The Desolation of TV News

chris63 wrote:Inside Amazon’s Five Season, $1 billion ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series
APRIL 5, 2018 at 4:05 PM BY DEEJ   -

                Illustration by: Tim Peacock




The Hollywood Reporter has published a new article detailing how Amazon beat out Netflix for the rights to produce a new television series based on ‘The Lord of the Rings’. They are committed to producing at least 5 seasons at an estimated cost of $1 billion US.  While there is still no start date, the article does say that -per Amazon’s contract- they must start production within 2 years. There is also no news yet on cast, scripts, or filming locations – stay tuned to TheOneRing.net for more information!

Do you have a casting suggestion, or a storyline that you’d like to see the new show take on? Please let us know in the comments section, or visit our message boards to discuss!

If I had a billion dollars, this is probably the last thing I would consider doing.

If I had a billion dollars I would make a real life Minas Tirith.

Probably ask Sean Bean to dress up and walk about the citadel.

tv
Why Amazon’s hugely expensive Lord of the Rings series will be a flop
IT’S tipped to be the most expensive show of all time, but the new Lord Of The Rings TV series is already doomed to fail. Here’s why.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/why-amazons-hugely-expensive-lord-of-the-rings-series-will-be-a-flop/news-story/d3b6b0a1825c09c0ab04d423f36494af?from=rss-basic&utm_source=News.com.au&utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_medium=Twitter

The writer of that article seems unaware that the show is a spin-off rather than a remake of the main story (and pulls the claim that "it's been said that they probably won't add new characters" straight out of his ass), but the weirdest part might be that he credits the success of GOT to its humor and seems to think the reason people are invested in characters like Tyrion, Sam, and the Hound is that they have such great quips.

I'm not saying that I think Amazon's series will be as popular as GOT (that'd be a really long shot) but this hot take is really weirding me out even by the standards of deliberately provocative hot takes.

There are no delectably witty characters like GoT’s Tyrion, Olenna or The Hound. Samwell Tarly is a hell of a lot funnier than Samwise Gamgee.

That bit got me

When the show is finished, ask yourself if this is the kind of company that you want to support before watching it.

http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-workers-have-to-pee-into-bottles-2018-4

Given how cheap their shipping is it doesn't surprise me that Amazon runs distribution sweatshops. I hope they get nailed for it. If they are going to run mom'n'pop stores out of business they should be playing fair at least.

They've got to be stopped before they run everyone out of business. You would think the left would be up in arms over this? The only reason Bezos gets a pass from the left is because he is a leftist.

Mainly because Amazon is so damn easy to use, it gets a pass from everyone. We're all complicit.

yeah I know. I use Amazon at least once a week, its fantastic for consumers but crappy for the workers.

I was expecting to find something shocking in the article, but what they describe is pretty much how every production job I've ever had has worked.
Alaska salmon cannery for example:
1. Buzzer for 15 min break
2. rinse your rain gear
3. remove and hang gear before entering restroom
4. stand in line at urinal
5. piss
6. stand in line to wash hands
7. suit up again
8. race to get to your station before the buzzer rings
If everything goes perfectly there might just be time for a cup of coffee somewhere in there
And of course clever workers often found ways to work around standing in line. I had my own tricks....
So what's changed?  

What's changed is that now society has higher standards for what's acceptable.

So what's the new normal?

I just looked it up and there are no federal laws about breaks at all, and only a handful of states with laws, many of which only require 10min breaks. I've always associated 15min breaks with union jobs and enlightened employers, not as any kind of entitlement.

I know on boats when you come on watch for a 4 hour shift (or sometimes a 6 hour shift if the boat is shorthanded) you'd better plan on working straight through. The Ocean doesn't stop fro break time...

But you can pee over the gunwhales.

When you've got 6 layers of clothes on, it's not as easy as you might think

Having had clothes related 'incidents' myself I can well imagine.

{{{{ We have laws for this sort of thing in the UK- though in practice there is quite a bit of variation with this being more the legal minimum- for example in a 12 hour care shift there is usually a 15 minute morning break, half hour lunch and a further fifteen minutes in the afternoon. But in my experience care homes break the last two all the time- often you work runs over 7 days plus and you often finish at 10pm and start again at 7am }}}


'Workers over 18 are usually entitled to 3 types of break - rest breaks at work, daily rest and weekly rest.

Rest breaks at work

Workers have the right to one uninterrupted 20 minute rest break during their working day, if they work more than 6 hours a day. This could be a tea or lunch break.
The break doesn’t have to be paid - it depends on their employment contract.

Daily rest

Workers have the right to 11 hours rest between working days, eg if they finish work at 8pm, they shouldn’t start work again until 7am the next day.

Weekly rest

Workers have the right to either:

• an uninterrupted 24 hours without any work each week
  
• an uninterrupted 48 hours without any work each fortnight' - Gov.UK
  

Only one 20-minute break outside lunch? If I were making rules I'd say 1.25 hours total every 7 hours, broken up anyway someone damn well pleases! This works out to 30 minutes for lunch and 3 15-minute breaks. Or whatever other combination a body needs, which may well change daily.

halfwise wrote:If I were making rules I'd say 1.25 hours total every 7 hours, broken up anyway someone damn well pleases!

It just doesn't work that way for many of my favorite jobs, where you're working as a team in a race against time and weather (harvesting, canning, sailing etc.) That "racing" is the joy of the job. When you head out to work with a team of people you know have your back and a thunderstorm looming in the weather forecast you get the same adrenaline rush as a football team taking the field for a playoff game, and the last thing you're thinking is "when's the next time-out?"   I  seem to need that excitement in a job. (It's probably why I've always sucked at anything that involved a 40 hour week )

Ah, but that's self motivated, not externally imposed. Makes all the difference in the world.

btw, I meant 1.25 hours break every 8 hours.

I guess that's what it comes down to, isn't it? When I've had a job where I wasn't self-motivated and neither were the people around me I've never lasted more than 3 months. Looking back, I'd probably be richer now, but I've had a lot more fun this way.

https://mobile.twitter.com/theoneringnet/status/994348409573130241?s=19

The Cynic in me says it is rather fitting they use a screenshot from Batman Vs Superman (a divisive movie if there ever was one) and Shadow Of Mordor which plays fast and loose with the canon of the Tolkien books.

Jackson working in the DC universe is an intriguing thought, but given the widely reported production issues and clashes with directors the studio has had in recent years it seems somewhat unlikely he'd be able to retain the amount of creative freedom he had in previous projects, whilst working within the constraints of an existing cinematic universe...

Sorry, just ... there's no words that can improve on that.

Anyway, I would rather see the Amazon series take more of its own direction so I suppose I hope that Jackson goes the DC route.

Yeah, get Jackson out of Tolkien. He's had his run.

Indeed. Though I must say, I rewatched RotK the other day. Still an absolutely fantastic movie in my view (sorry, petty), and still one of my favourite go-to movies (that goes for the whole trilogy) when things are shit. How he could have botched The Hobbit so thoroughly is still a mystery to me.