The Hobbit will Go On!

Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”, E! News is reporting.

New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson have made nice in their blood feud over The Lord of the Rings royalties, paving the way for the Oscar-winning filmmaker to oversee an epic version of The Hobbit.

“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 Tuesday. “We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth.”

The filmmaker had even issued a statement saying the ill will would keep him from shooting The Hobbit, the J.R.R. Tolkein adventure about Bilbo Baggins and his ring-discovering, dragon-conquering quest that serves as a launchpad for the LOTR series. And to the chagrin of fans, New Line boss Bob Shaye said he’d find someone else to direct.

It is not clear what specific roles Jackson and Walsh will play. The joint press release simply says the couple, who also produced and co-wrote LOTR, will serve as executive producers of The Hobbit and “manage the production.”

Jackson already has his hands full, shooting his adaptation of The Lovely Bones and with Tintin on the docket for next fall, so he apparently won’t helm The Hobbit. There’s no word on who will adapt The Hobbit, which will be divided into two parts for the big screen.

All is well in the shire and the first film is slated for 2010 and its sequel in theaters the following year.

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It’s Time To Break Out The Big Guns

Apparently Jessica Simpson has decided to abandon the sinking ship that is her career and save herself. How? Strip away everything that is holding her back, for instance her jealous dad’s advice and of course, her clothes…

Femalefirst is reporting that Jessica Simpson is desperate to strip naked in a Hollywood movie.

The blonde beauty wants to be taken seriously as an actress and believes baring all is the best way to earn the respect of Tinseltown, even if it goes against her family’s wishes.

A source said: “Jessica is in the running for a role that, if she gets it, will put her right on the map in terms of acting.

“The only hitch is that the script requires a number of quite graphic scenes including a full-frontal nude scene. Jessica is so desperate to land the role and get the industry’s respect that she’s ready to go against her better judgment, and her family, by agreeing to bare all.”

Earlier this year, Jessica’s father Joe Simpson forced her to turn down a potentially Oscar-winning role as a porn star – insisting she keep her clothes on.

He said: “The last script that came to us was for Jessica to be a porn star. We were promised we would win an Oscar with that. I told them, ‘I think we’ll just buy a statue of a little man and keep our clothes on.’ “

Jessica’s movie career has stalled of late, with her most recent film ‘Blonde Ambition’ failing to gain a cinema release and being branded a “disaster”.

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Tom Cruise Gets Soft

Mr.  Serious is taking up a cameo spot on a funny movie with a load of sexy men, funny guys Ben Stiller and Jack Black.  As well, Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughey , and Robert Downey Jr.

The movie, “Tropic Thunder” is being filmed in LA and will be in theaters in July. 

Will be interesting to see Tom not take himself seriously for once, or will he be able to resist? 

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Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino’s New Movie

I was excited to see Heat back in the day. The Godfathers are back together, for the first time since then, 1995 with a pretty nice supporting cast: John Leguizamo, Brian Dennehy, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Carla Gugino, Dan Futterman and Donnie Wahlberg, in Righteous Kill.

The two play NY cops on the hunt for a vigilante serial killer and share the screen, nearly 90% of the movie, unlike Heat, where they had only one scene together.

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