The Studio Behind Lord Of The Rings Just Shut Down A 15 Year Old Fan Film
Update: "The Hunt for Gollum" is now live again on YouTube. In a statement accompanying the restoration, the filmmakers wrote:
"We're back, thanks to [Warner Bros.] for being so understanding to us as fans and artists. We're very positive and excited for what the new movie will be ... Meanwhile glad people can watch this, our low-budget effort at the story."
Original article follows.
Middle-earth is back in full force, with more stories set in Tolkien's world at the same time than ever before. We have the upcoming "Rings of Power" season 2 (which may give us Tom Bombadil), but also the upcoming animated "War of the Rohirrim" feature giving us the previously untold story in the Legendarium. Now, we can add another title to the list: "The Hunt for Gollum," a new "Lord of the Rings" movie from Warner Bros. that has Andy Serkis directing and Peter Jackson producing. (Curiously, though, Jackson is not involved in any of the other projects listed here.)
The story of "The Hunt for Gollum" is not a terribly exciting tale that needs the big screen treatment. It deals with Gandalf asking Aragorn to hunt for Gollum and find out more about his ring, with the creature escaping and traveling across Middle-earth. The hunt takes place across 50 days and 900 miles until they reach the prisons of elven king Thranduil. It is a rather small chapter in "The Fellowship of the Ring," set in the 17 years between Bilbo's birthday and Frodo leaving The Shire, and not a particularly thrilling story to tell in a feature film format. It is, however, good enough for a short film! This is exactly what British fans thought in 2009 when they produced and released a 39-minute fan film also titled "The Hunt for Gollum."
For 15 years, the fan film has been online for everyone to watch, accumulating 13 million views. Unfortunately, it seems the executives at Warner Bros. Discovery did not find it funny that their big announcement got a bit undercut by having the same title as a 15-year-old fan film, which is why they just shut the film down with a copyright strike.
The Hunt for Gollum's legal standing
Here's what U.S. copyright law saws about the case for the "Hunt for Gollum" fan film. The courts looks at how the party claims fair use (the makers of the fan film) and are more likely to consider "noncommercial uses" as fair. Also likely to be considered fair are works that "add something new, with a further purpose or different character, and do not substitute for the original use of the work." Given that the fan film tells an entirely new story not in the original "Lord of the Rings" films, is not for profit, and does not try to substitute the original story, it falls within fair use. The only excuse here is that the upcoming "Hunt for Gollum" feature film may touch on the same story. Still, why go after a 15-year-old fan film at all?
The "Hunt for Gollum" fan film even opens with a disclaimer saying it is not for profit and unaffiliated with WBD. Director Chris Bouchard told the BBC back in 2009 that they "reached an understanding" with Tolkien Enterprises that the film would be okay if it remained non-profit.
It is easy to be skeptical of this move by Warner Bros. Discovery, and to think that at least some part of this is not due to fear of spoilers (since it is based on a decades-old book), but that the concept barely works in a short runtime, and is not that apt for a feature-length format. /Film will bring you more on this story as it develops.