During the late 1960s, the Beatles expressed an unusual desire to venture into cinema, but not in the conventional way for a rock band. The quartet intended to produce an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings , where Gollum would be played by John Lennon , Frodo by Paul McCartney , Gandalf by George Harrison , and Sam by Ringo Starr .
It is speculated that the band even considered Stanley Kubrick to direct the film, but the Fab Four's ambitious plans did not receive the approval of the author of the work, JRR Tolkien .
Ironically, the trilogy was adapted for the cinema years later by director Peter Jackson , who was also responsible for directing the new documentary about the Beatles , Get Back . In a recent interview with the BBC , Jackson revealed that he had the opportunity to talk to Paul McCartney about the subject, although the musician said he didn't exactly remember the speculations regarding the director of the project and the roles of each Beatle in the film.
According to the director, the idea came from Denis O'Dell , who was Apple's film producer at the time. O'Dell reportedly gave the books to the band to read, and they were all "seriously considering doing it in early 1968."
According to Peter Jackson, during his conversation with the musician, Paul McCartney considered it a good thing that he hadn't received permission from J.R.R. Tolkien to go ahead with the film. "Paul said, 'I'm glad we didn't do it because it allowed you to do it and I liked your film,' but I told him, 'Well, it's a shame you didn't do it because it would have been a musical,'" says Jackson.
“What would the Beatles have done with the soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings ?” Peter Jackson pondered. “There are about 14 or 15 Beatles songs that would have been incredible to listen to.”
