It's tactical leverage. If New Line is looking at the possibility of losing the Hobbit rights and getting nothing for them, they may well be amenable to getting something for them by selling them back to Zaentz or to a third party in whose hands they would not be at risk. Once those rights are no longer connected to NLC or Warners they are out from under the cloud, and production could proceed- even using PJ if desired. MGM/UA, who already have the distribution rights, might jump all over that.
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The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it.
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