tolkien

The 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy has raked in billions for others, but for the heirs of beloved author and creator J.R.R. Tolkien, nothing.

"Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne." And not one ducat for the guy who created it all. Stinks.

A rare first edition of Tolkien's The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, has sold at auction for £60,000 [$120,000 Cdn]. The copy, inscribed by the author with a message of thanks to his friend Elaine Griffiths, who helped the author see the work into print, went to an anonymous telephone bidder.

LOTR fans are hysterical at the news that Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has signed up to produce two films based on The Hobbit. They’re expected to go into production in 2009.

Three quarters of a million voters deemed The Lord of the Rings the UK’s best-loved work. Harry Potter was a contender at number five, but it was heartening to see some beloved classics make the top twenty.

When the shops opened in London yesterday, Marcus Harrison and Richard Hayward achieved something special in the annals of fandom. Not for them the camaraderie of camping out for concert tickets, a Playstation or the latest Harry Potter. They had endured a night vigil for a new book by an author who died 34 years ago: J.R.R. Tolkien.
Mad as badgers, obviously...

Started in 1918...then his son worked on it for 30 years - now apparently it's finished.