Another week, another great FLASHBACK from Ringer Diedye. This week’s flashback details the events that took place in the Tolkien universe between August 10th and August 16th. This is a weekly feature that Diedye posts in the forum, so if there is ever a time we don’t post it on the homepage of TORn, make sure to check the Main board in our forums. Click on the link below to transported in time!
Here’s your FLASHBACK for…
August 10 to August 16
1936
August 10 – In a letter to his son, Christopher, Tolkien announces that “The Hobbit is now nearly finished, and the publishers clamouring for it.”
1937
August 10 – C.A. Furth relays to Tolkien that Houghton Mifflin thinks his Hobbit dust-jacket design has a “British look” and that the drawings Tolkien sent as mere examples of his work were assumed to be illustrations that he wished to be used in The Hobbit.
August 13 – Tolkien gives his permission for Allen & Unwin to use his drawings as they wish, and suggests that, when they are returned from America, the publisher should ‘keep them in “cold storage”’ (HarperCollins archive) .
1944
August 12 – Tolkien laments to Christopher that he is “absolutely dry of any inspiration for the Ring and am back where I was in the Spring, with all the inertia to overcome again. What a relief it would be to get it done.” (Letter #78)
1953
August 11 – Philip Unwin informs Tolkien that he is investigating the matter of a dramatization of The Hobbit having been broadcast on Canadian radio without Tolkien’s knowledge or consent.
1968
c. August 9-10 – Tolkien, who is staying at the Hotel Miramar, tries to obtain outpatient treatment for his leg at a Bournemouth hospital so as not to leave Edith alone at home.
August 12 – Tolkien shows his frustration at his incapacitation in a letter to Joy Hill (collection of René van Rossenberg)…
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August 16 – Finally Tolkien is able to move to his new home in Lakeside Road, Poole.
1999
August 9 – As per Michael Deluca, Kate Winslet has “passed on the project due to the length of time it takes.”
• NZ OnFilm has a list of new crew members to add to the production team, which includes Ngila Dickson, Jamie Selkirk, Rick Porras and Andrew Lesnie.
August 13 – Scoop.co.nz’s Alastair Thomsom reveals that Peter Jackson is searching for “very small people” of a particular type, but that there is a shortage of such people in the west, and that Peter Jackson obtained a former car factory, but no word on what it’s for… yet.
2000
August 10 – According to a local New Zealand newspaper, following the leaking of the “spikey wheel” picture, it seems that security guards on the LOTR are a little less friendly to trespassers.
• Sentencing for the theft of LOTR footage is handed down, with the defendant being given 12 months supervision and psychological counseling.
August 11 – Principal photography of the LOTR trilogy hits the 10-month mark.
• TORn reports that Bruce Hopkins has been cast and Tehanu speculates that the role is that of Gamling.
• Radio New Zealand interviews Humphrey Carpenter, who describes LOTR as being “unfilmable”, but he does plan on seeing Peter Jackson’s interpretation when it is released.
August 14 – In a statement to Music from the Movies, Howard Shore confirms that he will be composing the music for the LOTR trilogy.
2001
August 14 – French fan site Numenor leaks some excellent pictures of Bilbo in Rivendell, Frodo & Bilbo with Sting and statues in Rivendell.
2002
August 12 – PVP Online pokes fun at New Line’s money-grubbing ways.
August 14 – Hollywoodvideo.com’s latest installment of ’60 Second Theater” picks LOTR as its target, with hilarious results. (Right-click, save-as)
August 16 – ExtraLife shows what not to do when one gets pulled over by a police offer, especially if that same one is a LOTR geek.
2004
August 12 – Peter Woodthorpe, the voice of Gollum in the 1981 BBC radio dramatization of LOTR and the 1978 animated version, dies at the age of 72.
All info has been collected from Hammond & Scull’s “J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide”; “J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography”, “The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien”, TORn and various sites on the web.
