Bakshi approached United Artists when he learned (from a 1974 issue of "Variety") that Boorman's script was abandoned. Learning that Boorman intended to produce all three parts of "The Lord of the Rings" as a single film, Bakshi commented, "I thought that was madness, certainly a lack of character on Boorman's part. Why would you want to tamper with anything Tolkien did?" Bakshi began making a "yearly trek" to United Artists. Bakshi had since achieved box office success producing adult-oriented animated films such as "Fritz the Cat" but his recent film, "Coonskin", tanked, and he later clarified that he thought "The Lord of the Rings" could "make some money" so as to save his studio.