Amazon Prime is betting that the Lord of the Rings series, a new adaptation of the works of JRR Tolkien, will be the success to boost its streaming platform globally after the films directed by Peter Jackson became a success at the box office and became a classic of film culture.
After the success of series like Game of Thrones, the cinematic universe opened the door to deep stories and adaptations of fantasy stories, so HBO continues to work on expanding its title to an entire universe.
With this in mind, it is not surprising that the competition, in this case Prime Video, is looking to generate a similar project and what better way to do it with a title already recognized worldwide as The Lord of the Rings, which has already established itself as the most face of history.
Where does New Zealand come in?
New Zealand will once again be the setting for the story developed by Jackson to continue, where the beautiful landscapes, the wide field and the affordable prices, however, it seems that this place will only be able to illustrate the first season.
A few days ago it was reported that the production decided to leave New Zealand and return to the United Kingdom to film there, which caused the outrage of dozens of people.
The reason? In accordance with Variety, the New Zealand Film Commission took a damage control stance. There are some internal accusations that say that the real reason is that very strong restrictions were put in place to prevent coronavirus infections.
The series began filming in April 2020 and continued like this for 18 months, including the lockdown for the pandemic. It would have a large investment that would now be lost.
Amazon was slated to spend around NZ $ 650 million, or $ 465 million, for the first season. This means that New Zealand’s incentive (between the 20 percent approved and the additional five percent just announced) will be NZ $ 162 million. That is, 116 million dollars, for a total figure of 581 million dollars for this project in the LotR universe.
The new location of The Lord of the Rings
Although the first season is already filmed and the post-production will end in New Zealand, the pre-production will take place in the United Kingdom, where it will be made from locations and studios to continue with the mythical story.
The problem is that the New Zealand team found out 20 minutes before the decision was made public, which shocked the workers, as they had lost a great job opportunity.
“It’s a shame, and I’m sorry for everyone who put their hearts into this production. The second season was expected to start in 2022, so our role now is to work hard to keep the Kiwi sector working, ”he said. David strong, CEO of The New Zealand Film Commission.
In addition to health restrictions, another problem was that the agreed percentage that filming would receive as reimbursement for filming in New Zealand was greatly reduced. Finally, Amazon Studios decided to withdraw without obligation to film the second season.
The decision could be a mistake, but we will only find out when we can see the first season or at least an official synopsis, to know the fate of The Lord of the Rings.