Thanks to forum board member Theodred for this link to an MTV Rough Cut video in which Peter Jackson shoots down the rumor of a third ‘bridge’ film being made:

The June 1st issue of Time, our friend and director of “The Hobbit,” Guillermo del Toro, talks about TheOneRing.net. In the magazine’s regular feature “Short List,” (page 63) where the movers and shakers of the world talk about what folks do in their spare time, he says, “TheOneRing.net is a great community where intelligent, articulate dissenters argue about fascinating minutiae–and not just about fantasy.”

Thanks GDT! We happen to agree and coincidentally a bunch of us were saying the other day that we think you are intelligent, articulate and a dissenter when it comes to following old, tired movie formulas, so now we are even except that Time freaking magazine will not be quoting us about you. Sorry! That really is mighty kind praise from a guy who made cool flicks like “Cronos,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” and “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

Not only did our message board folks post about it here but Ringer spy ToroFan wrote in to our news desk about it. The deep undercover spy asked if its the first time to make it into . . uh . . . Time. That is a pretty legitimate question ToroFan, thanks for asking. The equally legit answer is: Nope! There are at least three other occasions. Read the rest of this entry »

You can enjoy this gigantic remake in high definition this January. King Kong will be released on Blu-ray on January 20. We don’t have any cover art or pricing details at this time, but we’ll surely update this story as soon as we have more information. The disc will include both the theatrical and extended versions of the movie. The film stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody and Andy Serkis performing the motion-capture for the title character. Read the rest of this entry »

2007 has been quite an exciting year for Tolkien fans! There’s been an abundance of news and events from across the globe including openings of musicals, new book releases and new movies in the pipeline: something to satisfy just about any geeky preference! As a thank-you for following all the developments of the year with us, we thought we’d put together a retrospective of the top Tolkien stories of 2007 in one convenient list. The list below is in chronological order.

Here’s to a 2008 that’s just as exciting! Stay tuned! Read the rest of this entry »

December 18, 2007

ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER PETER JACKSON AND NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM TO PRODUCE “THE HOBBIT,” EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASY ADVENTURE EPIC

NEW LINE AND MGM TO CO-PRODUCE AND SHARE WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS

PETER JACKSON AND FRAN WALSH TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE TWO FILMS BASED ON “THE HOBBIT”

Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, December 18, 2007) Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson; Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of New Line Cinema have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements:

* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

* Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) Trilogy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kristin Thompson, author of The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood, writes: I’ve got a long new entry on my ‘Frodo Franchise’ blog trying to summarize all the recent articles and interviews about the New Line lawsuit and the prospects of PJ directing (or at least producing) The Hobbit. They don’t contain a lot of actual news, but I try to sift out what little there is.

New Line Lawsuit Summary

Message Board member ‘Daughter of Nienna’ points us to a rather insightful article related to New Line’s recent penalty and the on-going drama of the Peter Jackson lawsuit:

“…For a complex entertainment case, where lawyer gamesmanship over access to documents and witnesses is fairly common, Hillman’s language and the amount of the penalty are striking. “It’s almost unheard of,” says litigator Neville Johnson, who frequently tangles with studios. “You rarely see sanctions, and you certainly don’t see sanctions that high.”…”

For the complete story, please jump over to Yahoo! News.

Yahoo! News Discuss

Morgan writes: Just sending a heads up on last night’s Charlie Rose show. He interviewed Bob Shaye (and Michael Lynne) of New Line and asked all about Peter Jackson and his involvement in The Hobbit…Ringers may find it very interesting to see Shaye look uncomfortable with the questions.

TV Watch: Bob Shaye & Michael Lynne on Charlie Rose

Ringer Steele alerts us to a downright HUGE article in this week’s Entertainment Weekly. You won’t want to miss it:

“Just a heads up, if case you didn’t know, that there is a huge 7(!) page cover story on the current status of The Hobbit in the Entertainment Weekly which hits newsstands tomorrow (10/05). I would call it cautiously optimistic – confirmation that New Line and PJ apparently are now talking – and a good overall summation of the PJ/New Line/Hobbit situation to date.”

The story is now posted at EW.com! Be sure to pick up your copy at news-stands tomorrow!

Full Story at EW.com Cover Art Discuss

From The Hollywood Reporter (via Mania.com) Just two months ago, the media received word that New Line was softening its position against Peter Jackson in hopes of a possible HOBBIT movie somewhere in the near future. The hostility went from the studio head Robert Shaye saying “So the answer is he will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I’m still working for the company.” (via SciFi.com) to “Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit.” (via LA Times) Whether the two sides have even talked to one another since then, it appears that New Line is accepting a fine handed to them from a Federal Judge for the failures of handing over documents as requested, something Peter Jackson has said from the beginning causing the court case. The $125,000 fine could have been contested or sought a review which would have taken more time in this ongoing court battle. Instead, they’re accepting the decision. New Line’s attorney Robert Schwartz wrote, “Mindful that the court’s resources are valuable and limited, New Line will neither oppose that award nor seek review” of the order.

New Line Agree to Pay ‘RINGS’ Fine Discuss