The Warring States of NPF - New Line, MGM, & PJ confirm The Hobbit!

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New Line, MGM, & PJ confirm The Hobbit!

Quote:

PETER JACKSON AND NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM TO PRODUCE �THE HOBBIT�
December 18, 2007

ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER PETER JACKSON AND
NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM
TO PRODUCE �THE HOBBIT,�
EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASY ADVENTURE EPIC

NEW LINE AND MGM TO CO-PRODUCE AND
SHARE WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS

PETER JACKSON AND FRAN WALSH TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE TWO FILMS BASED ON �THE HOBBIT�

Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, December 18, 2007) Academy Award-winning filmmaker 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 have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements:

* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, �The Hobbit� and a sequel to �The Hobbit.� New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on �The Hobbit.� New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

* Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the �Lord of the Rings� (LOTR) Trilogy.

Said Peter Jackson, �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.�

�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,�� said Sloan, MGM�s Chairman and CEO. �Now that we are all in agreement on �The Hobbit,� we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film.�

Bob Shaye, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO comments, �We are very pleased we have been able to resolve our differences, and that Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with �The Hobbit� movies. We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with �The Lord of the Rings� Trilogy.�

�Peter is a visionary filmmaker, and he broke new ground with �The Lord of the Rings,�� notes Michael Lynne, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO. �We�re delighted he�s back for �The Hobbit� films and that the Tolkien saga will continue with his imprint. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Harry Sloan, who has been instrumental in helping us reach our new accord.�

The two �Hobbit� films � �The Hobbit� and its sequel � are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning 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.

The Oscar-winning, critically-acclaimed LOTR Trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box-office. In 2003, �Return of the King� swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the eleven categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture � the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The Trilogy�s production was also unprecedented at the time.

RICKZARBER BECOMES OVER-EXCITED AND IS GIVEN MEDICATION

Seriously though, I honestly thought it'd be years before this happened. I figured none of the various rights and lawsuit issues could be satisfactorily resolved. But I guess the potential profit was enough to produce a Hollywood miracle!

I saw this coming, but I'm still overjoyed. Thorin FTW!

FUCK YES. I'm far more excited about this than I was about LoTR, because I was reading this back in 3rd grade (ah, fond memories). PS: And everything Banana said too.

I... can't... breathe...

too... awesome...

*GASP*

Okay, I'm good now. I got my paper bag, and now all is well.

Ahem.

I am truly looking forward to this.

But...

But...

Peter Jackson isn't directing this...

Ah, well, it's prolly for the best. It'll give him more time to do the Tintin movie.

But besides that...

FUCKING HELL YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quote:

MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

Wait...

Quote:

MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

No wait that can't be right....

Quote:

a sequel to “The Hobbit.”

......EHHHHHHHH?!?!?!?!

On the one hand, yay! \o/

On the other hand, a sequel comes with? Now, I'm not up to date on my LotR lore, but I'm pretty damn sure there wasn't a sequel, beyond, y'know, The Lord of the Fucking Rings.

Ohhh boy, if they fuck this up, I'm raising some kind of hell.

EDITUS: Heh, ninja'd. Much more concise, bananarama.

I'm actually kinda excited about the sequel. There's sixty-odd years of timeline to play with, and plenty of stuff in the appendices of LotR to draw from.

We could see the White Council chasing out the Necromancer and his subsequent return to Mordor; Gollum beginning his search for the Ring; pretty much all of Aragorn's travels, from meeting Arwen, to becoming "Thorongil" and serving under Thengel and Ecthelion (Theoden and Denethor's fathers), especially the battles with the Corsairs, where he personally leads the Gondorian fleet South and burns the havens at Umbar, his journeys far East and South, meeting Gandalf, to finally plighting his troth with Arwen in Lothl�rien; Saruman first becoming ensnared by Sauron via the palant�r; or Balin leading the dwarves to Moria.

Or who knows? It could be further adventures with the Mirkwood elves, the Lake Men, or the dwarves.

The possibilities are numerous. And that excites me.

Yeah, I found it pretty hard to believe, even as a third grader, that Bilbo would just go back to boring old life and never consider going on another adventure, even if it wasn't to the mountains.

Well, since they're doing two movies, maybe they should call one "There" and the other one "Back Again".