Spoilers Middle Earth/The Hobbit/ Lord of the Rings

[Huntn]

Return of the King (2003)

• Andy Serkis- deserved an Oscar for his portrayal as Gollum.
• More magical elves, Rivendell, and the Arwen-Aragorn love story!
• The Stewart of Gondor does not want to relinquish his power.
• The lighting of the beacons is epic. Good job Pippin!
• Gandalf drives off the Nazgul with a bright light covering the retreat from Osgilith.
• Faramir rides on a suicide mission for his father, while Pippin sings a mournful ballad. I shed a tear over this scene.
• Aragorn armed with Anduril, Flame of the West, rides through the Dimholt Forest, through the Dark Door, under the Dwimorberg Mountain, to confront the Dead who owe a debt... superbly spooky.
• The entire movie builds up to the Battle of Pelennor Fields and it is epic.
• In his grief Denethor, Steward of Gondor yells for his forces to abandon their posts and Gandalf responds by giving him an ass whoop’n, yelling at them to fight.
• Nazgul descend on Minus Tirith one of the cinematic scenes in the movie.
• Shelob is one nasty spider.
• Denethor becomes a bottle rocket of sorts.
• The King of Gondor arrives on the battlefield hitting Morder’s Right flank in an amazing charge.
• Men versus the Oliphants, incredibly cinematic.
• Gandalf’s Death Is Not The End speech.
• Eowyn faces down The Witch King of Agmar, Lord of the Nazgul.
• Likely the single most impressive shot in this movie is Legolas taking down an Oliphant by himself.

• Sam rescues Frodo, the Good Guys create a diversion, and they deliver The Ring to Mount Doom, with some last minute indecision, betrayal, a fight, and a most unlikely of heroes unwittingly saves the day.
• The happiest of Endings!

​

 

[Huntn]

Jan 2020- Lord of the Rings on Amazon: everything we know about the prequel TV series

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: release date, trailer, cast, and more

The Rings of Power season 1 is available in full on Prime Video

www.techradar.com

Estimated arrival Date: 2021.

UPDATE: We've had a number of new cast members announced for the LOTR TV show on Amazon. Read on below for everything we know so far, including the latest news, rumors, cast announcements, likely air dates, and (of course) a healthy amount of speculation.

If you haven't heard already – yes, a Lord of the Rings TV show is on the way.

Retailer, streaming service, and production studio Amazon fought off fierce competition to buy the rights to the books, costing a colossal $250 million (£230m, or AU$270m) to create five seasons based on J. R. R. Tolkien's world-famous high fantasy novels, which lay out a mystical world of elves, dwarves, dragons and hobbits threatened by a nightmarish evil known as Sauron (the big tower-eye-thingy from the films, remember?).

Amazon is right at the coal face of the so-called golden age of TV and investing millions in content like the Lord of the Rings TV show to stick it to their fellow, and similarly spendthrift, streaming rivals. The company is also looking to create the next Game of Thrones phenomenon (there's even an upcoming Game of Thrones prequel), but few source novels have as strong a hold on the popular imagination as Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Also mentioned in this link about a Middle Earth Game: Mac Rumors Game Forum Link.
July 2019- Amazon Games Announces Interactive Middle-Earth Tolkien Game; Multiplayer Experience Set Prior To ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Events

Amazon Games Announces Interactive Middle-Earth Tolkien Game; Multiplayer Experience Set Prior To ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Events

A free-to-play, “massively multiplayer” online game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe of hobbits, wizards and dragons is on its way from Amazon Game Studios in collaboration with Middle-earth Enterprises and Hong Kong-based interactive developer and publisher Leyou Technologies. As yet untitled...

deadline.com

To be published on PC and console, the game – set prior to the events depicted in the Lord of the Rings trilogy – is unrelated to the LOTR-based TV series being developed by Amazon.

