TV/STREAMING
THE SECOND AGE DAWNS ON A GRAND SCALE FOR THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER By TREVOR HOGG
Images courtesy of Amazon Studios. TOP: The Second Age is the focus of the Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: The Second Age is the glory of many of the cultures, with the elves having built a beautiful kingdom in Lindon. A major visual effects challenge was being able to deal with the various scales of the characters. Amazon Studios has committed to produce five seasons with the total production cost of $1 billion.
Influenced by the societal and environmental impact of the industrial revolution, his experiences as a soldier during World War I, the rise of fascism in Germany which led to World War II, a fascination with languages, and the desire to expand upon English folklore, J.R.R. Tolkien conceived of a vast world known as Middle-earth inhabited by elves, dwarves, orcs, sorcerers, dragons and humans. The stories were originally told to his children and subsequently transcribed, leading to the publication of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In order to create a vast cultural landscape to draw upon, the Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at the University of Oxford developed a rich history which appeared in various appendic es of his works, as well as serving as the basis for The Silmarillion. It is this backstory, particularly the period referred to as the Second Age, that the Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, created by Patrick McKay and John D. Payne, focuses on. The streaming endeavor is a massive investment for Amazon Studios, which purchased The Lord of the Rings television rights for $250 million and committed to produce five seasons at a total cost of $1 billion. Principal photography takes place in New Zealand, which was also the backdrop for the big-screen adaptations helmed by filmmaker Peter Jackson, with the first season consisting of eight episodes. Conceptualizing Middle-earth was a balancing act for Production Designer Ramsey Avery (Waitress). “Based on the art that has existed for 50 to 60 years or more recent media representations, there is an expectation of what Middle-earth wants to be. We wanted to make sure that we had a world that was recognizable as well as felt real and lived in. It wasn’t high fantasy. It was a place where people actually had to eat and find food and had to make a living for themselves one way or another – that means various
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PG 32-36 RINGS OF POWER.indd 32
8/28/22 4:53 PM