Casting Call: J.R.R. Tolkien
In which we suggest who would star in the next big adaptation, remake, or historical film.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien knew what he was doing when he signed off as “J.R.R.” Being the father of the modern fantasy genre and the author of one of the greatest book series of all time is one thing, but choosing a pen name to go down in history is arguably just as important. Initials are definitely the distinguished option—names from T.S. Eliot and P.G. Wodehouse to E.L. James and L. Ron Hubbard have been rolling off tongues and straight into the classical canon (or at least The New York Times‘ best-sellers list) for years. Middle Earth and its hobbits, dwarves, elves, wizards, orcs, and powerful rings have earned Tolkien the title of fifth-highest-paid “dead celebrity,” and it’s about time that the man behind the curtain is revealed. Fox Searchlight is currently developing a Tolkien biopic that will take us through the writer’s academic years at Oxford, his time as a soldier in World War I and a codebreaker in World War II, his personal relationships and private life, and how his life influenced his work. The film, written by screenwriter and Tolkien superfan David Gleeson (Cowboys & Angels, The Front Line), is the latest and most factual of many attempts to capture Tolkien’s own epic life onscreen.
Casting Call runs every Friday. For more, click here.
