Hobbit-off?!

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Peter Jackson says he will not be directing a movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel “The Hobbit” or a planned prequel to “The Lord of the Rings.”

In a letter posted on Theonering.com., Jackson and partner Fran Walsh said an executive from New Line Cinema had called to tell them the studio was moving ahead with “The Hobbit” without him.

“Last week, Mark Ordesky called Ken (Kamins, Jackson’s manager) and told him that New Line would no longer be requiring our services on ‘The Hobbit’ and the LOTR ‘prequel,”’ the 45-year-old New Zealand director wrote.

Let's all say it together: Big mistake, New Line. Biiiiig mistake. Pay P.J. what he's worth. He made some of the coolest movies ever and you $3billion already. Are you stupid?

I hate this clash of art and commerce. Businesspeople think they can hire anyone they want to shoot a movie and expect to get the same result.

I'm sure there are countless examples, but Superman II from 1980 is an especially good indicator of how these things work out. Richard Donner, who when he directed Superman invented the superhero movie, was deemed "disagreeable" halfway through the shoot of Superman II. The producers canned him and reshot half of what he'd shot with a hack director who agreed to add in all the cheap full-of-holes b.s. the producers wanted. Now, 26 years later, after an Internet petition by the fans who wanted to see Donner's original version, we get Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.

How much do you want to bet that in 20 years Peter Jackson will end up re-making whatever atrocity New Line comes up without him?