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Tolkien Enterprises To Film Hobbit With Jackson?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the rumors-keep-milling dept.

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."

4 of 152 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Should LOTR not be public domain? by xoyoyo · · Score: 5, Informative

    70 years after the death of the author in the UK, so you'll have to wait until 2043.

  2. MGM may override New Line by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  3. Re:Does this explain New Line's decision? by rochrist · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.

  4. Who owns what by Dracos · · Score: 3, Informative

    Apparently some people are confused as to who owns what.

    • Saul Zaentz owns the film/tv (most non-print, iirc) rights to all of Tolkien's works.
    • New Line has a license to produce films based on LOTR, which they have exercised.
    • MGM has a license to produce film(s) based on The Hobbit, which they have not exercised.

    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?