Christopher Tolkien Resigns as Head of Tolkien Estate

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2017/11/15/104426-in-historic-move-christopher-tolkien-resigns-as-director-of-tolkien-estate/

So, I also found this today.

It's definitely big news for involved parties. For as long as I can remember (and long before that), Christopher Tolkien has been the chief executor of his father's estate, as per his wishes, and has been instrumental in delivering his collected works to the masses. It was inevitable, yes, but it seems to be quite a shock to like in a world without his hand to guide it.

On the more media oriented note, this does open up quite a few possibilities, not all of them good. See, I believe the rights to THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS were already circulating while the elder Tolkien was still alive, but the estate has been pretty adamant on retaining the rights to the rest of the legendarium, which is why a film/TV adaptation of, say, THE SILMARILLION was only pure speculation and pretty low on possibility, and I think Christopher was the driving force behind it; That's why the numerous video games are basically making stuff up as they go along. Now that he's stepping down, the possibility of the rights to the First and Second Ages being optioned might just have increased by serious exponential figures. Could Christopher's replacement(s) be more open to putting THE SILMARILLION on screen?

As I insinuated, of course, this isn't exactly an altogether good thing. The liberties taken with the original film trilogy, coupled with the even greater liberties taken with its prequel, may just have turned off many die-hard fans of Tolkien's work. Do we even WANT more Tolkien possible hacked to recognizable yet streamlined-for-mass-consumption pieces? How sure are we that the legacy of Tolkien is going to be properly honored, let alone compensated?

Of course, I haven't even mentioned yet the news that Amazon, in its quest for a new TV series (and quite possibly to fill the void left by the winding down of GAME OF THRONES), has already acquired a deal to produce a new "multi-season" LOTR show set before the events of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING.....with spinoff potential. *sigh* We're getting it whether we want it or not. Is anybody happy? (Read more here: http://deadline.com/2017/11/amazon-the-lord-of-the-rings-tv-series-multi-season-commitment-1202207065/)

So what are your thoughts on it? What do you think Christopher Tolkien's resigning will mean for the future of his father's work? Are film and TV options more likely, and will you be okay with it?

[Raven]

I had heard the news about the Amazon series but had not heard about C. Tolkien's step-down. Hard not to speculate on a relationship there. I just hope that it was C. Tolkien's choice to step down, and that he was not somehow forced out.
There's a lot of money at stake in these things. A lot. It makes me think about C.S. Lewis, who I believe was not altogether for film adaptations. Of course, as I said elsewhere, I'm a fan of the BBC versions, but the latest versions were pretty awful (granted, I haven't seen them all). But no doubt a lot of money goes a long way towards compromise, especially when the original stakeholder is no longer around.

I think long-form television series are doing better things in the sci-fi/fantasy genres right now than films are. Something about the scope of the projects allow for more character and world development.

I suspect that they would pick one aspect of the Silmarillion. There's a lot of good material, and because the Silmarillion was written more as a history, there is more freedom to create within that framework without exactly departing from the kind of specifics we get in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

That said, people are really butchering things in movies lately. Hollywood has had a high level of drivel, focusing on cinematic tricks and cheap video-game like action more than character development (The Hobbit viewed like a video-game), and if they are wanting to replace GoT, then I fear they might sexualize Tolkien's work, which would be a terrible shame.
It could go either way. These things tend to always be mixed bags, and there are reasons to hope and reasons to fear.