Lynnette Porter is the author of Unsung Heroes of The Lord of the Rings: From the Page to the Screen and other books about popular culture, including Unlocking the Meaning of Lost: An Unauthorized Guide. She contributed essays to Lembas for the Soul and a chapter in the forthcoming book, How We Became Middle-Earth. She is a frequent speaker about film, television, and popular culture at academic conferences such as the Popular Culture Association, Tolkien 2005, and Hawaiian International Conference on the Arts and Humanities, as well as fan events like ORC and ELF . She has been conducting research at the Tolkien archives at Marquette University and will soon return to New Zealand in preparation for writing two Lord of the Rings-related books.
TheOneRing.net asked Lynnette to comment on the recent activity regarding The Hobbit, here is what she had to say:
How would you feel about another director making The Hobbit?
The importance of the choice of the director making The Hobbit depends on your perception of whether Tolkien’s world can be easily captured on film. Many fans of Tolkien’s book weren’t happy with Peter Jackson’s adaptation of LotR and probably wouldn’t be thrilled with his adaptation of The Hobbit. Some people prefer books to films and won’t be completely satisfied with any cinematic adaptation of a beloved book. Others still believe that a book like LotR never will be successfully transferred to film. Whoever ends up filming The Hobbit will run into this problem of adapting a well-loved book for a very different medium.
With that said, I enjoyed Jackson’s vision of Middle-earth and found the LotR films very entertaining. Were they faithful adaptations of my favorite book? Not really—they succeeded in some areas more than others. I still cringe at dwarf-tossing jokes and wish that Legolas hadn’t been quite so much of a special effects darling. Are there moments to which I return year after year, viewing after viewing? Oh, yes—Bilbo’s birthday party, Gandalf’s words of wisdom to Frodo, the loving relationships of the hobbits. The films are among my favorites, but they present a different story than Tolkien wrote. If I had the power to trust The Hobbit to any director, however, I’d choose Peter Jackson. He knows how to make a good film, and if I don’t agree with all his choices as a director, well, no director’s vision will replace the mental images I’ve long carried from Tolkien’s words.
Compared to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit should be an easier story to film, and I’d like to see Peter Jackson’s adaptation. It’s important for one consistent vision of Middle-earth to be completed, and this seems to be the one opportunity for both The Hobbit and LotR to be presented as a uniform work of art. In the future, other directors undoubtedly will film LotR or create Middle-earth on stage (a theatrical version bowed in Toronto in 2006 and will debut in London in 2007). Before Jackson’s LotR gets much older, audiences should be able to see his adaptation of The Hobbit.
I agree with Anne Petty that “franchise” films directed by different artists vary greatly in quality. Although I liked many elements of Alfonso Cuaron’s Harry Potter film, I disliked the lack of continuity in the series. (I also have to mentally separate the Harry Potter books from films, because I find myself critiquing what has been changed in the adaptation process.) The darker vision presented in Cuaron’s film matched the young characters’ increasing maturity but did little to provide a smooth transition from one year at Hogwarts to another. Continuity is especially important for the success of “prequels” like The Hobbit and the rumored second film, and Peter Jackson should be selected to provide that continuity.
The early scenes of the Shire, as Jackson presented them, are lush and inviting; they bring to life the cozy, small-town life I envisioned in the book. Returning to that as well as new cinematic settings is something that I would pay to see…again and again. If The Hobbit is to be filmed, it must be a high-quality, as-faithful-as-possible adaptation. Tolkien fans expect that level of quality—and commitment from the entire creative team involved in the film project. I believe that Peter Jackson is best qualified to provide both.
What do you think about another country standing in for The Shire and Middle-earth?
Again there’s the ongoing controversy whether Middle-earth should be England or New Zealand. I’m biased in this regard: I’ve been smitten with New Zealand for a few years and travel there as often as possible to conduct research or just visit. I loved the variety of geography in LotR and would enjoy seeing more of New Zealand on film.
What I would oppose is a film shot completely in studio. The country may not be as important as the quality of sets and the realistic establishment of setting. The Hobbit needs to be visually stimulating, which requires a successful blend of studio and location shooting. New Zealand could provide both.
Would you want to see another actor play Gandalf?
No! Ian McKellen is “my” Gandalf. Although other actors undoubtedly could do justice to the role, McKellen personified in particular Gandalf the Grey. Seeing him in this role again would help provide continuity between films as well as give us one more chance to see a great actor playing such a beloved character.
