The Desolation of TV News

For what it's worth (and I don't think it's worth much), the guy just told me that Variety is wrong and the rights to TS are on the table "with certain creative restrictions". This is the first time I have heard anything about this and I didn't spend six-plus years following Hobbit movie news and rumors without developing a bullshit detector, but whaddaya know, maybe this is one of those vanishingly rare exceptions. I highly doubt it, though.

https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/7pqcrq/im_a_screenwriter_developing_a_script_for_amazons/dsk6imy/

he's gotten very few replies. Perhaps other people have their BS detectors working as well.

Good detective work Eldo!

Thanks Forest!

Alas, the guy has not posted in a week, since another Redditor asked him to back up his claim regarding the rights situation.

I guess with the Silmarillion, anyone spreading rumours about Tolkien rights, these legendary tv/movie rights of the Silmarillion will come up. Now if this guy had really had written an official script for Amazon on a series based on such rights, or written an official script for Amazon on any Tolkien project, I am sure his contract would be full of non-disclosure terms, and he would certainly not be bragging about it online, no?

He didn't claim that he wrote anything while in the employment of Amazon, only that he was submitting screenplays to Amazon for consideration.

I could submit screenplays to Amazon for consideration, so it's not saying much that he is planning on doing so.

Yes, but you wouldn't submit scripts on your own volition, and have inside knowledge of the of the production and its plans. If you are let on the inside of the production enough to know something of value in an official capacity, you will certainly have signed things thta limit your ability to talk about them publicly.

Mmmm, Blue might be on to something me thinks

It is of course perfectly possible that someone may have spoken without permission, but I guess we can only judge on likehood here, what sounds more likely?

Not strictly Middle-earth TV news, but since things have been so quiet on that front, I found it interesting to read that Amazon is apparently working on a Conan series as well.

https://deadline.com/2018/02/amazon-developing-conan-drama-based-robert-e-howard-books-colony-co-creator-1202278547/

Wasn't there talk of Arnie doing another Conan film a couple of years ago?

That sounds vaguely familiar but I just Googled it and it apparently the plug was pulled last year, though they mentioned a TV show as a possibility back then.

https://movieweb.com/legend-of-conan-movie-not-happening/

The Federalist is about the last place I'd look for, well....anything. But they published an essay on Tolkien and modern interpretations which may not have much new, but I think it well written enough to point out. Especially given where (of all places) it was printed.

http://thefederalist.com/2018/02/09/uncultured-multiculturalism-and-the-problems-of-retelling-tolkiens-tales/

{{Indeed that was a surprisingly good read,even if it semed to me to contain a hint of agenda against the notion of multiculturism in it. Which did not seem at all necessary to the rest of the piece. }}}

I didn't get that feeling, myself. Rather, the author seemed to have a grudge against those who attempt to borrow from other cultures without spending enough time to get to know them. Nothing about is that is against multiculturalism, only against the idea that the people who speak out the most for multiculturalism are also the ones who understand these cultures the best. That's not necessarily the case, surely.

That popped up in my recommendations and I almost didn't click because I have been unimpressed by The Federalist in the past but it was pretty decent, yeah. I agree that it wasn't really actually about multiculturalism despite the digs thrown in. Ironically, the meat of the piece actually reads much more like a critique of cultural appropriation, despite the author's apparent dislike of "SJWs" (judging from a brief glance over his other posts to TF).

Despite their talk of multiculturalism, few of our cultural and entertainment leaders have much ability to understand cultures and perspectives other than their own. Their attempts to present something different tend to be caricatures, like homework done for an introductory anthropology course. There is little to no sensitivity for (or even awareness of) the rich experience of being contained within the compact symbols that express the order of existence in other cultures. They also rarely seek true understanding of different cultures or common human ground—that would require hard intellectual and imaginative work. They just want vaguely exotic spectacle.

You could copy and paste this paragraph verbatim into any number of tumblr posts and it wouldn't be out of place. Which I don't mean as a criticism because I agree with the basic point, but it's a little surprising.

The same side of two different coins, sounds like.

Wasn't there talk of Arnie doing another Conan film a couple of years ago?- Malick

Bunch of new information apparently from the print edition of The Hollywood Reporter, according to cats16 on the TORn forums.

http://newboards.theonering.net/forum/gforum/perl/gforum.cgi?post=942836#942836

- The $250 million dollar deal includes a five-season commitment
- Amazon is required to get the show in production within two years, and the total cost is expected to cost more than $1 billion when casting, production and VFX is factored in
- Amazon may use "material from the [New Line] films"
- Peter Jackson's attorney was not part of 2017's rights negotiations between Amazon and the Tolkien Estate, "but recently helped start a dialogue between Jackson and Amazon."
- No sign that the Weinstein brothers are attempting to wiggle their way into a cut of the deal (but apparently they received $12.5 million off of the first Hobbit film)

Peter Jackson might be involved?

Was really hoping we would get a completely fresh look at Middle Earth

1 Billion

A billion is a crazy large number, to be sure, but I find it pretty plausible. Subtracting the $250M they paid for the rights, that comes out to a $150M budget per season. If that figure includes the marketing budget (which I'm not clear on just from the summary), then I think it's a fairly conservative estimate if anything. But even if that figure doesn't include marketing it's not too outlandish given Amazon/Bezos' ambition to replicate GOT's success and their huge cash reserves for budgets.

One of the reasons they can be extravagant is that Amazon originals serve as a loss leader: their main value is getting more people to sign up for Prime, which then leads to them spending more on Amazon in general. It's not necessary for the initial subscription fees of people who join to be able to watch the show to immediately earn back the budget.

I'm hoping that the ties to PJ's films will be mostly limited to design elements, though I was already expecting them to incorporate ideas like Aragorn and Legolas knowing each other before FOTR.

Maybe they could give the carrot munching bree-lander fmaily portrayed by Jackson an origin story...

The above-referenced THR article is now online. Don't have time to read the whole thing right now but I skimmed it and didn't notice anything that wasn't in cats16's summary.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/how-lord-rings-tv-series-landed-at-amazon-not-netflix-1099213

Apparently LOTR is not the only property Amazon is planning to drop $1 billion on, as they expect to spend that much on a three season show based on The Three-Body Problem, which is a science fiction novel published last decade in China, where it was a huge hit, and with an English translation published just a few years ago, which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/amazon-billion-the-three-body-problem

I guess that's what you can afford to do when you don't pay taxes.

Inside Amazon’s Five Season, $1 billion ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series
APRIL 5, 2018 at 4:05 PM BY DEEJ   -

                Illustration by: Tim Peacock




The Hollywood Reporter has published a new article detailing how Amazon beat out Netflix for the rights to produce a new television series based on ‘The Lord of the Rings’. They are committed to producing at least 5 seasons at an estimated cost of $1 billion US.  While there is still no start date, the article does say that -per Amazon’s contract- they must start production within 2 years. There is also no news yet on cast, scripts, or filming locations – stay tuned to TheOneRing.net for more information!

Do you have a casting suggestion, or a storyline that you’d like to see the new show take on? Please let us know in the comments section, or visit our message boards to discuss!