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Victariongreyjoy
Nargothrond
Mon, 11:10pm
Post #1 of 11
(290 views)
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Amazon needs to reduce the cost for the show to justify it's existence
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As much as I personally like the show very much, I can't deny Rings Of Power hasn't been the next ''GOT'' for Amazon. It's doing OK I guess with viewership but far behind Amazon's own shows like Fallout and The Boys that has better audience and fan reception.
I think it's time for Amazon to reduce the cost. Unless Bezos demands to the company to pour money into it. They can't throw hundreds of millions of dollars for a show that isn't creating any buzz and losing viewership now. I don't want it to be low level like Wheel of Time, but they need to reduce the casting and other pointless side plots.
(This post was edited by Victariongreyjoy on Mon, 11:11pm)
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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
Tue, 2:30am
Post #2 of 11
(279 views)
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They can't throw hundreds of millions of dollars for a show that isn't creating any buzz and losing viewership now.
Sure they can. Don't be hasty. Think of it as Costco roast chicken, their infamous loss-leader. Admittedly, roast chicken is more tasty and popular, but hey, Amazon can afford the ego project.
As a fan of both Fallout and The Boys, gotta agree with your assessment.
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uncle Iorlas
Nargothrond
Tue, 8:46pm
Post #3 of 11
(218 views)
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I thought the deal with the estate not only established a minimum five seasons, but a minimum cost per episode, a quarter million or something. Of course I am way out of date and may be forgetting things, my kids tell me I am old now.
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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
Wed, 7:01am
Post #4 of 11
(185 views)
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I thought the deal with the estate not only established a minimum five seasons, but a minimum cost per episode, a quarter million or something...
Yes, it was reported (aka rumored) that "$20m kill fee per every unfinished season, offering some explanation for not canceling the show."
As cited in my post here:
http://newboards.theonering.net/forum/gforum/perl/gforum.cgi?post=1020130
I don't remember ever any mention of a minimum cost per episode, unless you count the initial fee for rights as a basis.
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Chen G.
Mithlond
Wed, 12:32pm
Post #5 of 11
(162 views)
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Season two, to my eyes, seemed considerably less opulent than season one was. Clearly, they spulrged on the first season hoping they could rest on the laurels of what they would do, in a way that the move to Britian disallowed.
Season two was clearly saving itself for the concluding siege, which for the record I thought was nicely mounted. Elsewhere in the season we had recycled or even stock footage (Gil galad having a vision while fondling his ring), no particularly remote locations outside the Canary islands, with most of the British location seemingly being in the studio's back yard, visibly smaller sets and set-pieces and so forth.
So I think there was - and is - already a downscaling. It's noteworthy that season three is jumping a couple of years as had been reported: this means that they can gloss over much of the War of Sauron and the Elves. Because they don't have the rights to the descriptions of the war, yes, but also because to depict an entire campaign would be spendthrifty.
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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
Wed, 3:15pm
Post #6 of 11
(155 views)
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It's noteworthy that season three is jumping a couple of years...
[sarcasm]This gives Arondir plenty of time to recover from his arrow and stab wounds.[/sarcasm]
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Victariongreyjoy
Nargothrond
Thu, 12:04pm
Post #7 of 11
(103 views)
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The scale in season 2 seems smaller in a sense than season 1. We didn't get to see Ost-In-Edhil so much other than a small court yard and Celebrimbor's tower. The defence of the city looks like it was just a handful of elves on one wall. That makes me worry for the War of the Last Alliance. It cannot look small like that.
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Chen G.
Mithlond
Thu, 9:53pm
Post #8 of 11
(77 views)
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It didn't help that Season One was probably more spendthrifty than intended
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Season one had a couple of...false starts is not quite the right term, but lets say hiccups in the process. Besides recasting Celebrimbor quite late in the game - Tom Budge is visible in the wideshots of the Lindon award ceremony thing - they had also replaced their production designer quite late in the game. Tom Shippey, as is now well-known, was also replaced by Griff Jones (now a writer for season three). And all of that at a time when New Zealand was basically cut off from the outside world due to COVID.
So they probably ended up spending more than they even thought they would on season one. Then, instead of being able to get a lot of reusability out of their investment, they had to fund a huge relocation to England, sacking most of the crew and having to build a lot of the production anew.
(This post was edited by Chen G. on Thu, 9:54pm)
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Victariongreyjoy
Nargothrond
1:59pm
Post #9 of 11
(13 views)
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The return for their huge investment hasn't been successful.
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With all that money for season 1 and the huge marketing, I think they didn't get that much in return. The highest award the show have won is a BAFTA for special effects and that was for season 2.
However I remember reading Amazon Prime has gotten a significant increase in new subs because of the show, so I guess they got something in return. That's why I do believe the show will get to at least a fourth season.
The deal with the Estate is 50 hours of episodes. Amazon could always increase the amount of episodes in the fourth season, reduce the War of the Last Alliance with a huge battle in Mordor and end it with the One Ring lost in the Gladdens Field.
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Chen G.
Mithlond
3:04pm
Post #10 of 11
(10 views)
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Judging by the length of the episodes thus far, the show will probably clock in at 42-43 hours.
The point of "50 hours" is "in excess of 40 hours." It's a drawer size, not an exact quota.
(This post was edited by Chen G. on 3:07pm)
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DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
44 mins ago
Post #11 of 11
(4 views)
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...I do believe the show will get to at least a fourth season.
It will go at least all five. And history will show a lesson learned that viewers are not willing to invest over a decade of their lives, for five seasons of eight or fewer episodes each, for even the most legendary of mythologies while their immortal characters break the fourth wall as they significantly age in real time.
And here comes AI to fix that, I suppose.
Real, classic shows and actors can produce 20+ episodes per season to hold loyal audience interest for an immersive experience of really living in their world for maybe half a year. Now you can binge an entire season in the time it takes to watch the Pregame and Superbowl shows. Once done, the dopamine drop-off of a sheer cliff wall is like the two-month lead-up to Christmas after the ten minutes it takes to open all your gifts. Was it worth it? One might not be conscious of it, but the disappointment of such a brief experience after years of hype and expectation is there. Cosmological and tedious distance between seasons and minimal episodes means a far more detached viewership.
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