I have seen them, and I can say that they of course did not do much to tell the story of the ring. Yes, I do think about those works and how they have damaged the FUTURE of LOTR. We have the advantage (or I do anyway) of having READ the books before seeing the Bakshi or the "RANK"-in/Bass version of Tolkiens tale. They are an embarassement to watch. I believe that after seeing these versions, no one would be inclined to actually read any of his books, based on their opinion of the movies. The result is slow death of the legend.
My other concern for this project is the shameless merchandising that is building up around this. Another neat two hour package of entertainment to be consumed and exploited, which is far from any vision Tolkien would have wanted for his work.
I also believe that no one else has taken up this project (until now) because they knew that the work stood on its own as an integrated story without need of retelling, changing or 'improving'. And casting any low grade actor from Xena does nothing to show me that this is being taken at all seriously. The project is just a cash cow for a Hollywood wanna be.
My prediction is that the work will be visually interesting at the least, and completely souless, with all the camp of a Xena episode, complete with hooting fan boys. It will at laest be easily forgotten, but not before ruining the experience of LOTR for future generations. We can only hope that his literary legacy to all of us, live on IN SPITE of the perversion being launched. (Order now and get you Gandalf coffee mug free.)