Peter Jackson: Last News

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Feature documentary “The Ghost of Richard Harris,” which premieres Sunday at the Venice Film Festival, looks to answer the question: “Who was Richard Harris?” The film also contains the revelation that Harris was offered the role of Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” movies, but chose to take the part of Dumbledore in the “Harry Potter” franchise instead. Variety spoke to director Adrian Sibley and Richard Harris’ son Jared Harris – a distinguished actor himself, and one of the originators of the project – about how the documentary came to be made. Sibley first broached the subject of making a film about Richard Harris some 20 years ago with the man himself, who responded: “I’ll do it, but only if I can tell the truth half the time,” Jared Harris recalls.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is as big a TV show as TV shows have ever been, with a record-setting budget spent on recreating J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth during the Second Age, and a cast of nearly two dozen series regulars and dozens more featured players deployed to enact its sprawling tale of the rise of Sauron. And yet one character sits undeniably at the show’s center: Galadriel. The ancient elf, so old she was born before the moon and the sun first graced Middle-earth, was a crucial character in Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” novels and Peter Jackson’s “Rings” trilogy, as played by Cate Blanchett.  In “The Rings of Power,” set thousands of years before the events of “The Lord of the Rings,” a younger Galadriel is not yet the serene and wise co-ruler of the Elven kingdom of Lothlórien. Instead, she’s consumed by her hunt for the Dark Lord Sauron, the mysteriously absent master of evil responsible for the death of Galadriel’s brother. In “Rings of Power,” Galadriel is at once hardened by the millennia she’s already been alive, but not yet the stately (and formidable) woman of stature she becomes in the Third Age.

Amazon Prime’s new series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, is set 1,000 years before the famous Peter Jackson-directed films, whose last edition came out 19 years ago, and eight years after the concluding film of The Hobbit trilogy.

What to watch: 7 movies & shows to stream this week - Aug 19What to watch: 7 movies & shows to stream this week - August 25thThe stakes are high for “Rings of Power,” a show that has the daunting task of adapting one of the world’s most beloved properties. Amazon spared no expense in its production, spending $715 million on its first season. According to early reviews, the money appears to have been well spent, delivering a show that’s grand and in line with the beloved Peter Jackson films.

SPOILER ALERT: This podcast contains details of the first two episodes of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which debuted Thursday night. For more on the epic series, watch Deadline’s Inside The Ring: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power after-show that launches Saturday. 

A new era of Middle-earth! The Rings of Power explores a totally different side of The Lord of the Rings — and fittingly, the cast is full of new faces.

The first two episodes of “The Rings of Power” have finally premiered on Prime Video, kicking off season 1 of the prequel series about the Second Age of Middle-earth about a time set several thousand years before the events of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”.

The Rings Of Power showrunners have confirmed the show’s ending will remain faithful to J.R.R. Tolkien’s source material.Based on the appendices to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The Rings Of Power covers Middle-earth’s Second Age, from the rise of Sauron, the forging of the rings and the last alliance between Elves and Men.The show has been mapped out for five seasons by showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, including an endpoint which won’t deviate from Tolkien’s original works.Asked by NME if they have an ending for the show, McKay said: “Yes, if you’re a fan of the lore or a fan of The Lord Of The Rings, then you know that the rings of power… it’s the rings which were scattered across Middle-earth through Elves, Dwarves and mortal Men as Tolkien called them.

Warning: Spoilers for the first two episodes of “The Rings of Power”.

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains details of Episode 1 of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

has finally debuted on Prime Video with the first two episodes of season 1. The prequel series adapted from J.R.R.

have finally premiered on Prime Video, kicking off season 1 of the prequel series about the Second Age of Middle-earth about a time set several thousand years before the events of and . During this era of peace and prosperity, there are subtle signs of re-emerging evil as many characters’ lives come crashing together. Among them are the lumbering giant (Daniel Weyman), who crash lands on Middle-earth via a meteor, and the Harfoot, Elanor ‘Nori’ Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), who discovers him. Now that the first two episodes are streaming, both Weyman and Kavenagh address the many theories about the stranger’s true identify, including a popular one that he’s Gandalf, the wise and powerful wizard originally played by Sir Ian McKellen in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of the novels. [: Spoilers for the first two episodes of .] While Hobbits are canon, and led J.R.R. Tolkien’s previous books, Harfoots are new to the overall franchise.

House of the Dragon” vs. Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” It’s such fun, isn’t it? Warner Bros. and Jeff Bezos ruthlessly vying for our attention and money like we’re the hottest girl in school.

