All of the English-language screen versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings came out after J.R.R. Tolkien passed away in 1973, so we’ll sadly never know what he might have thought of them. But things were nearly quite different. In the late 1950s, Tolkien and his publishers seriously considered a proposal for an animated film, which even got to the script stage before the project was eventually scrapped.
In 1957, Tolkien was approached by an American film agent, Forrest J. Ackerman, about a proposed animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Early on, Tolkien was really quite positive about the idea, in a pragmatic sort of way. At this stage, Tolkien was shown some drawings and color photographs to indicate the sort of look they were going for in the animation, and he read a “Story Line,” a synopsis of the film’s proposed plot.
He told one of his publishers,...
In 1957, Tolkien was approached by an American film agent, Forrest J. Ackerman, about a proposed animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Early on, Tolkien was really quite positive about the idea, in a pragmatic sort of way. At this stage, Tolkien was shown some drawings and color photographs to indicate the sort of look they were going for in the animation, and he read a “Story Line,” a synopsis of the film’s proposed plot.
He told one of his publishers,...
- 6/5/2023
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
61 years ago today, J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” continued with the release of its second volume, “The Two Towers.” That November release followed that summer’s debut of “The Fellowship of the Ring,” which came nearly two decades after “The Hobbit” hit shelves in 1937. Tolkien’s epic tale of Middle-earth continued in this second volume, introducing readers to Treebeard and his fellow Ents, to the realm of Rohan and to Gríma Wormtongue. The third “Lord of the Rings” volume, “The Return of the King” was released in October 1955, so fans had to wait nearly 12 months to find out what happened after the cliffhanger of “Two Towers,” which ends with Samwise realizing that Frodo had not been killed by Shelob’s venomous sting, as it had appeared, but merely drugged. “Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy,” the book ends. Rayner Unwin, the books’ publisher, later said, “For...
- 11/11/2015
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
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