In December, kings of the mockbuster The Asylum are bringing out a direct-to-DVD instant classic called Age Of The Hobbits, starring Stargate's Christopher Judge and B-movie hottie Bai Ling.
The plot, according to The Asylum's website:
"In an age long ago, the last village of clever, peace-loving Hobbits is attacked and enslaved by the Java Men, komodo-worshiping, dragon-riding cannibals. Now the young Hobbit Goben, along with his father and sister, must seek help from the "giants" (human hunters) to find the Javas' lair and rescue the last surviving Hobbits, Goben's mother among them. In their quest to destroy the Javas, the heroic partnership of humans and Hobbits will transform both species forever."Age Of The Hobbits is due to premiere on VOD/DVD on December 11.
By sheer coincidence, there's some small film called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opening at cinemas on December 14. What are the chances of that, eh?
I can't help but wonder what the Tolkien estate have to say - if anything - about this? Isn't "hobbit" their IP? I have no grasp whatsoever of the intricacies of copyright law, but isn't that why "hobbit" was quickly excised from early editions of Dungeons & Dragons and replaced with "halfling"?
It looks to me from the synopsis that they're basing this on the discovery of Homo floresiensis; since the media latched on to the "hobbit" nickname in that case, I'd imagine that The Asylum believe they have grounds to use it, since they're not referring to fantasy halflings as such.
ReplyDeleteThat was my suspicion too.
DeleteAccording to a user-generated content site on the internet, "Hobbit" as a word predates Tolkien's The Hobbit. Apparently it was on a list of fairy tale creatures in the 19th century and apparently there was a 1904 poem entitled The Hobbit. So, I suppose the word can be used as long as it isn't referring to a mythical race of furry-footed, second-breakfast eating, dwarf-associating, ring-bearing creatures-they are probably in the same gray area that has let countless RPGs get away with 'halflings' for over 35 years.
ReplyDeleteWell, I never. I always thought "hobbit" was JRRT's creation (I know he didn't invent elves, dwarves, orcs etc - just his particular interpretation of them)
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