“All is on time and the release has NEVER been at risk of delay.”
There you have it: from the horse’s mouth.
Category: Studios
Australian independent news outlet Crikey reports on The Hobbit premiere and explores the rocky road to making the movie happen: Blockbuster movie premieres don’t get any bigger than the opening of Peter Jackson’s first Hobbit movie. But the road to get here has been anything but smooth.
On a bright and sunny day in Wellington, a giant billboard moves across the blue sky, flying as low as 300 metres above the ground. Continue reading “The Hobbit lands with baggage”
Jonathan Handel, a contributing editor for The Hollywood Reporter, covered that tense period during the late summer and early autumn of 2010, when it looked as though the Hobbit production might leave New Zealand. Readers will no doubt remember the labor union issues that raised that threat and the negotiations between Warner Bros. executives and the New Zealand government. Handel has revised and updated his reports into a short book, The New Zealand Hobbit Crisis, available in print form and for Kindle. If you weren’t paying much attention at the time or just have forgotten some of the details, now you can read about that episode secure in the knowledge that The Hobbit‘s production remained in New Zealand!
NWF is teaming up with Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM) for the Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. “As the education partner for the film, we hope the popularity of the books and its themes of courage and nature’s beauty will inspire moviegoers and Tolkien fans to do something to make our Earth a greener place.” So, far, the collaboration includes an official NWF movie poster you can download, and suggestions for outdoor activities and ‘greening’ your own Shire. Read More…
You may have read recently that the Tolkien Estate has brought a lawsuit against Warner Bros., regarding Warner Bros.’ marketing rights for Lord of the Rings and Hobbit products. Our friend Erik Wecks has written a great piece for Geek Dad at Wired.com, clarifying some of the issues at stake and suggesting why the Tolkien Estate may have felt the need to take such action. For fans of Tolkien’s work, just how far is too far – when does a franchise become a sell out? Check out the excellent article here.
Tolkien Estate and HarperCollins are suing The Saul Zaentz Company and Warner Bros. Tolkien Estate alleges that the companies are merchandising beyond the bounds of what was agreed in the 1969 deal with the studio and rights holder Saul Zeantz.
“The original contracting parties thus contemplated a limited grant of the right to sell consumer products of the type regularly merchandised at the time (such as figurines, tableware, stationery items, clothing and the like). They did not include any grant of exploitations such as electronic or digital rights, rights in media yet to be devised or other intangibles such as rights in services,” says the 26-page complaint. Continue reading “Tolkien Estate sues WB and Saul Zaentz”