What do you think of this rumored “other LOTR prequel” movie?
When I first heard this rumor, I was concerned about the direction the story would take. The success of a second film depends on the director chosen for the project. Although I enjoy Sam Raimi’s films, for example, I don’t think I’d be as eager to see his prequel to LotR, primarily because I suspect that I’d see much more Raimi than Tolkien. Although Peter Jackson took liberties with Tolkien’s LotR, I believe that he tried to incorporate as much of Tolkien’s language and plot as possible. With his experience gained from the LotR adaptations and from his knowledge of Tolkien (and selection of knowledgeable advisors and collaborators), Jackson is much more likely to create a prequel that will make sense within the history of Middle-earth and the series of films.
I often read good fan fiction that expands Tolkien’s Middle-earth, either by creating new characters and storylines or providing gap-fillers from LotR. A well-done prequel could do the same; it wouldn’t be Tolkien’s work, but it could be a realistic expansion of the story based on the Professor’s world. A successful prequel requires knowledgeable writers and a director who respect Tolkien’s work but are creative enough to add more stories to the mythology. If the prequel can be done well, I’d like to see it—I always long for more Middle-earth!
– Lynnette Porter
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There have been a slew of rumors going around that the online petitions, actor talkback, and fan protests have prompted New Line/MGM to rethink their plans and invite Peter Jackson back on The Hobbit. We at TORN can state unequivocally that there is no truth to these reports and Peter has not been contacted by New Line or anyone else in relation to the Hobbit… Does this mean he will never be contacted? Certainly not, we just want to clear up rumors to the contrary. The status quo remains the status quo…for now anyways!
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Tinuvielas writes: I just talked to editor Jochen Schuetze from the German magazine “Cinema” about the Saul Zaentz-interview (in the current issue) and about “The Hobbit”. According to him, the interview was given around October 15th when Zaentz was in Berlin.
Xoanon here, this interview was done well over a month before we released Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh’s letter, setting off a firestorm of controversy online and in Hollywood. My hope it to get Mr. Zaentz to comment now regarding this, in lieu of these new revelations!
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Saul Zaentz, the owner of Tolkien Enterprises, and ultimate holder of the film rights to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings was very recently interviewed about the Hobbit and Peter Jackson’s involvement.
The interview has since been posted on German Rings site Elbenwald. You can read the original article here. It’s in German, so below is a translation of his comments. The translation comes from Jurgen at TheHobbit-Movie.com.
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.
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Word from a reliable source indicates that Sam Raimi has been approached to direct THE HOBBIT. Since Peter Jackson’s (Middle-)earth shattering news that he is off the project, it seems the Spider-Man director may step into his place. Raimi was born on October 23rd, 1959 in Royal Oak, Michigan. His first big hit was ‘The Evil Dead’ but he really gained cult status with ‘Evil Dead II’. It is his amazing work on the Spider-Man series that has propelled Raimi to the mainstream. His latest film ‘Spider-Man 3’ is due out this May.
While there is no word on Raimi accepting the invitation, it remains to be seen who, if anyone, will be replacing Peter Jackson!
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Moments ago we received this email from Peter Jackson and his crew down in New Zealand, take a look…
Dear One Ringers,
As you know, there’s been a lot of speculation about The Hobbit. We are often asked about when or if this film will ever be made. We have always responded that we would be very interested in making the film – if it were offered to us to make.
You may also be aware that Wingnut Films has bought a lawsuit against New Line, which resulted from an audit we undertook on part of the income of The Fellowship of the Ring. Our attitude with the lawsuit has always been that since it’s largely based on differences of opinion about certain accounting practices, we would like an independent body – whether it be a judge, a jury, or a mediator, to look at the issues and make an unbiased ruling. We are happy to accept whatever that ruling is. In our minds, it’s not much more complex than that and that’s exactly why film contracts include right-to-audit clauses.
However, we have always said that we do not want to discuss The Hobbit with New Line until the lawsuit over New Line’s accounting practices is resolved. This is simple common sense – you cannot be in a relationship with a film studio, making a complex, expensive movie and dealing with all the pressures and responsibilities that come with the job, while an unresolved lawsuit exists.
