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Why the Lord of the Rings almost never got made

How do you turn an unfilmable book, beloved of millions of fans, set in another world inhabited by strange, mythical creatures, into one of the most successful and loved adaptations ever? Find yourself a young director with a lot of nerve - Peter Jackson - and let him loose. The job of turning J.R.R.Tolkien's novel, The Lord Of The Rings into an elaborate, no-holds barred, fantastically believable and enchanting piece of cinema makes for a fabulous story of its own. Paul Gambaccini tells the story.

First broadcast on And the Academy Award Goes To..., 16 February 2019.

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Duration:

8 minutes

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