"The Silmarillion" movie

Just to say this now, NO, the movie is NOT being made and never will be as long as Christopher Tolkien is alive (or so it is implied). This thread is just for fun and from outmost sheer curiosity. 😄

But I ask you, fellow-fans, especially those who have read "The Silmarillion", do you want to have a Silmarillion movie being made if there has been a chance? (Let's say Christopher had a change of heart or something and allowed PJ to make it 😛 ) It doesn't matter if there's enough budget or who's the director. The simple question is that do *YOU* honestly want to have a movie made or just leave it as it is and let's just all be happy reading and visualizing them in the book. Or do you want to have an actor that will stand up for the character just to have a better picture of the character? Why or why not?

We know that current technology makes it possible to recreate the different characters and the battles that are far more spectacular than in LOTR. (There's the Battle of the Powers, the 5 major battles of the War of Beleriand, The War of Wrath, etc. This doesn't yet include all the consecutive attacks and destruction caused by Melkor and Sauron)

So, I am not concerned about make up, costumes, artistic direction or visual or sound effect, Jackson is pretty good on that (assuming that he will direct it).

Just in case you want to have a movie made and you had the benefit to choose whatever way the filmmakers want to go.

1) What changes would you make to the book to fit in a movie script? What parts would you suppress? What parts would you change? Would you change the order of the narrative, and then how? Who are the major characters that will appear and who would have the most amount of screentime and character development?
2) Would you make one movie, or several? How many? How would you divide it, considering that there isn't a guidance like in LOTR? Would you just made a movie dedicated to a certain chapter of the book? Are you going to have Ainulindale or Valaquenta, etc.?
3) The characters, I will list some of them, there are certainly more, but who do you think could play each of them?

Manwe
Varda
Ulmo
Yavanna
Nienna
Aule
Tulkas
Melkor
Eonwe
Osse
Finwe
Elwe
Olwe
Ingwe
Melian
Luthien
Beren
Dior
Elwing
Earendil
Feanor
Fingolfin
Finarfin
Fingon
Tuor
Turin
Hurin
Nienor
Beleg
Glorfindel
Ar-Pharazon
....
....

etc.

You get the idea. And do you think the movie will be successful? Will the average movie-goers embrace it?

As for me, I want to. I really do, and I wouldn't mind watching it for even 20 hours or so as long as it's done excellently and still kinda faithful to the book. 🙂 But I'm afraid that's kinda impossible. 🙁 Although LotR is bittersweet, there still is a message of hope and sacrifice to build a better world. The message that comes to me from most of The Silmarillion is that life's a *****, you better get used to it. For me, the joy of The Silmarillion is in the details and once they are removed (as they would have to be) all you have left is a mish-mosh of really depressing stories.

I truly think this book is unfilmable without major changes, changes that would in fact not make it "The Silmarillion" anymore. 🙁

But that's just me. 🙂 Any thoughts? 😄

i think they could deffinately make a million movies from this extra series but the content shouldnt be taken from here but from the history of middle earth series -lost tales, lays of beleriand those ones becuase there basically and expanded verison of the silmarillion

in my opion they could just take small stories fromr it, small sections and build it into a movie, sort of say how sauron came about and dont forget

theres a battle i think almost bigger than ROTK

with A WHOLE ARMY OF BALROGS

Thanks! 😄 And yeah!! Balrogs!! 😄 Gothmog! 😍 I also definitely want to see Melkor and Sauron. 😄 I also think that the HoME series are more detailed than "The Silmarillion" because they each deal with different matters (having 12 series and all) but it will be cool if the movie will be solely (well, not really) based on the events in Sil. Just have more character developments. 🙂

i think they COULD make a movie, and probably SHOULD make one, but if were talking not talking hypothetically then i dont think it woudl work a)no-one would understand what was going on (as in general public, ppl who an read or understand LOTR) b) it wouldnt make no way as near much money, becasue people wouldnt want to go see it, and seen as tho PJ is making the Hobbit, I think people would get bored of all this LOTR stuff. I mean PJ already cocked up the chronolgy in the films, Aragorn getting Narcil in ROTK? WHAT?! and having Shelob in ROTK etc etc, and now making the Hobbt, it would get WAAAY to confusing (for those who havnt read any of Tolkins work)

