Peter Jackson will not be making ‘The Hobbit’ movies
In an email to TORn Peter Jackson explains his legal dispute with New Line and how he has been told, ” New Line would no longer be requiring our services on the Hobbit and the LOTR ‘prequel’… the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker for both projects.”
41 Comments
Are they INSANE? Who do they think won those 12 Oscars? The movies were PJ’s vision – it would not be the same without him at the helm, not to mention not having WETA (or the brilliant adaptation of the books). I also highly doubt they’ll be able to get the original castmembers back that are supposed to be in the Hobbit because of this. Talk about shooting themselves in the foot.
This is an outrage! The LOTR movies would be nothing without PJ. Now that he and WETA are out of the equation, I probably won’t even bother seeing The Hobbit. LOTR fans should boycott New Line.
I think this is crazy! They would make soooo much money if they did this and they just say that they don’t need his services! Are they mad!? I really wish I could tell them how I feel about this because it is just so crazy!
God, how could they do this? Is it about the money? I don’t know. . . I’m not anticipating The Hobbit anymore. . . I feel really sorry for the director who’s going to do it, because he’ll have so much anger directed towards him if he doesn’t do it right! I miss Peter already!
I got the same email PB and I had to re-read it twice just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
I hope that every other director that is approached by New Line turns them down, personally. They don’t deserve to have any “rights” left to make this movie.
I agree about shooting yourself in the foot, in their case it is the brain and the cash bags!!!!
I really don’t know what to say, I only looked quickly at it the first tiem but when i read it in full I was really sad. I think that worst part that I read that made me really sad was the part where he put, “We got to go there, but not back again.” That really makes me sad, I don’t really care to see it anymore if Peter isn’t going to do it. He is the best director I have known.
Too bad!! But I understand their reasons!!
Don’t tell me you guys are giving up already. A lot can happen between now and who knows when. I’m sure there’s something we can do. I KNOW there’s something we can do. We just need a lot of people.
Some of the comments here are pitaful. There are far better directors out there than Peter Jackson. I’m not saying he’s bad, but he certainly isn’t the best. The only real thing that gave him a seperation from any other director is his love for LOTR. He’s not irreplacable in spite of what some seem to think. People should watch a film based on the merits of the film, not who’s directing it.
The only thing that slightly bothers me on this is whether or not they will still be able to get the likes of Ian Mckellan and Hugo Weaving on board but then I guess that depends on who takes over the project.
Whoa, hey come on guys. PJ did a decent job on LOTR. It wasn’t perfect by any means! And he’s NOT the only director out there with talent…. personally I wouldn’t mind seeing someone elses interpretation of Tolkien’s work. This isn’t the end of the world! Well, just so long as they don’t get Michael Bay to shoot the movie….
You guys don’t seem to get it. With PJ go WETA Digital/Workshop and probably some of the cast members as well. If PJ were the only loss, I could live with it, though I would prefer otherwise. But now The Hobbit will be completely different. Perhaps the only connection between it and LOTR will be Howard Shore, but even that isn’t certain…
yeah, I agree with Aragorn1. It wouldn’t be the same if other people were in it.
I was looking forward to Peter Jackson making The Hobbit a movie sometime!
oh well…
Hey guys, if you still want to see a PJ Hobbit film, then sign this petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/aintnohobbitwithoutPJ/
It may be our only hope.
I agree with Felnor.
You all seem to forget that whoever the director ends up being can also hire WETA, and if I may, I would bring your attention to how much of the actual books were left out in TTT and RotK. Even FotR wasn’t really very accurate.
Imagine the chaos that PJ could create with the relatively simple plotline of The Hobbit. (Again, realize I do not look down on the Hobbit for its simpler plotline- it was written for younger audiences. It doesn’t need the complexity of LotR, as it sets the stage for the trilogy.)
Don’t work yourselves into a hissy fit over this, please. There ARE other directors who could do just as good a job, if not better, than PJ.
I would prefer the Hobbit to be directed by PJ, mostly because I want the Hobbit to have the same feel (if you know what I mean) that Lotr has, even though the Hobbit is more of a children’s book. I don’t have a problem with a new director, but it’ll take some time getting used to the idea that PJ isn’t directing anymore. *sobs*
That is absolutely, completely, and totoally horrid! There will be no continuity whatsoever!
Continuity will be easy. Let us bear in mind Jackson has not created the concept from scratch, all he’s done is put a condensed version of Tolkiens writing on-screen and while this is a great achivment, the plot was basicly all written out ready for him. All he had to do was edit it into a workable movie. The same applies for The Hobbit. Any director with half a braincell will keep the apperances of the characters and races intact solely due to the success of LOTR. WETA is not Jacksons personal company, they are a buisness and will work with anyone for the right money.
If MGM and New Line can get the right man in for this, previous actors won’t shy away. The likes of McKellen and Weaving have enjoyed success with other directors than Jackson. I think some of you seem to forget that. Before LOTR, all the movies Jackson produced were downright awful. Getting it right once doesn’t make you great. There’s a whole host of directors that I’d love to see at the head of this. Quite an interesting oppertunity, I think.
Ian McKellen has reacted to the news with a post on his website: http://www.mckellen.com/epost/lotr/061122.htm. Here is what he says, for those of you who don’t feel like going to the page: “The LOTR fans are already expressing a sense of betrayal. On my own account, I am very sad as I should have relished re-visiting Middle Earth with Peter again as team-leader. It’s hard to imagine any other director matching his achievement in Tolkien country. We will have to await developments but being an optimist I am hoping that New Line, MGM and Wingnut can settle outstanding problems so that the long expected “Hobbit” is filmed sooner rather than later.”
I am very sad about this. Lets hope no other director takes it on and ruins it.