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.
Category: PJ New Line
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.
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.
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!
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.
Author Kristin Thompson writes: The recent announcement that a judge has fined New Line Cinema $125,000 is a major step forward in Peter Jackson’s lawsuit. On my blog, I’ve taken a stab at explaining some of the background of that suit and what this new development might mean for the Hobbit film.