Malcolm Harden
New Member
Friends,
From what I've gathered the Silm-Film project is currently is currently being thought of as best adapted in a television medium à la Game of Thrones. While I think this is vastly superior medium to film for doing justice to rendering of the Silmarillion, my vision is, I believe, a step further. Dave mentioned during the netmoot that his grand vision is to imagine not just the Silmarillion itself, but also numerous spinoffs forming a single cinematic universe with the Silm-Film, in a very similar vein to that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'm with Dave but believe the development of this cinematic universe should not be the result of spinning off ideas from the project, but should be the core design of the project. The biggest difference I envision in terms of method between this Silmarillion Cinematic Universe and the Marvel one is that at the core of the Silmarillion Cinematic Universe would be TV series style media with film length projects emerging when appropriate.
Even if we did this, we would need a core series from which all other media in the universe would grow organically until it was complete. This core series should, I believe, involve the key familial lines of the Quenta, with a frame narrative perhaps of Earendil and Elwing telling Elrond and Elros the story of middle earth, with the attack on Sirion and adoption by Maglor happening at the end of the first season in what was theretofore the frame. I think this core series should probably proceed chronologically, beginning with Beleriand before the return of Morgoth or the Noldor. Perhaps the first two episodes are told to Elrond and Elros from the perspective of the Sindar who were living a wonderful life under the stars before coming under siege of an unstoppable army of orcs, and only Melian can hold them at bay and only in Doriath. Then, eucatastrophe! The coming of the Noldor, the first rising of the Sun, the defeat of the orcs and the siege of Angband! This core series, I can imagine, would go up through the war of wrath, with the frame eventually being absorbed into the story as it surpasses it. (The Akkalabeth, etc. could be another series in the same universe with a different frame picking up where the core series would leave off, perhaps before the core series is complete; same thing with stuff before the return of Morgoth and the Noldor).
Spin off series' could tell other material and perhaps a one-off episode could present the Ainulindale, which I would certainly want to do, but not first (I just don't think that something so inevitably abstract can possibly serve as the introduction to our universe. I fear that this would come off, if presented first, in a way very similar to the bad short in the beginning of the Watership Down film, which is also a Cosmogony). With respect to the Ainulindale, I think that is an instance where are frame would assist us. I think that we can make it clear to the children (or whoever) being told a story that this is all true but not completely comprehensible to us, but what we are getting is these children's (or whoever's) efforts to comprehend that incomprehensible reality.
Perhaps the battles would make for particularly good one off movies, or different perspectives of the battles even if they do appear in the core series; perhaps the Children of Hurin actually get their own series, which is kicked off by a film depicting, primarily, the years before the Nirnaeth Arnoediad culminating in the battle from Hurin's perspective, whereas in whatever the core series is, we see Hurin and Huor hold so that Turgon can escape, but we follow Turgon, simply left to believe that Hurin and Huor made the ultimate sacrifice, and we don't get to hear "Day will come again!".
I hope this post isn't wayyyyy too hard to follow or wayyyyy too out there. I was just really excited and couldn't figure out where else to share, since this is mostly realllllly big picture.
From what I've gathered the Silm-Film project is currently is currently being thought of as best adapted in a television medium à la Game of Thrones. While I think this is vastly superior medium to film for doing justice to rendering of the Silmarillion, my vision is, I believe, a step further. Dave mentioned during the netmoot that his grand vision is to imagine not just the Silmarillion itself, but also numerous spinoffs forming a single cinematic universe with the Silm-Film, in a very similar vein to that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'm with Dave but believe the development of this cinematic universe should not be the result of spinning off ideas from the project, but should be the core design of the project. The biggest difference I envision in terms of method between this Silmarillion Cinematic Universe and the Marvel one is that at the core of the Silmarillion Cinematic Universe would be TV series style media with film length projects emerging when appropriate.
Even if we did this, we would need a core series from which all other media in the universe would grow organically until it was complete. This core series should, I believe, involve the key familial lines of the Quenta, with a frame narrative perhaps of Earendil and Elwing telling Elrond and Elros the story of middle earth, with the attack on Sirion and adoption by Maglor happening at the end of the first season in what was theretofore the frame. I think this core series should probably proceed chronologically, beginning with Beleriand before the return of Morgoth or the Noldor. Perhaps the first two episodes are told to Elrond and Elros from the perspective of the Sindar who were living a wonderful life under the stars before coming under siege of an unstoppable army of orcs, and only Melian can hold them at bay and only in Doriath. Then, eucatastrophe! The coming of the Noldor, the first rising of the Sun, the defeat of the orcs and the siege of Angband! This core series, I can imagine, would go up through the war of wrath, with the frame eventually being absorbed into the story as it surpasses it. (The Akkalabeth, etc. could be another series in the same universe with a different frame picking up where the core series would leave off, perhaps before the core series is complete; same thing with stuff before the return of Morgoth and the Noldor).
Spin off series' could tell other material and perhaps a one-off episode could present the Ainulindale, which I would certainly want to do, but not first (I just don't think that something so inevitably abstract can possibly serve as the introduction to our universe. I fear that this would come off, if presented first, in a way very similar to the bad short in the beginning of the Watership Down film, which is also a Cosmogony). With respect to the Ainulindale, I think that is an instance where are frame would assist us. I think that we can make it clear to the children (or whoever) being told a story that this is all true but not completely comprehensible to us, but what we are getting is these children's (or whoever's) efforts to comprehend that incomprehensible reality.
Perhaps the battles would make for particularly good one off movies, or different perspectives of the battles even if they do appear in the core series; perhaps the Children of Hurin actually get their own series, which is kicked off by a film depicting, primarily, the years before the Nirnaeth Arnoediad culminating in the battle from Hurin's perspective, whereas in whatever the core series is, we see Hurin and Huor hold so that Turgon can escape, but we follow Turgon, simply left to believe that Hurin and Huor made the ultimate sacrifice, and we don't get to hear "Day will come again!".
I hope this post isn't wayyyyy too hard to follow or wayyyyy too out there. I was just really excited and couldn't figure out where else to share, since this is mostly realllllly big picture.
