Rings of Power Story Rights | Amazon's Copyright Conundrum

[@Storylosopher]

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[@InspiringPhilosophy]

We have all been cringing!

[@treecreeperguitars772]

Nice one, great explanation ✌

[@Storylosopher]

Thanks!

[@ceciliaeastwood8947]

I really love the Rings of Power, not having any prior knowledge of the Silmarillion but having read Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit and having also loved the films. I gather only hardcore fans are commenting on here so thought this might lighten things up a bit. It is a shame that Amazon didn’t get the rights, but I think they are doing a great job with what they have. I find the character of Galadriel not quite as I imagined and wonder if her husband, (I understand she was supposed to be married) will make an appearance in the show ever. The show is now in the 2nd season and we are awaiting the 4th episode to drop.

[@marioskublan7273]

Do you know if they had the rights to show Morgoth ?

[@Storylosopher]

Good question... I'm not sure. Depends on if Morgoth was mentioned in the Appendices.

[@nijjijjion204]

​@@Storylosopher It would be nice if the Tolkien's estates / Amazon actually gave more in depth info on what can and can't be copied. A character could be mentioned in the Appendices but the appendices are written very loosely/summarised where Christopher wrote more in depth story about that character/situation. That means that story is in Christopher's work and not Tolkien's which then can't be shown in RoP and Amazon would need to change what happens in that part. Though I guess it really depends how it was summarised in the Appendix and how strict Christopher's estate were going to fight if there were any overlaps. ​ I would have liked to be a fly on the wall in the copyright/writers meetings, i imagine it being messy but maybe Amazon just got walked over and didn't fight anything and were happy to have creative/fan fiction way of making the show.

[@Storylosopher]

@@nijjijjion204 It's my understanding that the Estate had a say in which type of show got greenlit (for example they struck down pitches for shows about Aragorn and Gandalf) but didn't have as much of a say in the writing process-other than the Tolkien expert that Amazon later fired. This video explains more: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnO8hYVqist4oc0

[@golwenlothlindel]

Stop using "fanfiction" as simply a synonym for bad writing. Actual fanfic writers may not be highly skilled, but they do actually respect the source material because they are well... fans. They are motivated to write, first and foremost, by a love of their source material. Not by money. They might secondarily also have some agenda, or want to practice writing, or have some idea that isn't canon-compliant. But when fanfic writers write something genuinely not canon compliant, they say so upfront because they *genuinely* don't want anyone to confuse their writing with actual canon. Whereas Amazon is still basically tricking people into thinking that the show is essentially canon-compliant by omission. The average show viewer is going to assume that the show is about the same degree of canon-compliant as the Peter Jackson movies: when it is absolutely not. The Peter Jackson movies are close enough to canon that one could believe the scripts exist in-universe, as a not-quite-accurate legend. Even the Shadow of Mordor games are close enough to canon for that (like yes, they totally misunderstand Celebrimbor but they also take place several thousand years after his death so that's kinda to be expected). But the Amazon show? no way! There's no legendary version of the Second Age where Galadriel isn't married, and Elrond is "politically ambitious" (how can you be politically ambitious when you are royalty four times over?) These aren't minor details like "oh, actually it was Glórfindel who saved Frodo not Arwen" (this does not really change Arwen's character in any notable way: she is brave and strong in the book, just in ways that don't translate so well to the screen) or "oh, Haldir didn't come to Helm's Deep but he did fight at Laketown" (again, this does not change Haldir's character or Aragorn's). It isn't even "no actually, Isildur wasn't corrupted by the Ring and Elrond didn't lose faith in Men" because that change in characterization is still in keeping with the themes of the story: pride is the gateway to all other sins, and bitterness blinds you to opportunities for success. But if Elrond's defining characteristic isn't humility then it's not Elrond. The key difference between Galadriel and Fëanor is that Galadriel actually listens to the smartypants she married: so without Celeborn, Galadriel is just gender-swapped Fëanor. Which tbh seems to be what they are doing since they put an 8-pointed star on her armor: a symbol which Galadriel does NOT ever wear in any possible version of the Legendarium. Nor is there any version where the Harfoots are weird classist/racist caricatures. Canon is a loose concept when it comes to Tolkien, but there are definitely things which are straight up impossible and Amazon seems to have a habit of finding and doing those things.

[@Storylosopher]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment! It's true, I didn't distinguish between skilled and unskilled fanfiction. Still, I was using the term loosely to describe the feeling I get from the show and the fact that most of their storyline is NOT based on canon since they don't have the rights to much of the canon. I also like how you reiterate that the minor changes Jackson et al made still fit within the larger themes and philosophy of Tolkien-something Amazon is departing from big-time. Seems like a huge missed opportunity!

[@AC-cb1oe]

people keep calling this "fan fiction".. but its not even fan fiction. Fans of Tolkein would never write Galadriel like this lol

[@Storylosopher]

Ohhhh snap. Shots fired! 🤣

[@goobfilmcast4239]

It's too wishy washy for new, casual viewers, too spoonfed, boring and lame for Lord of the Rings movie fans ... and way too "blasphemous" for hard-core Tolkien fans. Why did they bother? The nerd that still lives inside Bezos wanted it. Having ANY rights to Tolkien's work was his Precious .... and look at the evil that's been done as a result........gollum.....eck