– and that they have already spent a year working on it.
Peter Jackson discusses for the first time what it’s like to work with Stephen Colbert on his recently announced “Lord of the Rings” film, saying that he has “never met anyone who knows more about Tolkien” than the talk show host.
“He called me a year ago – before he knew his show was going to end – and said, ‘I don’t know if you’re interested, but I have an idea for a Tolkien film based on the books, which I think would be really good,'” Jackson told Variety during the Cannes Film Festival, where the director himself was honored with an honorary Palm d’Or on opening night.
Jackson said he liked Colbert’s idea so much that he put him in touch with his longtime collaborator Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote both the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. Then they worked together for a year on a film script. Colbert even traveled to New Zealand to be closer to the team.
In the midst of this writing process, “The Late Show” was canceled by CBS – the final episode is set for May 21 – a decision Jackson believes neither the show nor Colbert “deserved.” But having such a big project to focus on “after he was fired” is a big advantage, as Jackson sees it.
“I actually think Stephen is very happy – I think it helped him process something that was quite shocking,” he said.
“So it was that one day he was a late-night talk show host, and the next day he became a Tolkien screenwriter.
About the film “The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past”
First announced by Jackson via video at the end of March, Colbert’s new “Lord of the Rings” film will be the sequel to Andy Serkis’ “The Hunt for Gollum.” Currently, it has the working title “The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past”.
The film is written by Colbert, his son Peter McGee and Philippa Boyens. The official description reads:
“Fourteen years after Frodo left Middle-earth, Sam, Merry and Pippin embark on a journey to relive the first steps of their own adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret, and she’s determined to find out why the War of the Ring was almost lost—before it even began.”
This new project marks Colbert’s first attempt at blockbuster film development, but it is not his first collaboration with Jackson. He had a small role in the 2013 film “The Hobbit: The Destruction of the Smauget”. He also directed Jackson, along with “The Lord of the Rings” stars Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood, in the 2019 short film “Darrylgorn,” which is also set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
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