News that Jackson still directing "Hobbit" false

By: Karl Schneider
Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Source: Various

I reported a while back that New Line told Peter Jackson they would not be asking for his directorial service for The Hobbit.  Soon after, it was learned that New Line only has the rights to the films for another year before they revert back to Saul Zaentz.

A new rumor quickly sprung up, originating from an interview Zaentz had with a German magazine, and has been making it's way around the internet.  The rumor uses a quote he gave which says that Peter Jackson would in fact be directing the upcoming film.

That rumor, sadly, is false.

Zaentz was quoted saying that Jackson would direct the film, but as the World of KJ reported, the interview was done weeks ago and BEFORE New Line showed Jackson the door.

A more recent quote from Zaentz has him saying, “We would like to see it done, of course with Peter Jackson.  He’s a good film director. He’s the right guy. He knows it too. But it’s a hard thing to do, when you feel you didn’t get the money you were supposed to get.”

The above quote is from AFTER the fallout, but Zaentz made it clear that he has no real say in the matter and that his previous quote was pre-fallout.

As for MGM, who happen to own the distribution rights to The Hobbit, they have the following to say, "We expect to partner with New Line in financing ‘The Hobbit.’  We support Peter Jackson as a filmmaker, and believe that when the dust settles, he’ll be making the movie. We can’t imagine any other result."

As of now, we just don't know what is going to happen.

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