Zaentz countersues the Estate

[Inziladun]

My view on the lawsuits is no doubt colored by my antagonism toward the films, but I back the Estate.

Originally Posted by Zigûr

On Facebook the other day people who had Liked the "The Fellowship of the Ring" page (for the book, not the film) were requested for a favourite quote. Half must have been from the film. There may have been a time before the films when Tolkien enthusiasm had receded and our conversations might be more isolated, but surely that is preferable to having it drowned beneath a sea of fatuous nonsense.

You know, the prospect of more people getting to know the books through exposure to the movies was the one bright spot I saw in their making. I know there have been those who have come to know and love the books thanks to PJ and Co., but for one thing, it shouldn't have to be that way, and for another, I think those people are in the minority.

Originally Posted by Zigûr

Elrond told the Council "It would be better if the Three had never been." I believe the same of the films. It is hard to know what to do in hindsight. Professor Tolkien once wrote that "the spirit of wickedness in high places is now so powerful and so many-headed in its incarnations that there seems nothing more to do than personally to refuse to worship any of the hydras' heads..." (Letter 312)

I said the same many years ago, and was taken to task for my "extremism". I simply didn't want to see Tolkien's work brought to the level of the common Hollywood blockbuster, with the ever-present merchandising, marketing, and nearly inevitable (as we've seen) court proceedings. I wish PJ had found another pet project to bring to "life".