# Peter Jackson might do The Hobbit **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996 "2003-12-31T20:09:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/1 "2003-12-31T20:09:21Z")
In a moment of temporary insanity, I was watching MTV2 yesterday and saw a brief interview with Peter Jackson about _King Kong_. In this report, it was mentioned that Jackson wanted to do _The Hobbit_ and would if he could get the rights to it. This is the most emphatic statement I’ve heard from him about doing _The Hobbit_, because in all previous comments he’s only been vaguely interested. Here’s a cite for you cite freaks: > **[Jackson confirms return to Hobbiton](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/dec/09/jrrtolkien)** > > Peter Jackson has confirmed his intention to film JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit. My questions are, what’s up with the rights? And, who would you cast in _The Hobbit_ if it were up to you? I thought the casting in the LotR trilogy was inspired, so I’m sure the casting for _The Hobbit_ will be great too, but I’d love to hear people’s casting ideas and see how close they are to what actually is decided. Apparently Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, and Liv Tyler have already said they’d be in it, so that’s set. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/2 "2003-12-31T20:26:40Z")
We’d need Hugo Weaving as Elrond again. Ian McKellen as Gandalf. Andy Serkis as Gollum. Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler could do cameos as Legolas (the son of the wood elves’ king) and Arwen, respectively. We’d probably have to recast Bilbo, as Ian Holm is really too old-looking. They couldn’t pin back his wrinkles for an entire movie! Casting the dwarves will be the biggest problem. Gerard Depardieu as Beorn! ---
**Author:** ![Thorongil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f6c823/32.png) [@Thorongil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thorongil)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/3 "2003-12-31T20:36:33Z")
Apparently the issue breaks down like this: > [@](#): > > From: Ain’t It Cool News > > _NEW LINE has the rights to make a Movie from the book THE HOBBIT. However, UNITED ARTISTS/MGM apparently have the rights to distribute that movie. SO - why would New Line make Peter Jackson an offer to make a movie that they could not distribute. And why would MGM/UA make an offer to Jackson to distribute a movie they can not make? LIKE “SPIDER-MAN” and the rights issues that kept that in the hands of lawyers for two decades, this is the problem going on with THE HOBBIT._ and this: > [@](#): > > \*From: IGN > > New Line Cinema is now actively pursuing the possibility of a film based on The Hobbit. According to The Australian, however, there is a hang-up: the Tolkien estate. It seems that Tolkien’s heirs, who have already riled Peter Jackson by refusing to permit a Rings museum in Wellington, are now a stumbling-block in the way of a Lord of the Rings prequel. > > “The difficulty everybody has is the Tolkien estate,” Jackson said, referring to recent wrangling between New Line and Christopher Tolkien, the custodian and literary executor of his late father’s estate. Jackson’s next project is King Kong, which should be finished by 2006. Afterwards, Jackson would like to work with New Line on The Hobbit, provided the legal hassles get worked out. > > Right now, a deal doesn’t seem likely. The trilogy itself was only possible because J.R.R. Tolkien himself sold those film rights in 1969 for £10,000, a paltry amount by modern standards. His son, Christopher, doesn’t believe that The Hobbit or any of his father’s other works can be adequately represented on-screen, and has resisted any endorsement of the current Lord of the Rings project.\* Not sure about casting, but I would love to see Chrisopher Walkien as Thranduil. 😉 Maybe The Rock as Beor!? Heh… ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/4 "2003-12-31T20:37:02Z")
From what I understand, there’s a bit of a problem with the rights. Jackson has said that he’d like to do The Hobbit, certainly, after a bit of a rest and a break, sure… …but the film rights currently reside with New Line, the same company that did LOTR… …while the DISTRIBUTION rights lie with a different company. This begs the question of why New Line should finance a film they won’t get to distribute… or why this other company should share the pie with New Line. Anything’s possible, certainly, but I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/5 "2003-12-31T20:46:36Z")
I don’t think The Hobbit would work under PJ. The merry elves in the book were not like Legolas, nor the bumbling dwarves like Gimli. Imagine trying to keep track of 13 dwarves (except maybe Bombur and Thorin). Smaug would be something to behold, though! ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/6 "2003-12-31T21:40:23Z")
New Line and UA are both owned by the same parent company. They will work something out. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/7 "2003-12-31T23:50:44Z")
Yes, **RikWriter** , I think so too. Where there’s a possible buttload of money to be made, there’s a way. ---
**Author:** ![Tarrsk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@Tarrsk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarrsk)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/8 "2004-01-01T00:02:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HubZilla \* > \*\*I don’t think The Hobbit would work under PJ. The merry elves in the book were not like Legolas, nor the bumbling dwarves like Gimli. Imagine trying to keep track of 13 dwarves (except maybe Bombur and Thorin). Smaug would be something to behold, though! \*\* I don’t know about that… if there’s one word that comes to mind when I think of Peter Jackson, it’s “versatility.” Keep in mind that this is the guy who used to be known primarily for making excessively bloody horror flicks. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/9 "2004-01-01T00:14:28Z")
Actually, from what I recall, all the dwarves except Thorin Oakenshield WERE bumbling idiots in “The Hobbit.” I mean, isn’t this the bunch that was too terrified to follow Bilbo into Lonely Mountain once they actually got there, thus leaving the poor little guy to face off against a dragon… alone? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/10 "2004-01-01T00:24:26Z")
