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[SalmonGod]

It was just announced today that Amazon has bought the rights to produce a show based on Tolkien content for somewhere around $250 million.  Nothing further is known at this time, other than it will involve content prior to Fellowship, and they've already committed to multiple seasons.

I don't know how I feel about this.  Peter Jackson really fucking soured me towards Tolkien adaptations.  Then again, they could put Tolkien to shame.  Then again, if they disrespect The Silmarillion, it will mean war.

[wierd]

Dont worry, I am sure they will make the romance between tinuviel and beren one hand into something horrifically explicit, because "GOTTA HAVE SEXXY TIME!!", and "Balads are boring, show me the titties."

[MachinaMandala]

Personally, I'm cautiously optimistic.

As long as it isn't "HOT DWARF ON ELF ROMANCE", it'll be better than the Hobbit.

[Reelya]

Everyone wants the next Game of Thrones basically. Sword Art Online got snapped up for an American TV remake too. If they take liberties with that it would fit the bill too: lots of cute girls, adventures, drama and death. And for good or ill, they'll probably stretch out the first arc of SAO to basically be 60 episodes an hour long instead of 13 x 25 minutes. By switching the focus to multiple side-characters then they could in fact pad that into an ensemble show pretty easily. They'd have to do a complete rewrite however to make this really work*.

*

its potential live-action series will follow "a brilliant young beta tester Kirito and his group of friends when they are trapped — alongside 10,000 other people — in a next-generation virtual reality online role-playing game. The game is a world unto itself: filled with sword fighting, monsters, magic and mystery, where the stakes are life and death. Kirito and an ensemble of diverse characters must fight their way through this hostile environment while making lives for themselves in the fantastical world that is Sword Art Online.

yeah "diverse group of friends" is not in the original SAO plot at all, basically. They're re-imagining this as an ensemble show.

It's similar to how there were a bunch of glossy-filmed "mysterious" shows after Lost became a big hit. The guy who greenlit Lost ended up being pushed out for being too risky (the opening was at the time, the most expensive opening episode of all time), however everyone then copied the "feel" with shows like e.g. "Heroes" a couple of years later: basically shows that ask more questions than it answers, and have many, many interweaving character narratives, so they leave you wondering how and when all the threads will join together. That's what Lost gave TV.

So, it's copy-cat time for GoT now. I wouldn't be too optimistic about Amazon putting this out. And I wouldn't be surprised if there's an arms-race here to get these things into production quicker than the next guy to try and tap into the "GoT" market as soon as that's over.

[Retropunch]

I'm a big Tolkien fan generally, but also loved the original LOTR films - I know they didn't sync with the books exactly, but they made for very entertaining films in themselves. If they can capture the feeling of the original films, it'll be enough for me.

The one thing that's sort of interesting about these new ones however is that they've apparently got the Tolkien estate's blessing which the films didn't have. I don't know how much that really means, as it could well be that they're just sort of 'do what you want, it's already ruined' but I'd like to think that they've actually managed to hit on something quite good.

More than anything, this is Amazon prime's version one chance to really hit the big time, so I imagine they'll be pulling out all the stops.

[NRDL]

I just wanna see orcs played by people with makeup and prostheses again.

Apart from that, if they are doing the Silmarillion, I am genuinely curious what Morgoth/Melkor would look like, considering they already gave the towering, armoured giant look to Sauron.

[SalmonGod]

More than anything, this is Amazon prime's version one chance to really hit the big time, so I imagine they'll be pulling out all the stops.

True... if this show does well, it could put them on course to rivalry with Netflix.

But that just makes me more wary... because they'll likely be worrying more about attention-seeking tactics than timeless storytelling with artfully woven themes, which is bound to ruin the nature of Tolkien's stories if that's the case.

I don't want them to be doing this because they think they can hit the same mass appeal notes with it as Game of Thrones.  I'm getting pissed off just imagining it.

If they can capture the feeling of the original films, it'll be enough for me.

And while I rabidly hate Peter Jackson's films, I will admit that they had a pretty good "feel" down with the general presentation.  If only he hadn't fucked up the core nature of most of the plot and its characters.

[Egan_BW]

Episode 3:
"Oh hey it's Tallion what's up gravewalker killed a lot of orks today hah seeya dude."

[Arx]

This could be good. This could also be big-budget bad fanfiction.

[Dorsidwarf]

I just wanna see orcs played by people with makeup and prostheses again.

Apart from that, if they are doing the Silmarillion, I am genuinely curious what Morgoth/Melkor would look like, considering they already gave the towering, armoured giant look to Sauron.

I'm pretty sure that that's what Morgoth does look like anyway, just with a different headpiece, and that his lieutenant was cribbing his style.

Might be misremembering though

[wierd]

Not originally. Morgoth is Illuvitar's "ambition."  Literally.  He would look like all the other Valar, at least initially.

This truth (that he is literally part of the big god) is why the valar did not rise up against him, and why they forbade mortals to do so either. (Humans did it anyway. That's part of the balad of Beren one hand.)

[Retropunch]

More than anything, this is Amazon prime's version one chance to really hit the big time, so I imagine they'll be pulling out all the stops.

True... if this show does well, it could put them on course to rivalry with Netflix.

But that just makes me more wary... because they'll likely be worrying more about attention-seeking tactics than timeless storytelling with artfully woven themes, which is bound to ruin the nature of Tolkien's stories if that's the case.

I don't want them to be doing this because they think they can hit the same mass appeal notes with it as Game of Thrones.  I'm getting pissed off just imagining it..

I'm imagining they'll do the latter part of the Second Age, and everything leading up to the battle with the last alliance. It's an easy GoT style sort of 'trying to unite everyone' vibe, and it's something that average fans are familiar with. They'll probably be able to ring in a few cameos as well (maybe Hugo Weaving etc.) to bring in an even wider audience.

I absolutely cannot imagine them doing anything with the valar or the whole first age. Your average 'read LotR and the Hobbit a long time ago and liked the movies' fan isn't going to know about all that, and it's a bit too...out there in places to make prime time TV.

[Baffler]

I'm waiting with nervous anticipation. It could be good, in the sense that the source material is good, but then I remember the Hobbit movies which are based on a good book but only good for scenery porn.

[nenjin]

I don't think I trust modern producers to handle the Simarillon in a classy way. It's a big, long, interwoven, at times dry, narrative. Ripe for some producer going "we need to sex this motherfucker up for modern audiences!"

[Retropunch]

I don't think I trust modern producers to handle the Simarillon in a classy way. It's a big, long, interwoven, at times dry, narrative. Ripe for some producer going "we need to sex this motherfucker up for modern audiences!"

I really doubt they will - it's far too difficult for them to tackle and it just wouldn't have the mainstream appeal.

I'm hoping for them to tackle the war of the last alliance due to it having a pretty straight forward plot with characters that are easy to expand on, and events that don't require them to have to do too much to make them interesting.  I'd much rather that than them just make up their own stuff set at the start of the third age.