Читать книгу An A-Z of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit - Sarah Oliver - Страница 33

Guillermo del Toro read all of Tolkien’s books on Middle-earth to prepare for writing and directing The Hobbit.

Although The Hobbit was written for children, both Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson believed that The Hobbit movies could be darker. During a live chat in 2008, Peter confessed to fans: ‘I personally feel that The Hobbit can, and should have a different tone. The “tone” of these stories shouldn’t be defined by the pressure our characters were under in LOTR – the world is a different place at the time of The Hobbit; the shadow is not so dark. However, what should stay the same is the reality of Middle-earth and the integrity we bring to it as filmmakers.’

Across the years, The Hobbit has been translated into over 50 languages, but more translations are being done even today. In May 2011, The Hobbit was published in the Irish language, much to the delight of fans. Irish Gaelic is a minority language but many classic books have been translated into it over time. When the Harry Potter books were launched in Irish Gaelic they proved to be a big hit but experts predicted that An Hobad (The Hobbit) would be the best-selling Irish language book ever. Fans are hoping The Lord of the Rings books will be next to be translated.

The book’s launch was held at An Siopa Leabhar (The Book Shop) in Dublin and the experts who had the task of translating it, Professor Nicholas Williams and publisher Michael Everson, were on hand to answer questions.