[For updates, see "The Hobbit Film Project" category.]

By now everyone knows that New Line Cinema has settled out of court in the lawsuit Peter Jackson brought against it. The announcement of that settlement included the news that Jackson will produce The Hobbit.

Since then bits and pieces of additional information have surfaced in the news coverage, as reporters have contacted the main people involved for comments. I haven’t seen any source that pulls all that information together for a complete summary of what we currently know about the situation, so I’ll try to do that here, in one epic post. As always, I’m basing this on publicly available sources and my general knowledge of the background of the franchise as a whole.

The Press Release

Most of the original news reports on the subject were based on the joint press release from Jackson, MGM, and New Line Cinema on The Hobbit.

According to that document, the project would include two films, one based on Tolkien’s novel and the other “a sequel to The Hobbit.” New Line and MGM will co-finance and co-distribute the films. (New Line will distribute in North America, MGM in all other territories.) Jackson and partner Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers, and New Line will manage the production.

The two films will be shot simultaneously, as the three parts of the Rings trilogy were.

The press release also states, “Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ (LOTR) Trilogy.” Since Peter’s original lawsuit dealt only with income from The Fellowship of the Ring, there was some question as to whether separate lawsuits might have to be filed. This statement presumably means that the settlement covers all three parts of the trilogy.

Jackson stresses the part played by MGM in the negotiations: “I also want to thank Harry Sloan [Chairman and CEO] and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.” Michael Lynne, co-president of New Line, adds, “We greatly appreciate the efforts of Harry Sloan, who has been instrumental in helping us reach our new accord.”

The title “Executive Producer” leaves open the question of how actively involved Jackson and Walsh will be on The Hobbit. “Executive Producer” often means someone who has played a major role in getting a project launched but has not had a hands-on part. Saul Zaentz, Harvey Weinstein, and Bob Weinstein were Executive Producers on Rings. Founder and co-president of New Line, Bob Shaye, however, states in the release, “Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with ‘The Hobbit’ movies.”

The release also touches on timing. Pre-production is to begin “as soon as possible. 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.” This may seem an excruciatingly long time to fans. Still, New Line announced its production of Rings on August 24, 1998, and the first part came out in December, 2001. If the studios manage to stick to this schedule, the wait for The Hobbit won’t be quite as long. Of course, Rings had been in pre-production at Miramax since early 1997 by the time New Line took over the project, so the filmmaking team had a big head-start. They don’t have that advantage this time, though of course some of the set designs and props already exist and could be re-used.

Additional Information

Variety’s first story (December 18) specified that the release dates would be in December of each year, following the pattern of all three Rings films. It also cited two anonymous sources as putting the settlement at nearly $40 million.

David M. Halbfinger, writing in the New York Times, discussed Peter and Fran’s contributions as producers: “They will share with New Line the right to approve all creative elements: director, screenwriter, script, cast, filming location, event the visual-effects company used (as if there were any doubt that his Weta Digital would be chosen).”

 

Halbfinger, who contacted Peter’s manager, Ken Kamins, gives some idea of how the negotiations progressed. Shaye’s claim that Jackson would never direct for New Line came in January, 2007.

A thaw began some weeks later, Mr. Kamins said, when Mr. Jackson dined at the home of Harry Sloan, the chairman of MGM. It held distribution rights to “The Hobbit” and Mr. Sloan was desperate to get the franchise moving. By May, during the Cannes Film Festival, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Shaye joined a multiparty conference call; it was the first time they had spoken in about two years, Mr. Kamins said. “That call created a tone that really lasted into the fall,” he said.

In fact, it was shortly after the Cannes Film Festival (May, 2007) when Shaye began to make more conciliatory comments to the press. Sloan himself was quoted in a story on the New Zealand news site, Stuff.co.nz: “MGM just took the position that we wanted to deal with Peter and it was not an option to do it with anybody else.” Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Shaye was gracious about the disagreement. In the Variety story mentioned above, he blamed the lawyers on both sides for the lengthy conflict:

Nobody likes contention. None of us, not me, Michael, Peter or Fran, were happy that a dispute was destroying a fruitful and prosperous enterprise. All these lawyers were going crazy not letting the principals communicate directly, when we might have been able to solve this years ago. Movies are difficult enough to make without having a war going on. The settlement was done with the idea that the good spirit that nurtured the first three films can continue. I hope we can revive what was once a wonderful relationship.

Writing for Portfolio.com (December 20), Fred Schruers added more detailed information, based on comments by Kamins, on the progress of the negotiations between the two sides in the lawsuit.

