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Amazon and WB discussing new LORD OF THE RINGS TV series

Werthead

By Werthead,
in Entertainment

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Jussi Council Member

Jussi

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8 hours ago, Werthead said:

My feeling is that Disney had two major mega-franchises with Marvel and Star Wars (and three with the Pixar movies)

There is also Frozen. Only one full-length movie so far, but it is one of Disney's biggest brands.

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red snow Council Member

red snow

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18 minutes ago, Jussi said:

There is also Frozen. Only one full-length movie so far, but it is one of Disney's biggest brands.

I may be off with the "Frozen" demographic but the drawback there is they usually aren't the ones with the cash for online TV subscriptions? I guess they could persuade their parents to do so but it's not as easy as the person wanting to watch it simply paying for it. Of course, I could be way off with Frozen and maybe there are a ton of adults who enjoy it. Star Wars, Potter, LOTR and superheroes have a broad church of fans - most of which can afford the channel.

EDIT: Also all the other franchises mentioned have rich world(s) to draw upon so there's almost limitless opportunities. I've seen "Frozen" and I wasn't thinking "oh, you could make a great film about that character/aspect".

A shared Disney animated universe could work - I'm sure many of them could coexist eg Aladdin, and the fairy tale characters. I guess the Lion King could fit in too as it's timeless (until animals in the film become extinct)

That said, it'd be an obvious show to have as a sweetener to the channel.

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polishgenius Council Member

polishgenius

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26 minutes ago, red snow said:

I may be off with the "Frozen" demographic but the drawback there is they usually aren't the ones with the cash for online TV subscriptions? I guess they could persuade their parents to do so but it's not as easy as the person wanting to watch it simply paying for it. Of course, I could be way off with Frozen and maybe there are a ton of adults who enjoy it. Star Wars, Potter, LOTR and superheroes have a broad church of fans - most of which can afford the channel.

EDIT: Also all the other franchises mentioned have rich world(s) to draw upon so there's almost limitless opportunities. I've seen "Frozen" and I wasn't thinking "oh, you could make a great film about that character/aspect".

A shared Disney animated universe could work - I'm sure many of them could coexist eg Aladdin, and the fairy tale characters. I guess the Lion King could fit in too as it's timeless (until animals in the film become extinct)

That said, it'd be an obvious show to have as a sweetener to the channel.



I guarantee you that if Disney did make a Frozen TV show in the near future, assuming it's a proper go and not a cheap cash in it would be one of the most watched things in the history of the world. If Disney load all their films and other offerings onto their streaming service parents aren't going to need their kids to ask for it: they'll be buying it pretty much automatically. 

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Corvinus85 Council Member

Corvinus85

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32 minutes ago, red snow said:

I may be off with the "Frozen" demographic but the drawback there is they usually aren't the ones with the cash for online TV subscriptions? I guess they could persuade their parents to do so but it's not as easy as the person wanting to watch it simply paying for it. Of course, I could be way off with Frozen and maybe there are a ton of adults who enjoy it. Star Wars, Potter, LOTR and superheroes have a broad church of fans - most of which can afford the channel.

EDIT: Also all the other franchises mentioned have rich world(s) to draw upon so there's almost limitless opportunities. I've seen "Frozen" and I wasn't thinking "oh, you could make a great film about that character/aspect".

A shared Disney animated universe could work - I'm sure many of them could coexist eg Aladdin, and the fairy tale characters. I guess the Lion King could fit in too as it's timeless (until animals in the film become extinct)

That said, it'd be an obvious show to have as a sweetener to the channel.

You clearly haven't watched Once Upon a Time. And it's live action, imagine what they could do with an animated show.

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red snow Council Member

red snow

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2 hours ago, polishgenius said:



I guarantee you that if Disney did make a Frozen TV show in the near future, assuming it's a proper go and not a cheap cash in it would be one of the most watched things in the history of the world. If Disney load all their films and other offerings onto their streaming service parents aren't going to need their kids to ask for it: they'll be buying it pretty much automatically. 

I think the UK has this already and it hasn't become the dominant streaming company over here. Not everyone is a parent of young children which might limit the broad appeal.

2 hours ago, Corvinus said:

You clearly haven't watched Once Upon a Time. And it's live action, imagine what they could do with an animated show.

I haven't but I was a big fan of the "fables" comic which was the same idea. Although I think it would be better animated and as a shared world rather than all the characters knowing they are Disney characters (or fairy tales). Just have a Disney world where they can all co-exist in the same way Marvel characters do.

