Lord of the Rings... the TV Series

45,562 Views | 316 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by shaynew1
TCTTS
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This is so ****ing stupid.

What makes Game of Thrones so popular isn't that it's simply action/fantasy. It's all the intangibles, including the cast, writing, direction, etc. Also, we have no idea how it's going to end. We watch to see who's going to win the game and how.

Who the hell would watch a LOTR show this soon after they bloated the hell out of that franchise theatrically? I loved the originals - the first two, in particular (though I walked out 20 minutes into the first Hobbit movie and never saw another one) - but there is just no way I'd sit through that entire story again.

Granted, it's been nearly 14 years since The Return of the King hit theaters, and it would likely be another three before this ever saw the light of day, but still. Neither the books nor the movies warrant an update in any way. It all just feels so damn exhausting at this point.
SeattleAgJr
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yeah, no. We had as good an adaption as we are likely to get, warts and all.

not needed. not wanted.

money would be better used on more and cheaper shows.
Duncan Idaho
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So it isn't something set in middle Earth but at an earlier time?

There is enough material to do a good prequel series
Aggie_Journalist
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If they had the production value of the original trilogy but told a different story in the Tolkien universe, I'd give it a shot.

There's certainly no need to retell the LOTR story, but there are a ton of other tales in that universe. It's rich in lore. Could be pretty fun.
Thanks and gig'em
mhayden
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Use that money for a real Dark Tower series.
Brian Earl Spilner
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You walked out 20 minutes into a 3 hour movie?
Madmarttigan
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The original LOTR trilogy is arguably still by far and away the best fantasy adaption of a book on screen. There isn't a great way to tell with GoT because the show has outpaced the books. I love Harry Potter but I believe the movies had a lot of issues in how they told the story.

Why would they possibly want to mess with what is one of the best movie trilogies ever made?

Effing Hollywood sometimes.

What makes this so aggravating is the massive amount of original material that is waiting on the shelf to be explored. Butcher, Sanderson, and so many other fantasy writers have great material to start with.

Showtime already **** the bed with the Kingkiller Chronicles announcement that isn't going to actually be about the story and now this.

Also I wouldn't blame TC for walking out of a Hobbit movie, LOTR is amazing but I can't stomach the Hobbit movies.
TCTTS
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It was one of those early, terrible 60 FPS showings. I hated it somehow even more than 3D. That, and I just wasn't feeling the movie at all.
Brian Earl Spilner
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If this is the actual LOTR story, no thanks. Not gonna top Jackson. If it's anything else set in Middle Earth, then I'm in.

They better get Howard Shore.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Also, the thought of another actor playing Gandalf legitimately bugs me.
Brian Earl Spilner
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I could be down for a young Aragorn series, in a Jon Snow - esque role.
powerbelly
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You could easily have a series showing the rangers guarding middle earth.
jr15aggie
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TCTTS said:

It was one of those early, terrible 60 FPS showings. I hated it somehow even more than 3D. That, and I just wasn't feeling the movie at all.


I did hear the 60 fps thing didn't go over too well. Looked very fake. I've seen that effect with people that have their TVs calibrated weird... The smoothness of the picture makes it look silly.
Madmarttigan
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Just got my new tv and had to turn that trumotion crap off
ja86
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There is a ****load of material that they could use that has all heroic actions combined with backstabbing, murdering, two timing infighting in the face of a greater threat that any writer could ever want with first and second age history of middle earth.
SeattleAgJr
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ja86 said:

There is a ****load of material that they could use that has all heroic actions combined with backstabbing, murdering, two timing infighting in the face of a greater threat that any writer could ever want with first and second age history of middle earth.
but I believe Christopher Tolkien has locked all of that down.

I think the only subject matter than can be licensed is the timeline between The Hobbit and LOTR.

The Silmarillion and related time period is not licensed out in any form.
ja86
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yeah, I forgot about Christopher's lock down on the copy rights.
SeattleAgJr
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ANY media firm that buys into this is ******ed.
From Deadine:
I hear Amazon, Netflix and HBO had been approached about the project, which comes with an upfront rights payment said to be in the $200 $250 million range. That is just for the rights, before any costs for development, talent and production. 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. (I hear the pitch at HBO involved producer Jane Tranter whose company is partially owned by HBO and Sky but the general package has no talent attached.) On top of that, the budget for a fantasy series of that magnitude is likely to be $100-$150 a season.
GoodOldAgs
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I'd be a favor of turning the Silmarillion into a TV series, if any fellow nerds know what I'm talking about. The Second Age has a lot of material to work with as well.
chipotle
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Hobbit pron
tallgrant
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SeattleAgJr said:

ja86 said:

There is a ****load of material that they could use that has all heroic actions combined with backstabbing, murdering, two timing infighting in the face of a greater threat that any writer could ever want with first and second age history of middle earth.
but I believe Christopher Tolkien has locked all of that down.

