Tolkien News

Here is where I will post any important snippets of Tolkien-related news or other fascinating related information. Stay up-to-date on site updates and Tolkien news by subscribing to my RSS Feed (on left, below site navigation).

6/8/08

As expected, news and rumors are beginning to pile up almost daily on The Hobbit Movie.

But things may become derailed even before they've begun. I wrote a while back (see the 2/11/08 update below) about the Tolkien Trust's lawsuit against New Line Cinema and their efforts to block The Hobbit movie due to contractual negligence (not the actual legal term). The Tolkien Trust, led by JRR Tolkien's son Christopher Tolkien, claims it is owed nearly $250 million in royalties from the first trilogy of films, of which they haven't received a penny.

According to The Frodo Franchise author Kristen Thompson at her blog, the attempt by Christopher Tolkien to block The Hobbit is probably overblown, and New Line/Warner Bros is likely to settle out of court long before it reaches that impasse.

Casting rumor have begun to fly, and the name on everybody's lips for the lead role is James McAvoy. McAvoy, who played Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is no stranger to fantasy. I personally like the choice, though at this point there has been no confirmation from Jackson or del Toro.

Rumor also has it that Christopher Lee, who played Saruman in the first film trilogy, will reprise his role in the bridge film.

Director Guillermo del Toro mentioned in a recent article at IGN that we can expect some important casting decisions and announcements to be made before Christmas.

Check out a recent YouTube interview with del Toro below.

It has been a while since my last Tolkien News update, and I apologize to those who track this page regularly. This has been a crazy spring.

Of course, with The Hobbit movie just gaining pre-production momentum, there are a number of important news items of note.

Firstly, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro are hosting a live chat and "question & answer" session tomorrow, May 24th, on the WETA website. It will begin at 11:00 AM US central time. This is a great opportunity to get some of your Hobbit movie questions answered and hear first-hand how the two movie-gurus plan to proceed. But first you have to go to their website and pre-register.

Also, a recent Variety article mentions that preliminary contact has been made with Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis to reprise their roles as Gandalf and Gollum respectively, but also with Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

Aragorn's character would presumably reprise his role in the second movie, that will serve as a "bridge" between The Hobbit and LotR, since Aragorn does not play a role in The Hobbit itself.

I will continue to pass on more news as it becomes available.

I stumbled across an interesting new interview at MTV.com with Director Guillermo del Toro that addresses his plans/thoughts for The Hobbit movie. You can read it here.

In a major step toward setting The Hobbit movie into motion, Guillermo del Toro has now officially signed on to be the director.

Del Toro, the director of the Hellboy movies and the critically acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth had been in talks with New Line/Warner Bros about The Hobbit for some time, but an article in Variety announced the official deal today.

According to the article, del Toro will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work with Producer Peter Jackson and WETA studios.

He will direct two back-to-back films, The Hobbit and a sequel which will bridge the 60 year span between the events in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Some interesting developments on The Hobbit movie scene in the last few days. Guillermo Del Toro, a near lock to direct the film, hinted in an interview at ign.com that a definitive answer to whether or not he would direct the film would be forthcoming in the next "four to five days".

Del Toro also left a fascinating riddle on the message boards over at TheOneRing.net, implying that information on The Hobbit movie would disclosed soon.

In other news, "Middle Earth Weekend" (formerly "Tolkien Weekend") will take place at Sarehole Recreation Ground in Birmingham, England, the weekend of May 17th & 18th.

This popular event will include all of the usual attractions for Tolkien fans, plus new events and interests for folk of all ages.

The theme this year is 'Myths and Monsters' and there will be dragons patrolling the grounds (no doubt as targets for the Bowmen of Swanhurst).

Shire productions will also be performing giant puppet-show extracts from Beowulf in the atmospheric Moseley Bog. Visitors in constume will be welcome.

You can find more information on this event at ShireProductions.co.uk

Well, its been almost three weeks since my last news update so there are actually several pieces of Tolkien news to relate.

Most recently, a signed first edition of The Hobbit was auctioned off on Tuesday, March 18th by Bonhams in London. The book was inscribed by Tolkien with a dedication to his friend Elaine Griffiths. As mentioned in my February 10th news item, the projected sale price was in the neighborhood of $50,000 to $80,000.