The climate for a settlement had steadily improved largely thanks to two events. The first was a dinner held at Sloan’s house early this year, where Jackson, accompanied by Walsh and Kamins, described his vision for the story arc. “Peter laid out the two-film idea and the way to do that,” recalls Kamins, “And Harry got all excited and I think it was at that moment he said to New Line, “I won’t allow this to move forward unless we figure out how to involve Peter in some way.” The second was the now legendary phone call from Cannes, some two months after. “Michael [Lynne] had contacted me and asked whethere we could create an hour or so window where we could get on the phone and hear each others’ voices and talk creatively about how one would go about making two Hobbit movies.

That phone call involved Shaye and Lynne in Cannes, Mark Ordesky, one of Rings’ producers, and Toby Emmerich, New Line’s head of production, in Los Angeles, Jackson in New Zealand, and Kamins in Los Angeles.

The call went on for nearly 90 minutes. Shaye opened it cordially, and Jackson came back by wishing the group well with their scheduled screening of footage from minutes of The Golden Compass. He “fondly recalled,” says Kamins, being in Cannes with the group as they unveiled 22 minutes of the debut [of] Lord of the Rings. “Hearkening back to that happier time, with Peter hearing Bob’s voice and Bob hearing Peter’s,” the legal squabbles were set aside temporarily and “It was easier to divide the issues and have the discussions proceed a bit more elegantly over the next few months.

(On the Rings preview at Cannes in 2001, see Chapter 1 of The Frodo Franchise.)

One point that Shruers and others raise is that the current Writers Guild of America strike in Hollywood may complicate matters when it comes to scripting the adaptation. Given that the strike now looks to be far from resolution, that delay may become serious.

Who Might Direct

No doubt it seems astonishing to many Rings fans that Peter Jackson would not move heaven and earth to direct The Hobbit now that the obstacle of the lawsuit has been removed—including somehow juggling the Tintin project. Things no doubt look very different from his perspective, and there might be a variety of reasons why he has opted out of that role. The original Rings project was huge, lengthy, and challenging. Jackson might well want to avoid a two-film commitment which, although not quite as big, would nevertheless be a considerable undertaking. Jackson is now in a position to produce films for others to direct, as with The Dam Busters, now being made by long-time collaborator Christian Rivers.

Jackson’s current position is quite consistent with what he told interviewer Quint on Ain’t It Cool News (September 16, 2006) about his projects,

The reason we’re doing what we’re doing now is we felt so incredibly pressure[d] over the last 10 years with the big movies we were making. What we’re doing now, in a way, is releasing that pressure by having other people direct some films and us help with the script and help with the production. In terms of the films I’m directing, I’m sort of partly focusing on smaller films now, so we’re aiming on making our lives a little less twisted.

The Lovely Bones is one of those “smaller films.” Later in the same interview Quint asked if Jackson could find the time to make The Hobbit. He replied,

We’re very, very excited and committed about the films that we’re working on now, so I don’t know. I’d have to sit down and look at it all. Obviously I’m interested in The Hobbit, but right now we have no emotional investment in it. For the last few years, we have put our hearts into other projects. It would seem strange to have somebody else do it, although some part of me would be interested in going to see somebody else’s Hobbit, be able to buy my popcorn and go and sit and watch the film.

That stance may be disappointing, but no one can say he didn’t warn us.

Beyond that, the bitterness of the legal struggle with New Line may to some extent have soured Jackson’s feelings about the Rings project and made him reluctant to return to that creative well. Moreover, as the quotation above suggests, to Jackson his announced upcoming projects are more vivid in his mind than The Hobbit, and his typical commitment to each film at every stage from pre-production to post-production means that he cannot easily walk away, leaving them to be finished by others, and take up another project.

Kamins offered Entertainment Weekly another reason:

Peter won’t be directing because he felt the fans have waited long enough for The Hobbit. It will take the better part of every day of the next four years to write, direct and produce two Hobbit films. Given his current obligations to both The Lovely Bones and Tintin, waiting for Peter, Fran, and Philippa to write, direct and produce The Hobbit would require the fans to wait even longer.

That time pressure may also have to do with the fact that New Line stands to lose its option on the Hobbit production rights if the filmmaking is not underway by a certain point.

All that said, I think there is also a possibility that he would change his mind. Even if he doesn’t, his and Walsh’s creative oversight will have a considerable impact on the final form of The Hobbit.

So who might end up directing? The 24 December-6 January 2008 print edition of Variety ran a brief statement in its “In the News” section (p. 2), noting the settlement of the lawsuit and declaring, “Helmer Sam Raimi will direct, and Jackson will produce.”

In Variety’s first story on the news (December 18), Michael Fleming stated, “The resolution clears the way for ‘Spider-Man’ helmer Sam Raimi to direct. While Shaye said no creative alignments have yet been made, Raimi has long been interested—as long as Jackson was involved or gave his blessing. On December 19, Variety ran a story on Raimi’s next project, Drag Me to Hell, stating that “After ‘Drag Me to Hell,’ Raimi is expected to go right back up the mountaintop and take the helm of ‘The Hobbit’ films for New Line and MGM now that Peter Jackson has made it clear he won’t direct.” TORN commented, “This ‘expectation’ from an industry publication seems to put some weight behind it.” Possibly, but so far most if not all of the buzz about Raimi directing the film has come from Raimi himself. He may be high on New Line’s list, but one might suspect that he is trying to campaign for New Line to view him as the front-runner. And industry trade papers are not infallible.

