TV/Movies Megathread

[Jacob]

Reddit comment re: Tolkien screenwriters that I kind of agree with: https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/1s3ono6/on_nepotism_and_cronyism_in_tolkien_adaptations/

[grumbler]

Reddit comment re: Tolkien screenwriters that I kind of agree with: https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/1s3ono6/on_nepotism_and_cronyism_in_tolkien_adaptations/

The Christopher Tolkien "nepo baby" stuff did amuse me. He was just an editor, and did a fine job by all accounts (I'm one of the few that has actually read The History of Middle Earth). Those claiming that he "get famous" on the back of his father seriously overestimate his "fame."

[Jacob]

The Christopher Tolkien "nepo baby" stuff did amuse me. He was just an editor, and did a fine job by all accounts (I'm one of the few that has actually read The History of Middle Earth). Those claiming that he "get famous" on the back of his father seriously overestimate his "fame."

Yeah taking potshots at Christopher Tolkien as an editor is pretty silly IMO. It's all the Amazon LotR stuff that's kind of rotten IMO.

[celedhring]

My friends over at LA tell me often that the new guys on the block (i.e. Amazon, Netflix) are pretty adamant about killing the traditional way TV was made in the US, where writers held a lot of power (showrunners in particular). Picking novice writers is a way to do it since they are less likely to push back.

Of course my friends are all WGA members so you may think they are biased, but it does make a lot of sense.

I can vouch that many producers (not all!) see us writers as essentially a commodity, where it doesn't really matter whom you hire, what really matters is the "package" (IP, concept, talent), and we are just people assembling the parts.

[Syt]

I mean he's a pretty certified Tolkien nerd, so why not?

Being a nerd is insufficient credentials, IMO.

Yes, but being familiar with the material is probably a plus. That said, I'm not aware of his screenwriting credentials outside comedy, so who knows.

[HVC]

I mean he's a pretty certified Tolkien nerd, so why not?

Being a nerd is insufficient credentials, IMO.

I think it depends on the genre. I think using nerd writers would probably have helped a lot of modern sci fi productions where there's a fully established lore already in place.

[Jacob]

My friends over at LA tell me often that the new guys on the block (i.e. Amazon, Netflix) are pretty adamant about killing the traditional way TV was made in the US, where writers held a lot of power (showrunners in particular). Picking novice writers is a way to do it since they are less likely to push back.

Of course my friends are all WGA members so you may think they are biased, but it does make a lot of sense.

I can vouch that many producers (not all!) see us writers as essentially a commodity, where it doesn't really matter whom you hire, what really matters is the "package" (IP, concept, talent), and we are just people assembling the parts.

Ah yeah, that makes sense.

Also explains why I don't find most of the new commodities particularly appealing.

[celedhring]

Also, "being a fan" is such a nonsense requisite imho. Tony Gilroy famously didn't care much for Star Wars, but took it seriously and approached it as any professional writer should, saw the potential stories that could be told within that world, and gave us Andor.

[garbon]

Yeah, I don't see how being a fan is good enough replacement for demonstrable skills.

[HVC]

Yeah, I don't see how being a fan is good enough replacement for demonstrable skills.

I think both is best, but yeah you need skill in any regard. Being a nerd with no skill leads you no where but to the depths of weird fan fiction

[HVC]

My friends over at LA tell me often that the new guys on the block (i.e. Amazon, Netflix) are pretty adamant about killing the traditional way TV was made in the US, where writers held a lot of power (showrunners in particular). Picking novice writers is a way to do it since they are less likely to push back.

Of course my friends are all WGA members so you may think they are biased, but it does make a lot of sense.

I can vouch that many producers (not all!) see us writers as essentially a commodity, where it doesn't really matter whom you hire, what really matters is the "package" (IP, concept, talent), and we are just people assembling the parts.

That's the old sitcom model, isn't it? A head writer or two and then a bunch of people that last a year or two before being replaced. Plus a few spec scripts.

[garbon]

Yeah, I don't see how being a fan is good enough replacement for demonstrable skills.

I think both is best, but yeah you need skill in any regard. Being a nerd with no skill leads you no where but to the depths of weird fan fiction

Or in the modern era...

[HVC]

The tendrils of twilight run deep

[crazy canuck]

You guys have gone way off on a tangent based on an offhand comment by one of our posters that he is a "nerd ".  You further extrapolated from that comment that he is a mirror "fan" and thus un qualified to write a script.

He actually has an encyclopaedic knowledge of all of Tolkien's work. Which is more than I can say for the writers of the original three movies.

Also, he will be working on this project with his son who is actually a screenwriter.

But please do continue to form conclusions based on one post that was made as a funny  comment.

I enjoy watching how social media warps views and distributes misinformation in real time.  It's quite informative.