|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2017 19:36:18 GMT -5
Word broke today that Christopher Tolkien (who is 93) has announced his retirement and is stepping down as the head of the Tolkien Estate. Apparently he informed them on Aug 31, but the legal paperwork took time to complete so no announcement was made. This sheds some light on the nature of the settlement between Warner Brothers and the Estate earlier this year and the recent Amazon deal for the television series. The remaining members of the board are much less reluctant to license the property, so we could see a lot more Middle Earth products and projects moving forward. Christopher was always more interested in preserving his father's legacy rather than making money off of it, an attitude not necessarily shared by the remaining members of the Estate's board. Or as Walt Simonson put it when he posted the above link-I may have lived long enough to see a Balrog Pez dispenser.... I have mixed feelings of trepidation and excitement regarding this, but I wish Christopher the best and hope he enjoys his retirement. -M
|
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 15, 2017 19:42:31 GMT -5
Word broke today that Christopher Tolkien (who is 93) has announced his retirement and is stepping down as the head of the Tolkien Estate. Apparently he informed them on Aug 31, but the legal paperwork took time to complete so no announcement was made. This sheds some light on the nature of the settlement between Warner Brothers and the Estate earlier this year and the recent Amazon deal for the television series. The remaining members of the board are much less reluctant to license the property, so we could see a lot more Middle Earth products and projects moving forward. Christopher was always more interested in preserving his father's legacy rather than making money off of it, an attitude not necessarily shared by the remaining members of the Estate's board. Or as Walt Simonson put it when he posted the above link- I may have lived long enough to see a Balrog Pez dispenser.... I have mixed feelings of trepidation and excitement regarding this, but I wish Christopher the best and hope he enjoys his retirement. -M Well, we already got pez heads for the film series when they first came out, though I can't remember if there was a barlog. I do love that sentiment though. While I am excited for the TV show I do hope it doesn't get over commercialized. |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197 
|
Post by Confessor on Nov 16, 2017 7:34:11 GMT -5
I hadn't heard about a Middle-Earth TV series. That sounds like it could be s**t. Will it be new stories or adaptations of Tolkien's writings?
Really, in terms of screen adaptations of Tolkien's work, the record is already patchy. The LOTRs trilogy was excellent -- surprisingly so for a series of big budget Hollywood film -- but the Hobbit trilogy was horrible. And it got progressively worse with every instalment. So, yeah...colour me concerned.
|
|
|
|
Post by Warmonger on Nov 16, 2017 7:57:20 GMT -5
I hadn't heard about a Middle-Earth TV series. That sounds like it could be s**t. Will it be new stories or adaptations of Tolkien's writings? Really, in terms of screen adaptations of Tolkien's work, the record is already patchy. The LOTRs trilogy was excellent -- surprisingly so for a series of big budget Hollywood film -- but the Hobbit trilogy was horrible. And it got progressively worse with every instalment. So, yeah...colour me concerned. If they’re doing a Lord of the Rings series, then it needs to have a massive budget and I’d prefer it to be on a premium service like HBO. Doing a show like this on a restricted budget and on a basic cable network like FOX, NBC, etc sounds like a total disaster. |
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 16, 2017 8:21:11 GMT -5
I hadn't heard about a Middle-Earth TV series. That sounds like it could be s**t. Will it be new stories or adaptations of Tolkien's writings? Really, in terms of screen adaptations of Tolkien's work, the record is already patchy. The LOTRs trilogy was excellent -- surprisingly so for a series of big budget Hollywood film -- but the Hobbit trilogy was horrible. And it got progressively worse with every instalment. Fully agreed. I can see how Tolkien's other stories could be the basis for an excellent TV show... just not the one I imagine producers want. Tolkien's two novels are already adapted, and the rest of his writing works much better as myth than as the adventures of a certain cast of characters. The Silmarillion cannot be turned into the next Game of Thrones. Nothing is impossible, I suppose. But the cynic in me is sure that someone in an office is currently tabulating how much money a show with dragons, goblins and swords can make, how much the name "Tolkien" added to a masthead is worth, and what semi-famous actors with drawing power can be hired without costing too much. The story? Meh! Not important. We have writers for that, such as Joe who was on Dawson's Creek, Maria who worked on Otherworld and Jameel who helped script the Warcraft movie. |
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 16, 2017 9:50:05 GMT -5
