Not exactly DVD related, but still very interesting… According to the L.A. Times, New Line Cinema have just committed to upward $130 mio to create the most ambitious and costly film project in the company’s history. Peter “The Frighteners” Jackson will write and direct a trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings saga. Shooting will start early next year in New Zealand and over the course of a single year, Jackson plans to shoot all three films simultaneously. With over 1200 effects shots, Jackson’s own “Weta Digital” special effects company will also have their hands full to deliver the high end computer effects needed to bring this fantasy spectacle to life. The trilogy will be a cooperation between New Line and Miramax after the latter dropped the ball a few weeks ago, not wanting to produce three separate films. New Line picked up the project, allowing Jackson to produce three separate film to tell the story of hobbits, dwarfs, Smeagol, Sauron and Middle-earth, despite the huge financial risk. Jackson’s script, which he once again produced with long time collaborator Fran Walsh, seems to have inspired executives’ minds however, making them hopeful for a healthy risk-to-reward scenario. No details are known yet regarding the casting of the movie, which will hit movie theaters around Christmas 2000.