Amazon's Rings of Power - General Discussion Thread (SPOILERS)

[Deck Rickard]

Fallen Kingdom is just... weird to me. Like, Jurassic World did the whole Force Awakens thing in that it kinda tries to remake the original film but also be a sequel with some new stuff at the same time. And I think, for the most part, it works. It's not a great movie (as I said earlier, I don't think any of them really are) and there's some really crappy stuff in it but it's fairly entertaining. Fallen Kingdom... I'm honestly not sure what they were going for there. At times I feel like they're trying to semi-remake The Lost World (terrible idea) and then at other times... I don't know what they were doing. The whole end sequence seemed like they were going for a haunted house feel, maybe? I don't think it's terrible but it's by no means good. Is it worse than The Lost World? Eh, that was a bad adaptation of a sucky book that turned into a bad Godzilla movie at the end. But Fallen Kingdom was just... weird. Also, you'd think a guy who has been acting for 800 years like James Cromwell would be able to do a convincing English accent, but NOPE.

 

[Batmannerism]

This is big news down here, as it's likely to pump a ton of money into our economy - particularly down here in Wellington.

TBH I struggle to believe that this series is going to one up Peter Jackson's trilogy - which sets the benchmark for awesome in the fantasy genre. So my question is " why bother ?" True, the original LOTR films are nearly 20 years old and I know it's a prequel that predates the Hobbit, but does anyone really care about that ?

Who knows ? I could very well be wrong.

I will say this though, if Gandalf is recast then I probably won't bother with it.

 

[THORin]

This is big news down here, as it's likely to pump a ton of money into our economy - particularly down here in Wellington.

TBH I struggle to believe that this series is going to one up Peter Jackson's trilogy - which sets the benchmark for awesome in the fantasy genre. So my question is " why bother ?" True, the original LOTR films are nearly 20 years old and I know it's a prequel that predates the Hobbit, but does anyone really care about that ?

Who knows ? I could very well be wrong.

I will say this though, if Gandalf is recast then I probably won't bother with it.

If Gandalf is in it at all, I probably won’t bother to watch it. Gandalf isn’t supposed to be around in the time period when this show takes place.

Me, personally, I’m very excited for this show because I think it can explore a bunch of things very dear to Tolkien’s heart that aren’t in LOTR. Some of the histories of the Elves, and the themes of immortality vs mortality, the Valar and the Maiar, the idea of an inspiration for the story of Atlantis, etc.

 

[TheVileOne]

This is big news down here, as it's likely to pump a ton of money into our economy - particularly down here in Wellington.

TBH I struggle to believe that this series is going to one up Peter Jackson's trilogy - which sets the benchmark for awesome in the fantasy genre. So my question is " why bother ?" True, the original LOTR films are nearly 20 years old and I know it's a prequel that predates the Hobbit, but does anyone really care about that ?

Who knows ? I could very well be wrong.

I will say this though, if Gandalf is recast then I probably won't bother with it.

Didn't The Hobbit trilogy sort of screw everyone in New Zealand over and support anti-union practices?

 

[Finarfiniel]

This is big news down here, as it's likely to pump a ton of money into our economy - particularly down here in Wellington.

TBH I struggle to believe that this series is going to one up Peter Jackson's trilogy - which sets the benchmark for awesome in the fantasy genre. So my question is " why bother ?" True, the original LOTR films are nearly 20 years old and I know it's a prequel that predates the Hobbit, but does anyone really care about that ?

Who knows ? I could very well be wrong.

I will say this though, if Gandalf is recast then I probably won't bother with it.

Like @THORin already pointed out, there'll be no Gandalf unless they're playing very fast and loose with the source material, Gandalf didn't arrive in Middle-earth until a thousand years into the Third Age and this show is set in the Second Age. The only notable LotR film characters that were alive that far back are Galadriel, Elrond and Celeborn. I really don't want to see either Galadriel or Elrond recast (I'm far too attached to Blanchett and Weaving in the roles) so I'm really hoping they somehow manage to get both actors in the show as special guest stars for an episode or two at least.

I was very unsure about this show at first, especially when the news came out about it being a Young Aragorn show, but now that we know it's not and the show is actually going to be set in the Second Age, I'm much more excited. I'll always be up for more Middle-earth on screen providing that it's done respectfully.

 

[Batmannerism]

Didn't The Hobbit trilogy sort of screw everyone in New Zealand over and support anti-union practices?

That's a complicated question.

As someone who was an extra in the first Hobbit film (and yes, I never get tired of sharing that, even when nobody's asked) I can tell you that the production created a lot of jobs and put a big boost into our economy.

As for the law change, yes it was anti-union. Essentially it made everyone who worked in the film industry an independent contractor ( it shut out the union).

The next question is "was this a bad thing?"
Honestly I don't know, but I suspect that Hollywood would consider cheaper alternatives if NZ unions started cutting into their profit margins - given the distance between us and the rest of the world.
Again, I really don't know.

 

[TheVileOne]

That's a complicated question.

As someone who was an extra in the first Hobbit film (and yes, I never get tired of sharing that, even when nobody's asked) I can tell you that the production created a lot of jobs and put a big boost into our economy.

As for the law change, yes it was anti-union. Essentially it made everyone who worked in the film industry an independent contractor ( it shut out the union).