I hadn't heard about a Middle-Earth TV series. That sounds like it could be s**t. Will it be new stories or adaptations of Tolkien's writings? Really, in terms of screen adaptations of Tolkien's work, the record is already patchy. The LOTRs trilogy was excellent -- surprisingly so for a series of big budget Hollywood film -- but the Hobbit trilogy was horrible. And it got progressively worse with every instalment. So, yeah...colour me concerned. If they’re doing a Lord of the Rings series, then it needs to have a massive budget and I’d prefer it to be on a premium service like HBO. Doing a show like this on a restricted budget and on a basic cable network like FOX, NBC, etc sounds like a total disaster. It won't be on cable, apparently it's going to be on Amazon. I have only seen Man in the High Castle from Amazon and I liked that so I'm hoping it works out. |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197
|
Post by Confessor on Nov 16, 2017 10:10:54 GMT -5
I can see how Tolkien's other stories could be the basis for an excellent TV show... just not the one I imagine producers want. Tolkien's two novels are already adapted, and the rest of his writing works much better as myth than as the adventures of a certain cast of characters. The Silmarillion cannot be turned into the next Game of Thrones. This. Absolutely this. That's my worry. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 11:17:07 GMT -5
Christopher was always more interested in preserving his father's legacy rather than making money off of it, an attitude not necessarily shared by the remaining members of the Estate's board. I have mixed feelings of trepidation and excitement regarding this, but I wish Christopher the best and hope he enjoys his retirement. -M I rather see this preserved for his father's legacy more than anything else in the world. I'm so frightened about this and the board might do more harm than good. I agree with you mrp that I've mixed feelings about this and I do enjoy the films that were made. Like the other members here in this forum ... I'm very concerned about the direction in the future. |
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Nov 16, 2017 11:41:00 GMT -5
Christopher was always more interested in preserving his father's legacy rather than making money off of it, an attitude not necessarily shared by the remaining members of the Estate's board. I have mixed feelings of trepidation and excitement regarding this, but I wish Christopher the best and hope he enjoys his retirement. -M I rather see this preserved for his father's legacy more than anything else in the world. I'm so frightened about this and the board might do more harm than good. I agree with you mrp that I've mixed feelings about this and I do enjoy the films that were made. Like the other members here in this forum ... I'm very concerned about the direction in the future. I don't see anything to be frightened about, or overly concerned about. The very worst case scenario is that the new board goes whole hog and commercializes Tolkien's work to high heaven and we see, as MRP posted above, Lord of the Rings pez heads, or puerile children's cartoons full of crude humor and a bad tv show that totally misses what makes the books by Tolkien work. Sure, it'll drive us crazy for a bit and our eyes might roll permanently into the backs of our heads but it's not like it'll suddenly change the books into soulless drivel or anything so nothing will really change what we loved. So in the grand scheme of things the absolute worst case scenario really just slightly unpalatable rather than something to actually worry about. |
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 16, 2017 11:51:45 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure that Tolkien's original works are going to remain on everyone's shelves unchanged by whatever is done by way of TV shows, pez dispensers or plush Gollum's. Life will go on and nobody will be harmed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 11:52:46 GMT -5
I rather see this preserved for his father's legacy more than anything else in the world. I'm so frightened about this and the board might do more harm than good. I agree with you mrp that I've mixed feelings about this and I do enjoy the films that were made. Like the other members here in this forum ... I'm very concerned about the direction in the future. I don't see anything to be frightened about, or overly concerned about. The very worst case scenario is that the new board goes whole hog and commercializes Tolkien's work to high heaven and we see, as MRP posted above, Lord of the Rings pez heads, or puerile children's cartoons full of crude humor and a bad tv show that totally misses what makes the books by Tolkien work. Sure, it'll drive us crazy for a bit and our eyes might roll permanently into the backs of our heads but it's not like it'll suddenly change the books into soulless drivel or anything so nothing will really change what we loved. So in the grand scheme of things the absolute worst case scenario really just slightly unpalatable rather than something to actually worry about. Okay, I understand what you are saying here. Thanks for the vote of confidence. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 12:30:25 GMT -5
