# The Hunt for Gollum **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882 "2009-04-30T20:15:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/1 "2009-04-30T20:15:19Z")
Imagine a movie treatment of LotR released for free on the internet made by fans, for fans. Imagine it had a high budget, talented actors, and surprisingly good trailers. It’s coming out on May 3: [The Hunt for Gollum](http://www.thehuntforgollum.com/). I am cautiously optimistic. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/2 "2009-04-30T20:30:36Z")
My two immediate reactions… 1. Holy crap! That looks awesome! 2. Wow, it owes a LOT to Jackson’s vision. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/3 "2009-04-30T20:32:55Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > My two immediate reactions… > > 1. Holy crap! That looks awesome! > > 2. Wow, it owes a LOT to Jackson’s vision. Those were my two thoughts exactly. I am impressed with the fidelity shown in the trailers. It also seems pretty logical to stick to Jackson’s vision since the entire Hunt episode is a bridge between two of the films. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/4 "2009-04-30T21:16:50Z")
Wait - how did they get permission from the notoriously tight Tolkien estate? Or is that a dumb question… ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/5 "2009-04-30T21:35:46Z")
The Tolkien estate holds the rights to JRRT’s writings, but he sold the film rights to Lord of the Rings and related characters during his lifetime. The current rights-holder is the Saul Zaentz Company, which has licensed New Line Cinemas to make films. As for permission, rights-holders have been known to look the other way or even cooperate with fan projects that are not made for a profit (see _Star Trek: New Voyages_). ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/6 "2009-04-30T22:35:19Z")
I read on The Register that Tolkein Estates had given permission for it, provided it remained not-for-profit. I’m reasonably sure that I read somewhere reliable that Jackson’s production company had only purchased rights to specific books, not to the whole legendarium. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/7 "2009-04-30T22:48:17Z")
Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/8 "2009-04-30T23:10:40Z")
> [@Cerowyn](#): > > I read on The Register that Tolkein Estates had given permission for it, provided it remained not-for-profit. I’m reasonably sure that I read somewhere reliable that Jackson’s production company had only purchased rights to specific books, not to the whole legendarium. I’m pretty sure that you didn’t read any of that anywhere reliable because Jackson’s production company did not purchase the rights to any books, and no entity called “The Tolkien Estates” (sounds like a low-income British housing development) has anything to do with it. The film rights to “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” (which would include the appendices) belong to the [Saul Zaentz Company](http://www.tolkien-ent.com/index.html), which has licensed them to New Line. “The Hunt for Gollum” is clearly based on material contained in “The Lord of the Rings.” The disclaimer on the promotional Web site reads in part: “The Hunt For Gollum is a non-profit film being made for private use, and is not intended for sales of any sort. No money is being made from this film, and no one was paid to make it. It is in no way affiliated with, or sponsored or approved, by Tolkien Enterprises, the heirs or estate of J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. or any of their repective affiliates or licensees.” ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/9 "2009-05-01T02:05:06Z")
[thehuntforgollum.com](http://thehuntforgollum.com) server is currently timing out, or if not, it takes about 5 minutes for a click to succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/10 "2009-05-01T02:08:04Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > [thehuntforgollum.com](http://thehuntforgollum.com) server is currently timing out, or if not, it takes about 5 minutes for a click to succeed. Have [a You Tube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnMHgwG9aAo) link to the trailer. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/11 "2009-05-01T02:55:53Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Have [a You Tube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnMHgwG9aAo) link to the trailer. Thanks! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/12 "2009-05-01T03:35:58Z")
I wonder if Jackson will loan them the digital files for Gollum? As computers get faster, it is possible that fans could handle animating and rendering a lower polygon count version and donate CPU cycles to rendering. It should be possible as they are probably only going to render at HD quality rather than the 4K or 8K Weta did for the Trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/13 "2009-05-01T06:27:16Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I wonder if Jackson will loan them the digital files for Gollum? I think that would never happen. It’d be a rare situation where something like that might happen. A reasonably decent character modeller should be able to recreate Gollum faithfully, if not exactingly perfectly. Or even make their own version that is similar-but-different in the same ways the actors are similar-but-different to their movie counterparts. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/14 "2009-05-01T13:31:24Z")
Next up: the Scouring! ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/15 "2009-05-01T14:05:40Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I’m pretty sure that you didn’t read any of that anywhere reliable because Jackson’s production company did not purchase the rights to any books, and no entity called “The Tolkien Estates” (sounds like a low-income British housing development) has anything to do with it. According to the principal filmmaker in [an interview with BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8022623.stm): > [@](#): > > **Have you been in contact with the Tolkien family or New Line Cinema?** > > We got in touch with Tolkien Enterprises and reached an understanding with them that as long as we are completely non-profit then we’re okay. We have to be careful not to disrespect their ownership of the intellectual property. They are supportive of the way fans wish to express their enthusiasm. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/16 "2009-05-01T14:29:56Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Next up: the Scouring! Sounds exciting enough, but I’m anxiously awaiting Tom Bombadil Dons His Yellow Boots and Farmer Maggot: How Does Your Mushroom Farm Grow? Trailers forthcoming. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/17 "2009-05-01T15:24:25Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Next up: the Scouring! Wasn’t that on one of the DVDs? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/18 "2009-05-01T15:44:05Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Wasn’t that on one of the DVDs? Sadly no. I have the Extended Edition, and at one point somebody (Sam or Frodo) looks into the Mirror of Galadriel and soon sees orcs pillaging and burning the Shire. They quickly recoil in horror and Galadriel says something like “The Mirror shows not only what is, but also what may be.” ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/19 "2009-05-01T15:55:00Z")
I’m trying to get the chronology straight in my head. This occurs after Bilbo leaves the Shire and before Gandalf tells Frodo to head to Bree? Between sending him to Bree and meeting up again in Rivendell? Both? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882/20 "2009-05-01T16:09:05Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’m trying to get the chronology straight in my head. This occurs after Bilbo leaves the Shire and before Gandalf tells Frodo to head to Bree? Between sending him to Bree and meeting up again in Rivendell? Both? The hunt for Gollum by Aragorn starts in 3001 FA the same year as the Party. The hunt is renewed in 3009. Gollum is captured by Sauron in 3017 February 1, 3018: [Aragorn](http://www.tuckborough.net/aragorn.html) captures [Gollum](http://www.tuckborough.net/gollum.html) in the [Dead Marshes](http://www.tuckborough.net/marshes.html#Dead). All from here: [Tuckborough - The Thain's Book](http://www.tuckborough.net/chronology.html#3018) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-gollum/494882.md?page=2)