Follow link for more.NEW YORK -- The eagerly awaited prequels to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy will finally hit the big screen.
MGM and New Line have pacted to co-finance and co-distribute "The Hobbit" and a sequel to the film. New Line will handle distribution in North America, and MGM will distribute the J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations internationally.
Putting aside what once seemed like irreconcilable differences over the filmmaker's profit participation, "Rings" writer-director Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation over the nearly $3 billion-grossing "Rings" trilogy. Jackson and Fran Walsh will executive produce the films, to be shot simultaneously, and New Line will manage their production.
Preproduction will begin soon, and principal photography is tentatively set for 2009. The release of the first film is slated for 2010 and the sequel in 2011.
I'll be honest I'm worried about the 2011 sequel and what it will be. Something newly written for a film, possibly not written by Tolkien? Who knows. Also if this had been released following the LotR hype it would have done well. I'm wondering if perhaps the wait will have seen a cooling off of public interest for it.
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