Nicholas Hoult Plays J.R.R. Tolkien in Biopic
Posted on May 6, 2019
Nicholaus Hoult stars as J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings) in the upcoming biopic, Tolkien. The film explores Tolkien's relationships with friends and colleagues as well as the impact World War I had on his life and work.
Tolkien also follows the author's romantic relationship with his future wife, Edith Mary Tolkien. She is played by actress Lily Collins. Tolkien experiencing the horrors of war are portrayed on the big screen with visual connections to dark forces from his fantasy novels, including Smaug, the dragon from The Hobbit.
This is the film's description from Fox Searchlight:
Tolkien explores the formative years of the renowned author’s life as he finds friendship, courage and inspiration among a fellow group of writers and artists at school. Their brotherhood strengthens as they grow up and weather love and loss together, including Tolkien’s tumultuous courtship of his beloved Edith Bratt, until the outbreak of the First World War which threatens to tear their fellowship apart. All of these experiences would later inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-earth novels.
The Tolkien Estate has made it clear that they are not keen on the film being made and want nothing to do with it.
The Estate made the following statement to People: "The family of J.R.R. Tolkien and the Tolkien Estate are aware of the Fox Searchlight motion picture entitled Tolkien that is due for release in May 2019. The family and the Estate wish to make clear that they did not approve of, authorize, or participate in the making of the film. They do not endorse it or its content in any way."
This is not the first time the Estate lashed out against a film or book the author's life. The complaint about the film was not unexpected. It is true that biopics sometimes twist the facts to make the movie more interesting or fit more perfectly with the script.
Tolkien is directed by Dome Karukoski based on a screenplay by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford. It arrives in theaters on May 10, 2019.