After an extended peiod of legal wrangling,  Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have finally reached an agreement to make a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit reports the Associated Press.

However,  for this journey to Middle Earth, Lord of the Rings helmer Jackson will serve as executive producer rather than director.

After the long term fued between the Kiwi filmmaker and Robert Shaye of New Line was finally reconciled,  the remaining rights complications were ironed out when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) agreed to split The Hobbit 50/50.

‘I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line,’ Jackson said in a statement. ‘We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth.’

Two Hobbit films are scheduled to be shot back-to-back with production set to begin in 2009 for a planned 2010 and 2011 release.

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Posted in Movies, The Hobbit / LOTR •

The third cinematic adaptation of Richard Matheson’s post-apocalyptic novel, I Am Legend is the story of the last man on earth and his struggle to survive - and cure - that a terrible virus has rendered the population to an army of vampire-like creatures.

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Posted in Movies, Reviews •

The Associated Press reports that the Writers Guild of America intends to step up its industrial action against Hollywood by refusing to allow its members to write for the Academy Awards or Golden Globe ceremonies.

A source close to the Guild revealed that the board of directors of the WGA West voted not to give the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences an interim agreement for writing services.  Meanwhile the WGA rejected a waiver request from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which awards the Golden Globes.

Writers are in their seventh week of a costly strike that has shut down TV production on many series and has begun to affect movie production.

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Posted in Awards, Movies •

The new poster for the Wachowski Brother’s Speed Racer has appeared online courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures.

Click here to take a look in our gallery and click through for a higher resolution version.

Based on the 1960s Japanese cartoon series,  Speed Racer follows the adventures of the youthful Speed (Emile Hirsch) as he tries to obtain victory in his tricked-out Mach 5 racecar, built by his father.  Speed is often bailed out of danger by Racer X, a rival with a mysterious connection to Speed.

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Posted in Movies •