I have seen all three LOTR films, all of the Star Wars and all of the Harry Potter films. I have been duly impressed, although a couple of the Star Wars films were crap, the series is still impressive. Only the Harry Potter series still has a long way to go, although I am unsure what they are going to do with the actors currently playing those parts. They are starting to get a little long in the tooth to play the roles for too many more years. And I suppose LOTR could possibly add another - The Hobbit - if the rights are ever secured and Peter Jackson isn’t in a retirement home by then.
For those who have seen all the films, which series do you think will pass the test of time best?
Considering these three series of films were such mega-hits, was this a fluke or is this filming of series a trend that will continue?
Bollocks. It’s not like they’re nearing forty. They are only two or so years off their required age for the movies. In an industry where 30 year olds can play teenagers (Back To The Future, Beverly Hills 90210) two or three years is nothing.
I would have to say Lord of the Rings, with ROTK winning the Best Picture Oscar cements its place in history. With FOTR and TTT also garnering Best Picture nominations, I felt the Academy was rewarding the trilogy for Best Picture(s).
Well, I only meant that they are on book four this November, and I believe book seven is supposedly the last (although I think she has backed off on that) they might have to speed up production…although you are right, a lot of actors have been able to get away with playing parts years younger than they were. I haven’t read the books, so I don’t know how much they age in each one. I hope the original actors are able to continue as I am looking forward to seeing the entire seven films…and it sure would be difficult to imagine someone else playing those parts after the first four.
OK, there have been the Batman, Superman, Back To The Future…but those were all franchises. What I mean is, a trend in filming books that have an epic scale and a beginning and an end. Star Wars could be considered a “franchise” in that it was a film and not a book, but Lucas did have his vision of six films and no more. I don’t think other films…James Bond, Scooby Do, Legally Blonde…none of those fit in this category. I am not talking sequels until nobody cares any more, or until the main characters all die. The three films series I mentioned all have a beginning and an end…granted, over several films, but there will never be a LOTR part four, nor (according to Lucas) a seventh Star Wars, and the verdict is still out on Potter, but Rowlings has said this will be her last book…maybekindofprobably.
> I haven’t read the books, so I don’t know how much they age in each one.
Say what? Haven’t you noticed that each book takes place in one school year? In the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh books, Harry is 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 years old, respectively.
You really ought to read the books (for Tolkien and Rowling, I mean). There’s a lot in them that’s not in the movies. For the Harry Potter books, it’s not quite as important, since it’s a good series but not a great one. For The Lord of the Rings though, the movies are only the palest shadow of the book.
I read LOTR three times, long before I saw the films.
Harry Potter, I have never read. So thanks for letting me know they age one year per book. So assuming they can keep cranking them out about every year or so, no problem with the actors. I stand corrected.
To answer the OP’s question - keep an eye open for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe coming out later this year. If it works, they’ll probably follow it with the rest of the Narnia books.
LOTR was unusual in that the trilogy was filmed together. Now, this did happen for the second and third episodes of the Back to the Future and Matrix trilogies, but committing to three movies up front was a rare (unique?) bet. (I heard that the original filming budget was $300 million for the LOTR trilogy, but more was spent before each film was released.)