 

[Huntn]

EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE LORD OF THE RINGS AMAZON SERIES
THE SERIES, BASED ON J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S NOVELS, TAKES PLACE IN THE SECOND AGE, WHICH MEANS SAURON WILL BE AN INTEGRAL CHARACTER. PLUS, FIND OUT WHICH OTHER CHARACTERS WE MIGHT MEET.

Everything We Know About Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

See the new trailer here! And see photos of Orcs and key Elves. The series' cast includes Robert Aramayo ("Game of Thrones") as young Elrond, and Morfydd Clark ("Saint Maud") as young Galadriel. Find out which other characters we will meet in the streaming giant's epic series based on J.R.R...

editorial.rottentomatoes.com

Jan 2020- More info than this in the article:
Amazon Studios announced 15 series-regular cast members during the Television Critics Association winter press tour, on January 14.

Row 1 (in tweet above):
Robert Aramayo
Nazanin Boniadi
Joseph Mawle
Owain Arthur
Ismael Cruz Córdova

Row 2:
Sophia Nomvete
Tyroe Muhafidin
Tom Budge
Charlie Vickers
Morfydd Clark

Row 3:
Ema Horvath
Daniel Weyman
Markella Kavenagh
Dylan Smith
Megan Richards

Amazon Studios Co-Head of Television Vernon Sanders told reporters at TCA that they’ve had the first table read, they’re not finished casting, and production begins in February.

“We have looked throughout the globe for the right people to bring this to life, and we are extraordinarily proud of the cast we’ve assembled,” Sanders said. “This isn’t all the cast. We still have a few key roles to cast, but we were there for the table read. It was amazing. The passion and the devotion to the Tolkien legendarium is really tangible there. So we will have more news over the next month or so and give updates. We’ll start production next month.”

Amazon Studios did not release character details, but some media outlets have released unofficial details.

Aramayo, who U.S. audiences know as young Ned Stark from seasons 6 and 7 of Game of Thrones, reportedly replaced Will Poulter (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch), who was reportedly cast in a lead role, but pulled out due to scheduling conflicts.

His Dark Materials actress Clark reportedly will portray the young version of Galadriel, the role played by Cate Blanchett in Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies.

Mawle most recognizably played Benjen Stark on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Variety reported in October that sources say he will play a villain named Oren. (Could he be a Ranger perhaps?)

In July, actor Kavenagh was said to be in talks to play a character called Tyra — a name new to Middle-earth.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Can’t wait to see this!

 

[Huntn]

Brought from the Movie thread regarding extended versions of LOTR:

The extended versions of The Lord of the Rings were excellent and added a lot to the movies.

I agree! I feel like this was one of the exceptions to the rule. The books were so dense that cutting the movies down to a more 'audience friendly' running time resulted in missing pieces that made other scenes not quite work as well as they otherwise would.

Of course, I'm the kind of nerd that thinks nothing of soaking up 4 hours of high fantasy in one sitting.

I’m in the minority, I know, but I liked the adventures the Hobbits had on the way to the Prancing Pony. Of all the stuff that had to be edited out though, TFOTR worked really well without it.

The LOTR trilogy is something I would consider extended versions except as is when I watch Return of The King I fast forward through much of the Hobits dredging their way to Mordor with persecuted Gollum. He annoys the hell out of me.

Regarding @7thson’s comment, I don’t remember a lot of adventures that were cut out from the book on their way to the Prancing Pony, not criticizing you, but myself. ?

Would anyone care to mention the significant things that are added to the extended versions if you remember?

 

[dmr727]

I fast forward through much of the Hobits dredging their way to Mordor with persecuted Gollum. He annoys the hell out of me.

I agree! My least favorite part of the movies.

 

[richinaus]

Disney needs to buy it. Kidding, but I would not be against another story if it could move me like the LOTR trilogy did. As a child, the Hobbit was the first fantasy book I read probably 10 years old. It transported me.

Unfortunately in a cash grab Peter Jackson/The Studio decided that they would LOTRosize The Hobbit with the exact thinking if we make it, bloated up and significantly altered, with added climaxes (screw the book fans) they will still come.

