Peter Jackson Will Not Return for The Hobbit

[JohnCrichton]

The Fall of Middle Earth? (http://angryzenmaster.com/2006/11/20/peter-jackson-hobbit-no-more/)

This frelling breaks my heart. I just don't know who else could possibly do these movies the justice they deserve. :(

[Hero Supreme]

The Fall of Middle Earth? (http://angryzenmaster.com/2006/11/20/peter-jackson-hobbit-no-more/)

This frelling breaks my heart. I just don't know who else could possibly do these movies the justice they deserve. :(


brett ratner to the rescue.:D

[EinBebop]

I don't find the idea of a different director very troubling; granted that another director, while presumably following standards layed down by Jackson, will probably have a slightly different feel to it. But The Hobbit was a different beast from Lord of the Rings, so that's not necessarily a bad thing.

What I do find troubling is that New Line CHOSE not to use Peter Jackson again. Why would you even take that gamble?

As for who else could do the series justice, well, based on his previous body of work, who would've thought Peter Jackson could do it justice? :D

[Hades]

That is bull man. I know Jackson and New Line had some issues last year, but for him not to do The Hobbit means I don't have any reason to see it. No one else out there has the passion and love for Tolkien as Jackson did.

[Hero Supreme]

i think the hobbit can still be good, and still profitable, but this decision will most defininately cost both New Line and PJ a lot of cash.

[JohnCrichton]

No WETA.... man... I don't have too high a hope for this next flick or two.

Who else has the chops to handle this... Ridley Scott maybe? Or are they just gonna get some hack off the street, like Paul Anderson. :P

[HellCat]

This doesn't sound good at all. Certain question changes aside, Jackson and co clearly respected the story. The idea of anyone else handling a prequel is bad enough, but also one which would be a brand new story?....I get the feeling if this goes ahead we're gonna get something that spits on one of the best literature and film trilogies in history.

[Discloner]

I think the absence of WETA will be the biggest issue with this decision - though it's not like ILM doesn't have the potential to create a world just as interesting and real. Jackson did a good job with LOTR - but he's not the end all of directors for fantasy flicks.

[Mr. Manager]

That's too bad. I hope they find a good replacement.

[Lord Dalek]

Guess we can write this one off...

[EinBebop]

I get the feeling if this goes ahead we're gonna get something that spits on one of the best literature and film trilogies in history.For example, take Batman vs X-Men:
Schumaker took over and did his own thing, and I would argue his vision as a whole was more faithful to the comics than Schumaker. Burton obviously was not concerned with recreating the comics, he was doing his own thing. Admittedly, the Schumaker movies and the franchise as a whole had other problems, but a lot of people rejected Schumaker out of the gate when they saw he was not following along with Tim Burton's dark fairy-tale version.

And then there's Brett Ratner with X-Men. Brett did the right thing: nothing. Few probably know that it was directed by someone else, and most of those who do probably wouldn't have known if you hadn't told them.

The point: I think most directors would remain faithful to Tokien, and while Jackson did an admirable job, another director might have come even closer to Tolkien. But since Jackson's work was a huge success with many who've never read the original source material, Jackson's is now more important than Tolkien's writing from a movie franchise perspective.

[GregX]

There is still hope.

11/17/2006
Producer Saul Zaentz said in an interview with the German movie magazine 'Cinema', The Hobbit surely will be made by Peter Jackson. MGM-boss Harry Sloan meanwhile gives 2008 or 2009 as date.
Translation from the magazine:
Q: What is with the long anticipated Hobbit-adaption?
A: It will definitely be shot by Peter Jackson. The question is only when. He wants to shoot another movie first. Next year the Hobbit-rights will fall back to my company. I suppose that Peter will wait because he knows that he will make the best deal with us. And he is fed up with the studios: to get his profit share on the rings trilogy he had to sue New Line. With us in contrast he knows that he will be paid fairly and artistically supported without reservation.
(own translation)
German article on elbenwald.de

[Hanshotfirst113]

Well then, there's no reason for them to make The Hobbit and certainly no reason for me to see it if it gets made now.

[Hanshotfirst113]

There is still hope.

11/17/2006
Producer Saul Zaentz said in an interview with the German movie magazine 'Cinema', The Hobbit surely will be made by Peter Jackson. MGM-boss Harry Sloan meanwhile gives 2008 or 2009 as date.
Translation from the magazine:
Q: What is with the long anticipated Hobbit-adaption?
A: It will definitely be shot by Peter Jackson. The question is only when. He wants to shoot another movie first. Next year the Hobbit-rights will fall back to my company. I suppose that Peter will wait because he knows that he will make the best deal with us. And he is fed up with the studios: to get his profit share on the rings trilogy he had to sue New Line. With us in contrast he knows that he will be paid fairly and artistically supported without reservation.
(own translation)
German article on elbenwald.de

Well, we can hope and pray. Maybe the movie gods will come through. I'm not holding my breath, but who knows? I suppose there's always a chance. But I won't get my hopes up.

[TheMecca]

brett ratner to the rescue.:D
...that was sarcasm, right?

