 Weinstein was furious, and further problems arose when it turned out Zaentz did not have distribution rights to "The Hobbit"; United Artists, which was in the market, did.By April 1996, the rights question was still not resolved.Jackson decided to move ahead with "King Kong" before filming "The Lord of the Rings", prompting Universal to enter a deal with Miramax to receive foreign earnings from "The Lord of the Rings" while Miramax received foreign earnings from "King Kong".