The feud between Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and LOTR studio New Line Cinema has intensified in recent weeks exacerbated by remarks made by New Line studio head Robert Shaye, who told the SciFi Wire: 'I do not want to make a movie with somebody who is suing me... It will never happen during my watch... He got a quarter of a billion dollars paid to him so far, justifiably, according to contract, completely right, and this guy, who already has received a quarter of a billion dollars, turns around without wanting to have a discussion with us and sues us and refuses to discuss it unless we just give in to his plan. I don't want to work with that guy anymore. Why would I? So the answer is he will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working for the company.'
Peter Jackson quickly replied to Shaye's attack calling Shaye's remarks 'regrettable,' and issuing his own statement: 'Our issue with New Line Cinema has only ever been about their refusal to account for financial anomalies that surfaced from a partial audit of The Fellowship of the Ring. Contrary to recent comments made by Bob Shaye, we attempted to discuss the issues raised by the Fellowship audit with New Line for over a year, but the studio was and continues to be completely uncooperative. This has compelled us to file a lawsuit to pursue our contractual rights under the law. Nobody likes taking legal action, but the studio left us with no alternative.'
Meanwhile New Line maintains that it plans to go ahead with production of a film based on The Hobbit, though no director has yet been named for the project and New Line's option will run out this year. New Line has already dangled the prospect of directing The Hobbit in front of
