A lot of people (including me) are looking forward to the release of the Lord of the Rings films (assuming they don’t suck), but among those less than thrilled by the move is the Tolkien family. According to the Daily Telegraph (UK), the Tolkien family has been hounded by fans of the books who make themselves a nuisance, and have had no input on the films.
Of course the latter fact is due partly to the family’s opinion that the books should not be made into films. According to Richard Crawshaw of The Tolkien Society, “The Tolkien family are definitely not on board as far as the film is concerned.The general view is that there is not a need for it as it is a book of words and was not created to be a dramatic presentation.”
Father John Tolkein, one of JRR Tolkien’s sons, tells the Telegraph that, “The Tolkien family is under perpetual abuse of one kind or another. It goes on all the time. I am anticipating endless bother when the film actually comes out.”