ZeeSoh Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 Amazon Sets ‘The Lord of the Rings’ TV Series With Multi-Season Commitment In its quest to launch a hit fantasy series of the caliber of Game of Thrones, Amazon has closed a deal to acquire the global TV rights to The Lord of the Rings, based on the fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, with a multi-season commitment. The original series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which produced the hugely successful LOTR movie franchise No details about the deal were disclosed but it believed to be dwarfing any TV series pact to date with a whopping price tag attached Amazon, Netflix and HBO had been approached by the Tolkien estate, who had been shopping the project. It came with an upfront rights payment said to be in the $200 – $250 million range, though some sources say the fee could be slightly below $200 million. That is just for the rights, before any costs for development, talent and production, in proposition whose finances industry observers called “insane.” It is a payment that has to be made sight unseen as there is no concept, and there are no creative auspices attached to the possible series. On top of that, the budget for a fantasy series of that magnitude is likely to be $100-$150 million a season. Set in Middle Earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The deal includes a potential additional spin-off series. The Tolkien estate and publisher HarperCollins filed the massive lawsuit in November 2012 against Warner Bros., its subsidiary New Line and Middle-earth Enterprises — a division of Rings’ Hobbit rightsholder the Saul Zaentz Co. — claiming copyright infringement and breach of contract over video games, online slot machines and other digital merchandising. While the $80-million lawsuit was settled in July, the two sides have not gotten closer, and the Tolkien estate shopped the TV series on its own, not with Warner Bros. TV, which would have been a logical partner. WBTV is not a studio on the LOTR series, which will be produced by Amazon Studios. http://deadline.com/2017/11/amazon-the-lord-of-the-rings-tv-series-multi-season-commitment-1202207065/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Marston Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 Prequels to Fellowship? is this in the same continuity as the Jackson movies? Why a tv series and not movies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozen Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 I just hope that they won't sex it up and add more violence to compete with GoT. Like naked lady elves or rapey orks or some bullshit. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozen Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 18 minutes ago, John Marston said: Prequels to Fellowship? is this in the same continuity as the Jackson movies? Why a tv series and not movies? Because Amazon wants a series. If they are smart and it's in between Jackson's two trilogies, they should include some of the actors. Fan girls will go nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 hmm.... why not? hopefully, they get great talent... if this is not good, all those 100 millions will be for nought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 (edited) interesting that the impetus came from the tolkien estate... they were the ones approaching studios... the smell of money, who could resist?... Edited November 13, 2017 by Elessar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4815162342 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 This won't have any connections to the PJ movies. Guaranteed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomboom234 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 1 hour ago, 4815162342 said: This won't have any connections to the PJ movies. Guaranteed. It’s a prequel so they are not contesting the trilogy so may as well connect with one of the most beloved trilogies in history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudalb Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, ZeeSoh said: Amazon Sets ‘The Lord of the Rings’ TV Series With Multi-Season Commitment In its quest to launch a hit fantasy series of the caliber of Game of Thrones, Amazon has closed a deal to acquire the global TV rights to The Lord of the Rings, based on the fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, with a multi-season commitment. The original series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which produced the hugely successful LOTR movie franchise No details about the deal were disclosed but it believed to be dwarfing any TV series pact to date with a whopping price tag attached Amazon, Netflix and HBO had been approached by the Tolkien estate, who had been shopping the project. It came with an upfront rights payment said to be in the $200 – $250 million range, though some sources say the fee could be slightly below $200 million. That is just for the rights, before any costs for development, talent and production, in proposition whose finances industry observers called “insane.” It is a payment that has to be made sight unseen as there is no concept, and there are no creative auspices attached to the possible series. On top of that, the budget for a fantasy series of that magnitude is likely to be $100-$150 million a season. Set in Middle Earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The deal includes a potential additional spin-off series. The Tolkien estate and publisher HarperCollins filed the massive lawsuit in November 2012 against Warner Bros., its subsidiary New Line and Middle-earth Enterprises — a division of Rings’ Hobbit rightsholder the Saul Zaentz Co. — claiming copyright infringement and breach of contract over video games, online slot machines and other digital merchandising. While the $80-million lawsuit was settled in July, the two sides have not gotten closer, and the Tolkien estate shopped the TV series on its own, not with Warner Bros. TV, which would have been a logical partner. WBTV is not a studio on the LOTR series, which will be produced by Amazon Studios. http://deadline.com/2017/11/amazon-the-lord-of-the-rings-tv-series-multi-season-commitment-1202207065/ The "new storylines" comment