ONE PUB TO RULE THEM ALL: Hobbit beats Hollywood

The Tab can confirm that the Hobbit pub has been SAVED. It appears that Saul Zaentz’s Nazgul scare tactics have been ineffective in conquering the Southampton landmark.

As first reported by The Tab, the Hobbit’s bosses were told by lawyers to change every reference to the Lord of the Rings films and would face legal action. However the man himself, Saul Zaentz, has agreed for the Portswood boozer to keep its title for an annual fee of around $100 (£63).

Radio Solent came down to officially break the good news.

With famous faces such as Stephen Fry, Sir Ian McKellen and Neil Gaiman backing the campaign, celebrity influence has been crucial in winning this fight. The facebook group ‘Save The Hobbit‘ has gained nearly 50,000 likes in under a week, just proving how bullying a small pub into changing it’s whole nature is not acceptable. On hearing the good news, one student said:

$100 dollars is a pretty good compromise. With such a lot of support against Saul it shows there is humanity in Southampton after all

Saul "Sauron" Zaentz

We popped down for a chat with landlady Stella Roberts this evening and she was overwhelmed with the amount of support received, commenting:

We’re so pleased with the outcome, but still not sure what this $100 dollars covers, hopefully we’ll be able to keep everything as it is. The tremendous amount of support for the pub has been amazing, even Gandalf himself is coming down for a drink when he’s finished filming [The Hobbit movie]

The story has travelled internationally, being reported in Australia, Russia, the US and even Middle Earth itself, well not quite.