Actually, I’d be fascinated to see a Tarantino LotR movie, but this was the loathsome Harvey Weinstein trying to convince Peter Jackson to reduce his LotR ambitions to a gutted 2-hour fantasy adventure flick, threatening to bring in Tarantino or someone else instead to make the film.
Weinstein told Jackson he had to make one two-hour film or he would be replaced by Shakespeare in Love director John Madden, or Tarantino. “Harvey was like, ‘you’re either doing this or you’re not. You’re out. And I got Quentin ready to direct it’,” Ken Kamins, a producer who worked for Weinstein on the project, told the author.
Jackson said he got a memo dated 17 June, 1998 from Jack Lechner, the development head of Weinstein’s company Miramax, detailing “a more radical, streamlined approach”, which would allow the story to be told in one film. This would have meant cutting the Helm’s Deep valley, having Eowyn replace Faramir as Boromir’s sister, the Balrog would disappear and Saruman too was on shaky ground, the Stuff website reports. “It was literally guaranteed to disappoint every single person that has read that book,” Jackson told Nathan.
Mercifully, Weinstein was convinced to let Jackson shop the project around, and New Line Cinema jumped on the opportunity.
Kill Bilbo! Weinstein ‘threatened to hire Tarantino’ for Lord of the Rings | Film | The Guardian
"Quenya, motherfucker, do you speak it?"
Yeah, I'd love a Tarantino LotR flick, but in addition to the Peter Jackson ones.
+Andy Brokaw Exactly. I'd love an anthology of major directors riffing off of that source material.
+Bill Garrett "Say 'A Elbereth Gilthoniel' again! Say 'A Elbereth Gilthoniel' again!"