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Take a Closer Look at Amazon’s $250 Million Lord of the Rings Deal

By April 8, 2018April 10th, 2018Adaptations, News

It was announced last year that Amazon had secured the rights to start developing a TV adaptation of one of the biggest fantasy books of all time, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Now, thanks to The Hollywood Reporter, we can take a closer look at the details of Amazon’s upcoming show, how the deal was struck, and how much it’s likely to cost the studio.

Amazon paid a whopping $250 million dollars in order to narrowly secure the rights for the show from its main rival Netflix. The deal was struck between Amazon, the Tolkien estate, publisher HarperCollins and New Line Cinema and states that Amazon is on board for a five season commitment a Lord of the Rings TV show. Production must begin within the next two years and, with expenses such as visual effects, costume, casting, and promotion, the ambitious project is expected to cost at least $1 billion dollars.

Given that Mr. Tolkien is no longer with us, an army of lawyers were summoned to iron out the deal and attorney Matt Galsor, who served as the chief architect of the deal and represented the Tolkien estate, said:

“This is the most complicated deal I’ve ever seen but it was handled relatively quickly, in a way that brought the parties together in a close relationship. It was tough, but everybody liked each other and felt like a team more as the deal closed.”

The deal was fraught with details, including potential for a spin-off series, and Amazon now has the rights to use material from Tolkien’s world for its own adaptation. New Line Cinema, distributor of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, retains film rights, but it’s unclear whether Jackson will be in any way involved with Amazon’s show. Jackson wasn’t present at the meeting but it’s reported that he and Amazon have been in contact.

A TV adaptation of The Lord of the Rings is a huge undertaking and no doubt Amazon is very aware that it has its work cut out if it’s to live up to Peter Jackson’s beloved trilogy and the even more beloved books. No doubt Tolkien fans across the world will be eager to see how the series turns out. Here’s hoping we have something truly special to look forward to.



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One Comment

  • Paloma Vita says:

    I think you made a mistake in the second paragraph by saying that Amazon paid a whopping $250 dollars (and using both the word and the dollar sign is redundant.) I think you meant they paid “a whopping $250 millions”.

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