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New biopic will center on 'Lord of the Rings' author J.R.R. Tolkien

The news of the J.R.R. Tolkien biopic comes as the second 'Hobbit' film, 'The Desolation of Smaug,' is set to come to theaters in a few weeks.

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Reuters
Both the 'Hobbit' and the 'Lord of the Rings' films star Ian McKellan.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Films based on author J.R.R. Tolkien’s best-known works, the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the novel “The Hobbit,” have been dominating at the box office for more than a decade.

And now a movie will center on the author himself.

The movie will come from Fox Searchlight and writer David Gleeson, described by the Los Angeles Times as “a Tolkien superfan and scholar of sorts about the Middle-earth creator” and who wrote and directed the 2003 film “Cowboys and Angels,” is penning the script. 

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second of a planned trilogy based around Tolkien’s novel, is coming to theaters on Dec. 13. While the first installment in the series, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” received tepid reviews, the movie grossed more than $300 million domestically. The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy was a critical and financial success and the third film in the series, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” won the Best Picture Academy Award.

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