Inching closer to The Hobbit film

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Yeah Beorn would be nice, but he's not my favourite character.

[Sauron the White]

WilliamCH - I agree with your analysis of rights, properties and usages. If you can, could you please expand on the statement you made above

Christopher Tolkien owns those rights; will never, ever sell them, and even if he did Peter Jackson and New Line would be the last people on earth he'd let near them;

I especially want to know how you came to the conclusion that Jackson and New Line would be the last people on earth that CT would be willing to work with. This is a rather strong statement and I wonder what supports it.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Without getting into specifics, let's just say that CRT's opinion of Jackson's work on his father's writing is very low. Please understand that I'm not in a position to quote or paraphrase anything he has said to me, so that will have to suffice as a basis for my assertion.


In any event it's rather academic, since the film rights to the posthumous publications are not for sale.

[Sauron the White]

I can certainly appreciate and respect that you cannot betray a confidence. I do find it most interesting that many on this very site cling to the fiction that CT and the Estate have adopted a neutral stance on the films and neither praise or criticize them preferring to stay above the fray. At the same time there are statements like yours which seem to disprove that convenient fiction.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

StW, surely you can distinguish between the official public position of the Tolkien Estate, and Christopher Tolkien's private opinion, can you not? Like any human being CRT is bound to have some opinion of the movies, good or bad. He has indeed 'stayed above the fray' by not making that opinion public.

Please note also the distinction between the charge of 'opposing' the films sight unseen before they were ever made, and being critical of the finished product.

[Groin Redbeard]

The Hobbit WILL BE a two part film - but here is the new information - the second film will be influenced by the foundation of "The Silmarillion" and "The History of Middle-earth Series" (which is a 12 part series of books where JRR's son, Christopher Tolkien analyses JRR's old manuscripts; the manuscripts that ultimately led to become "The Silmarillion", "Lord of the Rings" and "Númenor" which is sort of like Atlantis).

I'm not so surre I like the idea of having the Hobbit as a two part film. I'd like it better if PJ just stuck to the book.

[Sauron the White]

William - I see it as contradictory and two-faced that they can maintain the false illusion of two differing positions. One for public consumption which seemingly attempts to take the high road of indifference while the other is far more honest and critical.