This coming Friday sees the release of Tolkien, a biopic exploring the early years of legendary fantasy J.R.R. Tolkien and starring Nicholas Hoult in the title role as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings creator.
Ahead of the movie’s arrival, the Tolkien Estate has released a statement to make it clear that the film is in no way endorsed by the state, or the late author’s family.
“The family of J R R Tolkien and the Tolkien Estate are aware of the Fox Searchlight motion picture entitled Tolkien that is due for release in May 2019. The family and the estate wish to make clear that they did not approve of, authorise or participate in the making of this film. They do not endorse it or its content in any way.”
In response, a spokesperson for distributor Fox Searchlight told The Bookseller that: “We are so proud of Dome Karukoski’s film Tolkien which focuses on the early years of J.R.R. Tolkien’s extraordinary life and does not depict subject matter from his novels. While we did not work with the Tolkien Estate on this project, the filmmaking team has the utmost respect and admiration for Mr Tolkien and his phenomenal contribution to literature.”
SEE ALSO: Watch the latest trailer for Tolkien here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzK-WINT9qk
The film explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the “fellowship” apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-earth novels.
Tolkien sees Nicholas Hoult joined in the cast by Lily Collins, Colm Meaney, Anthony Boyle, Patrick Gibson, Tom Glynn-Carney, Craig Roberts, Laura Donnelly, Genevieve O’Reilly, Pam Ferris and Derek Jacobi. It is set for release on May 3rd 2019 in the UK and May 10th 2019 in North America.
Via THR
Originally published April 28, 2019. Updated November 23, 2019.
