Entertainment Weekly presents a history lesson on the dispute between New Line and Peter Jackson that’s keeping The Hobbit from being made–and, to put it in the terms important to the studio, preventing another couple billion dollars from being grossed. The piece largely confirms the impression that while Jackson (and the other LOTR talent who’ve taken issue with New Line’s accounting practices) are justified in their demands, the studio seems to have gone nuclear in response more out of pique than out of any kind of legal precedent. It goes on to report that a thaw is at hand and a deal may soon follow for Jackson to at least produce the Hobbit movie(s), if not direct them (something his current slate of projects may prevent), but without any specific sources or evidence cited to support this, who knows. (Via AICN.)
