Amazon sets the date for televised return to Middle Earth: September 2022

Amazon Studios, Jeff Bezos' filmed entertainment outfit, said its much-anticipated Lord of the Rings television series will debut on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, September 2, 2022. The much-anticipated first season is thought to have cost Amazon US$465m to make on top of the US$250m it shelled out for rights to Tolkien's …

[Sceptic Tank]

Ah, a prequel to extend the life of the franchise. There's going to be vampires in it, right?

[Anonymous Coward]

Vampires are now produces, directors, and screenwriters who attempt to suck the last blood from old works because they have no clue about writing new ones. Also, expect a "politically correct" show....

[Plest]

Where the money goes

"produces, directors, and screenwriters who attempt to suck the last blood from old works because they have no clue about writing new ones"

It's not those people so much as the studio money men will simply not invest in anything that poses any sort of risk, pay for the what will sell and nothing else. So if you want to make a living in the creative arts then you fall in line and simply produce what you know will earn you a crust, you sell out to pay your bills and get to do the job you want. Once you have some money then you can invest in risky ventures with young people so you can live your dreams through younger people.

Let's factor in YouTube and TikTok, some idiot with a mobile phone, a stupid voice and 30 secs to spare has 5m followers and makes more in 5 mins of sponsorship deals than most of us will see in a year's earnings.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Where the money goes

Looking at how bad they are even at reusing old works I understand why they are afraid to submit new ones or even ideas.

Still true artists are not those who just try to remade what was already made - but it is true that like Star Wars there are too many - let's call them naive.... - people who will pay and drink any Kool-Aid as long as it has the logo and recreated images of actors died long ago in it.

[jonathan keith]

What is it about respect and equality that you find so troubling?

[Anonymous Coward]

"you find so troubling?"

Fake respect and equality just because activists yell around, so you throw some bones at them.

[the spectacularly refined chap]

Also, expect a "politically correct" show....

Probably not, it's more likely to be chock full of gratuitous female nudity, because you know... viewers. Subscribers expect some bang for buck or they'll go back to HBO

[Howard Sway]

Sure, but you'll have to wait for season 7 before the Millennium Falcon turns up.

[Little Mouse]

It'll be all the main characters from the movies appearing as 28 year-old "teenagers", attending the same high school.

[Charlie Clark]

Not more bloody battle scenes

Going back to some of the earlier, but less complete, stories would at least allow the writers to get away from Tolkien's plodding narratives and minimal character development.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Not more bloody battle scenes

Yeah, I'm kinda hoping it will have the "based on..." disclaimer. Use the world, and tell new stories, or at least add significantly to the existing stories. After all, it's an episodic TV series not a feature length film. They have the time to develop the characters slowly and properly.

On the other hand, it's a huge budget and they want massive ratings, so I'm expecting more explosions, car crashes and laser blasts than ever before!!!

[Kevin McMurtrie]

I think you meant "product placement"

[John Brown (no body)]

"There's going to be vampires in it, right?"

And zombies! Don't forget the zombies!

[Dazed and Confused]

There's going to be vampires in it, right?

That would be the First Age too

[swm]

The second age is already written up in Tolkien's "Silmarillion" etc. So is the first age.

[Dan 55]

"the same day Google opens Auckland office"

Well that's fortuitous, Amazon can use Google's office as the location for Mount Doom with the all-seeing eye hovering above it.

[Pascal Monett]

Production subsidies ?!?

He's a fucking billionnaire.

He can subsidize his own productions.

What a joke. As if anything concerning Middle Earth would be filmed anywhere else. New Zealand just screwed itself for $100M+.

[Stuart Castle]

Re: Production subsidies ?!?

Billionaires don't get to be billionaires by paying for stuff they can get others to.

Trump for instance, could have financed his own campaigns entirely, this making himself a truly independent candidate. He didn't. He sought donations, and pretended to be independent. Now while I don't believe he is as wealthy as he likes us to think, he is probably wealthy enough to afford to do that.

[Stuart Castle]

Re: Production subsidies ?!?

Re:"What a joke. As if anything concerning Middle Earth would be filmed anywhere else. New Zealand just screwed itself for $100M+."

Not sure I entirely agree with that. LOTR is likely to bring a lot more that $100M in tourism alone. It will also provide a lot of jobs for the locals. Both things any reasonably competent government would want. These jobs can bring stability to an area for years. I believe the Irish government made about £60m a year from the Game of Thrones filming. That's not an amount to be sniffed at, even for a government.

LOTR could easily be filmed elsewhere. If they want the stunning vistas and views of Middle Earth, they could send a couple of camera operators over there for a few weeks, then film the entire series on a Hollywood backlot, compositing in the footage of NZ as and when needed. At a pinch, they could recreate the entire landscape using CGI.

The film producers have been doing this for years. Usually it's if a TV show needs to visit another country for one or two episodes, the budget probably wouldn't stretch to sending out an entire crew to another country for a week or two.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Production subsidies ?!?

It's still peanuts in a government budget though.

According to the Grauniad, back in 2006, "a mile of new motorway has risen to £29.9m. Adding an extra lane to a motorway costs £10m a mile, and a mile of dual carriageway costs £16.2m."

Of course, all income from outside is good income, but we mere mortals don't generally deal with the sort of rarefied numbers that Government budgets and projects deal with. You need to study Neomathematics and require a practical understanding of the General and Special Theories of Disaster Area Tax Returns

[fpx]

Re: Production subsidies ?!?

Re: "LOTR is likely to bring a lot more that $100M in tourism alone"

I never understood why people would go all the way to NZ ... to visit a film set.

Isn't there anything else in NZ worth visiting?

[ChrisElvidge]

Not more fucking elves.

[Anonymous Coward]

Given it's on Amazon I don't think it will indulge in much content of a sexual nature...

... oh, I see what you meant. Never mind me, as you were.

[Wellyboot]

Nope.. Being immortal, it's mostly the same elves.

On the other hand there could be many more Dragons with a penchant for toasted elf..

[Chris G]

Will that be on porn hub?

Asking for a friend.

[Huw L-D]

Their branding isn't working for you. Sorry, I mean your friend...

[Dazed and Confused]

Well maybe getting the rights to Bored of the Rings was cheaper.

[DammEstrella]

You are HVD Dyson and I claim my £5

[Benchops]

Oh come on.

2 September? We've waited so long they could have bumped it a few weeks to 22 September surely? A long expected series?!

[KBeee]

Re: Oh come on.

I really don't get that comment. Was it a joke about announcing the air date when it's still 13 to 14 months away?

[marceluitNL]

Having been in space, I thought Bezos was going to the middle of the earth himself, like Professor Otto Lidenbrock from Journey to the center of the world, by Jules Verne.