Is there really any doubt Peter Jackson would be the perfect man to bring The Hobbit to life on the big screen? While Jackson has definitely proven his ability to make Middle Earth seem like a real place and hobbits, elves, orcs and other creatures as realistic as any human being, the feud between Jackson and New Line might preclude fan favorite Jackson from helming the Lord of the Rings prequel.
A line appears to have been drawn in the sand by New Line Cinema’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Shaye. In an interview in early January with SciFi.com, Shaye was quoted as saying, “I do not want to make a movie with somebody who is suing me. It will never happen during my watch." Shaye added, “He got a quarter of a billion dollars paid to him so far, justifiably, according to contract, completely right, and this guy, who already has received a quarter of a billion dollars, turns around without wanting to have a discussion with us and sues us and refuses to discuss it unless we just give in to his plan. I don't want to work with that guy anymore. Why would I? So the answer is he will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working for the company."
Jackson’s quarrel with New Line is over the studio’s accounting processes on the hugely successful Lord of the Rings franchise, which Jackson directed, produced, and adapted from J R R Tolkien’s trilogy. According to SciFi Wire, Jackson issued his own statement through Wingnut Films in response to Shaye’s latest proclamation. “Our issue with New Line Cinema has only ever been about their refusal to account for financial anomalies that surfaced from a partial audit of The Fellowship of the Ring. Contrary to recent comments made by Bob Shaye, we attempted to discuss the issues raised by the Fellowship audit with New Line for over a year, but the studio was and continues to be completely uncooperative. This has compelled us to file a lawsuit to pursue our contractual rights under the law. Nobody likes taking legal action, but the studio left us with no alternative.”
At the press conference from the 2007 remake of The Hitcher, Sean Bean (Boromir in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) was asked about returning for The Hobbit if Peter Jackson wasn’t involved. Bean responded, “Yeah. I don't know. It's very much a creation of Peter Jackson. It's difficult for me to answer that question because I haven't heard about it. It depends on the circumstances, the many, many circumstances. The director, the writing, the whole idea behind it and what they are trying to achieve.”
J R R Tolkien’s great grandson Royd Tolkien jumped into the fray and offered his 2 cents about The Hobbit director controversy. On his Myspace page Tolkien writes, “Before Peter made Lord Of The Rings all I knew of his work was that I really enjoyed his films. That all changed a few years ago. He's not only a filmmaker, he's someone that I now trust and respect.
Before the films were made I held massive reservations and fears that JRRT and LOTR would be used as merely a tool for producing revenue and would result ultimately in a substandard film. But it's different now, and it's different because of Peter. 3 weeks ago those feelings returned. Without him, The Hobbit will become what I had earlier feared LOTR was to become.
To find a new director after the time and dedication Peter and all his people put in would not just be wrong, it would also be a bad decision.”
Although Royd Tolkien and most Lord of the Rings fans would love to have Jackson back in charge, the bad blood between Shaye and Jackson all but guarantees that as long as New Line Cinema holds the rights to make a film of Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Jackson won’t be involved.
