Fictionalized stories about famous people certainly aren’t new — in fact, next year we’ll see Abraham Lincoln kill vampires and Edgar Allan Poe hunt a serial killer on the big screen.
And while the beloved work of fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien continues to be adapted by Peter Jackson, the prominent writer’s life is getting its own “re-imagining” in MIRKWOOD.
Steve Hillard’s recent book (named after the Middle Earth forests) transforms Tolkien into “a man haunted by the very myths he rewove into his famous works. As much literary criticism as boisterous epic, this episodically-driven plot explores the blurred borderlands where ancient tales, lost heroines, and epic journeys are stalked by dim monsters that will not be still. In 1970, Professor Tolkien makes a little-known visit to America-and sets in motion elvish powers embodied in a cache of archaic documents. Destinies are altered, legends become real, and two heroines must race for their lives in vastly different worlds.“
Hillard (who, unsurprisingly, was required to use the disclaimer “This is a work of fiction which is neither endorsed nor connected with The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate or its publisher”) is now planning a feature film adaptation of his novel. Hillard tells Heat Vision that the movie will “delve considerably deeper into Tolkien’s little-known back story, such as his original plans to become a codebreaker in World War II up through the writing of his enduring works.” The project will be developed with EMO Films.
Meanwhile, the genuine Tolkien’s work and his depiction of Mirkwood hits screens on December 14, 2012 in THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY.
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