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I think if Tolkien was still alive, PJ would have flown out to England, discussed his ideas with him, showed him the Alan lee and John Howe designs and invtied him to be involved. He might, perhaps, have explained why some things had to be changed. Probably he would have been upset about the removal of the Scouring of the Shire, but given how much else was true to the spirit of the book, and how passionate about the novel everyone was, he might have been gracious about it. Given that he had sold the rights, he would probably have heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the finished product. I read the Letters and from what I recall, he was actually quite excited about the initial concept, till he saw what the American studio was going to do with it. And I don't blame him! It was horrific.
Given that they did leave out the Scouring, BTW, I found the ending they did have, with that scene in the pub, rather touching - here are the four who have saved the world and no one at home knows or cares - in the spirit of the hobbits realising just how much the Rangers had done for them without ever letting them know. And the last scene was out of the novel, wasn't it? "Well, I'm home."
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