Tag: Amazon Middle-earth TV series; Amazon Lord of the Rings series
It began with the forging of the title…
Amazon’s Prime Video is gearing up for the much anticipated Lord of the Rings show, coming this September; and today they have revealed the title for the show. It is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
This, however, is to be no ordinary tv show; the budget and time already invested, and anticipated investment to come, make that clear. So it is only fitting that the title reveal was no ordinary reveal… The title was in fact (as the official press release states) ‘forged from real molten metal running like fiery rivers through hand-carved wooden ravines to craft its silvery letter forms.’ You can watch a dramatic video of this happening, here:
As an indication of the showrunners’ desire to connect with the fanbase, TORn staffers Justin and Quickbeam were fortunate enough to be invited to witness this moment in person; and TORn can now share with you some EXCLUSIVE behind the scenes glimpses of this epic moment, in the images and quotations below.
First, some more from the official press release, which goes with this magical reveal:
Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power officially has a name and it hints at what’s to come.
The television series’ complete title was revealed today, and the significance behind the subtitle will not be lost on J.R.R. Tolkien fans, foreshadowing an epic story that welds the major events of Tolkien’s Second Age together: the forging of the iconic rings.
‘This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien’s other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Numenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men,’ said Showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. ‘Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many … and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all.’
Just as so many elements of the show itself were hand-crafted, Prime Video chose to physically forge the title in a blacksmith foundry, pouring fiery molten metal into hand-carved wooden ravines shaped to the letterforms. … The bespoke title treatment appears crafted in a silvery metal, with lines of Elvish script inscribed along the crest of each letterform.
Of course, this newly revealed title gives fans much to talk about, speculating about both content and tone of the coming series. Let’s just consider here, however, the nature of this reveal. It is extraordinary that the film makers should go to such lengths, pouring (ha, pun intended) their passion for the series into this artisanal moment. A large, highly skilled and experienced team, including director Klaus Obermeyer, special effects adviser Douglas Trumball, and special effects supervisor Lee Nelson, and using advanced 4K camera systems, worked with metal foundryman Landon Ryan, a highly skilled craftsman with 28 years of experience. Ryan says:
“With art, so much of it is about experimentation and materials and using materials in a way that they’re really not designed for and seeing where the limits are. With this [project], it was the freedom to do things that you wouldn’t do in a normal world, because they don’t make sense. But in this sense, it was to achieve a certain look or feeling.”
“It was such a pleasure seeing {Klaus’} vision and then coming up with ways to help him achieve what he was looking for. Experimentation and the willingness to try different things was a lot of fun. I am so thankful that I got to experience metal on that level. Because that’s my world. I pour metal every day and it’s a new understanding.”
TORn staffers Quickbeam and Justin witness an epic reveal
Special effects adviser Douglas Trumball is an Academy Award winner, and has worked on classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Blade Runner, and more. He tells us:
We all had in mind this idea of molten metal brilliantly glowing -so that there’s no question that what you’re looking at is a hot metal. What we settled on was to mix some of these metals to get a certain color and a certain brightness. It was a combination of bronze and aluminum.
Knowing that a legend such as Douglas Trumbull worked on this project, you realise the extent of the care and attention which was given to what is, in the grand scale of the entire project, a relatively small moment. But it’s a crucial one, getting the ball rolling in 2022, the year of the launch of this series. Speaking personally, the level of lavish artistry shown here makes me very optimistic for what lies ahead. The visual and audio tone shown in the title reveal video seem entirely in keeping with what we expect from Middle-earth; and the enduring, metal letters neatly mirror the enduring artistry and legacy of the Professor himself.
With many more exciting reveals coming, we the fans can really allow ourselves to start to get excited. So it begins…
Staff from TheOneRing.net will be presenting panels, in-person, at two separate conventions in Southern California over the next week and a half.
First up is San Diego Comic-con’s Special Edition event this coming weekend. Our panel will be on Friday night, November 26 at 7 pm, and will be in room 7AB. If you have ever wanted to go to SDCC, but have been unable to get tickets, they are still available for this event. It’s a great way to get your feet wet, as it were, and buying a pass to the Special Edition will allow you to be on the Past Attendee list when the 2023 SDCC goes on sale. To check out our listing in the schedule, click here.
Our second stop on this whirlwind tour of SoCal conventions will be the Los Angeles Comiccon the following weekend, on Saturday morning, December 4 at 11 am, and will be in room 410. Both panels will be very similar, unless any new announcements about the Amazon LOTR drop between this weekend and the next. Feel free to visit us at both, but at least this way fans in both LA and San Diego have options to hang with the wonderful Fellowship that makes up Tolkien fandom.
The Dragon has been sung back into its lair: DragonCon is over for another year. For five remarkable days, geekdom had a chance to gather again and celebrate together – and TORn staffers deej, Madeye Gamgee and greendragon were able to be with them. Read on, for greendragon’s thoughts on the event.
