Harvey Weinstein wanted one movie, and almost sacked Peter Jackson over it.
In case you needed another reason to despise Harvey Weinstein, it has now been revealed that he almost prevented 'The Lord of the Rings' film series from happening. Well, it would still have happened, but definitely not as we know it. Can you imagine Quentin Tarantino at the helm instead of Peter Jackson?
Quentin Tarantino at 'The Beguiled' premiere
It would break any film lover's heart to discover that Weinstein cared so little about his potential audience and creating one of the greatest film franchises of all time and so much more about saving money. But he hated the idea of a 'Lord of the Rings' film series so much, that he tried to cut it into one single two-hour movie.
Now that's short even by Tarantino's standards, but that's who Weinstein was ready to enlist as director when he disagreed with Peter Jackson. They were all set to produce two films under Miramax, but when Weinstein told Jackson he had 'wasted' $12 million on developing the scripts, he was about to get Tarantino or John Madden on board instead.
It's all detailed in a new book called 'Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson & The Making of Middle-Earth' by Ian Nathan. 'Harvey was like, 'you're either doing this or you're not. You're out'. And I got Quentin ready to direct it', producer Ken Kamin told the author.
So what would we have lost if Weinstein got his way? For a start, the epic battle of Helms Deep in 'The Two Towers' would never have happened. Plus, Boromir's brother Faramir would not have featured, and Rohan probably wouldn't have existed because he wanted to make Eowyn Boromir's sister.
Furthermore, lines like 'YOU SHALL NOT PASS!' and 'Fly you fools!' would have been eliminated, because Weinstein wanted to remove the Balrog from the plot entirely, and we might not have even had Sauruman - the main corporeal villain of the series.
'It was literally guaranteed to disappoint every single person that has read that book', said Jackson.
Thankfully, Kamin and other producers also hated Weinstein's suggestions and, after getting a deal with New Line, they managed to get the three-film epic that every Tolkien fan deserved at 558 minutes in total (not even including the extended editions) and grossed $3 billion next to a $281 million budget.
More: Quentin Tarantino to direct Manson family movie
Now, Amazon are on board to help produce a TV series of the books, likely incorporating all the missing elements of the films. It will be the most expensive show ever made, but after the success 'Game of Thrones' has seen, producers likely don't have to worry about making the money back.
Quentin Tarantino is a filmmaker who simply can't be ignored, especially when he lobs a...
John Ruth earnt his nickname The Hangman for a good reason, he's one of the...
John Ruth, known by his associates and like-minded peers as The Hangman on account of...
With preparation well underway for his latest Broadway show, director Arnold Albertson (Owen Wilson) heads...
Tarantino takes an unusually comical approach to a provocative topic, and the result is as...
German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz is on the hunt for a brutal gang of...
German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz is on the hunt for a brutal gang of...
American director Roger Corman is one of the film industry's most influential directors. Born in...
There's a zing of postmodern fun to be had while watching a film that documents...
Longtime buddies Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have worked together before (Four Rooms, Sin City),...
Z Channel was one of the first pay cable stations ever. It's "magnificent obsession" was...
In the wake of "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown," film buffs have come...