One Line to Foul Them All
filed on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 at 4:29:45 AM CST

New Line has sealed the fate of The Hobbit, and probably sealed the fate of the movie never being made, unless New Line and Peter Jackson's Wingnut Films about New Line's accounting practices.  You see, Peter Jackson explained the situation.  It boils down to this:  New Line decided to try to tie resolving an outstanding lawsuit over The Fellowship of the Rings to the making of both The Hobbit and an untitled Lord of the Rings prequel movie leading up to the events of the successful trilogy.

Well, after reading the letter, I'm incensed that New Line would take a gamble putting the prequel movies into someone else's hands.  It was Peter Jackson who brought Middle Earth to life on the big screen, and it was his dedication to detail, to story, to character, to the fictional world that brought it all to life.  Without Jackson, the movies would not have been made, and even if they had been, they may not have been the successes that they were.  To me, there is no one else who could make these movies.  Brett Ratner did an okay job on the third X-Men movie, but it was no Bryan Singer.  And while Brian Singer did a respectable job with Superman Returns, he'd have done better in familiar territory.  Someone else taking over The Lord of the Rings?  It's unthinkable.

Here is a letter I just submitted to New Line via their online contact form:

I have just read that New Line intends to go forth with a director other than Peter Jackson for The Hobbit and another proposed prequel film to the widely successful Lord of the Rings trilogy.  This is a mistake, and will guarantee the failure of the movie.  Whatever issues exist between your company and Peter Jackson's should be resolved, and Jackson courted to do the movies in a proper way.

What I think your company fails to understand is that it was Jackson's drive, Jackson's vision, and Jackson's talent that brought the world of Middle Earth alive.  When you folks announced that you were doing The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I'm sure you recall much skepticism.  It is not a stretch to say that the trilogy could have been a financial failure.

But when we all sat in the audience the opening night of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, we all KNEW the trilogy was in good hands, and we were so drawn for YEARS to the coming of a new movie.  A friend of mine and I were actually sad after the DVD release of The Return of the King because there was no Lord of the Rings to greet us that Christmas.

I'll be blunt.  You folks are OUT OF YOUR MIND if you use anyone but Peter Jackson.  You will alienate your fan base, and I for one will not even spend my money on the movie simply out of protest for this ludicrous decision.  I'm sure I am not the only one conveying this to you.

My suggestion... handle the lawsuit appropriately; meet their expectations.  And then give the man who brought you MILLIONS AND MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS the opportunity to do so again.  Because if someone else makes The Hobbit, I guarantee you'll be wondering what went wrong.

Thank you.

And I'm quite serious.  I don't think I'm the only one who would boycott prequels done by anyone but Jackson, particularly in light of the situation.  Unfortunately, I fear that the public outcry over this (and I guarantee I'm not the only one incensed) will result in The Hobbit simply not getting made.  It will be sad, but, honestly, I prefer they don't make the prequel movies if they're not going to follow through on them properly.

It's a sad day for Middle Earth.  However, if you feel like I do, TheOneRing.net has put together a list of contacts to express your feelings to.  The above email is, for me, just the beginning.