Amazon's THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (2022) 5 5

[Bosco685]

‘Lord of the Rings’: Amazon, Warner Bros. in Talks for Series Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)

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Warner Bros. Television and the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien are in talks with Amazon Studios to develop a series based on the late author’s “The Lord of the Rings” novels. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is said by sources with knowledge of the situation to be personally involved in the negotiations, which are still in very early stages. No deal has been set.

 

The studio and the Tolkien estate have been shopping a series based on the classic fantasy novels and their assortment of hobbits, wizards, and warriors, sparking a competitive situation from which Amazon has emerged as the front-runner. Representatives for Amazon and Warner Bros. declined to comment.

 

It is uncommon for Bezos — known to be a fan of high fantasy and science fiction — to involve himself personally in deal-making for Amazon Studios. But talks for “The Lord of the Rings” come at an uncommon moment for the e-commerce giant’s video-entertainment division. Last month Amazon Studios flushed its executive ranks, with president Roy Price, head of scripted Joe Lewis, and head of unscripted Conrad Riggs all departing. Price’s departure came just days after he was suspended on the heels of a sexual harassment allegation made against him by a producer on the company’s original series “The Man in the High Castle.” Lewis and Riggs’ departures followed a week later.

As much as I love the book series and the Peter Jackson movies, this could be interesting.

[kimik]

Very cool if they go forward with it. I would love to see them start at the beginning with the mythology/history of Middle Earth in the Silmarillion and go forward from there.

[ThothAmon]

[Buzzetta]

I think it would only be interesting if it were an anthology series.  However, the six Jackson movies are too fresh and too well regarded to tackle the source material again.  Imagine at this point Amazon, trying to put any other actor besides Ian McKellen into the role of Gandolph.  The last movie came out in December of 2014.  This might be too soon unless they do a "Tales from Middle Earth" type series... or create episodes set between certain movies and can somehow draw in some of the original actors... 

 

Then we could see some Rogue One type story set between the films.  That would be wonderful. 

[N e r V]

1 hour ago, Buzzetta said:

I think it would only be interesting if it were an anthology series.  However, the six Jackson movies are too fresh and too well regarded to tackle the source material again.  Imagine at this point Amazon, trying to put any other actor besides Ian McKellen into the role of Gandolph.  The last movie came out in December of 2014.  This might be too soon unless they do a "Tales from Middle Earth" type series... or create episodes set between certain movies and can somehow draw in some of the original actors... 

 

Then we could see some Rogue One type story set between the films.  That would be wonderful. 

If they cast him well it shouldn’t be a problem. We’ve seen any number of iconic characters cast shortly after in movies by another actor without to much fanfare (pick any number of superhero movies in the past decades). People always have their favourite actors in roles but usually not to the point of being a reason to stop another actor succeeding in a role. I’ve heard the same comments recently about when they finally recast the Wolverine.

 

Either way I’ve always thought that that doing some more of the series on TV was a good idea. LOTR movies are about 15 years old now and the last round of Hobbit movies although good international hits saw their grosses drop lower with each movie and were well below the LOTR movies considering ticket prices 15 years ago. 

Time to give the series a chance on the small screen now. Who knows it might be the next Game of Thrones for TV if done right. With Netflix going strong with new material others like Amazon are going to need to step up their game with productions and what better work to try than this if they want a piece of the new pie in the TV/mobile device viewing era?

[shadroch]

Two words- Túrin Turambar.

Nuff Said.

[RedRaven]

Really shocked at this. Delighted but shocked. I wonder how involved Christopher Tolkien is with these negotiations? Who is representing the Tolkien estate?

[RedRaven]

The more I think about this, the less hope I have. Based on Christopher Tolkien's past statements I find it hard to believe the estate is shopping content from the Silmarillion or the histories. I predict this comes to naught, but I hope I am wrong.

[Bosco685]

LORD OF THE RINGS TV Series Officially A Go At Amazon; Will Adapt Previously Unexplored Tolkien Stories

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We recently brought you news of a potential Lord of The Rings TV show, and it's now been confirmed that the series has landed a multi-season commitment at Amazon.

The show will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, and is expected to "dwarf any TV series to date."

Fans of Peter Jackson's epic movie trilogy should be happy to hear that Tolkien's LOTRnovels won't be re-adapted here, as the series will focus on tales from Middle Earth that precede The Fellowship of the Ring. So yes, The Silmarillion is definitely a possibility.

Here's the press release in full:
 

“‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, head of Scripted Series, Amazon Studios. “We are honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be takingThe Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.”