I just wanted to be the first person in this thread to publically snicker at the double entendre in the thread’s title: _tee-hee-hee_ Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/11 "2004-01-01T00:54:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*I don’t know about that… if there’s one word that comes to mind when I think of Peter Jackson, it’s “versatility.” Keep in mind that this is the guy who used to be known primarily for making excessively bloody horror flicks. \*\* I for one have no doubt that Jackson could do it, I just wish he wouldn’t. The same goes for McKellen, Weaving, and Serkis. Their cinematic interpretation of Middle-earth was magnificent, but I don’t think it’s the only one possible. I’d like to see what other gifted people could do with Tolkien’s world. If they fail, we still have three great films. If they succeed, we’ll have something brand-new to be excited about that will stand beside Tolkien’s and Jackson’s version, instead of trodding well-worn trails through territory we’ve seen before. > [@](#): > > **Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler could do cameos as Legolas (the son of the wood elves’ king) and Arwen, respectively.** If it must be done, let it be done without shoehorning movie stars into a story in which they don’t belong. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/12 "2004-01-01T00:58:27Z")
The feel of the Hobbit is completely different than that of LotR. I don’t know that Jackson’s vision (unique, but not difinitive) of LotR makes him any more qualified than anyone else to do The Hobbit. In fact, if he painted The Hobbit with the same brush he did LotR, I don’t think I’d like it much at all. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/13 "2004-01-01T00:59:31Z")
And, ditto what **TWDuke** said. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/14 "2004-01-01T01:06:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > **We’d need Hugo Weaving as Elrond again.** I agree, Mister Anderson. > [@](#): > > **Ian McKellen as Gandalf.** You are a god among insects. Never forget that. ---
**Author:** ![Delly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Delly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delly)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/15 "2004-01-01T02:36:26Z")
Ian Mckellan said that if The Hobbit was made by Peter Jackson then he would love to play Gandalf, and be peeved if he didnt (my words not his, they are similiar though). I dont have a site unfortunately as I saw it on Film 2003 with Johnathan Ross- the Rotk premiere special( UK TV Prog). Just thpought Id throw that into the debate… ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/16 "2004-01-01T03:35:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*I just wanted to be the first person in this thread to publically snicker at the double entendre in the thread’s title: > > _tee-hee-hee_ > > Thank you. \*\* Sam will kill him if he tries anything. ---
**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/17 "2004-01-01T03:46:30Z")
Yeah the Dwarves in The Hobbit were a bunch of schoolboys, but the feeling I get from the story is that, at the time, there’s really not a lot of mighty & heroic things for a dwarfly dwarf to do, ergo they’re mostly pansies (although not NEARLY as bad as the dudes Snow White was chillin’ with) except the insufferably arrogant T.O. (Van Damme?). I always took Gimli to have made a career out of offing tunnel nasties and so he was a good choice to send to the council of Elrond: No way in HELL would this raging ball of dwarftosterone let those fairies, er, elves secure command of the ring–Bombur would have traded the thing for a chicken leg. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/18 "2004-01-01T04:03:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > \*\* > Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler could do cameos as Legolas (the son of the wood elves’ king) and Arwen, respectively. > \*\* You could have Aragorn hanging out at Rivendell, but I think he’d have to be a kid. I think Gollum is almost a cameo. He’s only in the story for a short time, isn’t he? Serkis could have a “Featuring” credit or something. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eonwe \* > \*\*The feel of the Hobbit is completely different than that of LotR. I don’t know that Jackson’s vision (unique, but not difinitive) of LotR makes him any more qualified than anyone else to do The Hobbit. In fact, if he painted The Hobbit with the same brush he did LotR, I don’t think I’d like it much at all. \*\* I’m sure Jackson realizes that the Hobbit has a different tone than LOTR and I have faith he could get it right. I think a related problem would be more difficult: dealing with the ring once Bilbo finds it. In LOTR, the ring is almost a character in and of itself, while in the Hobbit, it’s more of a tool than anything else. I suppose this is a problem with the books too. But it’s easier to accept going from the Hobbit to LOTR, than the the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/19 "2004-01-01T04:10:30Z")
According the the liner notes on the ROTK CD, Howard Shore is ready to do the score. ---
**Author:** ![HDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@HDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HDS)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996/20 "2004-01-01T04:17:07Z")
> [@](#): > > I just wanted to be the first person in this thread to publically snicker at the double entendre in the thread’s title: Snickering along with you. Line starts on the left, you say? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peter-jackson-might-do-the-hobbit/221996.md?page=2)