Category: Interesting

After their recent legal dispute Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have decided to bury their differences and team up to produce a feature length film of The Hobbit.

Here is the official press release from The OneRing.net:

December 18, 2007

ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER PETER JACKSON AND NEW LINE CINEMA JOIN WITH MGM TO PRODUCE “THE HOBBIT,” EAGERLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASY ADVENTURE EPIC

NEW LINE AND MGM TO CO-PRODUCE AND SHARE WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS

PETER JACKSON AND FRAN WALSH TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE TWO FILMS BASED ON “THE HOBBIT”

Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, December 18, 2007) Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson; Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of New Line Cinema have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements:

* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

* Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) Trilogy.

Said Peter Jackson, “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. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”

“Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making ‘The Hobbit,’” said Sloan, MGM’s Chairman and CEO. “Now that we are all in agreement on ‘The Hobbit,’ we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film.”

Bob Shaye, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO comments, “We are very pleased we have been able to resolve our differences, and that Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with ‘The Hobbit’ movies. We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy.”

“Peter is a visionary filmmaker, and he broke new ground with ‘The Lord of the Rings,’” notes Michael Lynne, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO. “We’re delighted he’s back for ‘The Hobbit’ films and that the Tolkien saga will continue with his imprint. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Harry Sloan, who has been instrumental in helping us reach our new accord.”

The two “Hobbit” films – “The Hobbit” and its sequel – are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of “The Hobbit” release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.

The Oscar-winning, critically-acclaimed LOTR Trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box-office. In 2003, “Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the eleven categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The Trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.

Obviously the two big questions are:

1. Who will direct it if Jackson is only producing?
2. Why did New Line and Jackson patch things up now?

The likely candidate for the director’s chair would appear to be Sam Raimi or a director of similar pedigree.

But what of the timing of all this? I’m guessing Bob Shaye and New Line looked in horror at how The Golden Compass performed over the last two weeks in the US and wanted to ressurect a guaranteed money spinner as soon as possible.

We should note that the Philip Pullman adaptation has raked in over $90 million internationally, but given that it cost around $180 million and New Line pre-sold the foreign rights they will make less profit than they hoped for. (Though part of me does hope they film the next two parts – why not do them back-to-back and have a second bite at the cherry?)

Despite all the rancour over Jackson’s lawsuit I guess money talks and this detente makes creative and business sense for both parties.

New Line need another blockbuster and Jackson would be keen to have a guiding hand in The Hobbit film given the years and effort he put into bringing The Lord of the Rings trilogy to the screen.

Whatever the reasons this can only be good news for Tolkien fans and those – including me – who loved what Jackson brought to the screen with his remarkable trilogy of films.

> Find out more about original novel of The Hobitt at Wikipedia
> Keep up to date on The Hobbit film at their blog.

Nikki Finke‘s blog Deadline Hollywood Daily has been required reading for anyone with an interest in the Writers Guild strike.

Now she is hosting a series of videos on the issue featuring high profile Screen Actors Guild members such as Holly Hunter, Sean Penn, Harvey Keitel and Laura Linney.

As she puts it:

For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors are together taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet, the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers.

The project, conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff, will be releasing three videos here in the morning, afternoon and evening throughout this weekend.

She has also said:

In the interest of fairness and objectivity, I would be more than pleased to announce and initially host a similar campaign conceived by members of AMPTP.

I wonder if the AMPTP will take her up on that offer?

But until they do this is the first WGA video and it features Holly Hunter:

It is another example of the WGA using the internet to their advantage – not only is it a clever use of the medium but it cuts right to the heart of the issues at stake.

Check out the other videos at Deadline Hollywood Daily and the Speechless Without Writers blog.

> A FAQ about the Writers Strike at BBC News
> Find out more about the strike at Wikipedia
> George Hickenlooper and Alan Sereboff at the IMDb
> Check out the writers position at the official WGA website
> The producers/studio position can be found at the official website of the AMPTP which has been using the webhoster vergleich as the webhoster.

Week 2 of the Writers Strike saw the WGA say they will resume talks with the studios on November 26th, Presidential candidate John Edwards join the picket lines, Oliver Stone’s latest film Pinkville get postponed, George Clooney donate money to a fund for striking writers, trade paper Variety be accused of bias towards the studios and the Wikipedia entry for the strike get ever more detailed.

But what struck me this week was how much better the writers have been in getting their side of the argument across, especially with all the videos being posted to sites like YouTube.

An observation by Nikki Finke on her Deadline Hollywood Daily blog really struck home:

…if the AMPTP produced even one amusing — or any — YouTube videos for their cause, I’d gladly link to them here.

I suppose the studios and the AMPTP just want to keep relatively quiet and ride out the initial storm but I think they’ve made a mistake in not being more pro-active in getting across their views – and this is despite the fact that their parent companies own many major media outlets.

Whilst they have the financial upper hand (after all it is their profits the writers want a fair slice of), they may have already lost the information war for the forseeable future.

Check out the following videos made by (and about) striking writers to see why.

