There has been buzz about this for a few months now, and really years of wondering and wandering on Hollywood-quality biopic of Tolkien. Fox Searchlight has picked up the idea and has finally announced a release date of May 10th. Jeepers, I’m guessing five years or more since this was announced and we started speculating about it–at least since the Hobbit films were rolling out. Now we have a teaser trailer that shows some skill. It can’t answer the question yet of whether they will get J.R.R. Tolkien on the deeper levels, but it will no doubt create some buzz. I’ll probably have to travel to a different province to see this, but you big city folk should have a chance to get in line in 3 months! Fingers crossed.
TOLKIEN 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.
Only In Theaters May 10, 2019
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“A Pilgrim in Narnia” is a blog project in reading and talking about the work of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the worlds they touched. As a "Faith, Fantasy, and Fiction" blog, we cover topics like children’s literature, apologetics and philosophy, myths and mythology, fantasy, theology, cultural critique, art and writing.
This blog includes my thoughts as I read through Lewis and Tolkien and reflect on my own life and culture. In this sense, I am a Pilgrim in Narnia--or Middle Earth, or Fairyland. I am often peeking inside of wardrobes, looking for magic bricks in urban alleys, or rooting through yard sale boxes for old rings. If something here captures your imagination, leave a comment, “like” a post, share with your friends, or sign up to receive Narnian Pilgrim posts in your email box.
Brenton Dickieson is a father, husband, friend, university lecturer, and freelance writer from Prince Edward Island, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter, @BrentonDana.
This is the first I’ve heard of this! It sounds like the movie of John Garth’s Tolkien and the Great War, but searching around a bit at IMDB, I find nary a reference to book or author… Attempting to get a sense of the previous work of the two listed writers and the director (including looking at a lot of viewer reviews of the latter’s earlier films) begets forebodings… (Maybe acquaintance with Peter Jackson’s films prior to LotR might have done the same… so, here’s hoping, but…)
Meanwhile, I can heartily recommend several films by Elliot and Zander Weaver (available free online) one about Robert Quilter Gilson, Tolkien’s fellow-TCBS member – Robert Gilson: Memoirs of an Infantry Officer; and Tolkien’s Great War; and The Price of Freedom; and July 1st 1916: Why the Plan Failed; and KES Roll of Honour – all accessible here:
and other relevant posts which, e.g., can be traced by the keywords under it.
And, not very far down this Index, he has a photo of himself with Gilson’s niece and the cast of ‘I Regret to Inform You’, a play by Mike Levy about Gilson’s battalion and partly based on his research (from 8 December 2016):
So glad the TCBS will be commemorated by this film. I wonder what Tolkien’s school friends might have achieved if they hadn’t been killed in the First World War. He was obviously deeply affected by this loss.
John Garth’s book is certainly interesting about such matters – what might have been and also what has been – including Tolkien’s first real editorial work, preparing Geoffrey Bache Smith’s poetry for posthumous publication. Happily for us, the resulting volume has been transcribed and put online about four years ago:
My pleasure! Among John Garth’s online updates and additions to the TCBS work in his book, this post – which Brenton reblogged after it appeared, and which went on win “Best Article” at the 2016 Tolkien Society Awards – may be especially worth noting, too:
I’m not sure about methods of payment… I ordered my copy directly from the Exeter College Development Office, but I don’t know if that is still possible.
Wow! I’m not sure I’ve heard of this at all (if so, it somehow slipped my mind!), and I had certainly not heard of it as forthcoming – thanks! There is yet another book he is working on, Tolkien’s Mirror, which, e.g., he mentions in a comment to another of his posts which Brenton reblogged when it appeared:
A Pilgrim in Narnia 
I expect this to be on the same level as that so-called “biography” of Lewis that you reviewed the other day.
For your sake I hope not though…
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Fingers crossed!
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If it’s as good as this trailer, then it will rock. I hope so!
Namarie, God bless, Anne Marie 🙂
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This is the first I’ve heard of this! It sounds like the movie of John Garth’s Tolkien and the Great War, but searching around a bit at IMDB, I find nary a reference to book or author… Attempting to get a sense of the previous work of the two listed writers and the director (including looking at a lot of viewer reviews of the latter’s earlier films) begets forebodings… (Maybe acquaintance with Peter Jackson’s films prior to LotR might have done the same… so, here’s hoping, but…)
Meanwhile, I can heartily recommend several films by Elliot and Zander Weaver (available free online) one about Robert Quilter Gilson, Tolkien’s fellow-TCBS member – Robert Gilson: Memoirs of an Infantry Officer; and Tolkien’s Great War; and The Price of Freedom; and July 1st 1916: Why the Plan Failed; and KES Roll of Honour – all accessible here:
https://vimeo.com/ellianderpics
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John Garth has an interesting post about the Gilson film:
https://johngarth.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/rob-gilson-tcbs-a-documentary
and other relevant posts which, e.g., can be traced by the keywords under it.
And, not very far down this Index, he has a photo of himself with Gilson’s niece and the cast of ‘I Regret to Inform You’, a play by Mike Levy about Gilson’s battalion and partly based on his research (from 8 December 2016):
http://www.johngarth.co.uk/index.php
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Thanks for all these resources, David. I’ve been through them before and I agree that they can really enhance the reading of that time.
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So glad the TCBS will be commemorated by this film. I wonder what Tolkien’s school friends might have achieved if they hadn’t been killed in the First World War. He was obviously deeply affected by this loss.
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John Garth’s book is certainly interesting about such matters – what might have been and also what has been – including Tolkien’s first real editorial work, preparing Geoffrey Bache Smith’s poetry for posthumous publication. Happily for us, the resulting volume has been transcribed and put online about four years ago:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48371
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Thanks — just going to download that 🙂
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My pleasure! Among John Garth’s online updates and additions to the TCBS work in his book, this post – which Brenton reblogged after it appeared, and which went on win “Best Article” at the 2016 Tolkien Society Awards – may be especially worth noting, too:
https://johngarth.wordpress.com/2015/09/25/tolkiens-immortal-four-meet-for-the-last-time/
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I didn’t know about the win, but cool!
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So poignant, indeed heartbreaking. Must get Garth’s book.
Thanks for the link.
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It is also worth mentioning John Garth’s complementary little book, Tolkien at Exeter College: How an Oxford Undergraduate Created Middle-earth:
http://www.johngarth.co.uk/php/tolkien_at_exeter_college.php
I’m not sure about methods of payment… I ordered my copy directly from the Exeter College Development Office, but I don’t know if that is still possible.
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I will check — thank you!
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He has a new book coming out on 10 October. It’s listed for preorder on Amazon UK but not yet on Amazon CA.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tolkiens-Worlds-inspired-writers-imagination/dp/0711241279/
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Awesome!
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I guess it’ll be available for preorder on Amazon CA eventually. I’d rather wait than pay the postage from the UK.
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Wow! I’m not sure I’ve heard of this at all (if so, it somehow slipped my mind!), and I had certainly not heard of it as forthcoming – thanks! There is yet another book he is working on, Tolkien’s Mirror, which, e.g., he mentions in a comment to another of his posts which Brenton reblogged when it appeared:
https://johngarth.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/when-tolkien-reinvented-atlantis-and-lewis-went-to-mars/#comments
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I looked for the one with Exeter College in the title on Amazon but couldn’t find it. Didn’t see one with Mirror in the title
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I look forward to seeing that!
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I agree with David about Garth’s work and the few remnants of the TCBS available online. Cool.
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