Or no Hobbits at all...

[zxcvbn]

Originally Posted by davem

Of course, as far as I know, the movie makers didn't even bother to consult Christopher - which is hardly a sign of respect. And something else to bear in mind here is that the producers of the stage show requested, & received, access to all Tolkien's linguistic writings.

I can't help feeling that if the movie makers had consulted Christopher he would have been prepared to help out, & that the movies would have been all the better for it - and anyone who thinks that he would simply have demanded every single thing from the book should be included, & would have vetoed every change simply misunderstands him.

My dear davem, I'm not sure if you'd been following the development of the LOTR films from the beginning(I guess not) but the filmmakers DID approach the Tolkien Estate for assistance(including approval of scripts). The Estate declined since they feared that their participation would be seen as an endorsement of the films, making them 'official'. I believe the old PJ interview where he says this is still up on AICN somewhere.