Geek Love: Robert Shaye, Peter Jackson and the Sword of Gandalf



(image via yahoo)

There is no love sweeter than Geek Love. That bond forged in the fires of waiting a week to be the first in line to see the Star Wars prequels; that comraderie steeled over describing, in excruciating detail to ones amigos, what one would "do" to the fictional Star Trek character, Seven of Nine. Ah, fair, sweet, geek love, in full flower, blooming.

But even geek love, like all the perishable things of this baleful plane, dissipates, corrupts (The Corsair pops a bottle of 2002 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Château La Nerthe). Come again, sweet, geek love.

Robert K. Shaye, the founder of New Line Cinema, lost his "partner in geek," geek-chic director Peter Jackson, over profits from the LOTR Trilogy. In the interim, Shaye suffered an infection and fell into a coma (Or, as it is known in the Shaye Geek Lore, "The Sleep of Ages ...") Happily, Shaye has recovered, and is focused on the bottom line at the eccentric little strudio that could, New Line. From the Old Gray Lady:

"He emerged from the coma and after two months in the hospital, he was permitted to go home to his Manhattan residence. Even then he took many months to recover, unable initially to walk for more than two or three minutes at a time, and slowly taking up work again.

"But Mr. Shaye says he thinks more clearly now than he did before his illness. 'It’s difficult to explain, but I have a clarity of thought and, I believe, of reason, which was one of the gifts' of his illness, he said. And, he added, 'I certainly appreciate the normal functioning of life a lot more.'

"One thing that has not been blunted by illness is Mr. Shaye’s temper, which flared last year when he was asked about a lawsuit filed by Mr. Jackson over profits from 'The Lord of the Rings.'

"Mr. Shaye, criticizing what he called Mr. Jackson’s 'arrogance' and calling the director 'myopic,' told Sci-Fi Wire: 'I don’t care about Peter Jackson anymore.' He added, 'He wants to have another $100 million or $50 million, whatever he’s suing us for. He doesn’t want to sit down and talk about it. He thinks that we owe him something after we’ve paid him over a quarter of a billion dollars.'

"Asked about the remarks last week, Mr. Shaye said that he made the statement 'in a moment of emotion' but did not regret it. 'I regret losing a friend,' he said, as he showed a visitor a Gandalf sword that Mr. Jackson had sent him as a gift, before the lawsuit."

After all the geek love is gone, the artifact of friendship -- (Holds solemnly skyward) O! Precious Sword of Gandalf! --once held in common, presently left in cruel neglect. (Cue: Medieval lute playing a Dowland air) Verily, verily, The Corsair shall weep. For geek friendship lost ...