Peter Jackson To Produce But Not Direct “The Hobbit” And Sequel

Jason December 18th, 2007 Movies

The Hobbit This is the news film nerds, geeks, and Middle Earthlings everywhere have been waiting to hear ever since the last of the “Lord of the Rings” films came out. Peter Jackson and New Line are burying the medieval hatchet to bring us not one, but two movies based on The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

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 (say all those names five times fast) all got together and made a joint announcement today (kind of like when a big movie wins an Oscar and every single person who worked on it goes up on stage to collect an award but they only have about two of them so everyone else just stands around looking silly).

The announcement contained the following agreements:

MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films based on The Hobbit (or one based on the book and a sequel…it’s unclear). New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of the two films. New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.
Peter Jackson and New Line have agreed to settle all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy.

A lot of kissy kissy went on from both sides of the camp, of course.

Peter Jackson said, “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”

Harry Sloan, MGM’s Chairman and CEO, was quick to praise Jackson. “Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making ‘The Hobbit.”

Of course, Jackson is not the DIRECTOR of the film so he’s not actually the one that will be making his mark on the movie itself no matter what Sloan says. A director has yet to be chosen and the project could still go either way depending on who they choose. Still, with Jackson producing the bet is that a capable, A-list director will be found to coordinate a “Lord of the Rings” type vision for the project.

The two films are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. We can can only assume the studios have scripts already started or at some point in development. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of “The Hobbit” release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.

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