September 8th, 2009 by Calisuri
| Source: Reuters
| Discuss
As was predicted last week, the legal rumblings between the Tolkien Estate and New Line have come to an end and the path is now clear for ‘The Hobbit’ film(s). Here’s the official press release:
The Tolkien Trust (a UK registered charity), New Line Cinema, and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. have resolved the lawsuit relating to the “Lord of the Rings” films.
The claim was filed in February of last year. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. and the trustees of the JRR Tolkien Estate were co-plaintiffs in the claim, which concerned plaintiffs’ participation interest in the “Lord of the Rings” films released between 2001 and 2003. The precise terms of the settlement are confidential.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s newest posthumous work lands in retail today. The body of the non Middle-earth tale is told in two narrative poems told in the form of Norse mythology with a Tolkien lecture and an introduction from his son Christopher. Tolkien was a master of the forms of Old Norse and Old Englsih poetry while for most of us, that brilliance is likely to go unappreciated, there is still treasure to be gleaned in understanding the author and the traditions that led him to construct his own cosmology.
The Guardian in the UK published a faxed interview while while reviews are popping up like mushrooms. Read some here, here, and here.
The folks from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt send this bit of coolness to us! They want to whet your appetites for the May 5th release of ‘The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún’, take a look at the foreword written by Christopher Tolkien!
In his essay On Fairy-Stories (1947) my father wrote of books that he read in his childhood, and in the course of this he said:
I had very little desire to look for buried treasure or fight pirates, and Treasure Island left me cool. Red Indians were better: there were bows and arrows (I had and have a wholly unsatisfied desire to shoot well with a bow), and strange languages, and glimpses of an archaic mode of life, and above all, forests in such stories. But the land of Merlin and Arthur were better than these, and best of all the nameless North of Sigurd and the Völsungs, and the prince of all dragons. Such lands were pre-eminently desirable. Read the rest of this entry »
Claire writes: I subscribe to HarperCollins’ Tolkien newsletter, and have been sent notice of a collector’s edition of ‘The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun’ by J.R.R. Tolkien, signed by Christopher Tolkien. tolkien.co.uk
From thebookseller.com: HarperCollins is to publish a new book by the late Lord of the Rings author J R R Tolkien. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, edited and introduced by Tolkien’s son Christopher, will be published in hardback in May 2009. The previously unpublished work was written while Tolkien was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University during the 1920s and ’30s, before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The publication will make available for the first time Tolkien’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and the Fall of the Niflungs. Christopher Tolkien edited Tolkien’s most recent title The Children of Húrin in 2007. Further details about the contents of the book will be revealed closer to publication.
The folks from Houghton Mifflin sent us along review copies of ‘The Children of Hurin’ paperback and the reprinted edition of ‘Tales from a Perilous Realm’, now featuring artwork by Alan Lee! Read the rest of this entry »
The folks from Houghton Mifflin write: I saw your recent posting about Alan Lee attending FaerieCon in Philadelphia, and I wanted to spread the word that Alan will be visiting a few other U.S. cities to promote THE CHILDREN OF HURIN paperback (national release date: October 14) and the brand-new TALES FROM THE PERILOUS REALM, immediately following his FaerieCon appearance!
As TORn readers know, THE CHILDREN OF HURIN is the first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien since the 1977 publication of The Silmarillion. It was a #1 New York Times bestseller in hardcover, and the Associated Press called it “the book for which [Tolkien] readers have been longing.” The paperback edition of THE CHILDREN OF HURIN includes eight color paintings by Alan Lee and a two-color fold-out map. Read the rest of this entry »
If you were looking for an excuse or motivation to read the bulk of Tolkien’s books about Middle Earth, this could be your chance. A group is planning on reading 22 of Tolkien’s works and blogging about the adventure over at The Tolkien Reading Quest. If you are interested in joining them, check out the blog.
Ringer Diedye brings us another great FLASHBACK! This week’s flashback details the events that took place in the Tolkien universe between August 17th-23rd. 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! Read the rest of this entry »
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!
As was predicted last week, the legal rumblings between the Tolkien Estate and New Line have come to an end and the path is now clear for ‘The Hobbit’ film(s). Here’s the official press release:
J.R.R. Tolkien’s newest posthumous work lands in retail today. The body of the non Middle-earth tale is told in two narrative poems told in the form of Norse mythology with a Tolkien lecture and an introduction from his son Christopher. Tolkien was a master of the forms of Old Norse and Old Englsih poetry while for most of us, that brilliance is likely to go unappreciated, there is still treasure to be gleaned in understanding the author and the traditions that led him to construct his own cosmology.
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!
