Bonus Episode: The Forge of Friendship

Everyone knows *The Lord of the Rings* and *The Chronicles of Narnia*. Fewer people know the full story of the friendship that helped make both of them possible. In this special bonus episode, Dr. Junius Johnson sits down with Kirk Manton of Eastgate Creative to talk about *The Forge of Friendship*, a five-part documentary series, ten years in the making, telling the story of the relationship between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Dr. Manton walks through how the project began small and grew into a multi-part documentary spanning the two writers’ entire life together, and how, along the way, the project itself became something of a case study in its own subject: it has connected Tolkien fans and Lewis fans, two overlapping but distinct communities, into new friendships of their own. Junius and Kirk also discuss what makes the Lewis-Tolkien friendship worth telling in this much depth, why Eastgate Creative chose to build this project as a donor-funded nonprofit rather than a traditional investor-backed production, and what’s still ahead as the documentary moves through post-production toward release. This is a great listen for anyone who loves Tolkien, Lewis, or the Inklings — and a chance to support a project built entirely on donations from people who believe this story is worth telling well. Support the Project Eastgate Creative has funded this documentary entirely through donations — no investors, no profit distributions. Every dollar goes straight into finishing the production and funding the next generation of Christian filmmakers. \* **Watch the trailer & learn more:** eastgatecreative.org \* **Sign up for updates:** Join the Eastgate Creative newsletter \* **Donate directly:** Support The Forge of Friendship This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theclassicalmind.com/subscribe