I’m sure the first question on many people’s minds will be, ‘How was the safety of the event?’ My overall impression was very good. At check in, everyone (be they attending fans, professionals, exhibitors, or guests) was required to show either proof of vaccination or of a negative Covid test, before receiving their pass. Masks were required at all venues – and from what I saw, this was carefully enforced. It must be said, I was not at the Con late at night; and some folks reported that ‘DragonCon after dark’, when perhaps drinks had been consumed, saw masks being discarded. But in the High Fantasy Track room, and at An Evening at Bree, I didn’t see anyone unmasked. Masks were even – gasp! – up over noses, as well as covering mouths. Many cosplayers had found fun and creative ways to coordinate their masks with their outfits – and of course masks are an integral part of many costumes anyway.
Numbers were restricted this year – fewer than half the usual attendees were allowed; and it has to be said, it was wonderful to be able to cross the skybridge between hotels, or get in an elevator, without waiting for half an hour. 35,000 is still plenty of people, so the con did not feel empty – and there were still long lines for An Evening at Bree, and full panels at many of the tracks. (Numbers in track rooms were also reduced, to allow more space; and no standing was allowed.) Rooms were carefully cleaned – each track room had an hour of deep cleaning during each day, as well as a deep clean overnight, and between panels mics were given new covers and surfaces sanitized. As Madeye Gamgee put it, ‘…all the pandemic mitigation standards were followed and seemed to work.’
On the downside, the parade seemed strange without the watchers along the street; that is perhaps something which didn’t work so well with reduced crowds. I know lots of folks missed the fan tables – and that’s a good opportunity for me to remind you that there is new TORn merchandise (shirts, socks, bags, masks, waterbottles, etc.) available online!
Do take a look at the various designs available at TORn’s online Spring store – and thanks for supporting the website!
As mentioned above, lines were long and the room (with the limited capacity allowed) full for Friday night’s An Evening at Bree. The Brobdingnagian Bards got us off to a great start, with toe tapping music playing from the very start, as guests arrived. We had wondered if we should try to limit dancing this year – but you just can’t keep the denizens of Middle-earth off their feet, and soon masked folks were swirling and skipping. Others enjoyed sitting in groups at tables, enjoying a drink from the Prancing Pony bar at the back of the room. After the Bards’ rousing set, the costume contest took place. It was a delight to see the usual extraordinary creativity and talent we’ve come to expect from this contest – big thanks to judges Constance and Laura, who had the unenviable task of selecting winners. Best in show was Lacey Santos’ amazing Smaug, Queen under the Mountain – complete with incredible embroidery, and Arkenstone in hand.
Lacey Santos’ Best in Show winning costume (photograph by Geek Behind the Lens Photography)
Embroidery detail (photograph by Lacey Santos)
Best in show with judges Laura and Constance (photograph by Geek Behind the Lens Photography)
Musician Beth Patterson was new to Bree this year, but we hope she’ll be back – her two sets were wonderful, and kept everyone in high spirits. We ended the night with some recorded music, allowing us to bring fan favourites Emerald Rose back to Bree. TORn is always very glad to host An Evening at Bree for DragonCon’s High Fantasy Track; as Madeye Gamgee said, ‘It felt like a joyful reunion of old friends and fellowships.’ We look forward to next year; meanwhile, you can check out DragonCon TV’s coverage of this year’s event in the video below.
For those of you who couldn’t attend this year – or who did attend, and want to keep the geeky fun going – there are all kinds of panels, geeky fun, and special guests, to be found at dragoncontv.com. You’ll need to pay $10 for access; and that will enable you to watch TORn’s panel celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of Peter Jackson’s Fellowship ofthe Ring. You can find that under Fan Tracks (Saturday), at the 4’59 mark.
All in all, I think a good time was had by all, and I applaud the DragonCon organisers and many volunteers for all their hard work. Going back to that question of safety: I personally stayed away from big crowds, and was on the floor of the con much less than I would usually be, only going to specific events and otherwise staying out of the melee. When I was there, however – at Bree and for panels, as well as catching up with friends – I did not feel unsafe. Of course, when 35,000 people gather in one place, it seems inevitable that some, after the event, will test positive for Covid; but, to quote Madeye Gamgee again, ‘Assuming there aren’t any major super-spreader outbreaks connected to the weekend, DragonCon may have proven that a return to some form of a live convention is possible.’ And that is an encouraging thought.
Yesterday Amazon Studios premiered their trailer for the Wheel of Time series that’s based on the fantasy novels of the late Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson). You can see it here if you haven’t already.
One notes that the series itself is slated to debut on November 19, 2021 — that’s roughly 10 weeks away.
That got me thinking, and I did a tiny bit of digging.
