YES! Jackson to make Hobbit film

Yahoo article said:

"I'm very pleased that we've been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line," Jackson said in a statement. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth."

Two "Hobbit" films are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, similar to how the three "Lord of the Rings" films were made. Production is set to begin in 2009 with a released planned for 2010, with the sequel scheduled for a 2011 release.

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Mistwell said:

I have every confidence Jackson WILL make The Hobbit, at least as a producer.

The first sign was that New Line's head of Marketing, Russell Schwartz, was fired. It was a sure sign that things have gotten desperate at New Line. They badly need a big hit.

The second is that the rights to Hobbit default back to the previous owner fairly soon, and the prior owner has said his choice is Jackson. That put New Line in an impossible position - find someone else good enough, quickly, who is willing to do it knowing that Jackson wants to do it, and who would bring in the box office they need. That's a very short list, and probably already exhausted. Raimi has said in the past that he would not take on the project without Jackson’s blessing. I think Raimi will end up directing, and Jackson producing.

The fact that they are talking about "mending fences", after their previous very public absolutist approach, tells me they have gotten desperate and the battle is probably already won by Jackson. Now it's just a matter of settling the lawsuit on a figure they can both live with.

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