There, But Not Back Again?
Ok, here's where things stand this morning. The article on TORn's index page re: New Line's rejection of PJ now has this written at the bottom:
Update - Wow! Ringers are peeved! And we hear you! The TORn staff will come up with a plan and report back asap!
I firmly expect any petitions or show of force to take the form of snail mail, so while there may be an email component, please, everyone who is distressed about this, do be ready to make that extra effort to go out and mail New Line (politely). It takes a moment to email, but it's the extra effort involved in posting things that usually means at least a little something to the ones on the receiving end.
I would not be surprised if Let The Hobbit Happen gets involved as well, given they're an offshoot of TORn to begin with.
This is such a blow. It really is. And New Line is so stupid. So, so, so very stupid.
Anyway. Feel free to spread the word, and for my part, I'll be keeping an eye out for further updates. The news is spreading, and fast.
ETA: I couldn't wait for the next organized step to begin, so I sent New Line an email. Given it's a low-level contact form, I don't expect it to find its mark, but at least it was a minor something that made me feel (at least briefly) as if I'm doing something, and it gave me a chance to get a first draft down for any future correspondence. This is what I said:
I have just heard the news that New Line has officially decided to look beyond Peter Jackson for another director for The Hobbit project. I think it is *very* important you all know that this is a *terrible* idea, and I, for one, as a consumer and film-goer with a reasonable amount of spending power and disposable income will most certainly not support any Hobbit or any other Tolkien-inspired project that does not have Mr. Jackson at the helm.
Let me make this very clear for you on a number of levels. I saw The Fellowship of the Ring in theatres over 20 times. That means paying full price to see that property on more than 20 occasions. I did the same with The Two Towers, and again with The Return of the King. That's more than SIXTY times that I paid to go to the theatre to see your movies, and much more likely to be closer to ONE HUNDRED TIMES, as one tends to lose count after the first two dozen viewings of any one movie. On almost every occasion I was accompanied by someone else, most of whom had also already indulged in multiple viewings.
I am absolutely not the only person who did that. This is normal, consistent behaviour within any fan community, and certainly within the Ringer community. Now imagine a withdrawal of that support, a loss of all those repeat viewings, which will surely happen if Mr. Jackson is not at the helm of The Hobbit. That translates directly into major losses for you, the studio.
Additionally, any Tolkien-inspired movie requires an unbroken feel of the same locales, hands, minds and actors in order to successfully maintain that sense of Middle-earth as a tangible place with its own mythology, and changing horses now, even if the new director tried to keep that same spirit, is a gross mistake. It is simply not possible for someone else to step in and produce the same (or similar) vision, and that means that you are ultimately setting yourself up for failure on artistic, and more importantly *profit-making* levels.
Please. Do *not* make this mistake. No one other than Mr. Jackson can successfully make The Hobbit.
Update - Wow! Ringers are peeved! And we hear you! The TORn staff will come up with a plan and report back asap!
I firmly expect any petitions or show of force to take the form of snail mail, so while there may be an email component, please, everyone who is distressed about this, do be ready to make that extra effort to go out and mail New Line (politely). It takes a moment to email, but it's the extra effort involved in posting things that usually means at least a little something to the ones on the receiving end.
I would not be surprised if Let The Hobbit Happen gets involved as well, given they're an offshoot of TORn to begin with.
This is such a blow. It really is. And New Line is so stupid. So, so, so very stupid.
Anyway. Feel free to spread the word, and for my part, I'll be keeping an eye out for further updates. The news is spreading, and fast.
ETA: I couldn't wait for the next organized step to begin, so I sent New Line an email. Given it's a low-level contact form, I don't expect it to find its mark, but at least it was a minor something that made me feel (at least briefly) as if I'm doing something, and it gave me a chance to get a first draft down for any future correspondence. This is what I said:
I have just heard the news that New Line has officially decided to look beyond Peter Jackson for another director for The Hobbit project. I think it is *very* important you all know that this is a *terrible* idea, and I, for one, as a consumer and film-goer with a reasonable amount of spending power and disposable income will most certainly not support any Hobbit or any other Tolkien-inspired project that does not have Mr. Jackson at the helm.
Let me make this very clear for you on a number of levels. I saw The Fellowship of the Ring in theatres over 20 times. That means paying full price to see that property on more than 20 occasions. I did the same with The Two Towers, and again with The Return of the King. That's more than SIXTY times that I paid to go to the theatre to see your movies, and much more likely to be closer to ONE HUNDRED TIMES, as one tends to lose count after the first two dozen viewings of any one movie. On almost every occasion I was accompanied by someone else, most of whom had also already indulged in multiple viewings.
I am absolutely not the only person who did that. This is normal, consistent behaviour within any fan community, and certainly within the Ringer community. Now imagine a withdrawal of that support, a loss of all those repeat viewings, which will surely happen if Mr. Jackson is not at the helm of The Hobbit. That translates directly into major losses for you, the studio.
Additionally, any Tolkien-inspired movie requires an unbroken feel of the same locales, hands, minds and actors in order to successfully maintain that sense of Middle-earth as a tangible place with its own mythology, and changing horses now, even if the new director tried to keep that same spirit, is a gross mistake. It is simply not possible for someone else to step in and produce the same (or similar) vision, and that means that you are ultimately setting yourself up for failure on artistic, and more importantly *profit-making* levels.
Please. Do *not* make this mistake. No one other than Mr. Jackson can successfully make The Hobbit.