If Peter Jackson hadn’t found New Line, the Lord of the Rings trilogy would have remained the property of Miramax, which probably would have put the project in the hands of Quentin Tarantino.
Is there another director who could have directed the trilogy of Lord of the Rings and, if he had, the transposition of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien would have been very different from the films of Peter Jackson that we have loved so much and that for us remain intimately linked to New Zealand. Now, it is not certain that the second choice would have distanced itself from the books or that it would have transformed the numerous battle scenes making the violence graphic and pulpy, but the adventures of the inhabitants of Middle-earth seem closer to the author’s imagination Of Sky creatures. But who was the alternative to Jackson? No less than Quentin Tarantino.
Quentin Tarantino instead of Peter Jackson in the world of JRR Tolkien
Variety informs us that Peter Jackson dreamed of taking to the cinema The Lord of the Rings since the mid-90s and that, among the majors interested in the project, there was also Miramax. Brothers Weinsteinwho were in charge of it, had distributed their own Sky creatures and the infamous Harvey si was passionate about the new and ambitious project of Jackson. Furthermore, the rights to the first film were in the hands of a name producer Saul Zaents which some time ago he had signed an agreement with Miramax for The English patient. And indeed Zaents surrendered to the court of Harvey Weinstein, and so the car started. It must be said, however, that there was an intention to make a single film based on Lo Hobbit and two up The Lord of the Rings. The movie up Lo Hobbit it was never done again and Peter Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh they began writing the script for the diptych and thinking about the look of the films, on which Weta would work. Immediately everyone understood that the budget was going to be high. Miramax, which Disney bought in 1993, could have $75 million in capital, but Jackson wanted $135 million, so the company decided the film would be one. Peter Jackson he said that it was not possible to tell in two hours the many events later narrated The Fellowship of the Ring, The two Towers e The Return of the Three. At that point Weinstein he was furious and gave the director an ultimatum, telling him and his collaborators: “Either you do it as I say, or you don’t do it, you’re out. Know that there is Quentin Tarantino ready to turn it”.
Tarantino was quite well known and loved as a director at the time. Miramax had distributed both Hyenas That Pulp Fiction e la partnership from Harvey Weinstein e Quentin it was one of the most fruitful and solid in the States. Some argue that actually Weinstein wanted to entrust the film to John Maddenwhose Shakespeare in Love he had just swept the Oscars. When the producer threatened Peter Jacksonwe were in 1998 and of Tarantino he had just come out Jackie Brown.
What would Tarantino’s Middle Earth have been like?
We do not know if Tarantino would have accepted the proposal. The director has never spoken about the film’s Lord of the Rings, so we can only try to imagine what it would have been like. As Collider writes, probably the director would have placed the story in the 70s and would have entrusted the main roles to his fetish actors: Harvey Keitel, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Buscemi and so on. As for the relationship with the original work, certainly Tarantino, as a lover of pop culture, would have kept its spirit. As you know, she didn’t care, and later, Peter Jackson found an ally in New Line, which returned to the initial idea of the three films. Jackson and ma’am wrote the script again, the films were shot back to back and The Return of the King hoarded Oscar.
For the New Zealand director, the trilogy was truly a stepping stone, and ever since PJ he has directed quality films like the three Hobbit, lovable remains and the war documentary They Will Be Rememberedto which we must add the recent docuseries The Beatles: Get Back. Also Quentin Tarantino he continued to work, gaining more and more success and signing masterpieces such as the two Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight e Once upon a time in… Hollywood.
E Harvey Weinstein? As those in the know know, you are serving 16 years in prison.