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Calibandar Council Member

Calibandar

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On 11/14/2017 at 3:11 PM, Werthead said:

Interesting. Netflix offered $100 million for the rights and were turned down. They were not prepared to stump up $250 million, whilst Amazon were.

Also, Amazon have not yet even attempted to talk to Team Jackson about the project. You'd have thought at least a courtesy call would have been made.

I am taking that as a good sign. I am honestly hoping that since this is an entirely different company, they will go their own way, hire they own writers and producers, and do not be beholden to what Jackson created. I am so far encouraged by the rumors that they have not reached out to them. Someone else should get their chance this time, this is a golden opportunity that rarely comes around.

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Ran Council Member

Ran

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8 hours ago, ASOIAFrelatedusername said:

Appearently Christopher Tolkien has resigned back in August:

 

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Christopher_Tolkien

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07842430/officers

 

That certainly explains it, if it is true, although I find it a bit tasteless to do something against his wishes so shortly after his resignation

Huh. That does lead to some fairly unpleasant thoughts about this all. Perhaps Le Monde or some other outlet will get an interview with him and clarify his view on the matter. That said, his second wife Baillie remains an active director. So perhaps what actually happened is that once he felt comfortable with the way they wanted to approach things, he signed off on it.

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Werthead Council Member

Werthead

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Christopher said when working on Beren and Luthien that this would complete his work on his father's legacy. It might be well that at 92 he decided the time had come to retire. Also, to be frank, Beren and Luthien was very much the bottom of the barrel being well and truly scraped.

It's interesting to see that Simon Tolkien has come in from the cold and is on the board (Royd isn't, which isn't a surprise). Simon and Priscilla have always been very pro-adaptations and collaborations (Priscilla advised Ralph Bakshi on his film version; Simon actively helped Peter Jackson and IIRC had a cameo in the films) and Michael has been staunchly against them. It's worth noting that Michael is the only one of the younger guard to have known JRRT well; he was 31 when JRRT died, so probably feels he has a responsibility that the younger generation doesn't. Reportedly Adam was also not very keen on adaptations, but there was some speculation that he might be just keeping his father sweet.

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polishgenius Council Member

polishgenius

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9 hours ago, ASOIAFrelatedusername said:

That certainly explains it, if it is true, although I find it a bit tasteless to do something against his wishes so shortly after his resignation



Meh. This is a guy who cut ties with his son for supporting the Jackson movies. While they have since reconciled, if he's that kind of person his wishes can do one.


And I don't even want this series to happen.

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Ran Council Member

Ran

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To be fair, we only ever got Simon's side of the story, and it's not entirely clear that the disagreement regarding Jackson's films were the sole or even the primary reason for the estrangement. I recall a Telegraph article that hinted that Simon was barred from commenting on "other reasons" for the disagreement -- the film stuff was the only thing he was allowed to speak on.

Suppose the beef was that he actually had a falling out with his father over issues with his step-mother -- whom I remember him complaining about -- and it got serious enough that there was actual legal action (hence his being barred from commenting for legal reasons), so he took out his frustration and ended up over-emphasizing the role that his attitude towards the films had in the estrangement?

In the end, we don't know. We just know what Simon claimed at the time. I don't know the man and have no particular reason to distrust _or_ trust him. But without CT's side of it, it's pretty hard to pass judgment without knowing it.

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polishgenius Council Member

polishgenius

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31 minutes ago, Ran said:

To be fair, we only ever got Simon's side of the story, and it's not entirely clear that the disagreement regarding Jackson's films were the sole or even the primary reason for the estrangement. I recall a Telegraph article that hinted that Simon was barred from commenting on "other reasons" for the disagreement -- the film stuff was the only thing he was allowed to speak on.

Suppose the beef was that he actually had a falling out with his father over issues with his step-mother -- whom I remember him complaining about -- and it got serious enough that there was actual legal action (hence his being barred from commenting for legal reasons), so he took out his frustration and ended up over-emphasizing the role that his attitude towards the films had in the estrangement?

In the end, we don't know. We just know what Simon claimed at the time. I don't know the man and have no particular reason to distrust _or_ trust him. But without CT's side of it, it's pretty hard to pass judgment without knowing it.



That's fair.

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Jerol Council Member

Jerol

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Hmm, with Christopher Tolkien no longer being a roadblock that might open up all of the properties. If I were Amazon/Bezos I'd secure WETA for effects and costuming immediately. Then start shopping for writers and directors. There's a host of fantasy authors that would love a crack at some of these tales. And I'd definitely approach Guillermo del Toro and Patty Jenkins with the question "which of these stories would you like to tell".  

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