The Saul Zaentz Company is frequently in the news for their litigious protection of the rights they acquire. But without those acquisitions we would not have the film world adaptations of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings created for us by Rankin/Bass, Ralph Bakshi, or Peter Jackson.
“He was an extraordinary man,” Paul Zaentz, nephew of Saul Zaentz said, “He had a lot of guts, a lot of integrity.”
Saul Zaentz died January 3. He was 92.
Tolkien fans and nerds the world-over owe Mr. Zaentz a debt of gratitude for believing the world of Tolkien should be brought to life.
I sense some irony that he passed away on Tolkien’s birthday.
That’s just what I was thinking, John. R.I.P. Mr. Zaentz.
🙂