I worked on the Hobbit films at the studios for several years, and thought the exact same thing when we were doing it. On some of the scenes when we were given them we were like, WTF........

 

[Huntn]

I worked on the Hobbit films at the studios for several years, and thought the exact same thing when we were doing it. On some of the scenes when we were given them we were like, WTF........

That sounds very interesting. Sorry if I should know this by virtue of any previous discussions here, but what kind of work did/do you do?

CGI in movies is astonishingly good these days. Crappy (a personal categorization) or I should say primitive, stylized CGI in the early days like Sin City or even stylized as in 300 really bugged me when it looked fake and I knew the movie was filmed in a warehouse. Now the illusion of real is sooo good it no longer matters as I think of freaking incredible Avatar. I mean it’s all so good, you don’t even know when it‘s CGI.

 

[Huntn]

In case you missed it:



Yep, more info:

http://www.nme.com/blogs/tv-blogs/lord-of-the-rings-tv-series-release-date-plot-cast-2170413

This from Sept 2020:

The Rings of Power Drops Season Finale Trailer: Will Sauron's Identity Be Revealed?

'Mordor will rise. Heroes will fall'

www.tvguide.com

 

[richinaus]

That sounds very interesting. Sorry if I should know this by virtue of any previous discussions here, but what kind of work did/do you do?

CGI in movies is astonishingly good these days. Crappy (a personal categorization) or I should say primitive, stylized CGI in the early days like Sin City or even stylized as in 300 really bugged me when it looked fake and I knew the movie was filmed in a warehouse. Now the illusion of real is sooo good it no longer matters as I think of freaking incredible Avatar. I mean it’s all so good, you don’t even know when it‘s CGI.

I worked on the physical sets not cgi. A lot more of the film than you think is real! It was a great thing to do and very interesting but I moved on from the film industry quickly after that as it’s not the place for me. Basically you are a small cog in a massive machine.

 

[7thson]

I don’t remember a lot of adventures that were cut out from the book on their way to the Prancing Pony

The barrow downs, the wight and Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, whom I thought was an elf but isn’t(¯\_(ツ)_/¯). I think there might have been more but haven’t read it recently.
Thanks for directing me to this thread!

 

[Huntn]

The barrow downs, the wight and Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, whom I thought was an elf but isn’t(¯\_(ツ)_/¯). I think there might have been more but haven’t read it recently.
Thanks for directing me to this thread!

Ok, I remember those, but would have guessed that Tom Bombadil was after the the Prancing Pony, but not arguing.

 

[7thson]

Ok, I remember those, but would have guessed that Tom Bombadil was after the the Prancing Pony, but not arguing.

No he rescued the Hobbits from the barrow wight and entertained them at his digs. He’s an oddball for sure but there was moment where he cajoles Frodo into letting him handle the Ring. Frodo is kind of suspicious as to how Tom knows he has it, but hands it over. Tom does a little slight of hand with the Ring and it disappears. Frodo nearly panics when Tom, smiling, shows him the Ring is on one of Toms finger. It has no effect on Tom. Toms magic is older than the Ring and so supersedes it, I guess. Anyway Tom is mentioned at the Counsel of Elrond as a place to hide it, but dismissed outright if I recall, because they fear he’d lose it because he’s such a scatterbrained merry old fellow.

 

[Huntn]

The Origin of Orcs, in LOTR: Two Towers, when I heard Saruman say “they were once Elves”, I thought the matter was settled. Apparently for Tolkien, it was a transitional thing.

Are Lord of the Rings' Orcs Corrupted Elves, or Something Else?

The origin of The Lord of the Rings' Orcs is a hotly debated topic among J.R.R. Tolkien fans. Here's a look at where they came from.

www.cbr.com

 

[ucfgrad93]

Return of the King (2003)
[*]Likely the single most impressive shot in this movie is Legolas taking down an Oliphant by himself.

That still counts as one!