“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for ‘The Lord of the Rings,'” added Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins. “Sharon and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”

 

[Bosco685]

So it is sounding like they are going after the stories not produced before, like Farmer Giles from Ham.

 

[Bosco685]

Ian McKellen Has The Perfect Actor In Mind To Play Gandalf In Amazon's LORD OF THE RINGS Show: Himself!

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Sir Ian McKellen apparently isn't done playing the legendary wizard Gandalf quite yet. With a new Lord of the Rings television series in production at Amazon, McKellen, who appeared on Graham Norton's BBC Radio 2 show, was asked if it was going to be annoying to have another Gandalf around.

The Academy Award-nominated star made it quite clear that there is only one Gandalf.

“What do you mean, another Gandalf?” he responded. “I haven’t said yes because I haven’t been asked. But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it? Gandalf is over 7000 years old, so I’m not too old.”

 

[RedRaven]

Outstanding news! I hope this means the Silmarillion will be tackled as I don't know what else you would use for content being that the appendices are so disjointed (not that the Silmarillion doesn't present its own set of difficulties). Cant wait to hear some concrete details about the plans. As an aside, thank you Bosco for the work you do maintaining these topics. 

 

BTW: As much as I loved Ian Mckellen in LOTR I found him depressingly old in the Hobbit and would not wish to see him take up the role again. New blood.

Edited December 17, 2017 by RedRaven

[RedRaven]

What would depress me: The deal licenses Tolkien characters for use in original content developed by Amazon. I have no interest in seeing fan-fiction no matter how well produced.

[Bosco685]

2 hours ago, RedRaven said:

As an aside, thank you Bosco for the work you do maintaining these topics.

Thank you. I try.

[PunisherPunisherPunisher]

Fingers crossed they get it right

[Bosco685]

Amazon’s Upcoming LORD OF THE RINGS Television Series Is Said To Have A Budget Of Over $500 Million

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It's unclear whether this series will yet again adapt those eponymous novels, with some early reports indicating it will be set long before both Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, instead dealing with the extensive and storied history of Tolkien's world.

Whatever the case, the announcement raised eyebrows specifically in terms of just how the fantasy universe could possibly be represented on the small screen by a streaming service. Well according to Reuters, the show will have a budget of upwards of $500 million over a two season deal.

This is some serious money, and shows that the service means business. Especially when you consider that Peter Jackson's trilogy of films, unadjusted for inflation cost $281 million to make and Amazon's other prestige show The Man in the High Castle only cost an approximate $72 million and $107 million, for its first and second seasons respectively.

 

[porcupine48]

Pre LOTR?Oh,man,Silmarillion was SOoOooooO boring.

[Senormac]

I'd love to see them just take the premise of Hobbiton, and The Shire and write some tales about the goings on of hobbits and the hobbit world.  It could be great.  It could be the exact opposite of all these over the top cgi monsters and explosions and car chases..... and just be some good person to person talking...... with a pub involved !!  Please someone do this.  I'll write some stories for you !!!  

The greatest shows in tv history are about nothing more than people communicating with each other 

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Senormac

[fastballspecial]

I would go early. Cover the Lonely Mountain story. Or the original war that men/dwarves/elves almost lost.

Or the creation of the ring itself. Stay away from anything we have already have seen. Start from earlier
and work your way up.

 

[Senormac]

3 hours ago, Chip Cataldo said:

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 9:50 PM, Senormac said:

I'd love to see them just take the premise of Hobbiton, and The Shire and write some tales about the goings on of hobbits and the hobbit world.  It could be great.  It could be the exact opposite of all these over the top cgi monsters and explosions and car chases..... and just be some good person to person talking...... with a pub involved !!  Please someone do this.  I'll write some stories for you !!!  

The greatest shows in tv history are about nothing more than people communicating with each other 

No offense, but I can't think of anything more boring than that. 

 

Did you find Cheers boring ? 

Did you find All in the Family boring ? 

Did you find Mash boring ? 

Did you find Seinfeld boring ? 

Did you find Friends boring ?

Did you find Gunsmoke boring ? 

Did you find The Odd Couple boring ? 

Did you find Downton Abbey boring ? 

Did you find The Wonder Years boring ? 

Did you find The Bob Newhart show boring ? 

Did you find The Office boring ? 

Granted, many of these are comedies and therefore people laugh when watching, but Hobbits are not adventurers.  It was a fluke that Bilbo and Frodo went out sword fighting and battling orcs etc.  

Maybe I'm just getting old 

Subtle  maybe but not boring. 

Edited March 18, 2018 by Senormac