# Why no Hobbit movie yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984 "2006-04-09T19:48:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/1 "2006-04-09T19:48:15Z")
QtM first inquired about this re movies he owld like to see, but I am curious. Why no “The Hobbit” movie? It would seem to be a sure moneymaker. Maybe we need songs… lots and lots of songs and big name to play Bilbo- Tom Cruise maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/2 "2006-04-09T20:04:10Z")
It seems like it would be going a bit backwards for Peter Jackson to do it–but him doing it would be a bigger audience puller that anyone else. So as long as he is saying he would like to “eventually” make it, I suspect the studios are willing to hold off. Also, there is a decent version already. The animated version of the Lord of the Rings may have sucked, but most remember the Hobbit fondly. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/3 "2006-04-09T20:09:23Z")
It’s about money. Talking off the top of my head, I believe New Line has the rights to make it but another company (?MGM) has the rights to distribute it, and they’re fighting over who will get what. Here’s a website devoted to answering your question: [http://derhobbit-film.de/indexengl.shtml](http://derhobbit-film.de/indexengl.shtml) This movie would make mucho dinero. It’s got fan favorites like Bilbo, elves, dwarves, Gandalf, Elrond, Gollum, orcs, the Ring, room for a cameo by Legolas, evil spiders, and a dragon. Bet on it grossing $800 million at the world box office, maybe even more. Plus tons of money on the DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/4 "2006-04-09T20:13:08Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > most remember the Hobbit fondly. Not me! Their depiction of the Wood Elves was not good. I respect the effort. I own a copy. But by Ulmo and Omar-Amillo, PJ needs to take a shot at making the movie. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/5 "2006-04-09T22:14:15Z")
I agree with Quadgop that two companies need to agree over the rights first. Next, from Sir Ian McKellen’s site: 'Q: When Peter Jackson announced he was doing Lord of the Rings, he said that if the trilogy was successful, he would go back and do The Hobbit. It has been a couple of years since this was brought up—i.e. FAQ—so I pose the question again Sir Ian. Have you heard anything recently about bringing The Hobbit to the screen, and would you be interested in reprising your role? Also do you think that Ian Holm would be interested in coming back to be the younger Bilbo, as he plays the younger Bilbo in the Lord of the Rings prologue? P.s. My wife wants to know if they gave you an extra bit of length for your nose in the Gandalf make-up—-she says yes and I say no. A: I recently asked about the film rights to The Hobbit, which seem to be somewhat controlled by Peter Jackson, as far as I can tell. I hope that’s the case because obviously he should have first refusal at translating the novel into a movie. I should be intrigued to return to Middle-earth, even though it involved putting on Gandalf’s nose, which is even more distinctive than my own, tell your wife. I thought it might be possible to make a really long screen version, probably for television, with every episode of the book covered week by week in a multitude of episodes. Ian Holm — who was proud to look so young as well as so old as Bilbo in The Fellowship of the Ring — even he might think the young Bilbo of The Hobbit was unlikely casting for an actor of his age.’ [http://www.mckellen.com/epost/lotr/l021029.htm](http://www.mckellen.com/epost/lotr/l021029.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/6 "2006-04-09T22:26:26Z")
> [@](#): > > …and big name to play Bilbo- Tom Cruise maybe. Wouldn’t we need someone taller? ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/7 "2006-04-09T23:18:34Z")
I remember a bit in Empire, where they asked PJ when was the soonest a Hobbit movie could appear… I think he just said 2009, at the earliest, but it seemed like he answered glibly, out of hand, in a “I dunno…2009, or so” sort of way. I dont blame the man, quite frankly. I wouldnt want to dive back into the pressure-cooker enviroment of such a project after years of rings/kong mania. His next movie is The Lovely Bones, a simple charater movie, something that wont be scrutinised from the word go on the internet. Let the man relax. Having said that, neither Ian Holm nor Ian McKellan are getting any younger, and it would be awful if they had to re-cast… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/8 "2006-04-10T00:34:08Z")
> [@Ian McKellen](#): > > Ian Holm ? who was proud to look so young as well as so old as Bilbo in The Fellowship of the Ring ? even he might think the young Bilbo of The Hobbit was unlikely casting for an actor of his age. He made an _excellent_ Frodo in the 12 hour BBC version. Of course, that was radio. Still they might be able to pull it off, although it might put a bit of a strain on WETA. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/9 "2006-04-10T00:43:18Z")
> [@astro](#): > > …snip… and big name to play Bilbo- Tom Cruise maybe. That is just so wrong. 😃 I hope they start soon and stay more loyal to the book than LotR did. Push for Maximum Money and make it in 2 or 3 parts. Good for the studio and good for us Tolkien Fanatics. Jim ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/10 "2006-04-10T00:53:53Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > He made an _excellent_ Frodo in the 12 hour BBC version. Of course, that was radio. > > Still they might be able to pull it off, although it might put a bit of a strain on WETA. 😉 [PBS](http://www.weta.org/tv/) is sponsoring this movie? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/11 "2006-04-10T01:01:23Z")