The Rings Of Power stars Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers have discussed the most challenging aspect of filming the Amazon series.Set thousands of years before events in The Lord Of The Rings, The Rings Of Power covers Middle-earth’s Second Age, which spans the rise of Sauron, the forging of the rings and the last alliance between Elves and Men.Clark, who plays a younger version of Galadriel, originally depicted by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, had to undergo extensive underwater training for numerous scenes as the character – which she described as the hardest thing to learn while filming.“We had to learn to hold our breath. I got up to three and a half minutes,” Clark told NME.“That was really challenging because unlike everything else where you get better at it, so it starts to feel better.

Michaela Zee editor“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is only days away, and the Amazon Prime Video series has earned mostly rave reviews with a few mixed reactions (and one flat-out pan) as critics returned to Middle-earth.As Variety chief TV critic Caroline Framke wrote in her review: “It’s safe to say that Amazon throwing the weight of its coffers at this property has resulted in a perfectly winning adaptation that unfolds swashbuckling adventures with clear reverence and affection for the considerable mythos behind it.”Set during the Second Age of Middle-earth (thousands of years before the events of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Hobbit”), the prequel series reintroduces characters from Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy, including a young Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo). The Second Age consists of the rise and fall of Númenor, the creation of the Rings of Power and the formation of the Last Alliance.

notoriously hefty$715 million they reportedly spent on the first season budget and rights to the “Lord of the Rings” franchise.The money certainly shows onscreen: “The Rings of Power” is a dazzling, gorgeous, thrilling trip to Middle Earth.[Warning: Some minor spoilers ahead.]Premiering Sept. 1 at 9 p.m.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic Several years (and several hundreds of millions of dollars) after Amazon bought the TV rights to “The Lord of the Rings” from the J.R.R. Tolkien estate, the mammoth effort to boost Prime Video’s profile with the same kind of phenomenon HBO found in “Game of Thrones” is upon us — and it’s just as grand, if not as downright surreal, as the occasion calls for. Sure, “Game of Thrones” might have solidified a television format for fantasy epics. But George R.R. Martin’s novels simply wouldn’t exist without Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” and bringing these stories to episodic life requires not just all the considerable money Amazon can provide, but a certain amount of guts from the TV writers taking it on now, some 85 years after “The Hobbit” changed the game. 

dropping weekly, the premiere of a highly anticipated prequel series, plus plenty of movies and TV shows, new and old alike, arriving this month.Amazon's $465 million fantasy series,, takes fans thousands of years into Middle Earth's past. kicks off September 15 and will stream exclusively on Prime Video for the 2022 NFL season.Access to Prime Video is a perk included in an Amazon Prime membership, available for $15 monthly or $140 for the year. If you aren't already subscribed or just want access to the Prime Video library, a membership to Prime Video is available for $9 monthly.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer Robert Aramayo had no idea when he first auditioned for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” that the role he was vying for was Elrond, one of the most revered and crucial characters in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic saga of Middle-earth. Hugo Weaving played Elrond in Peter Jackson’s trilogies of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,” and as a kid, Aramayo had been captivated by the films. So when “The Rings of Power” co-showrunner J.D. Payne told him that he’d been cast to play Elrond as a (relatively) young man, the now 29-year-old actor couldn’t believe it. “I had one of those moments where everything in your body feels like you’re on electricity,” he tells Variety. “I was shocked and surprised and felt really, really honored that they will consider me for him.”

Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” has been a long time coming. “I read ‘The Hobbit’ when I was about 11 years old, and by the time my son got to about that age, we started reading it together as a bedtime story,” Owen, 56 (“You, Me, and the Apocalypse”) told The Post. “Tolkien’s imagination had such a powerful effect on me when I was younger, and I doubled down on reading it with my son. So, it’s been joyous to re-read everything, and then to read everything I didn’t know was out there, properly – ‘The Silmarillion’ and all of Tolkien’s writings.“It’s been a wonderful journey of discovery and it’s very exciting to be part of it.” “The Rings of Power,” premiering Sept. 1, is set around a thousand years before the events of Peter Jackson’s “Rings” movies.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” Amazon Studios’ ambitious fantasy series based on the works of author J.R.R. Tolkien and reportedly the most expensive television series ever made, premieres Sept. 2 on Amazon Prime Video. But as the social embargo lifts, critics and fans who have seen the first two episodes ahead of time are flocking to Twitter to share their opinions on the highly anticipated series. Eric Francisco, senior film/TV writer at Inverse, hailed “Rings of Power” as “big, bold and beautiful” but indicated uncertainty as to whether the prequel series will “sit alongside” Peter Jackson’s film trilogy or “deserve Tolkien’s name.”