Believe it or not, there was a time when The Beatles wanted to star in a live-action adaptation of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, with Stanley Kubrick to direct. The cast would be Paul McCartney as Frodo Baggins, Ringo Starr as Sam Gamgee (both as hobbits), George Harrison as the wizard Gandalf, and John Lennon as the creature Gollum, but either Kubrick wasn’t on board for it or Tolkien killed it (it’s unclear which).
Obviously, that would have been an interesting project that unfortunately we’ll never get to see. But artist Shane Parker has decided to give us his depiction of what the Beatles in the LoTR could have looked like with his Abbey Road-LoTR mash-up “Moria Road.”
Parker’s take is slightly different than what the Beatles themselves has envisioned. While McCartney is still Frodo, Harrison is the elf Legolas, Starr is the ranger Aragon, and Lennon is wizard Gandalf (it looks like the Gandalf the White version of the character, though with the gray staff). In the image, the gang is walking single-file along an aged zebra-crossing road like the group did for their 1969 classic album Abbey Road. While McCartney was holding a cigarette on the album’s photo, in Parker’s version of his as Frodo, he’s holding the One Ring.
The image was one of the submissions in Super Punch’s art contest, where entrants were asked to create movie posters, concept art, custom toys, or any other work of art for “Stanley Kubrick’s Lord of the Rings, starring The Beatles.”
[Source: Zero Lives via Super Punch]
The more I see of these “geek art” designs (shirts, posters, prints, etc), the less interesting and unique they become. The Cantina Walk was ok. This one just eh.
Comment by Paul — December 30, 2010 @ 8:56 am
@Paul
Aww, really? I totally LOVE this Beatles mash-up. Plus, this one was done for a contest where the artist had to do artwork for a LoTR/Beatles movies that almost was.
Comment by Empress Eve — December 30, 2010 @ 11:07 am
I’d rather think of the ultimate film version of a classic with a Beatles version of “Alice in Wonderland” with the cast as featured below! Although this intended “Rings” version would have been a treat for the senses!
Mary Alice in Appleland
Cast:
Mary Alice: Mary Hopkin
Mad Hatter: John Lennon
White Rabbit: Paul McCartney
March Hare: George Harrison
Door Mouse: Ringo Starr
The White Queen: Yoko Ono
The Red Queen: Allan Klein
Comment by One Virgin — December 30, 2010 @ 11:28 am
I feel like anyone who ever caused these “artists” pain at any time during their lives should be celebrated.
Comment by Du-Grey — December 31, 2010 @ 1:09 pm
@Empress Eve
Yeah, I’m sorry. =( I really *want* to like this stuff but honestly, how many times can the Abbey Road cover suffer being mashed up before it isn’t clever anymore? I feel like we’re at that point. Darth Vader as Cobra Commander (welcome to the Dark Sssside) was pretty good. The Mondo prints are neat, as was the the Darth Vader architecture and some of the Star Wars Steampunk items but Abbey Road? I feel like it’s been done too many times already. That’s all I’m saying. Not that it’s “bad” but that it’s becoming less and less interesting because the uniqueness is gone.
Comment by Paul — December 31, 2010 @ 7:22 pm