J. R. R. Tolkien news stories on Newser

Heirs of Tolkien, Dickens Collaborate on Books

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:59:12 CDT

The descendants of literary royalty are coming together on two new children's fantasy books. JRR Tolkien's grandson, Michael Tolkien, will write the two novels—which will be based on stories Tolkien himself read to him when he was young—and Charles Dickens' great-great grandson, Gerald Dickens, will narrate the audiobooks....

Why Tolkien Wasn't Given Nobel Prize: Bad Writing

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:58:05 CST

His novels became classics, but back in 1961, JRR Tolkien's work wasn't good enough for the Nobel Prize committee. The Lord of the Rings author was nominated that year by fellow fantasy author CS Lewis, but the committee rejected him because his writing wasn't good enough, the Telegraph reports. In...

Hungary Warns Residents of Disasters ... in Middle-earth

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:17:56 CDT

Hungary had a conundrum: How to test its emergency broadcast system, but not alarm residents by mentioning real towns? The solution: Use Middle-earth instead, the AP reports. The country’s disaster management agency is warning citizens today about severe weather in Gondor, Rohan, Rivendell, and Helm’s Deep, all locations from JRR...

Wanna-Be Film Extra Told She's Too Dark to Be Hobbit

Rob Quinn — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 04:09:33 CST

A woman who wanted to be an extra in The Hobbit was told by the casting crew on the New Zealand production that while she was short enough to play a hobbit, she wasn't white enough. "The casting manager basically said they weren't having anybody who wasn't pale-skinned," the woman,...

Peter Jackson to Direct The Hobbit

Nick McMaster — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:32:00 CDT

Lord of the Rings fans, rejoice: The Hobbit will be directed by Peter Jackson himself, Deadline reports. Jackson is negotiating a deal with Warner Bros, New Line, and MGM, and the studios are reportedly willing to spend big on a two-part Hobbit picture from J.R.R. Tolkien's most accomplished...

Highest Earning Dead Celebs

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:19:23 CDT

The stars on Forbes ' annual list of the top-earning dead celebrities number, appropriately, 13. To make the list, a "deleb" must have brought in at least $6 million in the past year. This year's list is notably missing former mainstays Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Steve McQueen, and puts...

Rings Writer Tolkien Trained as WWII Spy

Rob Quinn — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:09:02 CDT

Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien secretly trained as a British spy in early 1939, the Daily Telegraph reports. Newly released records show that Tolkien—one of his generation's foremost linguists—was given spy training along with 50 other intellectuals and had been picked to join the team trying...

Best Sci-Fi Languages

Nick McMaster — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:25:17 CDT

Creators of true geek art follow JRR Tolkien’s example and craft fictional languages to populate their worlds. Wired lists the best examples: Klingon. The Star Trek creation is the king of all sci-fi languages, with fully realized grammar and vocabulary. City Speak. Blade Runner ’s vision of earth as a...

Tolkien Heirs Sue Rings Studio Over Profits

Rob Quinn — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:51:03 CST

Heirs of author JRR Tolkien and publisher HarperCollins are suing the studio that made the Lord of the Rings films, claiming New Line Cinema cheated them out of $150 million in profit participation, Variety reports. The Tolkien Trust, a charity set up by the author's children, is also seeking a...