I think the only subject matter than can be licensed is the timeline between The Hobbit and LOTR.

The Silmarillion and related time period is not licensed out in any form.


This. The Tolkien estate has generally hated the adaptations done for LotR and the Hobbit. He sold the rights for money during his lifetime and I think regretted it 10-15 years later. They hold the rights to everything else very closely, and they're a quite picky in how adaptations even touch the First and Second Age stuff.
Al Bula
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Brian Earl Spilner said:

You walked out 20 minutes into a 3 hour movie?
to be fair the hobbit trilogy licked hairy dwarf ass
amercer
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I love Tolkien but anything they did would look like a cheap game of thrones knockoff. People don't love game of thrones because it's a grand fantasy world. They love it because it's a well written, violent, soap opera with boobs.
91_Aggie
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free_mhayden said:

Use that money for a real Dark Tower series.


Ugh. Only If it stayed with Roland when he was younger and stayed in that world.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Funny how in S1, many would've said GoT looked like a cheap LOTR knockoff.
Chipotlemonger
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Brian Earl Spilner said:

Funny how in S1, many would've said GoT looked like a cheap LOTR knockoff.


Yea I dunno if I agree with that..
Al Bula
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Brian Earl Spilner said:

Funny how in S1, many would've said GoT looked like a cheap LOTR knockoff.


MajorValchek
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I'm sure the money is there to justify it. Not sure how they determine this with a subscription system either way though. Definitely a bad idea.

Where's my Dune miniseries. This can definitely be marketed like Game of Thrones in space.
bangobango
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Lot of my great fantasy series out there that would make a lot better adaptation for a tv series.
bangobango
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And I've still never seen the final movie of the Hobbit trilogy and The Hobbit was my favorite novel growing up.
chipotle
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bangobango said:

And I've still never seen the final movie of the Hobbit trilogy and The Hobbit was my favorite novel growing up.


I just wanted it to be over. It was worse than a transformer movie.
bangobango
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I got so pissed with some of the ridiculousness in the first two, I figured I'd do myself a favor and just sit the last one out.

Pretty sad when the cartoon Hobbit movie was less catoony than the live action movies.
swimmerbabe11
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I'll watch it.
I'll hate every moment of it, but I'll keep watching it.
I'm ashamed to admit I'll probably enjoy it, even though I'll hate it.
KidDoc
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I'm a big fantasy, former D&D/GURPS type nerd. One of the big reasons GOT has cross over appeal is that it is a "low fantasy" world at least in the beginning. No fireballs, no races (dwarves, elves, hobbits, etc) just fairly realistic medieval era politics and backstabbing then they slowly introduce the magic side with dragons, warging, returning from the dead, zombies, etc. I think having a "high fantasy" setting is generally a turn off to most non-nerdy people.

On that note I think this series would fail. I do think a TV series based on Abercrombie's first law would be amazing considering how popular Vikings is. In a different genre I think Butcher's Dresden files would be good as well. I know it is a bit high fantasy but it uses popular fables like vampires & werewolves and is pretty funny. The initial try @ Dresden was very poorly funded and poorly done.

I love Sanderson's books but I don't think they would translate well.

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bangobango
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KidDoc said:

I'm a big fantasy, former D&D/GURPS type nerd. One of the big reasons GOT has cross over appeal is that it is a "low fantasy" world at least in the beginning. No fireballs, no races (dwarves, elves, hobbits, etc) just fairly realistic medieval era politics and backstabbing then they slowly introduce the magic side with dragons, warging, returning from the dead, zombies, etc. I think having a "high fantasy" setting is generally a turn off to most non-nerdy people.

On that note I think this series would fail. I do think a TV series based on Abercrombie's first law would be amazing considering how popular Vikings is. In a different genre I think Butcher's Dresden files would be good as well. I know it is a bit high fantasy but it uses popular fables like vampires & werewolves and is pretty funny. The initial try @ Dresden was very poorly funded and poorly done.

I love Sanderson's books but I don't think they would translate well.




I think Sanders's reckoner series would come off pretty well and could be done on a realistic budget.
 
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