Date: 22nd June 2001

Original Lord Of The Rings Film-Maker Damns Big Screen Remake


The director of the animated version of LORD OF THE RINGS holds out no hope for the new big screen version - because author TOLKIEN's words just can't be translated into movie-speak.

RALPH BAKASHI directed an animated version of JRR Tolkien's books in 1978. He was criticised at the time for cutting out certain characters and not taking the film to the end of Tolkien's third book THE RETURN OF THE KING - and now he, in turn, is criticising the latest attempt to dramatise the texts.

Bakashi reckons director PETER JACKSON just won't be able to transfer what the legendary author wrote to the big screen for the forthcoming Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

He insists, "I think it's impossible to do Tolkien. It's impossible to get the brilliance of what he wrote about. Film has to describe and show. "

But the cartoon-maker readily admits he wasn't up to the task either, shrugging, "Let me be the first to say that I probably made two billion mistakes. I'm the first to admit that I can't be as good as Tolkien, and a movie can never be as good as Tolkien. All I ever told the fans, I think then, was that I was going to give it the best shot I had. "

He adds, "As far as everything in the book goes, I can't do it, and this next guy's not going to do it. You can't do it even in a million movies. " The first part of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001), will be released in Britain in December (01). (KW/WNWCAN/KMW)

Source: WENN