A couple of weeks ago the Tolkien fan community was tumbled into turmoil by a letter from Peter Jackson, published on TheOneRing.net

In this letter, Peter Jackson states that he has been involved in a lawsuit against New Line regarding their accounting practises for the "Lord of the Rings" movies, and has been insisting on an independent audit of those practises. New Line offered to settle the lawsuit in return for Peter's commitment to direct the Hobbit movie. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and their team felt that this would be a bad reason to get involved in a film, and therefore declined. A week before the letter was posted, their manager got a phone call from Mark Ordesky at New Line, letting them know that their service on the "Hobbit" movie would be no longer required, and that the studio was actively looking for another director. Apparently New Line's rights on the material are about to expire next year, which seems to be the reason why the studio is in a hurry to get the film made. The other studio involved, MGM, which owns the distribution rights, seems to continue to support Peter Jackson though.

Now I have to admit that movie politics always go *wayyyy* over my head, and it can be safely assumed that not everyone is telling everything there is to tell, but frankly, to me and to a lot of other people New Line's decision seems a little – lunatic.

Of course I can only speak for myself (although I alone have seen each of the Lord of the Rings movies about 20 times in the cinema, and there are quite a few like me – not the fan base you want to alienate!) - but I personally would not want to go and see a "Hobbit" movie which was not helmed by Peter Jackson, did not have a script by the Walsh/Boyens/Jackson team, was not designed by Weta Workshops with the involvement of Alan Lee and John Howe, and was not shot in New Zealand. For one thing at least seems clear to me: Any film team who thinks they can shoot this movie in New Zealand and not involve Peter Jackson, is, to put it mildly, very optimistic. They will have to rely on New Zealand administration, New Zealand crew, New Zealand transport and catering and location scouting and and and… and I would be very surprised if the local hobbits would not find ways to subtly or not-so-subtly boycott this project. After all, in this country Jackson's demise has been received as something of a national outrage, and if put to the test, I doubt not that the locals would make sure that the experience would be somewhat similar to Saruman trying to take over the Shire – only they would not wait quite that long with their revolt.

Why do I feel so strongly about "just another movie? – Well, "Lord of the Rings" was not just another fantasy-action blockbuster to make some film studio some megabucks - although obviously, it did that as well, and everybody knows that there are stacks of money to be made with "The Hobbit". The "Lord of the Rings" movies, to me and to quite an astonishing number of other people – some of which I have the privilege to know – has been, in the literal sense of the term, a life-changing experience.

This had quite a bit to do with the team spirit and enthusiasm which Peter Jackson and those around him managed to generate – not only among those directly involved in making the film, but also among the fan base. In fact, it would probably not be exaggerated to say that in making those movies, Peter Jackson has re-defined the relationship between film makers and their fans. Internet communities like TheOneRing.net ended up directly influencing the movies (Figwit, anyone?), and it is just another testament to this symbiotic relationship that Peter and Fran choose the TORN website to publish their statement. Incidentally, it is also the best possible way to mobilize the fan base - and impress on the studio's what exactly it is that Peter Jackson has going for him. The studio executives who risk alienating the very people who pay to see their movie, those studio executives must be truly out of their minds.

The power of the people made the Berlin Wall come down – lets hope it can also make a bunch of studio bosses come to their senses.

Please sign this Petition to involve Peter Jackson in the making of "The Hobbit"

If you want to get involved further, here is TheOneRing.net's "react" page - listing several mail and email addresses to send stuff to, as well as a selection of other petitions

Of course the people at Let the Hobbit happen! are also up in arms - with lots of suggestions what to do

Several key cast and crew from "Lord of the Rings", as well as a member of the Tolkien family, have pulled their weight and voiced their opinions in Peter Jackson's favour:

Sir Ian McKellen

"The LOTR fans are already expressing a sense of betrayal. On my own account, I am very sad as I should have relished re-visiting Middle Earth with Peter again as team-leader. It's hard to imagine any other director matching his achievement in Tolkien country. We will have to await developments but being an optimist I am hoping that New Line, MGM and Wingnut can settle outstanding problems so that the long expected "Hobbit" is filmed sooner rather than later."

Elijah Wood

"If [Peter] ultimately doesn‘t come back because of what New Line has done I think it would be a great tragedy. I think it‘s ultimately quite foolish for New Line to move forward assuming they can create an equally wonderful film without Peter…and I think for that for fans that‘s tragic"

John Howe in TORN news archives, 4/12/06-10/12/06

12/04/06, 6:11 pm EST - Tehanu
TORN asked artist John Howe's opinion on the Hobbit/PJ situation. Here is his response: "Quite frankly, I do think Peter is obviously the best person to do the Hobbit, because he is the only one who would not feel the weight of LOTR on his shoulders. Kind of a paradox, but another director would likely feel obliged to prolong something not originally his, or break free of it entirely, neither solution being a good one. Peter, on the other hand, can have the creator's attitude towards his own work: complete freedom to use it or ignore it."

Royd Tolkien

Before Peter made Lord Of The Rings all I knew of his work was that I really enjoyed his films. That all changed a few years ago. He's not only a filmmaker, he's someone that I now trust and respect.
Before the films were made I held massive reservations and fears that JRRT and LOTR would be used as merely a tool for producing revenue and would result ultimately in a substandard film. But it's different now, and it's different because of Peter.
3 weeks ago those feelings returned. Without him, The Hobbit will become what I had earlier feared LOTR was to become.
To find a new director after the time and dedication Peter and all his people put in would not just be wrong, it would also be a bad decision.

Assorted press reactions:

Entertainment Weekly *** MSN movies *** Dork Tower puts it in a nutshell

Image from TheOneRing.net's fan reactions caption contest