The final sale price was more than double the lower estimate, bringing in 60,000 GBP, or about $122,000.

In other news, the Lord of the Rings musical, which opened to mixed reviews and large crowds at London's Drury Lane Theater in March 2007, has announced that it will close on July 19, 2008.

According to the Associated Press, producers claim to be in talks to bring the show to Germany with a German-speaking cast in the near future. A smaller "touring" version of the show is also slated to hold performances in Australia and New Zealand.

On The Hobbit Movie, there has been no real major news since the Tolkien Estate filed a $150 million lawsuit against New Line Cinema early last month.

Time Warner has folded the struggling New Line, but that doesn't erase many of the question marks that have been imposed by this lawsuit.

Production is still in a holding pattern. Though Guillermo Del Toro still seems likely to direct any Hobbit adaptation and is still in talks with Warner Bros. and parent company Time Warner, he has not officially signed on. In a recent interview with TheOneRing.net, Del Toro noted that "negotiations are...ongoing". He also claims to be "diligently going through all Tolkien material related to Middle-earth". That, at least, is a heartening thought.

There is a bit of shocking news today from the UK, where the Tolkien Estate & UK Tolkien publisher Harper Collins have filed a $150 million dollar lawsuit against New Line Cinema, the studio that produced The Lord of the Rings movies.

Apparently, the lawsuit also seeks the ability to block any further movies by New Line, including the two-movie plans for The Hobbit, which has not yet begun production.

It will be interesting to see how this latest major blow to New Line plays out. I believe this makes the 466,543rd person or entity to sue New Line since the theatrical release of the trilogy.

You can read the full article here.

Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods, Neverwhere, Stardust and several other excellent fantasy novels has decided, as a celebration for the 7th anniversary of his online journal, to make one of his books available for free online.

This is not the sort of thing you hear of often, but it is a really great idea. Right now, you can vote on which of his novels will be made available at his blog - here.

It will be a great way for those of you not familiar with Gaiman's writing to test the waters without spending a nickel!

Well, I just finished reading the newest translation of Sir Gawain & the Green Knight by British poet Simon Armitage. It came out back in October of last year, but I've had such a backlog of reading that I've only just gotten around to it.

And I thought it was fantastic.

A very modern translation, in a sense, in that Armitage tends to use some modern slang terms, etc., but it doesn't really detract from the mood of the narrative.

And the alliterative mode of the verse really comes to life in his hands.

This translation really couldn't be more different than Tolkien's translation published in 1975. Tolkien was a traditionalist in every sense, aiming to keep the archaic flavor of the Middle English language.

Armitage aims to make the poetry more accessible. Both succeed, on various levels. I've always been a huge fan of Tolkien's translation. Armitage's translation is an entirely new interpretation on an old favorite.

In other Tolkien news, a Reuters article announced that a signed, First Edition of The Hobbit is to be sold at auction in London next month.

The book, signed by Tolkien with a dedication to close friend Elaine Griffiths, has been forecasted to go for anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000.

The Guardian is reporting that Guillermo del Toro has officially signed on to direct the two Hobbit movies.

The article states that the announcement was made Wednesday night (1/30) at the French premier of The Orphanage, a film that del Toro co-produced.

Oddly enough, I haven't seen the announcement confirmed anywhere else, so I'll withhold confirmation until I've gotten some firmer info.

It's appearing more and more like Guillermo del Toro, director of the critically-acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth, is going to direct The Hobbit movies.

Numerous sources, including this one in The Hollywood Reporter, are reporting that del Toro and MGM/New Line are close to a deal that would bring del Toro on board to direct the proposed two Hobbit movies.

Peter Jackson, the award-winning director of The Lord of the Rings films is already aboard for the new films, though his role will be as the executive producer.

There is a fascinating radio interview at The National Review Online with John D. Rateliff, editor and author of The History of The Hobbit. You can listen to the interview here.

A note from The White Tree Fund:

The White Tree Fund (TWTF) would like to thank everyone for the incredible reception of the inaugural issue of Silver Leaves and is now calling for submissions to its second issue. The theme for this issue is The Inklings and all academic, journalistic, reflective, creative and artistic pieces relative to the collective group known as "The Inklings" or any of its individual members are welcome.

