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

[Victariongreyjoy]

The company has made a multi-season production commitment to a television adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings.

It’s a major deal securing one of the biggest brands in pop culture for what’s likely to be one of the most expensive TV shows ever made.

But there’s a catch, creatively speaking: The series will explore storylines set before the events in the first LOTR novel, The Fellowship of the Ring. In other words: The war to destroy the One Ring as chronicled in Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning trilogy of films will not be told in the TV version. So this story is either set before The Hobbit or in between The Hobbit and LOTR.

This something we’ve seen with other recent TV series when they tackle major cinematic titles with certain rights restrictions. Like how Fox’s Gotham can tell the story of young Bruce Wayne but not Batman, how FX’s Legion and Fox’s The Gifted have to avoid using the term “X-Men” even though they’re X-Men projects, or how Syfy’s upcoming series based on The Purge films will be set in between actual Purges.

Amazon’s deal includes a potential addition of a spin-off series as well.


“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,” said 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.”

http://ew.com/tv/2017/11/13/lord-of-...ngs-tv-series/

[Inziladun]

It’s a major deal securing one of the biggest brands in pop culture for what’s likely to be one of the most expensive TV shows ever made.

Therein lies the key. There's money, boys! Yee Haw!

*Sigh* I just can't separate the motives from the actual product. I had the same issue with PJ's movies when I first learned of their coming, When profit is the objective in adaptations of existing works, changes are going to be allowed based on the bottom line, and fidelity to the spirit of the original goes right out the (round) window. They can bloody well keep it.

[Valesse]

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. I want to believe that he is passionate about these works and will try to use his position to keep things as canon as possible. Sure, it is ultimately about the money in the end, but the Matt Galsor snippet from the Estate and HarperCollins representative gives me hope:

"...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.”

What gets my eyebrow raised is the fact that the Tolkien Estate was the one that approached Amazon, Netflix, HBO, etc. to begin with. To me this could be either very exciting in that the Estate wants to be involved in the creation of a series or troubling if the case is that the Estate is interested more in the financial gain of the project and would, therefore, be more likely to accept more... well... Tauriels.

http://deadline.com/2017/11/amazon-t...nt-1202207065/

[ArcusCalion]

Therein lies the key. There's money, boys! Yee Haw!

*Sigh* I just can't separate the motives from the actual product. I had the same issue with PJ's movies when I first learned of their coming, When profit is the objective in adaptations of existing works, changes are going to be allowed based on the bottom line, and fidelity to the spirit of the original goes right out the (round) window. They can bloody well keep it.

I'm sorry.... What? Literally every project has the goal to make money. If they did not, they would not be made in the first place. Do you not understand capitalism?

[Kuruharan]

It is a fearsome struggle to constrain myself to socially acceptable vocabulary to describe my reaction to this news.

There is no reason for somebody who respects Tolkien's work to be optimistic about the end product.

Jeff Bezos being a "fan" of the fantasy genre could mean almost anything...in fact, I feel worse about it because you get some crazy ideas being a "fan" of something.

That the focus of this project is going to be the vaporous netherworld of "before the Fellowship of the Ring" is just a blanket statement from the beginning that they intend to pull whatever they feel like pulling out of their hindquarters.

At least they are kind of honest about it.

Perhaps they will at least have enough of a sense of humor to rename Butterbur to Butterfinger.

EDIT: I figured out the best way to phrase my dismay, to wit: "I have a bad feeling that this TV series is going to make The Hobbit films look tasteful and well-crafted by comparison."

[Zigûr]

So, after all, it is just a "glorified fan fiction" show, expanding little bits and pieces of narrative, not really an adaptation?

That destroys what little interest I had. All this will serve to do is perpetuate the cloying atmosphere of misunderstanding and misinformation surrounding Professor Tolkien's work - this one man's lifelong labour of love - in the public consciousness.

Of course, it's not being made for people like me. I'm sure it will please a certain kind of audience, however.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by ArcusCalion

I'm sorry.... What? Literally every project has the goal to make money. If they did not, they would not be made in the first place. Do you not understand capitalism?

I understand that money clouds judgement when people are making the call as to what to add, embellish, or cut from original works when adapting them to bigger, "better" media. If that's your thing, run with it. No drama.

