Fan Dance: [Editorial introduction]

[page 27] _Professor J.R.R. Tolkien, Oxford._ // Thank you very much for the two copies of TRIODE. I was very pleased to hear of the pleasure my book has given you. I think I agree with you in the matter of making a film out of the story. There have been some serious negotiations with regard to this, but my experience with scripts and "story-line" has warned me that only an overwhelming financial reward could possibly compensate an author for the horrors @of@ of the conversion of such a tale into film. Even when the pictorial part is very good. Fortunately my publishers and I retain a legal hold in this matter and nothing can be done without our approval in detail. I am myself a member of the amorphous body of "fandom": but I am afraid I do not often come across anything nowadays that seems very readable. // This last sentence refers to a brief outline I gave of fandom in my letter 'explaining' the two copies of TRIODE. Personally, I'm somewhat relieved that there _is_ no current possibility of a film actually being made of the Trilogy...I'm still very much in favour of kicking the idea around, though. Incidentally, if there's any other fan-ed who is intending to publish material on or about the Tolkien Books, I think the author would be quite pleased to have a copy and I'll be pleased to provide address, or forward. The next letter is from another of my favourite authors, who has been @m@ kind enough to rise to Harry Warner's comments of the Fortean scheme of thing in the last issue...........................turn page...