3 Famous Directors Who Had a Problem With Lord of the Rings (and Said So)
Everyone loves Lord of the Rings, don't they? After all, it's widely regarded as one of the best film adaptations of literary work ever.
And yet, there are some pretty big names in the film industry who are not fans of the trilogy. And they're not afraid to say why.
In an interview with Vulture in which he spoke about his decision to retire from directing movies, Steven Soderbergh was critical of Peter Jackson's film trilogy.
He described how, in his mind, the black-and-white good vs evil element of Lord of the Rings means "ambiguity is not on the table anymore".
He said that, when audiences first watched his own movie, Contagion, there was frustration with the way that Jude Law portrayed Alan Krumwiede because viewers were unable to determine whether or not he was "an a**hole or a hero".
But the film's producer, Gregory Jacobs said at the time of its release that viewers are supposed to be unsure about him.
Indeed, the uncertainty around the truth of the pandemic and vaccines (sound familiar?) was part of what made the film so engaging.
But Soderbergh has other issues with Lord of the Rings and says the trilogy sparked a fashion for films having "multiple endings" and said audiences now expect this.
While he may not be completely against the use of multiple endings, he did raise concerns that fans no longer like movies that take risks.
Peter Wier is another director who has spoken out on the legacy of the trilogy. He told Cinemablend that the success of Lord of the Rings led to Hollywood's desire for franchises as it showed execs that "there was gold in them thar hills".
And he argues that this was the death knell for smaller movies that were destined never to be blockbusters that made billions.
As an independent filmmaker himself, it's easy to see why he feels this way. Those who make films for the sake of art and not money now find it more difficult to find backers for their work as it's seen as less lucrative.
David Fincher was a touch more subtle in his criticism of Peter Jackson's work. But it still seems pretty obvious that he has reservations about Lord of the Rings.
Speaking to Collider, he said he's not a fan of extended cuts. He described himself as a "final cut editor", saying he sees no need for extended edits as the movie that gets released should be the best version of it.
He went on to say that he's never seen the extended cuts of Lord of the Rings. And you don't really need to read between the lines to work out why.