New Line Cinema is turning to a couple of hobbits for some box office gold. The company is co-producing two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit .  Its previous releases include the top-grossing The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King , winner of 11 Oscars, as well as Rush Hour 3 , The Golden Compass , He's Just Not That Into You , and the big screen versions of Sex and the City . New Line distributes films on video and DVD through New Line Home Entertainment and licenses and develops New Line franchises ( The Mask, Dumb and Dumber ) for TV and merchandising through New Line Television. Founded in 1967 by former co-chairman Robert Shaye, New Line is a unit of Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment division.