Hobbit on the way?

You might’ve heard about the flap a few months ago between LORD OF THE RINGS director Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema’s honcho Bob Shaye, the gist of it being that the guy who made Tolkein’s books a viable business prospect (while simultaneously pleasing fans) would not get the opportunity to revisit the Shire on THE HOBBIT.

Jackson has a pending lawsuit against New Line, and (no surprise) it’s about money — the filmmaker feels he and everyone else involved in creating the blockbuster trilogy are due a few more dollars, whereas New Line (still reeling from a 2006 filled with underperforming and/or downright shitty movies) prefers to keep their own pockets lined with the green. And while that’s apparently prevented Jackson from being considered for THE HOBBIT, New Line is looking to move on with the little hairy dude named Bilbo on his pre-FELLOWSHIP adventures.

In a recent New York Times piece, Shaye says that when it comes to Jackson: “I regret losing a friend,” but then goes on to say he won’t work with “difficult filmmakers”. And commerce is clearly placed before craft — he won’t admit whether Sam Raimi has been approached/begged to make THE HOBBIT, and there is apparently no workable script yet for the film, yet he intends to release it in 2009.