[Child of the 7th Age]

Just stumbled onto David Poland's movie blog. He is usually pretty knowledgeable. There are already over 30 comments, with everyone predictably disagreeing with each other.

Here is an excerpt:

As for New Line, finding a quality director to succeed Peter Jackson to work on any future Rings-related will be almost impossible. Getting any of the actors who are loyal to Jackson and Walsh will be almost impossible. Selling this as more of the same to the public? They will get 3 weekends out of one project if it is not slaughtered by critics. They will suck some money out of it. And ironically, they will probably be able to make some superior licensing deals.

But anyone who looks at this separation with glee? ......

Aesthetically, there is no call for joy, no matter how much one might have disliked the trilogy. There will never be an emotionless, dry, pseudo-intellectual version of any Rings film in the next decades. (Who knows what revisionism happens in 2030?) And it is quite unlikely that there will be a better version of this style of Rings film from any other filmmaker. This isn’t Harry Potter, bouncing from filmmaker to filmmaker....

Personally, I don't need to see The Hobbit or any other Rings stuff. I am more than pleased to see Walsh/Jackson move onto The Lovely Bones and other such projects. I think it is easy to get caught up in your greatest, unrepeatable success. But they are feeling forced to walk away from their child. And no one will win from it. So there is nothing to applaud. Nothing at all.

But then again, mommy and daddy's separation - even though they have now told the kids - isn't a divorce quite yet. So, who knows...