[davem]

Adam Tolkien is not opposed to movies of his grandfather's works:

Alejandro Serrano: They say many things about a film (or two) based on The Hobbit. ¿this things are good for the books (many people could read them for the first time if they do a film, as happened with The Lord of the Rings) or they are damaging them?


Adam Tolkien: I would have to say that it will depend on the film! http://www.fantasymundo.com/articulo.php?articulo=439

And he can even joke about his father's opposition:

(It [CoH]might be compared to a sort of literary Director's Cut, the long version of the story assembled from all the best footage available, though my father probably wouldn't welcome the filmmaking comparison!) http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000074611

And the publisher hasn't ruled out the possibility of selling the CoH rights.

"We all want this first and foremost to enjoy life as a book," said Brawn. "No one's saying never to a film (but) the film rights are reserved by the estate. We want to see what reaction it gets and then let it run its course." David Brawn, Director at Harper Collins

All of which proves precisely nothing. What we do know is that CT was annoyed by the Jackson movies & is unlikely to sell any further rights, but that Adam seems less antagonistic - he is perfectly prepared to wait & see how the Hobbit movies turn out.

My own feeling is that a decision on what happens to the movie rights may depend far more on what we see in 2010/11 than many think. If the movies are respectful & Jackson can avoid his worst excesses then maybe movie makers may have access to more than the synopsis in Appendix A.