Humbled by the Hobbits: This Just Has to Be
Killing the Mouse, Jim Hill, Orlando Weekly
On and off for the last 50 years, Disney has contemplated making
Tolkein’s story into a movie – oh how they must be kicking
themselves now. Jim Hill, for the Orlando Weekly,
recounts all of Disney’s missed opportunities and speculates on how
Disney missed out. Starting with missing the boat in the 1950s and
1970s, Disney even had the chance to back Peter Jackson’s project.
In the 1990s, Miramax wanted to produce the films, but Disney
refused to pay for the director’s demands, namely to film all three
movies in one 18-month stretch and release them annually for the
next three years. Now with The Fellowship of the Ring
earning more than $228 million and lauded as ‘arguably the best
reviewed film of the 2001 holiday season,’ Hill writes, ‘… all
that loot could havebeen going straight into Mickey’s
pocket.’
–Sara V. Buckwitz
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