An open letter to New Line and MGM \u2013<\/p>\n
Dear movie studio friends \u2013<\/p>\n
Welcome to the party! We \u2013 meaning fans of The Hobbit \u2013 have been sitting around waiting for you to show up since the minute The Return of the King ended at our local cinema and for many, perhaps longer than that. We have virtual balloons, streamers, banners, fireworks and of course, beer all prepared. We have just been waiting for you to arrive.<\/p>\n
Variety makes it sound like a The Hobbit movie is going to happen and maybe relatively soon and as you may have guessed, we are thrilled. The little leaked tidbit – hidden in an MGM business story – poked the still very potent coals of the Lord of the Rings fandom. The heat that rests within these embers will glow white-hot for a good long time because the fires of passion for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien have been inspiring readers (and movie-goers) since there was only one World War. This bit of news gives us a little fuel for the fire, so thanks!<\/p>\n
It is difficult for a studio or individuals in a studio to understand the real passion that readers have for the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Thanks to the vision of New Line Cinema and the work of Peter Jackson and his team, a whole new audience of impassioned fans was created. The films were adopted into popular culture to a degree not witnessed since the days when George Lucas shocked the world. We know you noticed this. You saw it at the box office; you saw it on MTV, at award shows, at the toy and poster aisles at Wal-Mart and everywhere else.<\/p>\n
But you may not understand that we are far more than a gaggle of ear-wearing fanatics – as short-cut journalists often like to portray us. We are school teachers and we use Tolkien in the classroom. We are computer programmers and website developers. We work in Hollywood, we are opera singers, we are environmental scientists, we are students, we are accountants, we are readers; we are everybody and everything, but we are bound together by a love for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.<\/p>\n
So while New Line and MGM hold the rights to make and distribute The Hobbit we feel that we own it too. It is our story too. For many of us it has been an old friend for decades now. Not only is it part of our childhood, it is part of our adolescence and our adulthood. So, take good care of our story and we know – from decades of experience and lots of readings – our story will take good care of you. If you trust it, so will its fans. Trust the story.<\/p>\n
While it does come down to that ultimately, we have so much more to say to you here in the infancy of the film. Please listen.<\/p>\n
And by the way, we know you better than you might think. We may not know the day-to-day realities of movie studio business in Hollywood (and like how to make sausage, we don\u2019t want to know) but at the very least we have a sense, as consumers, of who you are. Few LOTR film-fans don\u2019t have a soft spot for New Line Cinema. We know the story of Robert Shaye saying \u201cWhy only two films?\u201d to Peter Jackson when the films\u2019 ultimate fate hung in the balance. We remember well the perception in 2000 when \u2018the fate of New Line\u2019 hung in the balance, again according to those short-cut media types. We also know you are home to Freddy Kruger and we were tickled when your Snakes On A Plane was all the internet rage. New Line means something to us.<\/p>\n
And MGM, old friend, we admire you as well. Your lion and towering presence in Hollywood\u2019s history can\u2019t be missed. We are also aware of the business of being bought and sold and we have even visited your theme parks and casinos. While fantasy films aren\u2019t exactly your biggest staple, we surely are giving you the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n
Let me be clear that I don\u2019t presume to speak for all fans and I couldn\u2019t with any authority because we never all got together and took a vote on anything but I think, from my frequent and quality interactions with many other fans, that I can speak in broad terms and represent a sizeable segment of fandom.<\/p>\n
So first things first, would somebody please call Peter Jackson? Now! Today! New Line and PJ still have this sticky lawsuit left over from the LOTR films so we are a bit concerned. Jackson has made it very clear, over and over, even again this week, that he has not yet been invited to the table to have Hobbit discussions. Let the lawyers handle the lawsuit and please, please, get the creative folks together immediately. And by the way, when we say \u201cPeter Jackson\u201d we actually mean Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Richard Taylor and even include conceptual artists Alan Lee and John Howe. Taylor and his Weta Workshop are the gold-standard in the effects industry these days and not just among LOTR fans. Did you see the visuals in King Kong? Actually, we know you did.<\/p>\n
It was Taylor\u2019s crew, empowered by Jackson, who made us believe so strongly that we did indeed see Middle-earth – the same one we read about – on the screen. Tolkien purist-scholars and critics of Jackson\u2019s films can find fault, but can\u2019t touch the images that felt like home to most of us. We realize \u201cJackson\u201d comes as a package with Weta and Boyens and Walsh, but it is still is worth mentioning. We want the old gang back to make a film that feels like it fits right with the others. It should organically feel the same but you already know that, right?<\/p>\n
Still, having said all that, The Hobbit isn\u2019t The Lord of the Rings. Fans will not be looking for even bigger battles or another \u2018even more epic\u2019 quest. Resist the idea that there should be even more special special effects and if 100,000 orcs are grand then 200,000 is magnificent. For us, it is the character and heart that will lend this film magic and make it majestic. And while we are addressing characters, please don\u2019t Disneyfy the dwarves. We want our Thorin Oakenshield brave and valiant (if a bit greedy) and we have had our fill of dwarf jokes. And don\u2019t try to simplify the story by cutting a few out. For this story and this audience, that just will not fly.<\/p>\n
It goes without saying that Sir Ian McKellen must return as Gandalf and our Gollum must be Andy Serkis, without a doubt. Casting for Elrond should also be finished and if I were producing I would ask Orlando Bloom to walk through the screen during the battle of five armies. Remember that Cate Blanchett and Martin Csokas sit on the White Counsel. In short, give us the Middle-earth, and its inhabitants, that we already know. Save the fresh perspectives and \u2018new take on Tolkien\u2019 for the 20 hour HBO mini-series called \u201cThe Silmarillion\u201d or the inevitable and even welcome remake in ten years. Oh and don\u2019t let us hear that you haven\u2019t read The Quest of Erebor.<\/p>\n
Just in case you wondered, \u2018Star Power\u2019 is a pointless exercise for this film so please doesn\u2019t feel the need to drop a Tom Cruise into the cast. The only \u2018name\u2019 needed on the marquee is The Hobbit. (Although Clive Owen as Bard does sound brilliant!) Cast the perfect actors, not the perfect marketing strategy.<\/p>\n
Another issue for fans is trust. We realize the whole internet-looking-into-films makes studios nervous, but don\u2019t treat us like the enemy because we are anything but that. We are the best marketing tool you can hope to have and the only pay we require is some respect, trust and inclusion. Keep us informed and let us have a voice, even if you don\u2019t agree or follow our suggestions. We don\u2019t want to tell anybody how to make a film, but it might be wise to consider our opinions and take our counsel before some decisions are made. Consider us a collective advisor. We are the scouts that don\u2019t need to know the battle plan, but who are uniquely positioned to report on the landscape. Treat our internet reporters as the legitimate news hounds they are and as we demonstrate our fairness and accuracy and ethics (and I don\u2019t mean reporting-as-directed or pandering) give us the same access that you give traditional media. When media gather for a press junket we hope for the same invites, access and courtesy.<\/p>\n
A final point: this \u2018two movie\u2019 phrase has us a little divided. Some see the possibility of the story being properly told over two films while others see the dangers of stretching a plot so thin that it gets distorted and padded. Again we ask you to trust the source and serve the story first, however that happens. If it takes two films to tell the story as well as it can be told, then we will enthusiastically support two films.<\/p>\n
In short, trust Jackson, trust us and above all, trust the story.<\/p>\n