackson do the job.
It's not that simple. There's no guarantee that he can continue to make successful films. If you look at the career of any "great" director (except for a few luminaries), you will find hit, flop, flop, hit, hit, flop, flop, hit, etc. Even if they made what is considered a classic film, it may have lost money or not been very successful at the box office.
So yes, continuing to work with Peter Jackson is still a big risk. Case in point: King Kong. Which pulled in 550 million from the theatrical release alone, with a production budget of 207 million. Not LOTR numbers, but not a failure either.
Obviously you aren't aware of how difficult it is to translate books to movies. Some minor or even major changes are needed for the flow of the film. LOTR would not have faired well if Peter Jackson had made the movies "exactly" like the books. For one thing the books were extremely long in certain parts and its not certain how well American audiences would have handled Bob Bombadil.
Yes he changed things but did his dammedest to try and keep to the spirit of the original works. They referred back to the books on every scene they shot and though the movie isn't exactly like the novels it preserves the feeling of dread of desparation felt by the characters. I applaud Peter Jackson on the care, dedication, and attention to detail that was put into LOTR.
Every detail in the movie was scrutinized, every prop was hand made by local New Zealander craftsmen and WETA Workshop. Everything from the armor worn by the different characters, to the furniture, to the buildings, to the cups they drank from where all hand made for the movie. absolutely nothing from any previous film was used in making LOTR, everything was new. Costumes, weapons, armor, EVERYTHING. The making of the LOTR triology was the biggest film making undertaking in the history of cinema. LOTR was a testiment to the genius of Peter Jackson and the guys/gals at WETA Workshop. This increcible attention to detail was their homage to J.R.R. Tolkien who also approached writing LOTR in such detail as well.
You strike me a person who has no appreciation for art at all, and that's sad.
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
thezorch@gmail.com
http://thezorch.googlepages.com/home
i before e except after c
A wierd rule, bieng niether accurate nor sufficeint as a guide to spelling. I wish the people who came up with these rhymes would check thier facts more sceintifically.
Apparently some people are confused as to who owns what.
Both Jackson and New Line tried to buy MGM's license multiple times in the last decade. MGM wouldn't sell for any reasonable price.
With the expiration of MGM's license drawing nigh, they realized that they finally had to do something in order to profit from it. What's the simplest thing to do? Go to New Line and offer a partnership that puts Jackson in the mix.
What MGM didn't count on is the accounting suit Jackson has against New Line regarding profits from FotR, a suit that New Line is stonewalling, but apparently tried to settle as a condition of Hobbit production, which Jackson didn't like. Everyone involved knows that any Hobbit film is dependent on Jackson's involvement for maximum profitability.
And now MGM's license is about to expire. MGM has to be pissed at New Line for allowing this to happen. Jackson is probably annoyed at New Line for trying to drag his lawsuit into it. New Line is probably salivating at the prospect of finally getting the Hobbit license for themselves, to do with as they wish. They just have to hope Jackson doesn't get it, if he wants it.
If Jackson does get the Hobbit license, wouldn't it just be a kick in the balls if he had MGM distribute it?