The Amazon show is new stories set before the Fellowship of the Ring. I am sure they will either use existing characters or create new characters in stories set in the backdrop of the growing threat of Sauron, either among the world of men or elves (maybe a dwarf thrown in). Sauruman could be part of it, maybe Radagast, etc. It is not a retelling of the movies. Personally I love the Jackson LOTR movies, but have only seen the first 2 Hobbit movies and wasn't impressed enough to check out the third. But I also love the Bakshi animated movie and the two Rankin-Bass animated movies too, I've also seen a stage play adaptation of the Fellowship by a local theatre group that was amazing as well. I wouldn't mind seeing an anthology series adapting stories from the History of Middle Earth, and some comics to put on my shelf alongside the Chuck Dixon/David Wentzel adaptation of the Hobbit. And I would so buy a Balrog Pez dispenser, it would go alongside the Lord of the Rings lead miniatures from Grenadier (who produced figures for Dungeons & Dragons & Call of Cthullhu as well) I have (I had them in high school, lost them and bought them again at an auction at a gaming con several years back), which sit next to the volumes of the Lord of the Rings rpg I have. And yes, I would love to see a Middle Earth experience theme park some day though I doubt I would ever go there. So I am hopeful we can see more stuff I like based on the LOTR, my worry is that fantasy is hard to do right on movies and tv. The good stuff is the exception not the rule. Game of Thrones is amazing. Shanara is horrible. The REH movies have been mostly horrible (though the original Arnie movie is a guilty pleasure of mine) and 80's fantasy movies like Beastmaster can be guilty pleasures but most of the stuff from them is shite. It won't damage the legacy of Tolkien i they do bad stuff, just make it less likely to find good stuff I want to partake in (though I am curious if someone in a state where marijuana is legal like Colorado tries to market a Middle-Earth pipeweed brand at one of the dispensaries  I look forward to some good new projects and products emerging from this, I just worry about a flood of stuff the equivalent of bad pastiche and rack toys killing the potential and squeezing out the good stuff. -M |
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 16, 2017 12:43:46 GMT -5
The Hobbit movies were dire...and they got worse as they went along. They were the perfect illustration that Peter Jackson needs someone to reign him in. His ability to turn what was perfectly set up to be a great 2 1/2 hour movie into a grinding eight hours of mind-numbing pain is ridiculous.
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197
|
Post by Confessor on Nov 16, 2017 15:09:26 GMT -5
I don't see anything to be frightened about, or overly concerned about. The very worst case scenario is that the new board goes whole hog and commercializes Tolkien's work to high heaven and we see, as MRP posted above, Lord of the Rings pez heads, or puerile children's cartoons full of crude humor and a bad tv show that totally misses what makes the books by Tolkien work. Sure, it'll drive us crazy for a bit and our eyes might roll permanently into the backs of our heads but it's not like it'll suddenly change the books into soulless drivel or anything so nothing will really change what we loved. So in the grand scheme of things the absolute worst case scenario really just slightly unpalatable rather than something to actually worry about. I'm pretty sure that Tolkien's original works are going to remain on everyone's shelves unchanged by whatever is done by way of TV shows, pez dispensers or plush Gollum's. Life will go on and nobody will be harmed. Of course, you're both right that, in the grand scheme of things, bad Tolkien movies or TV shows (of which, we've already had three semi-recently anyway) don't really matter. But then again, bad art -- if the forthcoming Tolkien projects indeed turn out to be bad -- should never be excused or simply brushed aside as unimportant. Especially if rampant commercialism and consumerism, which themselves are both pretty abhorrent, are driving that bad art. Good art -- even good commercial art -- matters more than many people realise. It improves our quality of life immeasurably. That's no small consideration, even if it pales in significance next to more legitimate real world concerns. |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 16, 2017 18:29:01 GMT -5
The Hobbit movies were dire...and they got worse as they went along. They were the perfect illustration that Peter Jackson needs someone to reign him in. His ability to turn what was perfectly set up to be a great 2 1/2 hour movie into a grinding eight hours of mind-numbing pain is ridiculous. I wouldn't quite go that far. the real issue was that they were sticking to the trilogy format, when the Hobbit is a self-contained story, that moves along pretty well. LOTR meanders quite a bit, but at least builds to a conclusion (mostly). The Hobbit really is "there and back again." It only needed one movie; one and a half, tops. The Rankin-Bass version was only 78 minutes and doesn't really lose that much of the story. I don't even think Jackson wanted to do a trilogy; but, the studio did and if he wanted to make his Hobbitt, he had to agree to their structure (all supposition, obviously). I really wish we could have seen Guillermo del Toro's version, as it would have been different, yet exciting. I have no interest in a tv series, unless it has a lot of minstrel narrators. |
|