Turns out that Good Omens — also produced by Amazon Studios — had a roughly 10-week lead time from trailer to series debut. The first full trailer for Good Omens debuted on March 6, 2019. The series debuted on Prime on May 31, 2019.
Given LOTR on Prime will debut on September 2, 2022, might we then expect a trailer no later than mid-June next year?
However, two data points is a slim thing to build a prediction upon, and I’m just wild-guessing here. (Emphasis and disclaimer: this is speculation based upon publicly available information, not a rumour).
But Amazon loves an algorithm and I feel this coincidence is waggling its eyebrows at me suggestively.
Maybe mark your calendar in pencil, but don’t bet the house.
The Dragon awakens! After a Covid-enforced hiatus last year, DragonCon is back in Atlanta this weekend – and TORn will be there!
The organisers of DragonCon are doing their best to keep everyone safe, requiring attendees to show proof of vaccination or of a negative Covid test, and to wear masks. Numbers will be scaled back (though given how massive DragonCon’s crowds usually are, the venues may not FEEL uncrowded), and there are no fan tables this year. This means TORn staffers deej and greendragon will not be in their usual spot, selling shirts and other merch. BUT – you can find them around the Con, and you can find merchandise online!
TORn’s ‘Hope is Kindled’ design, which was revealed at the end of 2020, seeking to cheer us all in the days of pandemic, can be found at our online Spring store. We’ve also brought back fan favourites ‘Keep Calm and Read Tolkien’ and ‘Coexist’ – which you can order on shirts, mugs, masks, and even socks! Check out all the goodies in the store here; and thanks for supporting the website!
Regular DragonCon attendees will be glad to know that Friday night’s ‘Evening at Bree’ is happening this year. Live music will be provided by The Brobdingnagian Bards and Beth Patterson, and there will of course be a costume contest – sign up for it at the High Fantasy Track Room. An Evening at Bree will be in the Hilton Grand West ballroom, 8.30pm, Friday night.
Tolkien panels in the High Fantasy Track include (of course!) TORn’s panel about Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series. What do we know? What spy reports can we share? Friday 2.30pm is the time to discover those secrets, in the High Fantasy Track Room (Marriott L401-403); when staffers deej, greendragon and Madeye Gamgee will share all they know – and speculate about stuff they don’t know…
On Saturday at 5pm there will be a streamed, pre-recorded panel featuring the above staffers, and a rare sighting for TORn founder Calisuri; this panel is a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of Peter Jackson’s Fellowship ofthe Ring. Calisuri spills the beans about a very special invitation he received, to see some amazing footage in Cannes…
At other times during the Con, you can find entertainment such as Madeye Gamgee discussing the Second Age, greendragon talking Arthurian Adaptations, and deej considering Tolkien’s influence on Stephen King’s The Stand. Find full details in the High Fantasy Track’s schedule for the weekend!
We’re excited to see folks at the Con, and to share some Middle-earth fun with you all. We’ll miss those of you who can’t attend; we’ll raise a drink to absent friends! Cheers, Gaffer!
Numenor is a central location in Amazon’s billion dollar Lord of the Rings series, and now we have the first description of the peoples of the island, thanks to the intrepid Fellowship of Fans.
EXCLUSIVE: “There are different guilds in Numenor. Like blacksmiths Guild, Fisherman’s guild, bread makers guild, builders guild and so on.”#LOTRonPrime 1/5 pic.twitter.com/hINTlvJCRl
— Fellowship of Fans (@FansFellowship) July 18, 2021
Guilds as Tolkien wrote
According to leaked set reports, Numenorians have trade guilds and wear patches marking their trade allegiance according the extras on the set. This is actually true to the books and maintains #FidelityToTolkien.
This seems to confirm that Amazon has licensed stories from UNFINISHED TALES by J.R.R. Tolkien, a book posthumously edited & published by Christopher Tolkien. If we look at page 170:
Among the wrights of the Edain were weaponsmiths, and they had with the teaching of the Noldor acquired great skill in the forging of swords, of axe-blades, and of spearheads and knives. Swords the Guild of Weaponsmiths still made, for the preservation of the craft, though most of their labour was spent on the fashioning of tools for the uses of peace.
Unfinished Tales
Numenor is like Themyscira?
Further in Unfinished Tales it describes a horse & bow culture similar to what movie audiences have recently seen in Wonder Woman. With lead WW stuntwoman Dayna Grant recently in the news, it’s not too much of a stretch to consider her skillset is perfect for how Tolkien describes Numenorians:
The King and most of the great chieftains possessed swords as heirlooms of their fathers; and at times they would still give a sword as a gift to their heirs. A new sword was made for the King’s Heir to be given to him on the day on which this title was conferred. But no man wore a sword in Numenor, and for long years few indeed were the weapons of warlike intent that were made in the land. Axes and spears and bows they had, and shooting with bows on foot and on horseback was a chief sport and pastime of the Numenoreans.
