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from the Bilbo-and-Frodo-and-Gandalf,-oh-my! dept.
From Deadline.com:
In its quest to launch a hit fantasy series of the caliber of Game of Thrones, Amazon has closed a massive deal, said to be close to $250 million, to acquire the global TV rights to The Lord of the Rings, based on the fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. The streaming service has given a multi-season commitment to a LOTR series in the pact, which also includes a potential spin-off series.
The LOTR original series, a prequel to Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, 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.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday November 15 2017, @04:24AM
Yeah no, that's a tiny kernel of truth exaggerated far beyond reality, as an excuse for shitty craft.
It's certainly not easy to adapt a good book to the screen, but it's been done. Hollywood, today, never even tries.
"Ask 500 people who saw these films and they will tell you they were awesome, and probably can't be improved upon, and should probably just be left alone."
500 people who have never and would never read so much as a chapter of Tolkiens prose? Probably.
My reaction was a bit different. I gave them points for exceeding my extremely low expectations, but not many points, because it really wasn't good. It just wasn't quite as awful as I expected.
"There is this unfortunate tendency in Hollywood to never leave well finished alone. Always want to screw it up, cheapen it, trying to wring more money out of it rather than pick up a new book (there is no shortage of them) and start over. There are literally thousands of random sifi and fantasy series that could serve as a vehicle for a new franchise. I see no reason to drive this Bently over the cliff of repetition."
The reason is simple incompetence. Hollywood has no craft left. There may be competent writers in the town but they certainly aren't working in the business. You might check the homeless shelters.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?