The Times reports today on the détente between New Line and Peter Jackson that will allow Jackson to produce the long-awaited film of The Hobbit. That détente, it turns out, was hard-won; sources tell the Times that New Line had to pay Jackson about $40 million to settle his long-simmering lawsuit against the company over payments he said he was owed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. (That $40 million also, presumably, includes Jackson's producing fees for The Hobbit.)

The Times also sheds some light on this sequel that everyone keeps talking about: "The untitled sequel is described as bridging the 60-year gap between the end of J. R. R. Tolkien’s 'Hobbit' and the beginning of the 'Rings' trilogy." So, uh, great — the sequel is going to be some Silmarillion-inspired filler crap, like all those scenes of Aragorn and Arwen pitching woo at each other, except not written by Peter Jackson? Count us out.

Master of ‘Rings’ to Tackle ‘Hobbit’ [NYT]