Tolkien family duck Lord of the Rings films

By LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK and NZPA

New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings project will force J. R. R. Tolkien's family into hiding from deranged fans, the son of the late author claims.

Father John Tolkien, a retired Catholic priest, told a British newspaper that the family were already constantly harassed by fans of the epic trilogy, upon which the three movies are based.

Interest inspired by the $US260 million ($NZ590 million) New Zealand-shot films would mean that people bearing Tolkien's surname would now have to disguise their origins, he said.

"The Tolkien family is under perpetual abuse of one kind or another," Father Tolkien, aged 83, told the Sunday Telegraph.

He said he was expecting "endless bother" when the first film came out.

The Fellowship of the Ring - the first part of the trilogy - is due on screen this year.

Father Tolkien said his brother Christopher was already in hiding.

"Christopher, who acts as literary editor for the Tolkien estate, doesn't live in England any more, and when he comes to England he doesn't use his own name," Father Tolkien said.

"Christopher lives in France and has had some trouble recently with people trying to get at him.

"He keeps a wild boar in his garden, which is a little bit dangerous, but they are useful when people become a nuisance."

Many of those harassing the family were "people wanting money," he said. Others were obsessed fans wanting to catch a glimpse of their idol's relatives.

The outburst has fuelled industry speculation of a rift between the Tolkien family and New Line Cinema, which is making the films, starring Sir Ian McKellen, Sean Bean, Sir Ian Holm and Cate Blanchett.

Peter Jackson could not be contacted and New Line declined to comment.

Tolkien's family have not owned the film rights to The Lord of the Rings since 1960, so New Line has no legal obligation to consult them.

Members of the Tolkien estate have refused to be involved with the project, which has created excitement among film buffs, but have not said why they are shunning it.

Tolkien himself was opposed to the commercialisation of his work.

Richard Crawshaw of The Tolkien Society, a registered charity that promotes and protects the author's work, said the Tolkien family were definitely not "on board" with the film project.

"The general view," he said, "is there is not a need for it as it is a book of words and was not created for dramatic presentation."

Herald Online feature: Lord of the Rings