Peter Jackson en vaste schrijfster Fran Welsh (tevens partner) braken enige tijd geleden met New Line Cinema na een financiële kwestie, waardoor de regie van The Hobbit, de Lord of the Rings prequel, definitief niet naar Jackson leek te gaan. Maar er is hoop op een goede afloop, zo bleek in een interview met Bob Shaye, oprichter van NLC.

Eager to move ahead with "The Hobbit," New Line has quietly been trying to mend fences with "Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson, who has sued the company over his share of profits from the first "Rings" films. When asked if it was true that company insiders had been in talks with Jackson's reps, Shaye replied, "Yes, that's a fair statement. Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in 'The Hobbit.'"