Three Times The Hobbit?

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

He is claiming the mantle of Tolkien in order to make himself buckets and buckets of money because he knows nothing that could come out of his own brain could be nearly as successful. Maddeningly he is trashing Tolkien's stories in the process. Jackson would be nothing without Tolkien.

While these are quite strong terms they do reflect some of my own frustrations, mostly with the incredible hysteria which surrounds the films. It is almost as if at some point Professor Tolkien became the background figure while Peter Jackson is the "genius bringing Middle-earth to life" or what have you. I feel like more praise is owed to the Professor; it is as if the filmmakers have snatched his life's work out of his hands and run off with it to gather all the kudos while he gets left behind. Yes, the films were very successful, but at the end of the day it's Professor Tolkien who should be praised moreso than them. I don't know if this is the case, but I really hope that Jackson and co regularly express their gratitude to Professor Tolkien for being the origin of their success.