1977 TOLKIEN LORD OF THE RINGS - FIRST EVER SCREENPLAY HAND EDITED a BAKSHI FILM

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LORD OF THE RINGS. ORIGINAL EARLY WORKING SCREENPLAY, by PETER S. BEAGLE and CHRIS CONKLING. COPY of JOHN WHITMAN, with his SIGNATURE and ANNOTATIONS throughout. Gray vinyl covers, unprinted and untitled, bound with metal clasps. Inner pages are mimeographed typed carbons, 8.5” x 11”, 193 pages, sections are tabbed at the page edges (though some tabs have dropped off). The title page has the signature of JOHN WHITMAN at the top. The printed date on the title page of May 3, 1977 is crossed out and in its stead Whitman wrote “As Edited May 24, 1977”. This copy is HEAVILY ANNOTATED BY WHITMAN in Pencil, and Black and Red Inks, on at least 93 pages. Many of the marks are bold DELETIONS, sometimes considerable. This is an early work (script editing) by John Whitman. Whitman would go on to write many FILM NOVELIZATION BOOKS, including THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1997); MASK OF ZORRO (1998); PLANET OF THE APES; and a Series of Novels for Young Readers based on the STAR WARS films. This Script is the Screenplay for the FIRST SCREEN VERSION of TOLKIEN’S LORD OF THE RINGS. It was an ANIMATED Film DIRECTED by RALPH BAKSHI and has become a Perennial Classic. The film was entirely rotoscoped (actors were filmed and animation was drawn from the frames), ran 132 minutes, was produced by Saul Zaentz, and was released in 1978. The BAKSHI film of LORD OF THE RINGS was credited by PETER JACKSON to have been his inspiration for reading Tolkien’s works and eventually making his film trilogy. The Screenplay is in VERY GOOD condition, “LORD OF THE RINGS” is written by hand on the spine page edges, the pages are lightly age toned, there are a few edge creases, small spots, and light smudges here and there, overall the pages are tight, bright and clean, and all the annotations are clear and bold. An amazing working copy of this important screenplay. About Ralph Bakshi’s LORD OF THE RINGS (from Wikipedia): ******J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It contains both animation and live action footage which is rotoscoped to give it a more consistent look throughout the length of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of the high fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings (1954–55) by English novelist J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the film follows a group of hobbits, elves, men, dwarves, and wizards who form a fellowship. They embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring made by the Dark Lord Sauron, and ensure his destruction. The film features the voices of William Squire, John Hurt, Michael Graham Cox, and Anthony Daniels of Star Wars fame. The screenplay was written by Peter S. Beagle, based on an earlier draft by Chris Conkling. Director Ralph Bakshi encountered Tolkien's writing early in his career, and had made several attempts to produce The Lord of the Rings as an animated film before being given funding by producer Saul Zaentz and distributor United Artists. The film is notable for its extensive use of rotoscoping, a technique in which scenes are first shot in live-action, then traced onto animation cels. Although the film was a financial success, it received a mixed reaction from critics. There was no sequel covering the remainder of the story. Nonetheless, the film was an influence on Peter Jackson, who details his debt in the 'extras' of the Fellowship of the Ring DVD.****** Free Shipping within the U.S. only. International Bidders please check Shipping Details. Check out my other items ! read more

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