[Sharklady]

> As for who else could do the series justice, well, based on his previous body of work, who would've thought Peter Jackson could do it justice? <

That is a valid point. If I'd known about Jackson's previous body of work before actually seeing 'Fellowship of the Ring', I might have expected the thing to be a gore-fest travesty.

Good thing I didn't know!

[Hero Supreme]

...that was sarcasm, right?

oh yeah :)

[silverwings]

The biggest problem is if they lose Jackson, they lose Weta. And New Zealand.

Regardlesss of whether you agree with Jackson's direction or not, I'd want him to direct the Hobbit soley for the sake of consistancy. :)

[Hanshotfirst113]

The biggest problem is if they lose Jackson, they lose Weta. And New Zealand.

Regardlesss of whether you agree with Jackson's direction or not, I'd want him to direct the Hobbit soley for the sack of consistancy. :)

A agree. This will be the biggest cinematic injustice since Donner was kicked off of Superman II, and will proably join with the Kurtz-Kershener-Kasdan version of Revenge of the Jedi, the Donner Cut of Superman II, and the Frank Miller's Robocop 2 as one of the great movies that should have been. It's just so sad and unfair.

[Hanshotfirst113]

brett ratner to the rescue.:D

You laugh. McKellan might work with him again after X3. If he and WETA and the rest of the gang bail, New Line might see that without them, the whole project would fall apart.

[SSJPabs]

And then there's Brett Ratner with X-Men. Brett did the right thing: nothing. Few probably know that it was directed by someone else, and most of those who do probably wouldn't have known if you hadn't told them.
I don't know. X-Men 3 was fun but it was so much more 2 dimensional than the first two movies. And I say this as someone who was not a fan of X-men and didn't even SEE the first two movie in the theaters but loved them when I saw them on TV. The third movie was clearly very different. Rather than make a B/B- Superman film and have Ratner make a C+/B- X-Men film, Singer would have been better served to make another A+ X-Men film.

Same principle with Harry Potter. You could tell the huge difference Curon made in the third movie compared to Columbus's first two films. Hell I have never watched the first two all the way because they send me right to sleep. Not so for Curon's Harry Potter.

Historically a huge part of the success of the Rings movies was not just Peter Jackson and his Cast of Thousands but also his interaction with the Tolkien fandom. He was able to take suggestions and work with the fans while staying true to his vision and not allowing a closer adherence to the source material that most of us would have preferred to get in the way of successful movie making. Would a new team be willing to do that? Compared to what I've seen online Tolkien fans have a pretty good at understanding that some things need to go.

[Hanshotfirst113]

http://icv2.com/articles/home/9670.html

There may still yet be hope. I wouldn't hold my breath, for hope is forsaken in these lands (Hollywood), but we can always pray.

[Hanshotfirst113]

http://thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents
http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1164265935
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news06/061124e.php

There is still hope. Those interested in politely making their feelings on the issue are advised to check out this contact list: http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/8/1164129588 (Why can't I get the blasted hyperlinks to work?). Flaming them with angry letters won't help, as I'm sure everyone here knows, but some intelligent constructive criticism would be good, and I know that TZers are up to it. Just FYI, in case anyone is interested. Cross your fingers. I'm not going to get my hopes up, but there's always a chance.

[HomeMoviesFan]

I don't get it. Isn't Jackson directing the entire point of doing "The Hobbit"? Because if no...just forget it...

[Paul_Cousins]

There is still hope.

11/17/2006
Producer Saul Zaentz said in an interview with the German movie magazine 'Cinema', The Hobbit surely will be made by Peter Jackson. MGM-boss Harry Sloan meanwhile gives 2008 or 2009 as date.
Translation from the magazine:
Q: What is with the long anticipated Hobbit-adaption?
A: It will definitely be shot by Peter Jackson. The question is only when. He wants to shoot another movie first. Next year the Hobbit-rights will fall back to my company. I suppose that Peter will wait because he knows that he will make the best deal with us. And he is fed up with the studios: to get his profit share on the rings trilogy he had to sue New Line. With us in contrast he knows that he will be paid fairly and artistically supported without reservation.
(own translation)
German article on elbenwald.deThat explains a lot and looks like a good deal which might bring the rest of the Middle Earth stories to screen.

[JohnCrichton]

There's a chance that Sam Raimi (http://angryzenmaster.com/2006/11/27/raimi-offered-hobbit/) might take up the helm.

I would not be mad at that.

At least their going for a-list talent that would know how to handle the franchise. I thought they're next stop would be to get Uwe Boll or Brett Ratner. :P

[Hanshotfirst113]

True, but I'd REALLY like Jackson to do it. I'm not going to get my hopes up, but just in case, there we go. God williing.


That explains a lot and looks like a good deal which might bring the rest of the Middle Earth stories to screen.

I hope and pray that you are correct, more than you know. Please God.

[Lutochris]

What would happen if New Line got George Lucas/ILM to helm the project? He wouldn't need Ian McKellan, he'd just make Gandalf computer-animated.

[EinBebop]

What would happen if New Line got George Lucas/ILM to helm the project? He wouldn't need Ian McKellan, he'd just make Gandalf computer-animated.If I were a photoshopper, I'd upload a picture of Jar Jar with a Gandalf hat right now.

[DarthGonzo]

Oh well...