The deadline for all submissions is April 30, 2008. Publication is set for Fall 2008.

To find more information, submission guidelines or advertising rates for Silver Leaves, please visit: Silver Leaves.

Please take note of word limits, file formats and reference styles necessary for submissions. Copies of Issue 1 can be purchased at: whitetreefund.org.

Silver Leaves is the official journal of TWTF. The purpose of SL is to educate, raise awareness, support charitable initiatives, and entertain.

SL accepts submissions from established scholars, authors, and artists as well as from those new to the publishing world. Submissions may include, but are not limited to, academic essays, creative writing, and artwork; interviews and event reports; artistic spotlights on costuming, weaponry, and handmade items; puzzles; humanitarian, community, and volunteer updates; and book, gaming, live entertainment and movie reviews.

While the focus of SL is on TWTF's mandated humanitarian efforts, particularly those from within the Tolkien community, SL is open to scholarly and creative submissions from other fandoms according to the theme of the up-coming issue.

Tolkien-Online.com joins the rest of Tolkien fandom in raising a glass to Professor JRR Tolkien on his birthday!

Every year, the Tolkien Society organizes a birthday toast to Tolkien. Tolkien was born on January 3rd, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. So choose your beverage (not necessarily alcoholic) and raise your glass to the "The Professor".

The news is official! New Line Cinemas and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson have reached an agreement on The Hobbit movie.

Jackson, apparently, will not direct the film but serve in the role of Executive Producer. A director has not yet been officially announced.

As had been speculated, The Hobbit will be released as two separate films that will be shot simultaneously, similar to how The Lord of the Rings movies were filmed.

Production on the films is scheduled to begin in 2009, with planned 2010 & 2011 release dates.

You can read the AP article here or the Variety article here.

New Line Cinemas has yet more drama on their hands, as Saul Zaentz, has sued the studio over a dispute of profit disclosures. Zaentz is the owner of Tolkien Enterprises, which licensed the film rights to New Line (via Miramax) in 1998.

For more info on the complex legal rights behind The Lord of the Rings movies and a prospective Hobbit movie, check out our Hobbit movie page.

This new suit presses claims similar to those of Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. The suit claims that New Line breached contract when it refused to submit to an audit of film profits.

You can read the full article here.

2007 has been an exciting year for Tolkien fans. As History of The Hobbit author John D. Rateliff notes, we are living in a golden age of Tolkien scholarship.

The year began when the Lord of the Rings movies were voted the best book-to-movie adaptation of all-time by Amazon.com.

On April 17 came the highlight of the year - the publication of The Children of Hurin, one of Tolkien's most well-known stories of the First Age of Middle-earth, edited and compiled into a single volume by Christopher Tolkien.

Later on in the year came a second treat, the long-awaited release of John D. Rateliff's The History of the Hobbit, a two-volume exploration and commentary on the early drafts of The Hobbit.

The year was full of other great releases as well. Scholar Tom Shippey's wonderful collection of essays on Tolkien Roots & Branches.

I have also heard some wonderful reviews on Tolkien & Shakespeare, a collection of essays edited by Janet Brennan Croft and The Company They Keep by Diana Pavlac Glyer, though I've not had the opportunity to read or review either of them yet.

All of this and perhaps - just perhaps! - we will know the future of The Hobbit movie before the end of the year. (See a few rumors below.)

This is all not to mention the most exciting news of the year - at least for me! - the launch of this website. Hopefully 2008 will bring as many wonderful additions and surprises to the Tolkien community and Tolkien fandom.

Rumors are flying at some fairly reliable websites that negotiations have been concluded between New Line Cinemas and Peter Jackson, bringing Mr. Jackson into the fold to direct The Hobbit.

Nothing has yet been confirmed and no formal announcement has been made, but CinemaBlend is reporting (through another source) that Peter Jackson will not only direct The Hobbit, but plans to split the book into two films and present them in 3D format! Big news, if true.

Famed Tolkien-artist Ted Nasmith has announced on his website that he is involved with a project with publisher Random House to illustrate a guide to George R.R. Martin's excellent A Song of Ice & Fire series of books. The book is slated for release in 2008.

Nasmith's talent for grand, panoramic landscapes fits perfectly with Martin's beautiful, larger-than-life world of Westeros.

