The Hobbit in July 2007?

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

Originally Posted by goldfinger

Have all not heared the news? Saul Zaentz is not giving up on PJ, and hopes to have him do the Hobbit.

There was an article about that in The Sun today, but how trustworthy is it? I guess we have to wait and see.

LORD OF THE RINGS director PETER JACKSON WILL direct the highly-anticipated prequel, The Hobbit.

There was uproar last week when New Line Cinema bosses told the King Kong director he was "no longer needed" in the making of The Hobbit and another unnamed Lord Of The Rings prequel.

Jackson - originally given the boot due to legal disputes over royalties - now has the thumbs up thanks to film producer SAUL ZAENTZ (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest).

Zaentz, who owns the screen rights to Tolkien Enterprises, said: “(The Hobbit) will definitely be shot by Peter Jackson.

“Next year, The Hobbit rights will fall back to my company.

“I suppose that Peter will wait because he knows that he will make the best deal with us. And he is fed up with the studios.

“To get his profit share on the Rings trilogy, he had to sue New Line. With us, he knows that he will be paid fairly and artistically supported without reservation.”

(The Sun)

As to other directors, The Wachowski Brothers' take on the Hobbit could be interesting although I'm not sure how well it could reach the spirit of the Hobbit. If the job was given to Tim Burton, at least we'd be sure to get a fairytale.