LOTR Prequel

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Macalaure

How is the situation of the rights for the Akallabêth? It's part of the Silmarillion after all...

My understanding is that Zaentz acquired only the film rights for LotR and The Hobbit. If any film is to be made based on the Silmarillion or any other material, it would, I believe, the rights would need to be acquired from the Tolkien Estate.

Originally Posted by Macalure

To be honest, I don't think what happens between the Hobbit and LotR is enough to make a whole movie. We have the stories of Saruman and the White Council, of Aragorn and of Gollum, all very interesting, but I fail to see a real plot and a climax. It would be more like the filmmakers picking at the bones of the things that are left and at their disposal and making it into a movie just for the sake of making another one. I don't think it would have the slightest chance to keep up with the other four movies.

I thoroughly agree. There is no central plot. Merely a series of events linking two tales.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Whatever, I can tell you that I would not like to see anything which is "made-up", I mean things which were not written by Tolkien here, there or yonder (who will answer correctly where this formulation comes from is going to win a prize ). What I mean is, that the White councils, Balin's entering the Moria etc. are not this case. It would be completely made up and I have to confess that the reason why I hold against it is out of the fear what will they made of it, or that they could screw up all the characters. Also how for example the White Council looked like is left more or less to out imagination now, and it would not be nice to force us any image (because after airing the movie, it will soon became canonical to think about White Council looking that way as in film, as well as now many people imagine for example people of the Fellowship to look like in the film. Okay, from what I now said I realize that it seems like I'd rather not have any movie at all. Never mind then. ) I think the idea of forging of the Rings and then up to Akkalabeth might be nice, if it were possible. Or, maybe, they could make this like a documentary with cutscenes about this and that, like: Celebrimbor: "Hi, who are you?" Sauron: "I'm Annatar." - cut - "ASH NAZG DURBATULUK..." - cut - "Give them to me, Celebrimbie!" - "Never!" - cut - cut Celebrimbor in half - cut - Númenoreans arrive - etc... All with commentary, of course (after all, this is a document)