February 3, 2004

Fran Walsh, the Hobbit Movie, and a Few Thanks
Bob Praz

I am afraid there is no film production of The Hobbit planned yet. The movie rights are all tied up with legal issues (I can't recall the specifics) and New Line is still trying to gain them, as far as I know. Although PJ is of course doing King Kong now, he has clearly stated that he would love to do The Hobbit, if ever the legal problems were solved. Sir Ian McKellen also said that he would been insulted if Peter didn't ask him to play Gandalf again, and Andy Serkis would probably return as Gollum. Keep in mind, these are all "if"s, so nothing is certain. However nothing has begun on The Hobbit so far; we'll definitely know if there is.

As for Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens said on the FOTR EE that the reason why we don't see her is because she and PJ have a family life, and thus one of them needs to keep away from the media and all if they want to keep that life private. Peter, being the director and leader of the project, is naturally the public face of their relationship, while Fran remains mostly behind the scenes. It was very strange to see her at the Golden Globes, however, because the only picture I had seen of her was the one in her bio at the official site. I kept asking myself who on Earth was that woman besides PJ until they finally said her name and she walked up with Howard Shore on stage. It was quite surprising; she didn’t look at all like I imagined her. She seems very shy, unless it’s just me, so that may be another reason she keeps away from the camera. Anyhow, cheers to her great role in the project, which was one of the most important ones. For one thing, I believe it was her who really fleshed out, along with Andy Serkis, the character of Gollum for the movie; she even wrote the whole schizophrenic scene in TTT, if I remember correctly.

Lastly, I keep forgetting to say this, but I’d just like to thank everyone who has complimented my articles lately or in the past. Your words encourage me to keep writing and posting, so thank you! Thanks also for any of you who have e-mailed at one point or another to respond to my questions (unfortunately I never find the time to write e-mails of my own, but yours did not pass unread).

PS: Don’t let the political debate get out of hand (not that it has, but just a warning). So long as we talk about Tolkien-related topics first and all else second we should keep this forum centered on LOTR and not the UN or Bush. I have no problem with talking politics, but keep in mind that it can be a delicately personal subject to many people. Sorry if I sound sort of arbitrative, but I was quite annoyed last time when everyone became slightly vehement over the subject of Roman Catholics.