Steven Colbert writing LOTR sequel movie????

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Yes- based on The New Shadow, and reportedly already has a production deal.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/stephen-colbert-new-lord-of-the-rings-movie-writer/6481270/

Whiskey tango actual foxtrot?

Leaving aside his "qualifications". how the devil did he secure the rights (assuming he did)? Neither the Zaentz nor the Amazon licenses touch HoME material.

Needless to say, there's no movie in the single chapter Tolkien actually wrote. Expect more worthless fan-fic like Rohirrim and 3/4 of Hobbit.

[Galadriel55]

Well, if it's not a prank post (and we are still a bit early for April Fools), at the very least it's frank fan fiction - the movie allegedly "follows a new adventure for Sam, Merry and Pippin 14 years after the passing of Frodo".

[Inziladun]

A project in the ongoing quest to squeeze Tolkien's work for cash until it screams, from the mind of a highly politically partisan, unfunny late-night host? What could possibly go wrong?

[Mithadan]

While Colbert's plan involves "a new adventure for Sam, Merry and Pippin 14 years after the passing of Frodo," what I've seen elsewhere is that he will use a journey involving the Hobbits as a framing device to explore matters from the first six chapters of FoTR and why the War of the Ring happened. I saw an interview with him where he specifically mentions Fog on the Barrow-Downs. That said, I am not clear on exactly what the story will be.

The production involves Warner Brothers and Philippa Boyens, indicating a New Line link. It's been a while since I paid attention to the licensing of Tolkien's work, but this one seems to derive from Tolkien's conveyance of rights to United Artists, then to Saul Zaentz which then went to Tolkien Enterprises and subsequently to New Line. The License to New Line was either limited or non-exclusive, and similar rights were then conveyed to Embracer. The rights conveyed were only to The Hobbit and the main text of LoTR, but not the appendices or any of his other unpublished writings. Amazon acquired the rights to the appendices from the Tolkien Estate, thus The Rings of Power.

Colbert is, by reputation, a real Middle Earth fan. But, then again, so was Bezos, by reputation. All said, I am willing to keep an open mind. Then again, I'm a real fan and I've even written fan fiction. Wait a minute... (consults address book for movie industry contacts).

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Sadly, the original contract with UA, which went to Zaentz and then Embracer, and the license Warner/New Line are using, permits

"to freely adapt, change, transpose, revise, rearrange, add to and subtract from the work or any part thereof. to make interpolations in and substitutions for any part or parts thereof, to make sequels to and new versions or adaptations of the work or any part thereof, to use any part or parts of the work or of the theme thereof or any incidents, characters, character names, scenes, sequences or characterizations therein contained...."


In other words, if they want to make "Elanor Gamgee, Vampire Slayer" and set it in Sunnyvale, California, they can.

[Bêthberry]

In other words, if they want to make "Elanor Gamgee, Vampire Slayer" and set it in Sunnyvale, California, they can.


But, but, but ... Thuringwethil and Luthien. https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Thuringwethil

Something can survive the First Age.

[Huinesoron]

The (purported - I'm still not convinced this is serious) source is Three is Company through to Fog on the Barrow Downs, which is indeed basically skipped over by the Jackson movies - there's one Ringwraith encounter which is broadly from the books, but the rest is turned into the cornfield encounter and a mad dash to the ferry. So the concept is the three hobbits retracing a journey that, um... definitely didn't happen in the films, but what if we pretend it did, but off screen?

The main reason I might be interested in watching this is if Billy, Dom, and Sean reprise their roles. Billy and Dom recently did an Amazon series together (travelling the world sampling the food), and are clearly still funny, close, and willing to be associated with LotR-ish stuff (there were... many hobbit jokes). I would also enjoy seeing Elanor and Rosie.

I also think it's absolutely freakin hilarious that this would mean a film where the grand denouement, the big event that the whole film is building towards... is Tom-a-Dong-a-Dillo Bombadil. I want them to overcommit to this. I want a whole advertising campaign about "At last... the character you've been waiting for since 2001". I want moody posters with the silhouette of his hat and taglines like "Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow" in jagged fonts. I want the first trailer to have a minor-key remix of one of his songs as the soundtrack, and the last trailer to just be a three minute scene of him dancing merrily up the Withywindle, and the scene isn't even in the film. :D:D:D

hS

[Formendacil]

Good news, I guess--if they have Elijah Wood in flashbacks, he can actually be about 50 years old this time.

Bad news--Frodo isn't supposed to look fifty years old.