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Kristin Thompson
Rohan
Aug 5 2012, 2:52pm
Views: 2477
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Born of Hope is one of the two best-known fanfilms, the other being The Hunt for Gollum. I don't know whether the Born of Hope people contacted the Estate. The director of The Hunt for Gollum said this in an interview: We got in touch with Tolkien Enterprises and reached an understanding with them that as long as we are completely non-profit then we're okay. We have to be careful not to disrespect their ownership of the intellectual property. They are supportive of the way fans wish to express their enthusiasm. Tolkien Enterprises, owned by Hollywood independent producer Saul Zaentz, controls the underlying performance rights for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (though not the distribution rights for The Hobbit). He licenses them to organizations that want to make films (e.g., currently New Line) and stage plays (the producers of the play The Lord of the Rings). Thus the Tolkien Estate and HarperCollins have no direct control over the film rights to these works, though of course they do retain film rights to all of Tolkien's other published and unpublished works. I frankly was rather surprised that Tolkien Enterprises would explicitly sanction a fanfilm, even a non-profit one. But they presumably think that such films promote interest in Tolkien's work and thus are of some small benefit to the Estate, HarperCollins, and Tolkien Enterprises. The family is certainly aware of them. For example, The Hunt for Gollum is being shown at next weeks "The Return of the Ring" event in England (put on by The Tolkien Society, the main British fan group), with the filmmakers present to answer questions. Simon Tolkien is also scheduled to appear. So obviously these and other fanfilms are not being forced to keep a very low profile. If the filmmakers attempted to charge admission, that would be another matter, but the films are free for viewing on the internet and in fan venues. Technically they might be able to charge admission up to the point where the costs of making the film were paid off, but not beyond. That has often been the assumption with fanzines printed on paper, which have been sold at cost. My impression, though, is that so far the makers of the films and their friends and enthusiastic fans have put up the money to make the films without any expectation of getting the money back. It's also notable that both these films are genuine attempts to create serious dramatic narratives with fairly good production values rather than cheap knock-offs. Like serious fanfiction, they attempt to fill out elements of the LOTR story that Tolkien mentions only briefly and to do so with respect for the original. I'm sure this has something to do with the tolerance shown by Tolkien Enterprises.
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Subject
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User
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Time
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Researching THE FRODO FRANCHISE: Part 1, Off to Wellington without a Handkerchief
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News from Bree
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Jul 26 2012, 1:15pm
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Very interesting!
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Silverlode
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Jul 26 2012, 7:24pm
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work, work, work
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pasi
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Jul 26 2012, 8:03pm
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Thanks, Pasi!
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Kristin Thompson
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Jul 27 2012, 12:03am
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Agree with previous post, nice distraction from Hobbit events, and
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jschomburg
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Jul 26 2012, 8:52pm
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Thank you Kristin
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SirDennisC
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Jul 26 2012, 10:17pm
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A very interesting beginning
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Shelob'sAppetite
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Jul 27 2012, 12:44am
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Barrie W. Osborne
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pasi
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Jul 27 2012, 11:06am
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Absolutely true about Barrie
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Kristin Thompson
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Jul 27 2012, 1:55pm
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I think the Tolkien Estate
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geordie
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Jul 29 2012, 3:50pm
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I completely agree with you, geordie
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Kristin Thompson
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Jul 29 2012, 4:52pm
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yes -
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geordie
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Jul 31 2012, 6:16am
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When we speak of money
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Kristin Thompson
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Jul 31 2012, 2:05pm
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IMO
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Shelob'sAppetite
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Jul 31 2012, 7:06am
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Born of Hope
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Lurker in the Dark
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Aug 5 2012, 4:43am
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Born of Hope
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Lurker in the Dark
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Aug 5 2012, 4:54am
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Tolkien fanfilms and rights
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Kristin Thompson
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Aug 5 2012, 2:52pm
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As Kristen says
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geordie
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Aug 6 2012, 12:30pm
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Messed with?
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Lurker in the Dark
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Aug 7 2012, 5:24am
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Yes, that's the sort of stuff I mean -
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geordie
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Aug 7 2012, 5:26pm
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Sick burn!
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SirDennisC
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Aug 8 2012, 2:24am
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Thanks, SirDennisC!
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Kristin Thompson
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Aug 9 2012, 1:18am
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... and thank you for the book suggestion! //
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SirDennisC
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Aug 9 2012, 8:05am
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Um..
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geordie
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Aug 9 2012, 5:35pm
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Awesome!
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zarabia
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Jul 29 2012, 7:23am
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It wasn't exactly in every bookshop
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Kristin Thompson
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Jul 29 2012, 2:40pm
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I _really_ need to get a copy of this book -
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geordie
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Jul 29 2012, 3:07pm
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You definitely do need a copy, geordie :)
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Kristin Thompson
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Jul 29 2012, 3:48pm
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Hmm..
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geordie
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Jul 29 2012, 4:20pm
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More please
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Lurker in the Dark
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Aug 5 2012, 4:34am
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Believe me,
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Kristin Thompson
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Aug 5 2012, 3:35pm
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A most important book
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Lurker in the Dark
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Aug 7 2012, 5:57am
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I'm afraid I have to disagree
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Kristin Thompson
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Aug 7 2012, 3:46pm
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