Entertainment Weekly (December 18) held out other options: “Directors Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), and Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) are still the names that come up as alternative possibilities, but no official creative decision has been made.” The next day the magazine managed to ask Del Toro if he had been approached about The Hobbit. He responded: “You know, I think I’ve been abroad too long. I’ve heard some rumblings, but nothing official. I don’t want to think about it because it’s such an eventuality.” He adds that he has read and enjoyed the novel, though he was never able to make it through Rings. Entertainment Weekly asked if he would say no. Del Toro said,

No no, no, not at all. I do get those reactions on other things. Many things where people say, “Well, what about you for this?” And I go, “No, that’s not a good match.” But I met Peter and Fran when we were trying to do Halo. I think what they’re doing in New Zealand is amazing. What they’re doing in terms of the way they approach filmmaking—the way I see it is, it’s Hollywood the way God intended it. Because it’s a filmmaker’s dream and a filmmaker’s facility. So it’s heaven. The question is: Will I go to heaven? I have no idea.

Again, New Line, MGM, and Jackson have made no statements about directors, apart from Lynne’s remark on The Charlie Rose Show that Raimi “could” direct The Hobbit, as could many others—but he was responding to a question about the Raimi rumors, not bringing up the name himself. I suspect that there is a longer list than three and that the two studios are moving quickly to explore many options. Personally I think Steven Spielberg would be ideal, but he’s also a busy, busy man.

What the Sequel Might Look Like

MGM’s original idea seems to have been to make The Hobbit in two parts. That would make sense. Of course, Tolkien’s first novel is shorter than Rings, but a lot had to be left out of the trilogy in the adaptation. The Hobbit breaks into two almost equal halves, with the break coming where Gandalf leaves Bilbo and the Dwarves at the edge of Mirkwood. Making two three-hour parts would allow the filmmakers to adapt the book without eliminating much of anything. Despite its quest/journey structure, The Hobbit is actually quite carefully structured, and there are no incidents that can simply be eliminated as easily as, say, the Tom Bombadil portion of Rings.

Still, the announcement is for a one-film adaptation and a sequel that takes place before the action of Rings. That’s a gap of sixty years, years about which Tolkien left only the sketchiest of indications. Such events as we know of come primarily from mentions in Appendices A and B and in exposition given by Gandalf in the “Shadow of the Past” chapter in Rings and by various characters at the Council of Elrond. On TORN, Corvar has helpfully summarized what those events are:

• The White Council meets to discuss The Necromancer (aka Sauron)
• The White Council (including Saruman and Gandalf) attack The Necromancer’s stronghold at Dol Guldur. This is to prevent Sauron from searching the river for the Ring. Sauron abandons Dol Guldur and takes up residence in Mordor.
• Gollum leaves the mountain, searching for the “thief” Baggins.
• Sauron declared himself openly, starting to gather power to Mordor.
• Aragorn searches the wilds for Gollum.
• Aragorn’s engagement to Arwen.
• Frodo’s birth.

In a way that’s quite a lot of material, though it would be hard to weave it into a unified narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. Moreover, the first two actions take place during the plot of The Hobbit itself, though we learn of them only through vague references.

Before Jackson backed away from the Hobbit project as the lawsuit became nastier, he had expressed considerable enthusiasm about directing it. In the interview with Quint, he gave some indications of possible directions in which the adaptation could go.

If I was doing The Hobbit, I’d try to get as many of the guys back as I could. I mean, there’s actually a role for Legolas in The Hobbit, his father features in it, obviously Gandalf and Saruman should be part of it. There’s things that you can do with The Hobbit to bring in some old friends, for sure. I have thought about it from time to time … Elrond, Galadriel and Arwen could all feature.

Later Jackson remarked that making The Hobbit as two films would provide more leeway to bring these other elements into it: “It allows for more complexity. All that implied stuff with Gandalf and the White Council and the return of Sauron could be fully explored.”

But with The Hobbit occupying only one film, bringing major action scenes of the White Council’s attack on Dol Guldur into the action becomes less feasible. Perhaps, as Corvar suggests, it could take place in the sequel.

By the way, for those who want Viggo Mortensen to appear in The Hobbit, let’s not forget that Aragorn was only ten years old at the time of the Dwarves’ quest.

[Added December 29: "An Avid Reader" points out that Aragorn was 10 years old by the book's chronology, but going by the character's remark in the film that he is 87, he would have been 27 when the Dwarves' quest ended.]

