{"id":24034,"date":"2007-01-06T15:29:46","date_gmt":"2007-01-06T21:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2007\/01\/06\/peter-s-beagle-talks-the-hobbit-2\/"},"modified":"2007-11-08T16:44:11","modified_gmt":"2007-11-08T21:44:11","slug":"peter-s-beagle-talks-the-hobbit-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2007\/01\/06\/24034-peter-s-beagle-talks-the-hobbit-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter S. Beagle Talks ‘THE HOBBIT’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter S. Beagle is known worldwide for his novels, non-fiction, and screenplays. His most famous work, The Last Unicorn<\/em>, has sold more than six million copies and routinely polls as one of the Top 10 fantasy novels of all time (Its follow-up, “Two Hearts,” just won the 2006 Hugo Award<\/strong>). Peter is deeply involved in Middle-earth, having written the famous introductory page in Ballantine’s LOTR paperback editions and the screenplay for Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings<\/em>. This coming February 6, 2007, Lionsgate Entertainment<\/strong> will release a special 25th Anniversary DVD of The Last Unicorn<\/em>, with a screenplay by Beagle [FANS: help Peters cause by purchasing your autographed DVD exclusively from Conlan Press!<\/a>].<\/p>\n

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –<\/p>\n

As a fiction writer with some experience with the film world, I’m very clear on at least one aspect of the business: you never know the whole story<\/em>. That applies to other people, as well as writers — it’s entirely possible that Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh don’t really know the deepest motives behind New Line’s behavior, and never may. I think it’s been so from the days of The Great Train Robbery<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Once, long ago, I said lightly to Ralph Bakshi, “Of course, everybody down there in Hollywood keeps three separate sets of books.” To which Bakshi replied, “Hell, yes!” I was joking. He wasn’t. I learned all about that when it came time for me to collect the last half of my own miserly $5,000 pay for writing the animated version of Lord of the Rings<\/em>, only to find that I had to threaten to sue Saul Zaentz in order to get it. (And I am still<\/em> fighting, all these years later, to try and make him live up to his other promises. Click here<\/a> if you are curious.)<\/p>\n

I am far less knowledgeable and opinionated about directors than I am about scripts and screenwriters. But I do believe that, certain flaws aside, Peter Jackson made as good a Lord of the Rings<\/em> as we are ever likely to see outside the multiplex of our minds. Someone else quite possibly might have made it as well — as someone else may well make a perfectly good film of The Hobbit<\/em> — but I know something of LOTR’s nearly-half-century journey to the screen, and I don’t believe that anyone else could<\/em> have gotten it made. We’re not talking about special effects unavailable twenty years ago, but about obsession: about a certain kind of madness, if you like. Madness allied to talent, to commitment, to love… as George Gobel, a comedian of my youth, used to say, “You can’t hardly get them kind no more.”<\/p>\n

And you can’t.<\/p>\n

Peter S. Beagle<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.peterbeagle.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter S. Beagle is known worldwide for his novels, non-fiction, and screenplays. His most famous work, The Last…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hobbit-movie","category-old-special-reports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t