10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 7:01:50 PM UTC
New Line Cinema is returning to Middle Earth.
The studio behind the feature film trilogies “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” is partnering with Warner Bros. Animation on the original anime theatrical feature “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.”
The stand-alone feature will depict the bloody saga behind Helm’s Deep, the fortress depicted in “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” and the man in whose honor it’s named: Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan who spent much of his reign locked in a prolonged and costly war.
Veteran anime filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama, who helmed Netflix’s “Ultraman” anime series, will direct the film from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”). Joseph Chou (the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” TV series) is producing.
While the filmmaking team is new to the “Lord of the Rings” movie franchise, the project is intended to be connected to director Peter Jackson’s six Middle Earth films based on the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. Philippa Boyens, who won an Oscar for the screenplay for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” is consulting on the project, which will also draw its aesthetic and narrative inspiration from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
“The War of the Rohirrim” is not, however, connected to Amazon’s gargantuan “Lord of the Rings” series that is deep into production in New Zealand. That project is set in the Second Age of Middle Earth, millennia before the events of the feature films; Helm Hammerhand’s reign, by contrast, unfolded roughly 260 years before the “LOTR” movies.
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/lor ... ros-animation-1234993740/
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 7:14:10 PM UTC
Now we've seen it all, a
Lord of the Rings anime film
Seriously now, it's saddening how Tolkien has become a way for some to make lots of money.
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 7:21:37 PM UTC
Both John and Christopher are turning in their graves...
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 7:41:18 PM UTC
gobbledygook wrote:
Both John and Christopher are turning in their graves...
J.R.R. Tolkien sold the rights. That is the long and short of it. As for Christopher's opinion of the New Line movies, he was too close to it to ever look at them for what they are, fun movies meant to be enjoyed. They just happen to have been wildly successful and brought hundreds of millions of people to Tolkien's own words.
Ligandil wrote:
Now we've seen it all, a Lord of the Rings anime film
Seriously now, it's saddening how Tolkien has become a way for some to make lots of money.
I think this will bring a fresh approach to Tolkien on the big screen. I like the idea of it.
I can't agree that it is sad that a rights holder wants to make money. None of us here ever begrudged Tolkien making a living. This is no different and it brings opportunity for creative people to expand their range.
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 7:55:26 PM UTC
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 8:01:00 PM UTC
onthetrail wrote:
gobbledygook wrote:
Both John and Christopher are turning in their graves...
J.R.R. Tolkien sold the rights. That is the long and short of it. As for Christopher's opinion of the New Line movies, he was too close to it to ever look at them for what they are, fun movies meant to be enjoyed. They just happen to have been wildly successful and brought hundreds of millions of people to Tolkien's own words.
Sure he did, I just sometimes wish he didn't. It's a bloody disgrace. PJ's movies were fun but they're at least watchable and relatable - LoTR that is - Hobbit movies are pure and utter crap. I just think this is an attempt to pander to Asian market. I've seen comments that no Asian actors were cast in the upcoming Amazon series so NLC might have decided to jump on the bandwagon and fill in the gaps. It's an obvious move that'll just pander to people who didn't even bother to read Tolkien (and never usually do, not even when they criticize it) - they just like to crap on it for not being woke/sjw/pc enough.
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 8:08:59 PM UTC
gobbledygook wrote:
onthetrail wrote:
gobbledygook wrote:
Both John and Christopher are turning in their graves...
J.R.R. Tolkien sold the rights. That is the long and short of it. As for Christopher's opinion of the New Line movies, he was too close to it to ever look at them for what they are, fun movies meant to be enjoyed. They just happen to have been wildly successful and brought hundreds of millions of people to Tolkien's own words.
Sure he did, I just sometimes wish he didn't. It's a bloody disgrace. PJ's movies were fun but they're at least watchable and relatable - LoTR that is - Hobbit movies are pure and utter crap. I just think this is an attempt to pander to Asian market. I've seen comments that no Asian actors were cast in the upcoming Amazon series so NLC might have decided to jump on the bandwagon and fill in the gaps. It's an obvious move that'll just pander to people who didn't even bother to read Tolkien (and never usually do, not even when they criticize it) - they just like to crap on it for not being woke/sjw/pc enough.
What is wrong with encouraging the Asian Market to interact with Tolkien’s works?
Tens of millions of people came to Tolkien through the movies and drive sales and opportunities. I really don't get your argument here to be honest.
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 8:14:07 PM UTC
Trotter wrote:
I agree, to be honest the only Tolkien Movies that I ever watch are animated 
Those animated movies were so cute
I enjoyed them very much. I actually came to them very late considering I got into Tolkien in theate 80s, I was a teenager by the time I watched them.
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 8:35:29 PM UTC
onthetrail wrote:
gobbledygook wrote:
onthetrail wrote:
gobbledygook wrote:
Both John and Christopher are turning in their graves...
J.R.R. Tolkien sold the rights. That is the long and short of it. As for Christopher's opinion of the New Line movies, he was too close to it to ever look at them for what they are, fun movies meant to be enjoyed. They just happen to have been wildly successful and brought hundreds of millions of people to Tolkien's own words.
Sure he did, I just sometimes wish he didn't. It's a bloody disgrace. PJ's movies were fun but they're at least watchable and relatable - LoTR that is - Hobbit movies are pure and utter crap. I just think this is an attempt to pander to Asian market. I've seen comments that no Asian actors were cast in the upcoming Amazon series so NLC might have decided to jump on the bandwagon and fill in the gaps. It's an obvious move that'll just pander to people who didn't even bother to read Tolkien (and never usually do, not even when they criticize it) - they just like to crap on it for not being woke/sjw/pc enough.
What is wrong with encouraging the Asian Market to interact with Tolkien’s works?
Tens of millions of people came to Tolkien through the movies and drive sales and opportunities. I really don't get your argument here to be honest.
I agree with
onthetrail here, adapting Tolkien for different styles, including animation is nothing new, and the Rankin/Bass projects of the 80's brought in new readers and fans just like the PJ films did a generation later. Even if the project stinks, it will grow the Tolkien community and that is a good thing.
10 Jun, 2021
2021-6-10 8:46:29 PM UTC
The Rankin/Bass movies were animated in Japan by the studio that rebranded as Studio Ghibli, and they were made for the American TV market. Where an animated movie is made has nothing to do with the intended release market(s). That's like saying that Peter Jackson's movies were meant for the New Zealand market only.
There's absolutely no way that New Line / Warner are doing this to "pander to Asian market". There's a worldwide market for animated films, they are easier to make (by orders of magnitude) in these pandemic times than live-action, and they have the rights.
I, for one, am looking forward to this movie. It will be fan-fiction (just like the Amazon show will be), but I watch movies and TV to entertain myself, and this sounds as entertaining (or more) than other random stuff I pass the time with, so why not?
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