[Lalaith]

Originally Posted by ArcusCalion

I'm sorry.... What? Literally every project has the goal to make money. If they did not, they would not be made in the first place. Do you not understand capitalism?

Allow me to present to you a little project called the Silmarillion, that had no purpose beyond the intellectual and emotional pleasure it gave its creator...

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by ArcusCalion

I'm sorry.... What? Literally every project has the goal to make money. If they did not, they would not be made in the first place. Do you not understand capitalism?

Originally Posted by Lalaith

Allow me to present to you a little project called the Silmarillion, that had no purpose beyond the intellectual and emotional pleasure it gave its creator...

Lalaith, I believe ArcusCalion is from that cynical lot who believe every artistic endeavor primarily revolves around the making of money, no matter what altruistic intent mentioned by the artist.

In fact, I am sure his opinion coincides with the 18th century poet Matthew Greene, who once famously wrote, "Novels are receipts to make a whore."

[R.R.J Tolkien]

Originally Posted by Victariongreyjoy

http://ew.com/tv/2017/11/13/lord-of-...ngs-tv-series/

Amazon is the perfect company to destroy Tolkien's work. Having said that I will watch the first episode while I scream at the television until I refuse to watch anymore. I will then pick it up the next week in defiance of my oath to never watch it again where my actions will predictably repeat. I assume it will take anywhere from 3-5 shows for me to actually keep my word, realize my hope of an accurate portrayal could never happen with Amazon at the helm, and finally discard the show.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by R.R.J Tolkien

Amazon is the perfect company to destroy Tolkien's work. Having said that I will watch the first episode while I scream at the television until I refuse to watch anymore. I will then pick it up the next week in defiance of my oath to never watch it again where my actions will predictably repeat. I assume it will take anywhere from 3-5 shows for me to actually keep my word, realize my hope of an accurate portrayal could never happen with Amazon at the helm, and finally discard the show.

You know, I think my response to watching the show would likely be very similar.
That said, I don't yet see any reason that I should watch it (which was precisely my view on the PJ film treatments).

The books have very deep meaning to me. Tolkien has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
Would watching "adaptations" written by other people, using his invented settings and characters, increase my affection for the original material? My experience with the LOTR movies indicates the answer is "not bloody likely".
Am I likely to appreciate the direction Tolkien's world takes in the hands of those who, in all likelihood, don't have the love and respect of his creative output that I possess?
Highly doubtful.
If Tolkien didn't give me some bit of information I am curious over, I much prefer to speculate on it in my own mind, rather than having a big-budget production spoon-feed their own version to me.

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

That said, I don't yet see any reason that I should watch it (which was precisely my view on the PJ film treatments).

I agree. Life is too short to waste watching something I already know I won't enjoy.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

That said, I don't yet see any reason that I should watch it (which was precisely my view on the PJ film treatments).

So as someone who plans to watch the show, my answer is that the reason for the decision has nothing to do with Tolkien. For all intents and purposes, I am pretending this is just another run of the mill unrelated fantasy show, and if they get something right - it's a bonus. And I'll watch for the same reasons that I'd give other shows a shot. I suppose it's a similar attitude I've had to the show Sherlock. It was a pretty good show in early seasons, though the only thing it had in common with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were a few names. You don't watch it for Doyle, you watch it for the show itself, and enjoy the oblique references to Doyle's stories when they appear.

Now, if they actually make it Tolkien enough that it's recognizably written-ish material, and butcher that, I might just stop watching, because that is something that will ruin my appetite.

[mhagain]

...once upon a time... I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story – the larger founded on the lesser in contact with the earth, the lesser drawing splendour from the vast backcloths ..... The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama.

I'm going to keep an open mind, not pre-suppose whether I'll like it or not, and at least watch it for what it is. If it's good, I'll enjoy it. It won't be the books, it won't be the same story as in the books, but I'm not going to just decide that I hate it on that count. If it's not good I won't enjoy it.

[Rhun charioteer]

Looking at the casting, the majority of characters are OCs. I am absolutely convinced this will be nothing close to Tolkien’s work in either theme or story.

My guess is it will be a generic fantasy esque show perhaps with Galadriel as the main heroine.

It seems that once Christopher Tolkien died, the estate sold out for a quarter of a billion dollars.