Lord of the Rings TV series gets multi-season order at Amazon

[davem]

I've always had mixed feelings about CT's approach to his father's work. For whatever reasons he tried to relegate the works to the realm of academe. I'm grateful he made the unpublished works available, but the accompanying mass of notes and commentary he added makes them (apart from the Sil) an horrific chore. He clearly hated the fact that his father's creation he been taken up by a bunch of hippies (many of them lefties too ), and sought to return them to their 'rightful' place, by handing them over to a bunch of professors. Most of the stuff he published would have been better if it had been put out with a basic 20 pp intro. The LotR movies (critical as I am of many parts of them) contain more of what touched the hearts of most book fans, than the interminable droning commentaries of CT, Flieger, and Hammond & Scull, et al

[Galin]

I think the notes and commentary in The History of Middle-Earth series, providing a detailed explanation to more betterly understand the true state of the Silmarillion, its external history and related accounts, all of this is rather the point... given that we already have/had an "internal" version (the 1977 constructed Silmarillion), for what I call the reader's experience.

Add to that The Children of Hurin, of course this time presented as a one volume tale after all the fragments and commentaries had been published.

And if I want my "reader's experience" for Tuor's arrival in Gondolin for example (Unfinished Tales), it's pretty easy to skip the brief introduction and the end notes. Same goes for the early Fall of Gondolin published in The Book of Lost Tales II, for instance.


And Nerwen the oracle!

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Originally Posted by davem

He clearly hated the fact that his father's creation he been taken up by a bunch of hippies (many of them lefties too )

CT, as a political animal, is most definitely not his father. Just take a gander at the causes the Tolkien Trust supports.

------------------

I would say, rather, that (especially in the wake of the movies) "He clearly hated the fact that his father's creation had been taken up by a bunch of sloped-forehead mouthbreathers." I would be rather upset at seeing the family silver being used by the mob for screwdrivers, spittoons and dog dishes (while all the while telling me what fans of my silver they are and what wonderful screwdrivers, spittoons and dog dishes it makes).

I think that CT (who after all was a professor) was determined that his father's writings be taken seriously, by scholars, and therefore he took a serious, scholarly approach to his editions. He was, after all, writing the history of his father's legendarium, and there's no way that barn's worth of fragments and unfinished revisions could have been presented coherently without extensive notes and commentary.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by davem

He clearly hated the fact that his father's creation he been taken up by a bunch of hippies (many of them lefties too ), and sought to return them to their 'rightful' place, by handing them over to a bunch of professors.

I cannot remember if I have mentioned this before. In Denmark there was a group of very influential authors all named "Kløvedal" (Rivendell). They had all adopted the name in their youth when they lived together in a commune called (freely translated) Mao's Delight. The most prominent of them being Ebbe Kløvedal Reich and Troels Kløvedal.

Of course another well known Danish fan was the future Queen Margrethe II... I think that is what can be described as having a broad appeal.

[Kuruharan]

I will admit to being curious if the production team for the TV show will take the design aesthetic in a direction away from the designs laid out by Jackson and Co.

For example, being a dwarf, it has been very interesting to me to note that things like Jackson's idea that "dwarves don't build anything in circles, only octagons" has pervaded the fantasy genre so that idea now crops up almost everywhere.

I wonder if the new team will forge their own path aesthetically or if they will just follow in the footsteps of Jackson.

Of if, indeed, Jackson is going to end up being involved in the project in some way.

For some reason, the news about C. Tolkien has made me go back to my original idea that this series is going to focus on young Aragorn.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I wouldn't hold my breath for Silmarillion anything, because in that case CT isn't just his father's executor, he's also the co-author and therefore enjoys an absolute veto no matter what the Estate's new management might want.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

I wouldn't hold my breath for Silmarillion anything, because in that case CT isn't just his father's executor, he's also the co-author and therefore enjoys an absolute veto no matter what the Estate's new management might want.

That logic would definitively nix The Children of Hurin.

Young Aragorn looks ever more likely.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

I wouldn't hold my breath for Silmarillion anything, because in that case CT isn't just his father's executor, he's also the co-author and therefore enjoys an absolute veto no matter what the Estate's new management might want.

What other books are there that they could draw on that are not co-authored by CJRT? Seems like a pretty limited selection - while he's alive at least to veto them. I suppose we're gonna see just how much made up stuff was actually "all in the appendices". At some point poor finite LOTR will get appendicitis.

[davem]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

I wouldn't hold my breath for Silmarillion anything, because in that case CT isn't just his father's executor, he's also the co-author and therefore enjoys an absolute veto no matter what the Estate's new management might want.

He also authorised, what, 300 plus changes to LotR for the 50th anniversary edition, which has now replaced the earlier versions, none of which add much, none authorised (obviously) by JRR, and almost none of which contribute very much, and seem to be mostly about CT staking some kind of claim. http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=11338

[Boromir88]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Of if, indeed, Jackson is going to end up being involved in the project in some way.

For some reason, the news about C. Tolkien has made me go back to my original idea that this series is going to focus on young Aragorn.

Oh don't say it...our most dreadful imaginations usually become reality. Just when I thought The Hobbit would go in a different direction ("Oh it's going to be a Del Toro film"), Jackson gets his foot in the door and then comes along Boyens and Walsh again for the same recycled disaster.

I will wager there's a better chance Orlando Bloom is involved than PJ. All though, when it comes to anything Lord of the Rings-Hollywood industry relation, just when you think they're out of the picture...they flare back up.

