'The Hobbit' Gets Healthier

Picking up a ring and frolicking with hobbits made Peter Jackson a mega-star director, and everyone wondered if he would go back to the days of the The Hobbit after finishing The Lord of the Rings. Not quite. As I'm sure you remember, he doesn't think he was paid all that he should, and he and New Line started warring. From there, things went all over the place and everyone weighed in. Here are some of the reports -- he was blacklisted, he responded, Bob Shaye calmed down a little, Hobbit plans went bye-bye, Saul Zaentz would have none of The Hobbit without Jackson, Greg Wright also spoke up for Jackson, as did James Cameron, but Sam Raimi was a possible alternate, then Jackson said the possibility of him working on The Hobbit was remote in May, but to make things interesting, New Line starts having problems and Shaye sings a different tune.

What could there possibly be to say after all of that? According to EW, the war has come down to a simmer, and sources say that things are looking good for the Hobbit project -- of course this is second-hand, as the main players are now tight-lipped. There's nothing like appeal of money to calm tensions! But I imagine that if this goes through, Jackson will be a stickler about his contract, and there's going to be a lot of eyes watching New Line's accounting. God, can you imagine what they can rake in if they make films comparable to the Rings? Sweet, merciful crap!

Since this is all just gossip, which doesn't leave much to discuss, EW also dipped into the background behind the first films, and has a great primer about the quest to make the Rings, and what has transpired since then -- from Jackson trying to get three films made about the rings, rather than two (can you imagine how much they would've had to cut with less movies?!), to the money, the tensions, and the raving words. So the future might once again be bright. Will we see more hobbits on the screen? Do we care? And when will Jackson even have time? He's got The Lovely Bones and Tintin to worry about!