Voices of Uncertainy – a clever video that uses the words of media moguls against them.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a37uqd5vTw[/youtube]

The Office is Closed – Two of the guys behind the US version of The Office, Greg Daniels (showrunner) and Mike Schur (writer and actor) explain why they are on strike. For fans of this show (which let us not forget has a significant fanbase online) this is quite a damning critique of NBC’s attitude to new media.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6hqP0c0_gw[/youtube]

Not The Daily Show, With Some Writer – For fans of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which is currently off their air, this is a very witty alternate version from the picket line with Jason Ross, one of the 14 writers on the show.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzRHlpEmr0w[/youtube]

The AMPTP Rally – A pointed but funny take on what a one man AMPTP picket line would look like.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTxIN9AXJNM[/youtube]
And then there are the videos which are less polemical:

WGA Strike: A Love Story – An amusing and lighthearted take on the strike about a love story between a striking writer and a network executive (notice how the Network Guy’s face is cleverly composed of studio logos). Produced by Danny Zuker and Tim Kelleher.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EodzF_orJQY[/youtube]

The Writers Strike Police – Another sly short film directed by Oren Kaplan featuring the “Writers Guild Police”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvAD9R0chjU[/youtube]


If you see or have any other videos about or from the WGA strike to share just mention them in the comments below and we can always update this post.

> Find out more about the Writers Strike at Wikipedia
> A FAQ about the issues at BBC News
> Latest news from Variety on the strike
> Deadline Hollywood Daily on the strike
> United Hollywood – A blog by the WGA where a lot of videos are posted

Amazon Unbox are allowing people to rent or own a selection of classic films – all you have to do is download them from their site.

There are a selection of films to chose from but my recomendations would be 8½, His Girl Friday and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Nosferatu and Battleship Potemkin.

The offer ends on November 18th but till then check it out here.

If you do use it, let me know what you think of how the service works in the comments section below or via email.

> Visit Amazon Unbox
> Find out more about Amazon Unbox at Wikipedia

George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio are to team up for a political drama called Farragut North.

It will be based on Howard Dean’s grass roots campaign for the 2004 Presidential election.

Reuters report:

George Clooney is in negotiations to direct Leonardo DiCaprio in “Farragut North,” a feature adaptation of an upcoming Broadway play loosely based on Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential election campaign.

Both would also produce the Warner Bros. film.

Named after the Washington Metro station located near many lobbyists’ offices, the play follows a young, idealistic communications director who works for an inspiring, though unorthodox, presidential candidate.

During the campaign, his career is done in by more seasoned politicos who thrive on poisonous partisan politics, dirty tricks and back-stabbing.

Clooney would produce with his Smoke House shingle partner, Grant Heslov, while DiCaprio would produce via his Appian Way. Both are based at Warners.

The play was written by Beau Willimon, who actually worked on the Dean campaign. The playwright will adapt the screenplay himself. Jake Gyllenhaal was reported to have participated in a reading of the play earlier this year.

Mike Nichols is slated to direct the Broadway production, which is set to open next Autumn, on the eve of the 2008 presidential elections.

Nichols has covered similar ground before, as he directed Primary Colors in 1998 – a  film based on Joe Klein’s thinly veiled look at Bill Clinton’s 1992 election campaign.

> Check out the story at Reuters
> Variety also have more on the story
> Find out more about the actual Farragut North metro station in Washington via Wikipedia

Francis Ford Coppola recently sat down with Harry Knowles to talk about his latest film Youth Without Youth.

They discuss a lot of things, including Coppola’s 8 year absence from the big screen and his return to making more personal films.

Here is an exceprt where they discuss his approach to making the film:

Harry: How did you come to the material, YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH?

Coppola: I had been working for a year that period, when I was working on MEGALOPOLIS, during the so-called 10 years when I wasn’t doing anything, I was a little preoccupied on this script I wrote that I had made into an extremely ambitious project, that it was very difficult even to get feedback on it, given the fact that the sort of notes I would get would be related to the projects’ financial or pop-value.

I didn’t want that kind of narrow movie feedback, because I was trying to write a script that was even more ambitious than that. it’ll grow up after a while… I sent it to a friend that I had known in high school who was a young woman who became a great [tape blurs here] …at the University of Chicago and she read my script and gave me some notes, from a broader literary or intellectual perspective, which is what I wanted. That’s what I was trying to do and in the course of it, she sent me a lot of quotes from Mercea Eliade, who was this professor and thinker from which I learned a lot of stuff. And she had a lot of quotes relative to a couple of the themes I was playing with related to the consciousness of MEGALOPOLIS and I became curious of the story that these quotes had come from and I managed to get it. It wasn’t easy to get. When I read it, I just said “well, here I go. I’ll just retell everybody and I’ll just write this and go off on my own and use my own dough and just make a film.” …instead of being you know, stuck with this MEGALOPOLIS project which after the events of September 11th, 2001, I just didn’t know how to continue with it.

Harry: Is that what happened to it? Was when 9/11, it…

Coppola: It made it really pretty tough… a movie about the aspiration of utopia with New York as a main character and then all of a sudden you couldn’t write about New York without just dealing with what happened and the implications of what happened. The world was attacked and I didn’t know how to try to do with that. I tried.

Harry: When do you think that you could revisit that material?

Coppola: I have abandoned that as of now. I’m now going to… I plan to begin a process of making one personal movie after another and if something leads me back to look at that, which I’m sure it might, I’ll see what makes sense to me.

I saw Youth Without Youth last week and I’ll write something more substantial about it soon, but in the meantime read the full interview here.

> Official website for Youth Without Youth
> Full AICN interview with Coppola
> Francis Ford Coppola at the IMDb