In the upcoming Slice of SciFi podcast/broadcast #085, due out on November 29th, we will be reporting on director Peter Jackson’s efforts to bring The Hobbit to the big screen through MGM Studios and the New Line Cinema production company. Since the Slice of SciFi episode has already been recorded and put in the can, things have changed concerning Jackson’s involvement in the project.

Today we have learned that Jackson has decided not to take on the filming job. The original idea was to make two Hobbit films, one from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novel and the second from source notes and biographical material that would be the bridge between the original Hobbit story and the first in the “Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The reason for Jackson’s back-out? Well, it has more to do with a production company decision than with Jackson’s not wanting to do it. It appears that New Line told Jackson’s manager, Ken Kamins, they they were going ahead with the two-parter without him because the director and his wife business partner, Fran Walsh, refused to a condition that would settle their lawsuit against New Line to recoup income from the LOTR trilogy.

“We have always said that we do not want to discuss The Hobbit with New Line until the lawsuit over New Line’s accounting practices is resolved,” Jackson and Walsh wrote.

Michael Lynne, co-president of New Line Cinema, insists that Jackson and Walsh’s statements are counter-productive and that they had promised committment to The Hobbit films before the studio would settle the suit.

This is all starting to sound like a bitter divorce settlement where it is a matter of He said..She said.

As a result of the ongoing conflict between the production company and Jackson, New Line is actively seeking out another filmmaker for both projects.

Jackson and Walsh added: “Given that New Line are committed to this course of action, we felt at the very least, we owed you, the fans, a straightforward account of events as they have unfolded for us.” The pair concluded their comments on these latest developments by saying, “This outcome is not what we anticipated or wanted, but neither do we see any positive value in bitterness and rancor. We now have no choice but to let the idea of a film of The Hobbit go and move forward with other projects.”

You may kindly disregard the story being aired on the 29th of this month. I will be adding a footnote to this article on the show notes of show #085 for further clarification at the time the show is aired.