We have also said that we do not want to tie settlement of the lawsuit to making a film of The Hobbit. In other words, we would have to agree to make The Hobbit as a condition of New Line settling our lawsuit. In our minds this is not the right reason to make a film and if a film of The Hobbit went ahead on this basis, it would be doomed. Deciding to make a movie should come from the heart – it’s not a matter of business convenience. When you agree to make a film, you’re taking on a massive commitment and you need to be driven by an absolute passion to want to get the story on screen. It’s that passion, and passion alone, that gives the movie its imagination and heart. To us it is not a cold-blooded business decision.
A couple of months ago there was a flurry of Hobbit news in the media. MGM, who own a portion of the film rights in The Hobbit, publicly stated they wanted to make the film with us. It was a little weird at the time because nobody from New Line had ever spoken to us about making a film of The Hobbit and the media had some fun with that. Within a week or two of those stories, our Manager Ken Kamins got a call from the co-president of New Line Cinema, Michael Lynne, who in essence told Ken that the way to settle the lawsuit was to get a commitment from us to make the Hobbit, because “that’s how these things are done”. Michael Lynne said we would stand to make much more money if we tied the lawsuit and the movie deal together and this may well be true, but it’s still the worst reason in the world to agree to make a film.
Several years ago, Mark Ordesky told us that New Line have rights to make not just The Hobbit but a second “LOTR prequel”, covering the events leading up to those depicted in LOTR. Since then, we’ve always assumed that we would be asked to make The Hobbit and possibly this second film, back to back, as we did the original movies. We assumed that our lawsuit with the studio would come to a natural conclusion and we would then be free to discuss our ideas with the studio, get excited and jump on board. We’ve assumed that we would possibly get started on development and design next year, whilst filming The Lovely Bones. We even had a meeting planned with MGM executives to talk through our schedule.
However last week, Mark Ordesky called Ken and told him that New Line would no longer be requiring our services on the Hobbit and the LOTR ‘prequel’. This was a courtesy call to let us know that the studio was now actively looking to hire another filmmaker for both projects.
Ordesky said that New Line has a limited time option on the film rights they have obtained from Saul Zaentz (this has never been conveyed to us before), and because we won’t discuss making the movies until the lawsuit is resolved, the studio is going to have to hire another director.
Given that New Line are committed to this course of action, we felt at the very least, we owed you, the fans, a straightforward account of events as they have unfolded for us.
We have always had the greatest support from The Ringers and we are very sorry our involvement with The Hobbit has been ended in this way. Our journey into Tolkien’s world started with a phone call from Ken Kamins to Harvey Weinstein in Nov 1995 and ended with a phone call from Mark Ordesky to Ken in Nov 2006. It has been a great 11 years.
This outcome is not what we anticipated or wanted, but neither do we see any positive value in bitterness and rancor. We now have no choice but to let the idea of a film of The Hobbit go and move forward with other projects.
We send our very best wishes to whomever has the privilege of making The Hobbit and look forward to seeing the film on the big screen.
Warmest regards to you all, and thanks for your incredible support over the years.
We got to go there – but not back again …
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh
Xoanon here, this is a big blow to the LOTR community. I feel like there has been a death in the family…there are a LOT of questions that will remain unanswered for the time being. Why couldn’t New Line come to an agreement with PJ? Is there really a time option on the film rights for New Line? Who will they get to direct? Those are some massive shoes to fill if you ask me. I hope that whoever they get to direct will not try something ‘new’ with the look and feel of PJ’s Middle-earth…and what is this LOTR ‘prequel’ project?
There have been rumors about The Hobbit being split into two films, will this prequel project then become the third film in another trilogy? Who knows…
I’m sure Peter and Fran aren’t going to want to talk more about this, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be begging for a sitdown and chat! Stay tuned for more…
Update: Demosthenes here. Like yourselves, many of us here have been getting more and more excited by the news that the Hobbit, whether via one or two movies, seems to be gradually drawing closer to production. The news that Jackson and MGM studios were in close talks and that production could begin as soon as 2008 or 2009 was particularly promising.
The news of New Line’s apparent veto is quite cutting. What does it mean for the viability of the production? Will anyone back two films if Jackson is not directing? Who are the alternatives anyway? Will WETA still do the FX, and will the production be based in New Zealand? And will actors such as Ian McKellen still want to come on board? A few of us are discussing these things in TheOneRing.net’s IRC channel. If you to care to join us, simply drop in and join us through our java chat using your browser. Alternatively, point your favourite IRC client to our server:irc.theonering.net and join #theonering.net. Come along and vent and discuss. All we request is that you do so politely!
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