Dec 19, 2007

News From Middle Earth

by Liberty and Power

Papers are all graded; waiting for final exams to roll in, so, surfing around. What do I find? Great News: Peter Jackson and New Line have resolved their differences, and have agreed to make a film of The Hobbit. Also -- Not Necessarily Great News: The 2-movie deal includes The Hobbit and something descibed ominously as"a sequel." Meaning what, something Tolkien didn't write concerning the years between The Hobbit and LOTR? Do not want. UPDATE: According to AICN,"The second project is believed to be a bridge between THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy - culled from the titanic amount of periphery/ancillary/notated material found in Tolkien's works." So, maybe it'll be ok. I'll keep an open mind; PJ's credibility with me is good.

Hat tip: Fark, via Volokh

(Can't believe I scooped Roderick on this.)

More Comments:

Common Sense - 12/22/2007

The great man himself already built a bridge in Chapter V in the 1951 second edition. I do not like the sound of this Hobbit II idea at all.

Amy H. Sturgis - 12/19/2007

I will be curious to see how these projects unfold. Overall, my feelings are mixed. I've explained many of the reasons for this here. Additionally, there are the unresolved questions of who will direct the films, who will adapt the texts, and what, exactly, the prequel movie will encompass. At any rate, it certainly will be interesting to see how the films develop - and, since they will heighten students' interest in my "J.R.R. Tolkien in History, Political Thought, and Literature" class, I won't complain. ;)