Sam Raimi Will Direct The Hobbit?

IESB ^ | Sunday, 28 January 2007 | Robert Sanchez

[maquiladora]

There has been speculation about this since last November but according to a major newspaper, Sam "Spider-Man" Raimi is considering directing The Hobbit.

LA Times has the following:

In a move that would have ramifications for several major multi-nationals, and millions of fans, "Spider-Man" maestro Sam Raimi has been telling associates, as well as his corporate masters at Sony, that he is thinking of directing "The Hobbit," the prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork, "The Lord of the Rings." At least two top-level insiders – who declined to be named -- have heard the words out of the director's mouth.

A year ago, such a swap of franchises would have been unthinkable, given that Peter Jackson co-wrote and directed the Oscar-winning "Rings" trilogy, but that was before the slugfest erupted between the once-rotund director and New Line honcho Bob Shaye.

Jackson is suing the studio over money he says is owed to him from the the "Rings" films, which grossed more than $3 billion at the box office and another $1 billion on DVD. In the last few weeks, Shaye has declared Jackson persona-non-grata at New Line, stating publicly that, "He will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working at the company."

According to a New Line source, the studio isn't just contemplating one "Hobbit" movie, but two. The prequel tells the story of hobbit Bilbo Baggins and how he first discovers the magical but sinister ring, the very object that drives the action in "Lord of the Rings."

Still, while Raimi might be an irresistable replacement for Jackson, his ascension to the directing chair is far from a sure thing. New Line says it doesn't have a deal with the director, and Raimi hasn't met with Shaye or production president Toby Emmerich. More potentially problematic is the fact that MGM owns the distribution rights to the film. An MGM spokeman insists that MGM remains firmly in the Jackson camp: "We support Peter Jackson, and when the dust settles, we believe he is the one who will be making this movie."

A call to Raimi's office was directed to his agent, Richard Lovett, at CAA. The agency did not comment.

For Sony, losing Raimi – who gave "Spider-Man" its distinctive visual theatrics – would be a blow. Studio chief Amy Pascal has said she wants to make six installments of the "Spider-Man" tale. Just this week, the studio announced it was rehiring David Koepp, who wrote the first film, to write "Spider-Man 4."

[El Sordo]

What role will Bruce Campbell get?

[maquiladora]

MGM still holds the North American distribtion rights to any Hobbit film, so even if New Line went into production, they wouldn't be able to release the film without reaching a deal with MGM first. And as you can see above, MGM are still focused on wanting Jackson to make it.

So the most likely senario will be...production rights go back to Tolkien Enterprises at the end of the year and then MGM & Tolkien Enterprises try making The Hobbit with Jackson with no New Line involvement whatsoever.

[Monkey Face]

Er... :o|

[Thud]

IMO Peter Jackson would not do a good job with The Hobbit. It is a children's story.

[Starter]

"Hi. I'm Frodo Baggins."

[Artemis Webb]

OMG....ASH RULES !

[ExGeeEye]

Please make sure I get on the ping list :)

Thanks

[ecurbh]

Whoops, how'd that happen? It's been remedied. :)