You can find out more information and see some examples at Nasmith's site here.

Mythcon 39 will be held on August 15-18, 2008 at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut.

The conference's theme is "The Valkyrie and the Goddess: The Warrior Women in Fantasy", and the Guests of Honor will be Tolkien scholar Marjorie Burns and author Sharon Newman.

You can find more information and registration information at Heren Istarion.

Costa, a popular UK coffee chain, has recently released the results of a poll of the UK's most "revisited reads" - books that readers found themselves re-reading again and again.

JRR Tolkien finds himself at second and fourth on the list with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit respectively.

The Harry Potter series of books took the top spot, and Jane Austen's classic Pride & Prejudice nestled into the third spot between the Tolkien classics.

Fellow Inkling C.S. Lewis checked in at #8 with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

You can see the rest of the Top 20 at Booktrade.info.

An article in IGN Entertainment notes that Sir Ian McKellen (who played the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is interested in reprising his role as Gandalf in a possible Hobbit Movie.

McKellen says he would be interested in taking up the role again, with or without the involvement of Peter Jackson, who he says has encouraged him to continue with the role even if he is not involved.

Recently however, as I stated in my last news update below, relations between Jackson and New Line Cinema head Robert Shaye have begun to warm, so there is a solid possiblity that Jackson will be involved in some way with The Hobbit movie.

I stumbled across an article of interest in Entertainment Weekly on the warming waters between New Line Cinemas head Bob Shaye and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.

Perhaps The Hobbit movie will finally happen, and with Peter Jackson at the helm.

The article notes: But now the legal battle that's kept The Lord of the Rings' prequel, The Hobbit, hung up for years — a bitter feud between Rings director Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema co-chairman Robert Shaye — may finally be nearing resolution. For once, there's reason to be cautiously optimistic. At this writing, no agreements have been announced and details of the negotiations are sketchy (neither New Line nor Jackson's camp would comment to EW on any aspect of this story), but sources close to the talks tell us that they're detecting a lot less frost in the air, and that a deal may be reached that could help usher J.R.R. Tolkien's maiden Middle-earth masterpiece to screens before the end of the decade.

The full article can be read here.

More news about University-level classes focused on JRR Tolkien and his writings, this time at Cardiff University in the UK (available as an online course, worldwide).

As time permits, I will be adding an entire page focused on University-level Tolkien classes, accessible from the Tolkien Scholarship page.

Visitors who have information on Tolkien-related university classes can submit that info through the Contact Me page.

Here is the info on the Cardiff University classes:

Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again An on-line course, hosted by the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Cardiff University, taught in 10 weekly units. Starting on 1 October 2007 (Course Code: ENG07A3637A)

Tutor: Dr. Dimitra Fimi explores Tolkien’s Middle-earth from your home, in your own time. Find out about the vast mythology behind The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, gain a thorough knowledge of Tolkien’s fiction and its creation, explore the northern European mythologies that inspired Tolkien’s Middle-earth, learn about Tolkien’s invented languages, their origins and sources, find out about the ‘races’ and the cultures of Middle-earth.

The course has been updated and enlarged to include a discussion of The Children of Húrin, the ‘new’ book by J.R.R. Tolkien, which was published in April 2007.

Also:

• Participate in a lively Discussion Board moderated by your tutor
• Get access to Cardiff University's electronic resources (including electronic versions of the journals Mythlore and Tolkien Studies)
• Do the course for credits which you can use towards your Higher Education Qualification (optional)

  To find out more, visit:

  Course Info

  Course FAQ

  Course Outline

Today marks the 70th Anniversary of The Hobbit, which was originally released on September 21, 1937.

To mark the occasion, Houghton Mifflin is releasing three books today, The Hobbit: 70th Anniversary Hardcover Edition, and The History of 'The Hobbit' in two volumes, edited by John D. Rateliff.

The three volumes are also being offered in a boxed set, but Amazon has listed the release date of the boxed set as October 26th.

The world of fantasy literature has received sad news today. James Rigney Jr., better known by his pen name Robert Jordan, passed away after a long battle with cardiac amyloidosis.

Jordan was best known for his popular and well-written series of fantasy novels, The Wheel of Time.

