
JRR Tolkien: 'I never expected a money success' (1968) - pacaro
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/tolkien-interview-its-easier-to-film-the-odyssey/
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pacaro
just one little quote that caught my eye

“It all began when I was reading exam papers to earn a bit of extra money.
That was agony. One of the tragedies of the underpaid professor is that he has
to do menial jobs. He is expected to maintain a certain position and to send
his children to good schools. Well, one day I came to a blank page in an exam
book and I scribbled on it. ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.’”

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11thEarlOfMar
I suppose we've all wondered what Tolkein would think of the Jackson films.

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noonespecial
I don't think he'd have hated them. I think he'd have _loved_ the
visualisations of all of his places and creatures (even if they didn't match
his own imaginations) and been thrilled with the amount of story telling we
could do with film now... and then been more than a little disappointed that
Jackson put in so many sword fights and told so little story.

~~~
trm42
At least the Tolkien Estate has voiced disapproval for all of the Jackson
stuff.

Personally I did watch the first part of the Jackson's Lotr and oh the horror.
I wish I could erase my memories :/

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camperman
"Professor Tolkien has, in effect, provided an intellectual Meccano-set for
civilisation creators."

Beautifully put.

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ekianjo
Too bad they feel the need to soil the article with depictions from the LOTR
movies, which are awful adaptations of the original books ("Hey, let's make an
Happy Ending since we are working for Hollywood" \- worst idea ever).

~~~
astrange
What part of LOTR's ending wasn't happy? They get a king back, Gandalf and
Galadriel bless everyone's crops, the hobbits get eternal life.

I actually remember the movie trying so hard to fit all the original endings
in that it just faded to black at least four times, seemed like it was over,
then started right back up again.

Of course, Pellenor Fields did get replaced with a spooky ghost army and the
best part of the book (Scouring of the Shire) was left out entirely. Not that
it could ever have fit in there.

~~~
ekianjo
Uh, The Shire being completely destroyed despite Frodo's successful quest?
Frodo having to depart Middle Earth ? Are those all super duper happy endings
for you ?

And of course the Sourging of the Shire could have fit in the movies, it was
shown as a vision when they met Galadriel in the first movie. They had it set
up and they changed their minds later on.

The ending in the movie is problematic because it follows some of the ends of
the book without understanding why they are necessary -> they make Frodo leave
Middle Earth but they never bother to explain WHY he has to leave. PJ clearly
did not understand the books.

