In 1966, J.R.R. Tolkien sold the film and merchandising rights for both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists. About ten years later, United Artists sold those rights to Saul Zaentz, who set up a special division in The Saul Zaentz Company that he named Tolkien Enterprises. Tolkien Enterprises has managed the rights for films and merchandise based on the books ever since.
In 1977, Rankin Bass Productions made a television adaptation of The Hobbit that was generally well received by the public, although it was not very faithful to the book (all the Elves except Elrond look like monsters, for example). The Rankin Bass special is the only cinematic or television production based on the book. Several radio adaptations (including two by the BBC) and many stage productions based on The Hobbit have come and gone, but no one has yet done another movie.
When Peter Jackson successfully produced the three-film adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings", many people expressed hope he would agree to do a "Hobbit" movie. Although Peter at first seemed reluctant to participate in such a project, he eventually admitted he would like to do the movie.
However, even though New Line Cinema green-lighted the movie in 2006, Peter Jackson has sued New Line Cinema, claiming they owe him money from "The Lord of the Rings". And New Line delayed greenlighting a "Hobbit" film for several years because United Artists still owns the distribution rights.
New Line Cinema bought a ten-year option on the film rights when it picked up the "Lord of the Rings" option on turnaround in 1998. The ten-year option actually expires in 2007. Saul Zaentz has repotedly said that he wants Peter Jackson to do the movie, although New Line has now announced that Peter Jackson has been cut out of the process.
It may be that Zaentz will strive to prevent New Line Cinema from producing a movie in 2007, thus allowing the rights to revert to his control. If that happens, he will probably work out a deal with Peter Jackson to produce a "Hobbit" movie, probably in 2008 or 2009.
For more information, check out Xenite.Org's Hobbit Movie news. They carry headlines from more sources than any other Web site.
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