While the products of his imagination are busy fuelling the second of two massive movie trilogies thanks to Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films, what of Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien himself? Yes, we’re aware he died in 1973 thanks, but the man behind Middle-earth has been a constant source of fascination for fans and biographers alike. Yet a definitive biopic about the man has somehow always slipped from filmmakers’ grasp. Fox Searchlight is looking to change all that with a new project.
The company, along with Peter Chernin’s Chernin Entertainment (the sooner they start an ice-cream subsidiary, the happier our pun-brains will be) has Tolkien fan (and** C****owboys And Angels** writer / director) David Gleeson already at work on a script that will look at the author’s life, focusing largely on his studies at Oxford and his time in World War I.
His experiences in the Great War, including the loss of many friends, partly helped to fuel his writing, particularly elements of The Lord Of The Rings. His work and studies were, of course, just part of his life. And lest we forget, any attempt to explore his life will likely need to get permission and contributions from the Tolkien estate, which has objected to some previous projects. Still, Tolkien’s fascinating life deserves the right treatment on screen, and hopefully someone will manage to make it work.