From Entertainment Weekly: Seventeen Oscar wins. $3 billion in worldwide box office. Near-universal praise from critics. Yes, we're talking about the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the man who directed, produced, and co-wrote all three movies: Peter Jackson. You'd think that Hollywood would be begging Jackson to make The Hobbit. But you'd be wrong. In a letter to fans posted on TheOneRing.net on Nov. 19, Jackson announced that New Line was pursuing other filmmakers for the LOTR prequel — and since then, the situation has only gotten more complicated. Here's our primer on how the most anticipated movie since The Phantom Menace ran into obstacles worse than evil Lord Saruman. [More]