Peter Jackson has no control over the rights to a film of _The Hobbit_. Tolkien sold the cinematic rights to _The Lord of the Rings_ and _The Hobbit_ in about 1968 for an amount that was reportedly about 105,000 pounds (about $250,000). He sold them to a film producer. The film rights got sold once or twice more as one producer after another gave up on the project. Eventually Saul Zaentz ended up owning them. He has owned them since and films of these two books only get made with his permission. (Well, the Bakshi and Jackson films of _The Lord of the Rings_ and the Rankin and Bass film of _The Hobbit_ had his permission. Rankin and Bass made _The Return of the King_ without asking his permission, trying to claim that the American copyright for _The Lord of the Rings_ had been lost. Eventually a deal was made so that Rankin and Bass paid something for the rights.) Zaentz has now made from all the films of the two books something like one thousand times as much money as was paid to Tolkien back in 1968. According to a story I’ve heard in the past two years, the Tolkien estate found some reason to sue Zaentz, claiming that he had violated the original terms of the sale of cinematic rights and now had to pay them more money. According to this story, this case was settled out of court by having Zaentz pay the Tolkien estate $40,000,000. In any case, Saul Zaentz and no one else decided if further movies of _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of the Rings_ will get made, so long as these two books stay in copyright. He has no rights over any other Tolkien work, incidentally, and it’s unlikely the Tolkien estate would allow a film of any other Tolkien work, I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/12 "2006-04-10T01:12:02Z")
I suspect all of the possible objections, knowing Zaentz history (he can’t dance, after all), can be overcome with the hellacious amount of money available to all persons involved with producing _The Hobbit_. With film gross, television rights, merchandising, and whatnot the pie would end up in ten figures pretty easily. Call me cynical. But with that amount of moolah out there for the taking on an already established film franchise with a ready made audience absolutely CLAMORING for the product to appear the wheels will turn easier than they would otherwise. I look forward to seeing it. Though I agree that Holm is too old for the part. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/13 "2006-04-10T01:15:58Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > … > > Also, there is a decent version already. The animated version of the Lord of the Rings may have sucked, but most remember the Hobbit fondly. I remembered it fondly too, until I re-watched it about a year ago. Aged well it has not, and/or my tastes have profoundly changed since 1977 (probably a little of both). Plus as **Qadgop** points out the depiction of the Wood Elves is jarringly wrong. Put me down as NOT wanting the soon to be 75 year old Ian Holm to play Bilbo, if this thing ever gets made. No amount of makeup or CGI wizardry is going to be able to convincgly pull off him as a middle aged hobbit for an entire feature length film. Ian McKellan as 2000+ year old Gandalf will work just fine however. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/14 "2006-04-10T07:00:10Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > He has no rights over any other Tolkien work, incidentally, and it’s unlikely the Tolkien estate would allow a film of any other Tolkien work, I suspect. Some of the tales in The Silmarillion are pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/15 "2006-04-10T12:38:37Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Some of the tales in The Silmarillion are pretty good. The [Fall of Gondolin](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mithrandircq/images/The-Fall-of-Gondolin.jpg) is a mini Epic in itself. Jim ---
**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:** [April 10, 2006, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/16 "2006-04-10T13:01:26Z")
I think it likely that dear Ian Holm will be too old to play Bilbo by the time this movie ever gets made. However, I think the actor that played Tim in the original _The Office_ is a dead ringer for a hobbit. Don’t know if his acting abilities would stand against Ian McKellan’s, however. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/17 "2006-04-10T14:51:29Z")
Quartz writes: \> Some of the tales in The Silmarillion are pretty good. I agree, but the Tolkien family has no good reason to sell any further cinematic rights. (Also, I think that a good story doesn’t not necessarily equal a good film.) They’re doing O.K. from the royalties on the books. They got astonishingly little money from all the films and their tie-ins. It’s almost impossible for an author to structure a deal so that he gets as much money as he deserves from films of his books. Some of the family are unhappy with the quality of the films. I know that there are a lot of people who seem to think that a piece of fiction hardly even exists unless it is turned into a film, but there are people who would rather not see a good book turned into a mediocre film. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/18 "2006-04-10T15:37:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wouldn’t we need someone taller? That’s a good one, sir! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/19 "2006-04-10T15:38:12Z")
Peter Jackson has often said he’d like to direct a movie version of _The Hobbit_, but the rights would have to be worked out. I read an interview with Ian McKellen in which he said, good-naturedly, that he’d be quite put out if someone else got to wear Gandalf’s hat. Howard Shore, the composer of the film scores, has said several times that he hopes and expects there will be a movie. I think it’s gonna happen; it’s only a matter of time. I agree that Ian Holm would be too old to have another go as Bilbo. A friend suggested the guy who played Arthur Dent in the recent movie version of _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_. I haven’t seen the movie, but he does have the Hobbitish look. Hugo Weaving could return as Elrond. A little boy named Estel could appear in a Rivendell scene… a reminder of things to come. And why not a cameo by Orlando Bloom as Legolas, as the Dwarves are imprisoned by the Wood Elves? How about Brendan Gleeson (“Mad-eye” Moody in _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_) as Beorn? Casting the _Hobbit_ movie could be a new thread all by itself… ---
**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:** [April 10, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984/20 "2006-04-10T15:55:35Z")
> [@teela brown](#): > > I think the actor that played Tim in the original The Office is a dead ringer for a hobbit. > [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > A friend suggested the guy who played Arthur Dent in the recent movie version of _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_. I haven’t seen the movie, but he does have the Hobbitish look. Heh. Get his agent on the line. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-hobbit-movie-yet/351984.md?page=2)