Exploring Tolkien’s world
About this Event
Tolkien often claimed that he did not so much invent his world as explore it, describing his creative process as a discovery of “what really happened”. The same approach guides the work of “other minds and hands” now extending Tolkien’s world, carrying that exploration forward through new artistic languages. While this process inevitably creates something new, it does so by researching and developing seeds, hints, and ideas already present in Tolkien’s work, scattered throughout his letters and posthumously published writings. This conversation will explore this kind of creative research, also focusing on the work behind the forthcoming filmThe Hunt for Gollum. It will also ask why this approach to storytelling matters – and why it feels especially relevant today.
Venue: 260-051 OGGB5 Lecture Theatre
Philippa Boyens MNZM is an award-winning New Zealand writer and producer (and UoA alumna) who has co-written several films derived from Tolkien’s work, including the Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy, as well as many others (King Kong, The Lovely Bones, etc.). She is co-writing and co-producing the forthcoming film The Hunt for Gollum. Giuseppe Pezzini is Professor of Latin Language and Literature at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. His main area of research is early Latin literature (3rd – 1st c. BCE). However, his interests also extend well beyond the ancient world, most notably modern English literature and its classical ancestry. This includes a monograph on Tolkien’s theory of imagination (CUP 2025). He is in Aotearoa to work on the forthcoming film The Hunt for Gollum.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
NZD 0.00
