After helping New Line Cinema make billions of dollars with his big-screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings tales, director/producer Peter Jackson has been blacklisted by the studio. Amid controversy surrounding the proposed feature based on Tolkien’s The Hobbit, New Line head Robert Shaye told SCI FI Channel’s SCI FI Wire that the company will not work with Jackson on that film or any other production as long as he is in charge. New Line is currently being sued by Jackson, who feels he is still owed money for his part in the success of the Rings trilogy.
“I do not want to make a movie with somebody who is suing me,” Shaye told SCI FI during an interview promoting New Line’s upcoming family fantasy flick, The Last Mimzy, which he directed. “It will never happen during my watch.”
In the interview, Shaye goes on to comment on Jackson’s ‘arrogance,’ in assuming that the head of studio such as New Line would care enough to deliberately cheat him. He also alleges that Jackson, despite receiving a quarter of a billion dollars from the Lord of the Rings series, turned around and filed a law suit against the company without having a discussion. On top of this, a number of actors from the Rings trilogy are refusing to participate in New Line’s 40th Anniversary celebration because of their loyalty to Jackson, according to Shaye.
Despite Shaye’s contempt for Jackson, the New Zealand-based filmmaker may get his chance to make The Hobbit after all. Distribution rights to the film are owned by MGM, which may push for Jackson’s involvement given the strong connection he has made with fans of Tolkien’s literature. Also, New Line has a limited-time option on the Hobbit the film rights, which will revert back to producer Saul Zaentz, who made the 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings for United Artists. Zaentz has publicly announced that he wants Jackson to make the pic with him.
