Harry here... Just got home from an evening out and got slapped with this news. WOW. I love New Line. I have a great relationship with many of the folks there at the Studio and honestly... I can't fathom this decision. I suppose it follows the same line of thinking that brought us MASK & DUMB & DUMBER sequels without the original talent, and I fear that in the end we'll see similar results. I can't imagine who they would want to go with or risk a series that already has brought in a Billion dollars each. It just doesn't make any sense. This is pretty much the surest way to fuck up the easiest 2 Billion dollar decision that any studio has ever blown. Unbelievable.

Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

We just got this heads-up from Michael Regina, the editor of the mighty-fine Tolkien fansite, The One Ring, and I think it pretty much speaks for itself.

I’ll just say that New Line will no doubt encounter a wave of resistance from fandom that will be difficult to overcome. I know that a big part of the reason I felt LORD OF THE RINGS worked overall was because of the creative team that brought it to the screen, and trying to do it without them is a dangerous proposition indeed:

Moments ago we received this email from Peter Jackson and his crew down in New Zealand, take a look.

It does not bode well for THE HOBBIT.