Gandalf Guest Blogs on the Rings Battle!
From the wires of The Hollywood Reporter:
An apparent escalation in the war of words between New Line Cinema Founder and Co-Chairman Robert Shaye and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson appears to be nixing any possible reconciliation between the two, much less any chance that Jackson will direct the trilogy's prequel, The Hobbit. Speaking to the Sci-Fi Channel's Sci Fi Wire service, Shaye said that Jackson will never make another movie for his company, grumbling that the filmmaker simply wants more money.
"I don't care about Peter Jackson anymore," Shaye said. "He wants another $100,000,000 or $50,000,000 --- whatever it is he's suing us for. He doesn't wanna sit down and talk about it. He thinks we owe him something after we paid him a quarter of a billion dollars. .... Cheers, Peter."
Director Jackson responded on Tuesday with a
statement which did not attack Shaye but clarified his issues with New Line. The lawsuit, he explained, stems from the studio's refusal to account for financial anomalies surfacing from a partial audit of The Fellowship of the Ring, and that the studio has denied his repeated requests to audit The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
"Fundamentally," Jackson said, "our legal action is about holding New Line to its contractual obligations and promises. It is regrettable that Bob has chosen instead to make this personal. I have always the highest respect and affection for Bob and all the other senior management at New Line and will continue to do so."
Well, my friends, there it is in a nutshell. You, our loyal fans, have been denied --- perhaps permanently --- a chance at seeing Peter direct yours truly, Gandalf --- not to mention Thorin and dear old Bilbo --- in a live-action Hobbit movie! Well, we know what and who we need on our side: namely you, our visitors and editors at both TheOneRing.net and its sister page saluting dear Peter, The Bastards Have Landed.
In all honesty, I suppose that there are some of you have wondered why our old friends Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass haven't stepped up to the challenge and remade their famous, Peabody Award-winning animated version from 1977? Hmmmmm..... Y'know, that's not a bad idea. So, here's a smashing thought: Contact RankinBass.com Founder Rick Goldschmidt at rick@rankinbass.com and let him know that, since Peter Jackson's not gonna do a new Hobbit, then shouldn't it be only fair that the folks who gave the world the Animagic epic saga of Rudolph and the hand-drawn half-hour magic of Frosty should make a long overdue big-screen comeback and make a new, CGI-style Hobbit --- in the Rankin/Bass tradition?
What say you, Arthur and Jules (and Rick, as well)? Do you dare return to the realms you trod in 1977 and try to make me look cool again in animation? And can a new Rankin/Bass Hobbit make me even cooler than designers Lester Abrams and Tsuguyuki Kubo did? Let the gauntlet be thrown!
Yours etc.,
Mithrandir
An apparent escalation in the war of words between New Line Cinema Founder and Co-Chairman Robert Shaye and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson appears to be nixing any possible reconciliation between the two, much less any chance that Jackson will direct the trilogy's prequel, The Hobbit. Speaking to the Sci-Fi Channel's Sci Fi Wire service, Shaye said that Jackson will never make another movie for his company, grumbling that the filmmaker simply wants more money.
"I don't care about Peter Jackson anymore," Shaye said. "He wants another $100,000,000 or $50,000,000 --- whatever it is he's suing us for. He doesn't wanna sit down and talk about it. He thinks we owe him something after we paid him a quarter of a billion dollars. .... Cheers, Peter."
Director Jackson responded on Tuesday with a
statement which did not attack Shaye but clarified his issues with New Line. The lawsuit, he explained, stems from the studio's refusal to account for financial anomalies surfacing from a partial audit of The Fellowship of the Ring, and that the studio has denied his repeated requests to audit The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
"Fundamentally," Jackson said, "our legal action is about holding New Line to its contractual obligations and promises. It is regrettable that Bob has chosen instead to make this personal. I have always the highest respect and affection for Bob and all the other senior management at New Line and will continue to do so."
Well, my friends, there it is in a nutshell. You, our loyal fans, have been denied --- perhaps permanently --- a chance at seeing Peter direct yours truly, Gandalf --- not to mention Thorin and dear old Bilbo --- in a live-action Hobbit movie! Well, we know what and who we need on our side: namely you, our visitors and editors at both TheOneRing.net and its sister page saluting dear Peter, The Bastards Have Landed.
In all honesty, I suppose that there are some of you have wondered why our old friends Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass haven't stepped up to the challenge and remade their famous, Peabody Award-winning animated version from 1977? Hmmmmm..... Y'know, that's not a bad idea. So, here's a smashing thought: Contact RankinBass.com Founder Rick Goldschmidt at rick@rankinbass.com and let him know that, since Peter Jackson's not gonna do a new Hobbit, then shouldn't it be only fair that the folks who gave the world the Animagic epic saga of Rudolph and the hand-drawn half-hour magic of Frosty should make a long overdue big-screen comeback and make a new, CGI-style Hobbit --- in the Rankin/Bass tradition?
What say you, Arthur and Jules (and Rick, as well)? Do you dare return to the realms you trod in 1977 and try to make me look cool again in animation? And can a new Rankin/Bass Hobbit make me even cooler than designers Lester Abrams and Tsuguyuki Kubo did? Let the gauntlet be thrown!
Yours etc.,
Mithrandir
posted by Master Blackwolf | 8:17 AM
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