Will It Work?

Directed by someone other than Jackson, can the Hobbit film mesh with Rings as part of the same Middle-earth? It seems quite possible. Perhaps Jackson’s greatest strength as a producer/director on Rings was his ability to guide an enormous team of actors, designers, technicians, craftspeople, and support staff through a fiendishly complicated project. To bring out nine hours and twenty minutes of epic, effects-heavy footage in two years (December 2001 to December 2002) was an astonishing achievement—and then there are the 120 minutes of the extended editions, which appeared over a period of less than two years. That’s one thing that I think has been overlooked in all the fuss. Remember all the delays on Gangsters of New York during that same period?

My own belief is that as a producer, Jackson will be able to much the same sort of thing with much the same team. With the people of Weta involved and perhaps the same designers returning, the work going into The Hobbit should again be top-notch. One thing to monitor, though, is whether Alan Lee and John Howe are brought back as conceptual artists. They lent an authority to the Rings design and helped unify the work of the various departments. Lee has illustrated an edition of The Hobbit, and Howe is unequalled when it comes to drawing or painting dragons. I hope someday to see his vision of Smaug on the screen!

In short, with this kind of talent behind it, with the impeccable casting that made Rings so effective, and with Jackson’s careful oversight, another director could quite possibly make a Hobbit that will not disappoint fans. After all, let’s not forget the deep suspicion of Jackson during the production of the trilogy.

My coverage of on the Hobbit situation

Even though the breakthrough has come, I would like to think that my past posts on the lawsuit and the prospects for Peter making The Hobbit are still of interest in explaining what has been at stake and just why it has all taken so long. Apart from the first entry, the speculations and predictions I’ve offered have pretty much come true, including the possibility that Peter would opt only to produce rather than to direct as well. For anyone who hasn’t been following along, here’s a run-down of the topics I’ve covered in the main entries.

What’s Going on with the Hobbit film? (Oct 2, 2006): This first piece was written in response to MGM’s announcement that they hoped to make a two-film version of The Hobbit, to be directed by Peter. Here I sifted through the projects Peter then had announced and suggested that the lack of deadlines for most of them meant that he might have time to fit The Hobbit into his schedule. (That was before the announcement of the Tintin project)

The Hobbit film: New Developments (Jan 13, 2007): In January 2007, founder and co-president of New Line Bob Shaye declared “He will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I’m still working for the company.” A lot of fans assumed that was that. Peter would not make The Hobbit. In my various entries on the subject I’ve tried to explain the shifting situation and suggest that there was still a good possibility that he would.

Once more on New Line, Peter Jackson, and The Hobbit (June 10, 2007): Here I mentioned the recent rumors that Sam Raimi might be first in line to direct The Hobbit if Peter ended up not doing it. I pointed out that lawsuits are not uncommon in Hollywood. I also editorialized a bit, pointing out that Peter and Fran had spent a great deal of their own money on building up the filmmaking facilities in New Zealand—facilities that had helped New Line produce Rings for perhaps half of what it would have cost in the U.S. Keeping those facilities running in lean times would cost a lot, and the lawsuit was not just Peter being greedy about wanting any money from Rings that he was entitled to.

Cautious, that’s c-a-u-t-i-o-u-s optimism about The Hobbit (July 20, 2007): By June there were signs of a thaw in the situation. Shaye seemed to back down a little from his adamant position. In July Ian McKellen spoke of “a movement in the right direction.” I expressed, as the title says, cautious optimism.

Gandalf Speaks! More thoughts—and news—on the Hobbit project (Aug 10, 2007): More public comments by McKellen confirmed that negotiations about the lawsuit were ongoing. I discussed the design aspects of a Hobbit film.

New Line, MGM, and The Hobbit (Aug 28, 2007): The withdrawal of some big companies that had been involved in financing films for MGM led to a scare that money would not be available for The Hobbit. I tried to clarify that situation, pointing out that New Line and MGM would have no difficulty finding financing for such a sure-fire hit. I also filled in some background on New Line’s traditional dependence on its franchises.

Jackson vs. New Line: What’s the new ruling all about? (Sep 23, 2007): A crucial moment in the struggle between Peter and New Line came in September, when the court fined the studio for withholding documents. Some fans assumed that New Line would now be even less likely to hire Peter to direct The Hobbit. I argued that, on the contrary, this was a sign of progress in the right direction.

In this entry I went into the background of the case in some detail, explaining the basis for Peter’s claim that he was owed tens of millions of dollars. I summarized the law firms for both sides and their specialties and predicted that the case would be settled out of court.

Sifting through the latest Hobbit project buzz (Oct 9, 2007): By October, there was lots of buzz about The Hobbit project. I summarized it, especially the revealing comments offered by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne in their Charlie Rose appearance.