During an eventful life Jordan graduated from The Citadel, became a highly decorated Vietnam vet, a nuclear engineer, and later a successful author. The twelfth and final volume of The Wheel of Time was yet unfinished at the time of his passing.

Rest in peace Robert Jordan. He will be sorely missed.

The Lord of the Rings has earned a place on the syllabis at the University of Toronto.

The Lord of the Rings: A Journey Through Middle-earth is a first-year seminar course discussing the history, sources, and created mythology of Tolkien's masterpiece trilogy and its enduring legacy.

More on the U of T's course can be found here.

In book news, scholar John D. Rateliff's The History of The Hobbit will finallly be released in the US in just under a week (September 21st).

The study is an annotated version of Tolkien's early drafts of The Hobbit, similar to books VI through X of The History of Middle-earth, which dissected Tolkien's early drafts of The Lord of the Rings and its evolution into its final published form.

These books have been available in the UK since May. Houghton Mifflin, Tolkien's US publisher, has published the book as two separate hardcover volumes. You can order them through the link above.

I've come across a few Tolkien-related news items of note in the past few days.

Number one, Houghton Mifflin and HarperCollins have both announced the September release of a "70th Anniversary" edition of The Hobbit. The book will be a hardcover edition complete with all of the most up-to-date corrections, illustrations by Tolkien, and an introduction by Christopher Tolkien.

The US (Houghton-Mifflin) edition will be available alone or also as part of a boxed set, along with parts I & II of John D. Rateliff's History of The Hobbit. The Hobbit: 70th Anniversary Edition is available for preorder at Amazon.com here.

In other news, there have been several recent articles about lessening tensions between New Line Cinemas studio head Bob Shaye and award-winning Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. Rumors report that New Line is trying to heal the rift and bring Jackson back on board to direct The Hobbit.

Here are the articles in Cinema Blend & The New Zealand Herald.

The Mythopoeic Society announced its 2007 Mythopoeic Award winners on Sunday, August 5th at Mythcon 8.

Most relevant is the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies, which was presented to well-known Tolkien scholars Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond for their excellent two-volume study The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (Houghton Mifflin, 2006).

Winners of the other Mythopoeic Awards were:

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature
Solstice Wood by Patricia McKillip

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature
Corbenic by Catherine Fisher

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Myth and Fantasy Studies
Gemstone of Paradise: The Holy Grail in Wolfram's Parzival by G. Ronald Murphy

I'm actually a week or so tardy on getting this announcement out, but the 2008 Tolkien Calendar has been released and is available through Amazon.

This year's calendar features the stunning artwork from The Children of Hurin by Alan Lee. There are nine watercolors from the novel and three new pieces by the artist. The colors and contrasts are more true than the prints in the novel.

A very beautiful piece! Highly recommended.

As July 21st nears, it has become harder and harder to avoid the media circus around the newest Harry Potter book (& movie). Everywhere you turn it's "Potter Midnight madness" parties, "Is Snape Guilty?", "Will Harry die?".

Most people, even those who love the Harry Potter books (and you can include me in this), are pretty fed up with the nonstop media barrage. And here I am adding my own voice to the clamor.

I have always subscribed to Mark Twain's comical but true quip: "Any time you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."

That said, as the date looms nearer, I find myself getting rather geared up for the final installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I find the hoopla distasteful, and yet the hype exists for a reason. Rowling is a remarkable author, and she (like Tolkien) has touched a cord with a vast population of people. She has elbowed her way (like it or not) into the company of such prestigious fantasists as Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Ursula LeGuin - and she is unlikely to fade any time soon.

As I have said to many other readers who have ultimately rejected Harry Potter because of its popularity and pervasiveness in popular culture - ignore the hype (if you can) but try the books. As they once did with Tolkien, the reading public has actually gotten it right.

There is something here to be excited about.

Yet another excellent review of The Children of Hurin in The Independent. Unlike some of the other major UK newspapers, The Independent actually seems to assign reviews to critics with some background knowledge and predisposition toward the works, as well as an understanding of what Tolkien was working towards.

I thoroughly enjoyed one particularly poignant line of the review - It [The Children of Hurin] is dry, mad, humourless, hard-going and completely brilliant.

Amen to that.

A fascinating short article from the Boston Globe on The Children of Hurin and Christopher Tolkien's lifelong excavations of his father's work. In the Beginning...