You’d have thought it would be a no brainer... Get the guy who made the massively successful (and critically acclaimed, we might add) Lord of the Rings trilogy to make the LOTR prequel, The Hobbit. But yesterday it emerged that New Line - the current owners of the rights to The Hobbit - have told Peter Jackson and Wingnut Films that their services are no longer required.
In a letter to LOTR fansite, TheOneRing.net, Jackson and co-writer Fran Walsh said that New Line, "Would no longer be requiring our services on The Hobbit ...[and] was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker."
The letter continues by suggesting the difficulties stem from a lawsuit that Jackson filed against New Line in June of 2005, which claimed the studio had committed fraud when reporting the revenue for 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which allegedly resulted in Jackson being underpaid millions of dollars.
But what does this mean for fans of The Hobbit”? Have New Line shot themselves in the foot by getting rid of Jackson? Are there any other director’s with the imagination to pull something like this off?
Or click here to view Jackson’s full statement on TheOneRing.net.
Source: ( TheOneRing )
