OREANDA-NEWS. The members of the family of the famous British writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien stated that they had never approved and did not give permission to create a film about the author of world-known fantasy novels “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”. The heirs of the writer noted that they did not participate in the creation of the picture and also said that they did not support the film itself and its content.

The estate and family of Tolkien issued a short statement in which they declared their “wish to make clear that they did not approve of, authorise or participate in the making of this film”, and that “they do not endorse it or its content in any way”. A spokesman for the estate told that the statement was issued to make its position clear, rather than heralding future legal action.

The biopic film was directed by Dome Karukoski (“Heart of a Lion”). It tells about Tolkien’s life, his school years and military service during the First World War. The lead role was performed by  Nicholas Hoult (“X-Men”, “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Collide”), Lily Collins played a part of Tolkien’s wife Edith. The movie is to be released in cinemas on May 3.

Earlier Tolkien’s estate protected his heritage repeatedly. In 2009, his heirs settled a lawsuit over royalties from trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” by Peter Jackson. In 2011, the estate went to court over a novel called “Mirkwood: A Novel about JRR Tolkien”.

In 2017 the estate sold rights to a “Lord of the Rings” TV series to “Amazon” company for 250 million dollars.