The next question is "was this a bad thing?"
Honestly I don't know, but I suspect that Hollywood would consider cheaper alternatives if NZ unions started cutting into their profit margins - given the distance between us and the rest of the world.
Again, I really don't know.

Fair enough.

 

[Batmannerism]

Like @THORin already pointed out, there'll be no Gandalf unless they're playing very fast and loose with the source material, Gandalf didn't arrive in Middle-earth until a thousand years into the Third Age and this show is set in the Second Age. The only notable LotR film characters that were alive that far back are Galadriel, Elrond and Celeborn. I really don't want to see either Galadriel or Elrond recast (I'm far too attached to Blanchett and Weaving in the roles) so I'm really hoping they somehow manage to get both actors in the show as special guest stars for an episode or two at least.

I was very unsure about this show at first, especially when the news came out about it being a Young Aragorn show, but now that we know it's not and the show is actually going to be set in the Second Age, I'm much more excited. I'll always be up for more Middle-earth on screen providing that it's done respectfully.

Thank you for clearing that up. I could never keep my ages of Middle East straight. Does that mean that the Silmarilion will be the primary source material ? Or will it deal with the sinking of Numenor ?

Having read about that stuff ages ago it's not very fresh in my mind - but I seem to remember that characters weren't well developed, even important ones like Beren and Luthien and Feanor.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

Thank you for clearing that up. I could never keep my ages of Middle East straight. Does that mean that the Silmarilion will be the primary source material ? Or will it deal with the sinking of Numenor ?

Having read about that stuff ages ago it's not very fresh in my mind - but I seem to remember that characters weren't well developed, even important ones like Beren and Luthien and Feanor.

The Silmarillion is definitely tough to get through, and I thought the same thing you did about its characters. It seemed more like a reading of facts than a well-developed story to me. But like you, I haven't read it in forever.

But most of Silmarillion is in the 1st Age, so I doubt we'll see it used as a source very much. That, and I think there are still questions about whether those rights belong to Amazon along with the Middle Earth rights they did acquire.

Others here probably know better than me, so if anybody has better intel, I'd love to hear it!

 

[Abudefduf]

The characters in the Silmarillion weren't meant to be complex. The book is pretty much the Bible of Middle-Earth.

 

[Albright]

Was really hoping, to get something at SDCC. Maybe its still really really far away

 

[Silvermoth]

Maybe not at a comic con. But let’s keep an eye out for future entertainment conventions. There’s more than a few

 

[Persona]

Gonna be hard to really show or tell anything when they don't even have a full crew in place yet.

 

[James.B]

‘Lord of the Rings’ Series at Amazon Taps First Cast Member (EXCLUSIVE)

Variety has learned from multiple sources that Markella Kavenagh is in talks for a role in the upcoming epic fantasy series. Details of Kavenagh’s characters are being kept under wraps, but sources say she would be playing a character named Tyra.

Kavenagh is known for having previously starred in the sequel series to the Australian film “Romper Stomper” as well as for roles in the shows “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and “The Cry.”

 

[THORin]

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH I CANT WAIT

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

‘Lord of the Rings’ Series at Amazon Taps First Cast Member (EXCLUSIVE)

Variety has learned from multiple sources that Markella Kavenagh is in talks for a role in the upcoming epic fantasy series. Details of Kavenagh’s characters are being kept under wraps, but sources say she would be playing a character named Tyra.

Kavenagh is known for having previously starred in the sequel series to the Australian film “Romper Stomper” as well as for roles in the shows “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and “The Cry.”

 

[Persona]

Can't imagine her character is actually named "Tyra" as it doesn't get much more un-Tolkien sounding than that. It's probably something like Tiria or whatever and the sources are all just, "What'd you say? Tyra?"

As a lover of the Hanging Rock movie I've been meaning to check out the show for a while now. It just got moved to the top of my queue.

 

[Abudefduf]

That's one of the most generic fantasy names I've ever heard.

 

[THORin]

Can't imagine her character is actually named "Tyra" as it doesn't get much more un-Tolkien sounding than that. It's probably something like Tiria or whatever and the sources are all just, "What'd you say? Tyra?"

As a lover of the Hanging Rock movie I've been meaning to check out the show for a while now. It just got moved to the top of my queue.

According to one of my friends over at The One Ring forums, “Tyra” is merely a code name that Amazon has been using for auditions.

 

[Abudefduf]

Good, because it kind of sucks.

 

[Silvermoth]

Woo first casting! How exciting! It’s starting to become more real!

 

[Kaleb]

'Lord of the Rings' Creative Team Set at Amazon

Here's who's doing what on Lord of the Rings for Amazon:
• Executive producers Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire) and Amazon's former head of genre Sharon Tal Yguado
• Writer/executive producers Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad), Jason Cahill (The Sopranos) and Justin Doble (Stranger Things)
• Consulting producers Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) and Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4)
• Producer Ron Ames (The Aviator)
• Writer/co-producer Helen Shang (Hannibal)
• Writing consultant Glenise Mullins.
• Costume designer Kate Hawley (Suicide Squad)
• Production designer Rick Heinrichs (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)
• Visual effects supervisor Jason Smith (The Revenant)
• Tolkien scholar Tom Shippe
• Illustrator/concept artist John Howe

 

[OutOfBoose]

Costume designer Kate Hawley (Suicide Squad)

John Howe save us.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I can’t wait to see Beren’s grill and Luthien’s fishnets.

 

[James.B]