Of course stern would have made this title,
its a typical stern title and history is evidence of this.

seems gary was a bit slow on this one. and i bet he is fuming right now about this.

I am happy that Stern are not doing this title and are doing Avengers instead, having said that it would have been very interesting to see what JJP would have done with the Avengers if they had the licence.
As for the Hobbit movies, I have no doubt that they will do well at the box office. I am not a fan of lotr or the hobbit but there are plenty of people out there who are and will rush to this new trilogy.
Having it's release at xmas, the same time the lotr films were released as well will definately help box office sales. I am indifferent on the pin, it does not faze me at all.
I will wait for JJP#3 to see if they can announce a title that will make me want to spend the $$$.