May 07, 2020

14. But...Faramir! He’s such a good boy!

1 hour 3 minutes

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Oriana’s choice of topic: Tolkien

adaptations! Reworking stories in one form or medium of art into another is

pretty much part of human history in general and Tolkien’s creations, even in

the modern world of copyright and licensing, are no different. Everyone knows

about the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movies, sure, but there’s been

plenty of other adaptations done and there will be more to come—and the

questions of how and why (and more) continue to be relevant. We’ll talk more

about specific artworks and productions in the future but this is a general

introduction to a big part of how Tolkien’s work is understood by a wider

public in recent decades. What are some of our favorite adaptations in any

medium? What adaptations of Tolkien’s work would we like to see happen, if

money wasn’t an object? What are the key elements of any adaptation that have

to be included in order to stay true to Tolkien’s core themes and approaches?

And could it simply be the case that we’ve reached a point where there’s too

much adapting of Tolkien—or too much attention to it—than is needed when so

many newer creative voices are coming to the fore?

Show Notes.

Jared’s

doodle for

the episode. Who says the Valar have to look like humans?

New Zealand’s change of state of emergency to Level

3 is a great sign for

sure, but the road is long.

The Tom Shippey

rumors...remain just that.

Timothy and Samuel West’s version of Beren and

Luthien

is out (and here’s their Fall of Gondolin).

I mean...the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings

trilogy

is KINDA well-known.

The Rankin-Bass

Hobbit really does

deserve more attention. Here’s a great

essay about it from a couple of years ago.

The theater Ned saw the Jackson films at was the Big

Newport. And it is

big.

That specific FoxTrot

strip Ned

mentioned (forty-hour film rather than twenty, but you get the idea).The

entire series of strips is

here.

David Lynch’s Dune is a

fascinating, weird film. Good...not really. But fascinating and weird.

Fans were arguing about the ‘character assassination’ of Faramir in Jackson’s

Lord of the Rings pretty much straight out of the

gate. And yes those

words were used.

Ursula K. Le Guin’s merciless

vivisection of the thoroughly terrible live-action adaptation of A Wizard

of Earthsea is just another reminder about why she was one of America’s

greatest authors. And yes, the Studio Ghibli

version isn’t great shakes, dragon design aside. Third

time’s the charm with A24?

Dorothy Dunnett forever.

P. C.

Hodgell’s

God Stalk and Dark of the Moon were mindblowers for a teenage Ned.

N. K. Jemisin, total hero. And yes The Fifth Season

is supposedly still in the works for TNT.

The name Ned was trying to say and stumbling over is Nnedi

Okorafor, and he should know better. As of last

year, Who Fears Death is still being adapted for HBO.

The David Wenzel-illustrated graphic

novel of

The Hobbit is really, truly wonderful. (And it did come back into print in

2001, not 2012!) Oddly enough the cover art there doesn’t really equate to

what’s inside. Various interviews with Wenzel are around; here’s a solid

short one from a few years ago.

Jared does indeed have good reason for

boosting comic/graphic art in general. Subscribe!

Saul Zaentz’s Tolkien Enterprises is now Middle-earth

Enterprises. And

they’re not letting THAT go any time soon.

Here’s that Tom Shippey

interview from last year.

The viral

tweet about

having to compete with Tolkien and other ‘dead guys’ on fantasy bookshelves.

Cassandra Khaw’s official site.

Various editions of the BBC Radio adaptation of The Lord of the

Rings

have been released—here’s a breakdown of a more recent

version.

Ned’s Quietus piece on Bakshi’s The Lord of the

Rings and other Tolkien adaptations of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Support By-The-Bywater on Patreon, if you'd

like. That would be nice.

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By Jared Pechaček, Oriana Scwindt, and Ned Raggett

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