"Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi is reportedly interested in directing a film version of "The Hobbit," the Los Angeles Times said Sunday.

The prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien's, "The Lord of the Rings," has been on the rocks since director Peter Jackson, who also co-wrote the trilogy, has been beefing with New Line head honcho Bob Shaye, the Times noted.

Jackson is suing New Line over money he feels he is owed from the trilogy, which took in more than $3 billion at the box office and another $1 billion on DVD.

Shaye has been quoted saying Jackson "will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working at the company."

New Line is considering splitting "The Hobbit" into two films in order to adequately tell the tale of Bilbo Baggins discovering the magical ring featured in "Lord of the Rings."

But, while Raimi might want to shoot the film, New Line said it has no deals or even had a meeting with the director. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International


Publication date: 29 January 2007   

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