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.
Category: Peter Jackson
Kiwi director Peter Jackson has won the first round in his fight with Hollywood studio New Line Cinema over profits from The Lord of the Rings. A judge has fined New Line, the film trilogy’s financial backer, $US125,000 ($NZ169,000) for failing to turn over court-ordered documents in the case. The Hollywood Reporter said Jackson’s lawyers might also be allowed to inspect New Line’s files if the studio did not produce several audits within 21 days. New Line must also hire an outsider to collect electronic documents, including e-mails, it said.
MTV Movie Blog continues to snag some great ‘Hobbit’ film tidbits! This time around, they’ve caught up with Cate Blanchett and asked her if she’d be up for an appearance in a film version of ‘The Hobbit’:
“”I haven’t heard a thing [about a potential ‘Hobbit’ film],” she declared. “But, oh God, I would love to work with Hugo [Weaving] and Peter [Jackson] again.”
Blanchett is the latest “Lord of the Rings” actor to tell MTV that she’d consider playing her character again for a prequel series. Like Viggo Mortensen or Orlando Bloom, Blanchett’s character doesn’t exactly appear in “The Hobbit,” although thanks to J.R.R. Tolkien’s extensive later backstories, her insertion would be completely unproblematic. In fact, it’s hard to envision a “Hobbit” film WITHOUT Galadriel, particularly if the film covers any of the period between the defeat of Smaug and the War of the Ring.”
Read the full interview over at MTV!
Director Peter Jackson has performed his own mission of mercy by buying a historic Wellington chapel, valued at $10 million, to save it from the clutches of property developers. In May, the Sisters of Mercy applied to have the 83-year-old Our Lady of the Star of the Sea chapel removed from Wellington City Council’s list of heritage buildings — and announced plans to put the 1.35-hectare site up for sale. The plans sparked an outcry from Seatoun residents, including Jackson, who were concerned the property would be bulldozed to make way for townhouses. Sisters of Mercy congregation leader Sister Denise Fox told The Dominion Post the order received an unsolicited approach from Jackson and his partner, Fran Walsh, in late July. [More]
JOE MORGENSTERN writes: This fall Peter Jackson will be in Pennsylvania directing “The Lovely Bones,” his screen version of the haunting Alice Sebold novel that inhabits both heaven and earth. For now, though, he’s still working on preparations for the film at Weta, his production facility in the modest Wellington suburb of Miramar. On a New Zealand winter’s day of brisk breezes and heavenly sunshine I visited him at Weta, which was named after a giant insect endemic to this country and has been fed by giant revenues from “The Lord of the Rings.”
I’d been told by his people that it was to be a social visit. Freely translated, that meant he didn’t want to sit still for yet another interview or profile, and understandably so. Translating more freely, I took it to mean he also didn’t want to discuss his legal disputes with New Line, the Hollywood studio that produced the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. All of that was fine with me, since I had no agenda, apart from hearing what the reigning master of fantasy might have to say about the movie business and its foreseeable future — maybe even its unforeseeable future — and getting some idea of the scope of Weta, which has become a one-of-a-kind cauldron of creativity, as well as raw computing power. [more]
TORN Staffer Arwen writes: A fan emailed me to let me know that The Charlie Rose Show has put on YouTube about 3,200 interviews Charlie Rose did, including 2 with Peter Jackson (about an hour long each). To view the videos, go to youtube and search under “charlie rose-peter jackson”. [YouTube]