For the next couple of years we’re in 25th Anniversary territory for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies. If you’re nostalgic for the heady days of epic fandom (and for some of us, obsession!), or if you are just curious about exactly how some of the legal wrangling went down, then you need to explore author Kristin Thompson’s The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood. And it’s now available on Audible!
Thompson is a long-time friend of TheOneRing.net, often providing us with her expert insight into the machinations of the movie industry. Her book is a fascinating look at one of the very biggest of movie franchises/fandoms – and a wonderful trip down memory lane for those of us who remember all the excitement, build up, merchandise, etc. around the turn of the millennium and for a decade thereafter.
Thompson’s book is extremely well researched and full of facts and figures – but it’s never boring. Here’s what TORn wrote around the time that the book first came out:
Kristin Thompson interviewed seventy-six people to examine the movie’s scripting and design and the new technologies deployed to produce the films, video games, and DVDs. She demonstrates the impact Rings had on the companies that made it, on the fantasy genre, on New Zealand, and on independent cinema. In fast-paced, compulsively readable prose, she affirms Jackson’s Rings as one the most important films ever made.
Narrator ‘The Voice of Nick’ is very easy to listen to. The audiobook edition includes a new epilogue written for this release, in honor of the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring movie. There’s even a section in the book all about the origins of TORn, plus coverage of the surrounding fan and media ecosystem (video games, licensed promotions, New Zealand tourism, and more).
A must listen (or read, if you prefer!) for any fan, we have five codes for Audible (US region) for free download, to giveaway to five lucky folks! To be in with a chance to be a random winner, click here. Good luck – and if you’re not a luck winner, get your Audible copy here.
Kristin Thompson, author of the very successful Frodo Franchise was a guest on last Sunday’s broadcast of ‘Fictional Frontiers with Sohaib,’ on WNJC 1360 AM, Philadelphia at 11AM ET. As always, it was broadcast live via the internet via the WNJC website. A full transcript of the radio segment can be found below (thanks to Deleece Cook!). TheOneRing.net is featured every other week on Fictional Frontiers. 
Kristin Thompson writes: We must have posted on the Wall Street Journal’s news about the Bewkes/New Line situation at about the same time. You might want to add a link