I do think if they want the "events preceding the Fellowship" to be adapted, a TV series is a much better medium than whatever it is Jackson was trying to do with his Hobbit trilogy. The world is changing, gone are the days of the low-budget and extremely campy (but loveable in their own way) tv series.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Oh don't say it...our most dreadful imaginations usually become reality. Just when I thought The Hobbit would go in a different direction ("Oh it's going to be a Del Toro film"), Jackson gets his foot in the door and then comes along Boyens and Walsh again for the same recycled disaster.

I know.

Sort of against my will, I want to see this TV series be well done...not that I expect anything of the sort. Just setting myself up for the inevitable disappointment.

I can just see Jackson already trying to work his way into the project. I fear that for the low knowledge corporate types he would seem like a big prize to score for the project since his name is already so heavily tied to the brand, they would think they are ensuring the success of the show by bringing him on board.

[Michael Murry]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan:

I can just see Jackson already trying to work his way into the project. I fear that for the low knowledge corporate types he would seem like a big prize to score for the project since his name is already so heavily tied to the brand, they would think they are ensuring the success of the show by bringing him on board.

This seems like a rather inescapable -- if not implacable and inexorable -- observation. Consider, from Wikipedia:

The [Hobbit] series was a major financial success, with the films classified as one of the highest-grossing film series of all time, going on to outgross The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Although critically considered to be inferior to The Lord of the Rings, it was nominated for various awards and won several, though not as many as its predecessor

Budget
$675 million
Box office
$2.932 billion

More from Wikipedia:

Television

On November 13, 2017, it was announced that Amazon had acquired the global television rights to The Lord of the Rings, committing to a multi-season television series. The series will not be a direct adaptation of the books, but will instead introduce new stories that are set before The Fellowship of the Ring. Amazon said the deal included potential for spin-off series as well.

We can clearly see the "why" of it all. I just shudder to think of the "what?"

[Kuruharan]

I wonder how much of the “financial success” of The Hobbit is attributable to inflation of ticket prices...

[Boromir88]

I'm somewhat comforted by the fact that the Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is already known to be a big fan of the fantasy genre and that he was directly involved in discussing this project with the Tolkien Estate and Trust.~Valesse

The rub about this is I remember when Jackson said he was a "fan" of Tolkien because he read Lord of the Rings once on a train and thought "this will be a kewl movie."

[Snowdog]

I believe this deal has its roots in the rights that were sold in the late 60's to UA, so it will be limited to the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings published book material. The CT published material (Sil, UT, CoH, HoME) is CT copyrighted and came after the 1969 deal was made. That said, the appendices at the end of Return of the King is a goldmine of summarized historical Middle Earth outlines that could lend itself easily to a multi episode TV mini-series. Of course, a major story in there is Appendix B which covers Aragorn and Arwen, so I suspect this will be at least part of this venture. That said, I am cautiously optomistic, or reluctantly hopeful, that this works out to the good. As long as there is an all new cast, and all new episode writers and directors, and PJ Boyens WETA and gang are kept as far away from it as possible, it may have a chance.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

I believe this deal has its roots in the rights that were sold in the late 60's to UA, so it will be limited to the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings published book material. The CT published material (Sil, UT, CoH, HoME) is CT copyrighted and came after the 1969 deal was made. That said, the appendices at the end of Return of the King is a goldmine of summarized historical Middle Earth outlines that could lend itself easily to a multi episode TV mini-series. Of course, a major story in there is Appendix B which covers Aragorn and Arwen, so I suspect this will be at least part of this venture. That said, I am cautiously optomistic, or reluctantly hopeful, that this works out to the good. As long as there is an all new cast, and all new episode writers and directors, and PJ Boyens WETA and gang are kept as far away from it as possible, it may have a chance.

For my part, I'm optimistic that it will work out to be spectacularly horrible. Down with mediocrity, I say!

[Michael Murry]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

... the appendices at the end of Return of the King is a goldmine of summarized historical Middle Earth outlines that could lend itself easily to a multi episode TV mini-series. Of course, a major story in there is Appendix B which covers Aragorn and Arwen, so I suspect this will be at least part of this venture. That said, I am cautiously optimistic, or reluctantly hopeful, that this works out to the good. As long as there is an all new cast, and all new episode writers and directors, and PJ Boyens, WETA and gang are kept as far away from it as possible, it may have a chance.

Yes, the various LOTR appendices do contain calendars of dates and summary plot outlines which could form the basis for additional "Middle Earth" stories. Unfortunately, Peter Jackson and Company made a hash of this information when they selectively plundered the Appendices and rearranged and expanded much of Tolkien's material -- most notably the Aragorn and Arwen "love" stuff -- into their own scripts for The Lord of the Rings -- the film. Ditto for the three Hobbit films. So now we have six films that constitute what I have heard termed, "the Jackson Legendarium," which the new television series will have to keep in mind so as to avoid "intellectual" property-rights litigation from the motion-picture studio quarter. Caught between a literary rock and a movie hard place, so to speak, something tells me that corporate lawyers will have as much to say about these television stories as anyone else.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Hey, I wonj't be disappointed at all, since I fully expect Young Aragorn: Lord of the Game of Ring Thrones to be utter crap.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Hey, I wonj't be disappointed at all, since I fully expect Young Aragorn: Lord of the Game of Ring Thrones to be utter crap.

Well, white wolves did cross the Brandywine during the Fell Winter. Could zombies be far behind?