Trouble stirs in Middle Earth

In the past week or so certain scandals have arisen concerning the release of The Hobbit this December. Like other Ringers or Tolkienites this release date is one that I have been anticipating for years. The novel being my favourite work of Tolkien’s as it captures a playful and magical tone that dies towards the end of The Lord of the Rings. However recent headlines may prove damaging to the reputation of the franchise.

Claims of animal cruelty occurred when PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) were informed of 27 animals having died where the animals were residing off set. Peter Jackson denies these claims stating that extraordinary care was taken in the protection of the animals and until further evidence is provided I believe him. PeTA have called for Jackson to use only CGI to create animals in his films as opposed to the 50/50 split of real animals and CGI now. However, no matter how good graphics are, they are still that, personally I prefer to see ‘real’ animals. Unless these claims can be proven I don’t see why animals can take part in film if treated caringly so.In more recent news the Tolkien Trust are suing Warner Bros over breaches of Lord of the Rings licensing. The original contract states that the production company is only allowed to create physical merchandise such as action figures and t-shirts. However said contract was created in a time before the rise of computer and internet technology. The Tolkien Trust has previously looked over exploitations of the contract; that is until a gamboling internet game designed using characters and affiliates of the Lord of the Rings franchise caught their attention. They claim that associating Tolkien’s works with such games is damaging to the franchise and against the message of good will which the novels present. And I agree with this, gamboling is risky and designed to take people’s money and make them addicted to losing. Using Lord of the Rings to promote this is will have negative effects. The Tolkien Trust is suing Warner Bros for $80 million dollars, but currently no settlement has been reached. This figure however, isn’t a very big cost compared to the profits they make. What may be more costly is the restoration of their reputation and relationship both concerning fans and the Tolkien Trust.
But I for one won’t be letting this stop me from seeing Martin Freeman bring beloved Bilbo to life come the opening day.