Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema and the Hobbit Saga

bloemmarc

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Ok, I don't know how many people here have been following this ongoing legal battle between Peter Jackson and New Line.

I am wondering, who is exactly in the right with this case?

Also would anybody go and see The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings prequel if Jackson did not make it? I loved the three trilogy movies he did direct, but I will be honest in saying that he did butcher them alot as compared with the books. There are so many inconsistencies, it's unreal.

Being a die hard Tolkein fan and having read how he would change the Hobbit from an interview with him on Theonering.net, I am not sure I would want him to direct it anymore.
I dunno, what do others think?
 
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tourdeforce

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Jackson did a great job with the LOTR trilogy.

However, no one is indispensable.

A new production team could do very good job with THE HOBBIT, perhaps even better than Jackson. Although, most likely not.

Whoever does take it on has a lot to live up to and anything less than a complete artistic triumph just may cast the shadow of failure over the production.
 

bloemmarc

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That's very true. Anythingless that what Jackson did would doom the franchise. I'm sure that is why they are not rushing into this project with someone new; alot will be on the line.(Money)


Jackson did a great job with the LOTR trilogy.

However, no one is indispensable.

A new production team could do very good job with THE HOBBIT, perhaps even better than Jackson. Although, most likely not.

Whoever does take it on has a lot to live up to and anything less than a complete artistic triumph just may cast the shadow of failure over the production.
 

TheGaffer

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Jackson did a great job with the LOTR trilogy.

However, no one is indispensable.

Maybe. But considering that he did the books justice -- though of course adapting and altering them for film, received massive critical acclaim, and made somewhere between a zillion and a cajillion dollars for the studio, I'd think they'd wanna try to work it out with him.
 

maestrowork

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I think Tokien's material is timeless. Jackson did a great job, but with today's technology and talents, I'm sure someone else can do Tokien justice as well. Look at X-3 -- Brett Ratner did just fine without Bryan Singer.
 

Deadbeat 007

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The Hobbit is such a good story that I think it would take a moron to ruin it. I think Jackson would do a good job on the film, but, then again, I haven't heard of the kind of plans he has in store for the movie.
 

Luke flees the scene

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They're finally making a film for The Hobbit? I've been waiting for it for awhile. The book was actually one of the books that turned me into the fantasy geek I am today. With how well Peter Jackson did with the LOTR trilogy, I'm pretty positive he'd do just as well for The Hobbit, even with all the alterations and cut-outs. I can't wait for this.
 

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Jackson did what he could with an epic trilogy. He couldn't possibly fit everything in, even if he wanted to. The extended versions of the DVDs were even more of a treat than the theatre releases. I would have liked to see Tom Bombadil, but ya can't have everything.

The Hobbit isn't as long, and it's a simpler story. If he goes ahead with it, I'm sure he'll do it justice. Why is this on TIO?
 

bloemmarc

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no, you can't fit everything into the story, but you can certainly refrain from adding new things like Haldir and the elfs fighting at Helms Deep.

Arwen riding with Frodo to the Fords of Rivendell, when that was the Lord Glorofindel.
Also consider this. In the Two towers, Aragorn mentioned to Theoden that he has 2000 good men riding north.
Theoden says Eomer cannot help them. So they pack everybody up and head off to Helsm Deep, where Theoden tells Aragorn that they are indeed alone.
But hey in the Return of the King, they are all of a sudden able to Marshall 6000 more riders, in just two days no less.

There were other changes and inconsistencies as well, but these are just a few. He did butcher the books somewhat.



Jackson did what he could with an epic trilogy. He couldn't possibly fit everything in, even if he wanted to. The extended versions of the DVDs were even more of a treat than the theatre releases. I would have liked to see Tom Bombadil, but ya can't have everything.

The Hobbit isn't as long, and it's a simpler story. If he goes ahead with it, I'm sure he'll do it justice. Why is this on TIO?
 

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I think every movie would be better if it was directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
 

SherryTex

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Trembling at the idea of George Lucas ever getting his hands on another piece of film....please, (use Kirk intonations) dear God, ....No!

Even Tolkien didn't know what to do with Tom Bombadil so that's no loss in my mind.

Hobbit needs to be well done to cope with what has come before, and to get the circa 70's songs out of my head.

Will conceed that Arwen is in any scenes at all when she is an addendum character annoyed me, even as a woman --what, TLOTR wasn't long enough on its own, we had to write in scenes from the addendum --but we couldn't have the Shire pay the price for trying to be isolated from the world? No one wants the Shire destroyed except those who would destroy everything --think that was the one false note, as hope had to grow from rising from the ashes of everything, and not because this one part of the world was untouched by the war designed to destroy all the world.

Everything else, I could live with, if Newline gets someone else, they will have to live with being compared --if Jackson does it, it will have to suffer comparison but at least he's the one that set the bar. Think people will go either way, but Jackson (King Kong fiasco excepted) has a lot of name weight with the fans and that goes towards bringing in $$$$$$$$$, think the heads would be foolish not to give the man his chance.
 

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Jackson didn't just direct. His friend did the screen play, very crucially his company did the special effects, he did the casting and his country was something of an important factor as far as backdrops go etc etc etc

If the Hobbit goes to the usual suspects it will look like the Narnia movie.
 

robeiae

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Of course, The Hobbit is not the LOTR. It is much lighter, more playful, and certainly lacks much of the darker imagery, along with the war imagery (for the most part) of the latter.

That said, I'd like to see Jackson do it. I think he could do it well, but I may be wrong.

Certainly, the Hobbit as a movie should be less intense than LOTR as a movie. Is Jackson capable of that?

P.S. Shouldn't this thread be in the TV/Movies forum? Maybe a mod could move it...
 

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Ah...

I love these stories about plucky underdog multimillionaires going up against slightly richer (and meaner!) multimillionaires.
 

veinglory

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Jackson do light?--um did you see Brain Dead, or Meet the Feebles? He started in comedy--gross out comedy, but still comedy ;)
 

robeiae

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Jackson do light?--um did you see Brain Dead, or Meet the Feebles? He started in comedy--gross out comedy, but still comedy ;)
It's not a question of "can he do comedy," it's one of "can he do The Hobbit in a very different way than LOTR."

I see no reason to think he can't, but I don't know enough about him to know that he can. So I'm askin'. :)
 

maestrowork

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From what I've seen in Jackson's previous work (Frighteners was okay, Meet the Feebles was hilarious and WRONG, and LotR had me go -- how did he get from the Frighteners to this?)... he's very versatile, intense, but with a great sense of humor. So I don't doubt that he could pull off the Hobbits beautifully, especially since he's very familiar with the material to begin with. In fact, this seems like a "step back" for him after LotR.


However, I restate my opinion that there's no reason someone can't do the same or better.
 

RJLeahy

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Peter jackson can not possibly have the time to take on The Hobbit. I sent a copy of my novel to him in New Zealand, and I'm sure he's gearing up as we speak, to announce his intention to make it into a film.

I'm confident.

Yesirree.

Any day now.

Um...Mr. Jackson?

Hello?
 

veinglory

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Then there was his weird sort of literary true crime movie: Beautiful Creatures

He is pretty versatile. I mean, he could still mess it up--the weight loss and laser eye surgery may have stripped him of his super-geek powers?

A lot of great cinematographers from NZ were messed up by success and all the stuff that goes with it.