The Hobbit (film series)

The Hobbit is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, with large portions of the trilogy inspired by the appendices to The Return of the King, which expand on the story told in The Hobbit, as well as new material and characters written especially for the films. The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey 2012, The Desolation of Smaug 2013, and The Battle of the Five Armies 2014.

Jackson and Walsh originally expressed interest in filming The Hobbit in 1995, then envisaging it as part one of a trilogy part two would have been based on The Lord of the Rings. Frustration arose when Jacksons producer, Harvey Weinstein, discovered that Saul Zaentz had production rights to The Hobbit, but that distribution rights still belonged to United Artists which had kept those rights, believing that filmmakers would prefer to adapt The Hobbit rather than The Lord of the Rings. The United Artists studio and its parent corporation MetroGoldwynMayer was for sale in 2005, but Weinsteins attempts to buy the movie rights from the studio were unsuccessful. Weinstein asked Jackson to press on with adapting The Lord of the Rings. Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings was produced by New Line Cinema, not the Weinsteins, and their rights to film The Hobbit were set to expire in 2010. In September 2006, the new ownership and management of MetroGoldwynMayer expressed interest in teaming up with New Line and Jackson to make The Hobbit.In March 2005, Jackson launched a lawsuit against New Line, claiming he had lost revenue from merchandising, video and computer games releases associated with The Fellowship of the Ring. He did not seek a specific settlement, but requested an audit to see whether New Line had withheld money owed him. Although Jackson wanted it settled before he would make the film, he felt the lawsuit was minor and that New Line would still let him make The Hobbit. New Line cofounder Robert Shaye was annoyed with the lawsuit and said in January 2007 that Jackson would never again direct a film for New Line, accusing him of being greedy. MGM boss Harry Sloan halted development, as he wanted Jackson to be involved. By August, after a string of flops, Shaye tried to repair his relationship with the director. He said, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in The Hobbit. 1

Source: Wikipedia