But aside from that, I woudl love the movie to come out 😄

ignore everything unless it involves melkor or sauron

so we still have beren and luthien

and turin

ar pharazon

and the others 🙂 BUT we get rid of stupid people like mim

Oh what about a short version 😄 with only the scenes that have either Balrogs, Morgoth, Gothmog, Sauron, Gondolin, Beleg, Túrin, Dragons or Pharazôn 😄

if turin was in it would become a kinda 15 rated movie

as turin-niniel

niniel-was naked

LOL probably... and because of strange ideas because everybody kills himself.............

yeah

oh look its turin well looks like im dead in about 2 pages time *sigh*

turin turambar master of doom, doom mastered

I would definitely like to see Silmarillion! How cool can a Silmarillion film just be? Sooooo awesome cool. 😉

The fights, Melkor, more of Sauron... Yeah!

AWW and the Nirnaeth Arnediad 😍 😍 where practially all important pplz die lol

I can't believe you forgot the Balrogs!

we didnt....gothmog

I think Balrogs were named in each and every post here lol

(and the first ones in mine)

yeah and ungoliant would have to give birth on screen to shelob somehow who jumped up her amily table a notch

Old subject, same answer from me as ever- there can be no decent film made of the Silmarillion. It is fundamentally flawed for such treatment.

It would be an undertaking beyond anyone to imagine. If you tried to make it in three parts, maybe it's possible. But it would still fall short of such a beautiful literary work. This is what I think may happen if they should make a movie.

a) The Ainulindalë and the Valaquenta would most likely be a narrative in the first movie. And most likely confuse many who are not familiar with the book.

b) The first five chapters after the Valaquenta would probably be in the first movie and most likely Thingol and Melian would not be mentioned too much, maybe as a fireside tale somewhere, you decide. And probably the latter half would then introduce Fëanor and the unchaining of Melkor.

c) The second movie would probably deal with the stealing of the Silmarillion, since the movie will be called the Silmarillion. So we have Fëanor’s character swearing the oath and the doom of Mandos. The flight of the Noldor, not to mention many stories will probably be left out or slightly changed or not even mentioned.

d) The third would have to be the War of Wrath and all the stories tied to the stolen jewels and the sorrow and the agony. And also the fate of Morgoth, his servant Sauron, then probably at the end or close to the end will be narrative of the Akallabêth.

I personally do not think they should do a movie even if they have the finances, the resources and the technology to do it. It would fall waaaay very short of the book. And that would be very sad.

The Silmarillion seems to jump around alot. One ch is on the Noldor, another on men and then back to the Noldor. It also seems to lack a central plotline. I understood the beginning, but after the5th battle, it all fell apart for me. There are a lot of characters and most of them sound the same, so ppl will be confused. Also, a lot of the elves and men get killed and the drama of their deaths would wear off as more are killed. Silmarillion lacks the strong character attachment that was found in LotR. I only felt a little said for Fingolfin when he was killed, but I could hardly feel for him. W/O this feeling, the movie would be rather dry.

Another thing, there are 5 battles, but it wouldn't be a good idea to show all 5. Even the two big ones (4 and 5, I believe) would be too much action and repetitious. If the first 3 are cut out, how will they be explained, concidering ppl died in them. If this was to work, I believe it would have to be a mini-series with each chapter (roughtly) being an episode. It would alomst be a requirement to read the book in order to see it.

Not that I'm against it becoming a movie, there would have to be a lot of preperations to make such a movie. I really want to see the Balrogs and how someone fights them and se what the Valar look like.

The reason it lacks an apparent central plotline is because there ISN'T one! It was complied from a ton of unfinished notes of Tolkien's, edited by his son to TRY and form a narrative of sorts. But as it is, it is not even close to being a finished product like LOTR; it barely works as a book and there is not a chance in hell of it working as a film.

No serious person wants to do this- not even PJ.

I agree with Ush, too many different things happening in the Salmarillion, it took me far too long to understand half of it.

I have read it three times now and am still confused at some parts.

Discos - Wouldnt mind seeing what Tulkas did!