concerns me. Not thrilled with the idea of spinoffs. Edited November 13, 2017 by dudalb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudalb Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 2 hours ago, Elessar said: interesting that the impetus came from the tolkien estate... they were the ones approaching studios... the smell of money, who could resist?... I wonder what happened with Chisstopher Tolkien,since he would killed off any ideas of what amounts to spinoffs from the books in a New York minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudalb Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 On 11/11/2017 at 1:45 AM, James said: I would do anything for a Silmarillion TV series. I love Silmarillion more than I love LOTR. It is, in my opinion, one of the best books ever written. I hope it gets adapted one day, while I am still alive. Much rather see that then a LOTR spinoff, which, IMHO ,will end being just another Sword and Sorcery series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 4 hours ago, ZeeSoh said: Amazon Sets ‘The Lord of the Rings’ TV Series With Multi-Season Commitment In its quest to launch a hit fantasy series of the caliber of Game of Thrones, Amazon has closed a deal to acquire the global TV rights to The Lord of the Rings, based on the fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, with a multi-season commitment. The original series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which produced the hugely successful LOTR movie franchise No details about the deal were disclosed but it believed to be dwarfing any TV series pact to date with a whopping price tag attached Amazon, Netflix and HBO had been approached by the Tolkien estate, who had been shopping the project. It came with an upfront rights payment said to be in the $200 – $250 million range, though some sources say the fee could be slightly below $200 million. That is just for the rights, before any costs for development, talent and production, in proposition whose finances industry observers called “insane.” It is a payment that has to be made sight unseen as there is no concept, and there are no creative auspices attached to the possible series. On top of that, the budget for a fantasy series of that magnitude is likely to be $100-$150 million a season. Set in Middle Earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The deal includes a potential additional spin-off series. The Tolkien estate and publisher HarperCollins filed the massive lawsuit in November 2012 against Warner Bros., its subsidiary New Line and Middle-earth Enterprises — a division of Rings’ Hobbit rightsholder the Saul Zaentz Co. — claiming copyright infringement and breach of contract over video games, online slot machines and other digital merchandising. While the $80-million lawsuit was settled in July, the two sides have not gotten closer, and the Tolkien estate shopped the TV series on its own, not with Warner Bros. TV, which would have been a logical partner. WBTV is not a studio on the LOTR series, which will be produced by Amazon Studios. http://deadline.com/2017/11/amazon-the-lord-of-the-rings-tv-series-multi-season-commitment-1202207065/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 I actually like this even better! And I don't think they would sex it up. Considering the Tolkien Estate seems to have been the driving force, I doubt Christopher would accept his father's work be perverted that way. He has to have some script approval imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 Actually, I was talking to someone recently about the Apendices of LOTR, specifically the stories about The Kingdom of Angmar. I think that storyline has now a lot of chances to happen, seeing how they would feature the second most recognizable antagonist in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewy Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 How is Lindelof not involved 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Panda Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 As a fan of LOTR and movies/tv, this is a great thing. However, it seems like a really bad investment on Amazon's part. That's a 250m blanket cost before you even start making the series, you're going to need a lot of new Prime subs to make it worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShouldIBeHere Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 (edited) 7 hours ago, The Pumpkin Spice Panda said: As a fan of LOTR and movies/tv, this is a great thing. However, it seems like a really bad investment on Amazon's part. That's a 250m blanket cost before you even start making the series, you're going to need a lot of new Prime subs to make it worth it. I guess it depends what the rights contain and for how long they bought them. If Amazon thinks in terms of several series and potential movies including merchandise this might work out in the end. I also hope this will increase pressure that this really has to work out and should be done with much care. The big question for me is whether they want to have the series have continuity with PJ's movies or only the books. Edited November 14, 2017 by ShouldIBeHere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShouldIBeHere Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Amazon has apparantly confirmed now that the Silmarillion (as expected) is not part of the deal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 6 hours ago, ShouldIBeHere said: Amazon has apparantly confirmed now that the Silmarillion (as expected) is not part of the deal. Christopher Tolkien has stepped down as head of the Tolkien Estate so it might eventually happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudalb Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 (edited) 8 hours ago, ShouldIBeHere said: Amazon has apparantly confirmed now that the Silmarillion (as expected) is not part of the deal. Then I have no interest in this. As a heavy duty Tolkien fan since I first read the books in the early 80's, I have no interest in what amounts to Fan Fiction. It will just be another Sword and Sorcety TV show. Yeah, I am a little bit of purist. Edited November 15, 2017 by dudalb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
