Middle Earth 4K Boxset reported to be released for October 2020

The six Middle Earth films are reportedly being worked on in New Zealand for a 4K boxset release, currently slated for October 2020.Rumours of a 2020 4K release of Sir Peter Jackson's six Middle Earth features started to circulate around October 2019.1 Now, The Digital Bits have confirmed that the rigorous work is being performed on the films in New Zealand (where they were produced)2 and 4K filme (ger) confirmed that a six-film UHD boxset is now supposedly slated for an October 2020 release,3 a full twenty-five years after Jackson first concieved of making the series.4 A boxset was previously released for BluRay, but without the approval of Jackson.5No information exists as to the nature of the digital masters used for this release: whether they are 2K upscales or not, and what the aspect ratio and frame rate for The Hobbit entries will be: the Digital IMAX versions of those films were composed for 2:1 and shown in 48 frames per-second in 3D.Its also unclear what version of the film is worked on: the films have a theatrical cut, an extended cut for TV, and - by the director's own admission - could stand to have a third, revised cut, mainly to iron-out continuity issues.6Presumably, however, both the theatrical and extended cuts will be made available in widescreen UHD. The reported "slow but steady pace" of the work (which would explain what Peter Jackson has been so quietly up to this last year or so) is reassuring as to the quality of the masters, upscaled or not.The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) was shot back-to-back on fine-grain Super-35mm film, while The Hobbit prequel trilogy (2012-2015) was largely shot on 5K Digital RED EPIC cameras. All six films were produced, co-written and directed by Sir Peter Jackson and shot by the late Andrew Lesnie: the only film series of this scope to be helmed entirely by one filmmaker and one core creative team throughout.7The timing of the release is no doubt meant to coincide with Amazon's upcoming TV series, a prequel from the same cinematic universe, set in the period which precedes the opening prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring.8 A sort-of spin-off film, Tolkien, was released in 2019 and centered around the life of the source material's author, Professor JRR Tolkien. Universal are reportedly making an amusement ride based on the films, as well.The series, distributed by Warner Brothers, won eighteen Oscars out of 38 nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing and a Special Achievement Oscar - making it the most accoladed film series in history.9​___________________1 https://ift.tt/31dDb0V https://ift.tt/2RJ02OY https://ift.tt/2tYcXDK Jackson's original pitch, then to Miramax, was for a single trilogy: one film based on The Hobbit and two based on The Lord of the Rings. This followed a single animated feature by Ralph Bakshi and several aborted attempts by such filmmakers as Forrest Ackerman, William Synder, Sir David Lean, Stanley Kubrick and John Boorman.5 The "Middle-earth Limited Collector’s Edition" was notoriously overpriced. Jackson wanted to produce a new documentary with Michael Pellerin, featuring HD excerpts of outtakes and bloopers, but this required rescanning the negative by Warners, which they declined. https://ift.tt/2Ue45o1 In the commentary to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Jackson states: "We're a few years away from a *Lord of the Rings-*boxset. Hopefully we'd be able to package The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit together in, like, an ultimate set and who knows what extra things we'll be able to squeeze into that! [...] If we did an ultimate *Lord of the Rings-*boxset you would do [...a revised version] for continuity's sake. [...] If we did it I'd still want the old version to be available and not be discarted." In the 2014 Comic-Con panel, Jackson expressed interest in having the original camera negative of The Lord of the Rings rescanned ahead of any potential new release.7 The six extended cuts - curated for TV and widely considered the superior versions of the films - form a 21-hour cycle, equivalent to the nine-film long Skywalker Saga and eight-film strong Harry Potter series. Unlike those series, Jackson was the director throughout, with him, Philippa Boyens and Dame Frances Walsh being the principal writers of all the films, and him and Walsh producing. The Cinematographer, Composer, First Assistant Director, Script Supervisor, Key Grip and Special Effects manager were the same throughout. The heads of the other production departments on The Hobbit were mostly high-ranking veterans of their respective departments in The Lord of the Rings.8 The show's lead conceptual artist, John Howe, a veteran of the Jackson films, confirmed on two ocassions that the series will be in the "same universe" as the films. A tie-in map, in the style of the films, sets the series during the early-to-mid Second Age. This period is glimpsed in the opening two minutes of the prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring - showing the forging of the Rings of Power, Sauron's rise to power and war with the Elves, and alluding to the Rise and Fall of the kingdom of Numenor - threads which will presumably form the focus of the show. Jackson was rumoured to help in going over the scripts. https://ift.tt/2GGLXvd The ultimate film of the series, The Return of the Kin, won a record eleven awards in a clean sweep, including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay: one of few commercial genre pictures to have done so. The number of nominations puts the winning ratio of the series 47%. By comparison, The Godfather trilogy won 9 out of 29 nominations, with one revoked nomination (31% winning ratio) and one award refused by its recipient, lead actor Marlon Brando.The winning ratios at the Golden Globes (21% for The Godfather) and BAFTAS (23%) also favour the Middle Earth series, at 40% and 36%, respectivelly. Both series garnered additional awards, but those are more difficult to bring into account, given how many new award ceremonies sprouted in the time between the making of the two series. The Godfather series was also nominated for - and won - two Golden Raspberry Awards (as did the Star Wars series), a dubious honour the Middle Earth films have not been subjected to. via /r/movies https://ift.tt/2GG0oiX