Lord of the Rings

Let's hope she stays a spider this time.

Don't even remind me.

they clearly played Undertale when they decided to make Shelob 'sexy'

Trying not to veer off-topic here, but it looks like the Tolkienverse is getting a new publisher after almost 70 years: Houghton Mifflin is planning to sell its consumer publishing business to HarperCollins.

Why is this significant? HarperCollins is owned by News Corp.

Ohhh, ewww, that could be baaaad.

If I were the Tolkien estate I'd check my publishing contract to see if there's an "out" clause.

Why is that bad?

Yeah, this could be bad. At the very least, I'm not happy about Rupert Murdoch getting a single cent from the LOTR books.

@ Ultimatum: Muffet is only sexy if you add "Rule 34"

Rubert is pretty much saruman in human form.

"He's also about 3'6" and mostly naked, and he can never actually get said magical artifact of doom. Change your mind any?"

You are just making the pitch much better.

It's now official; HarperCollins will be the new publisher for Middle-earth literature in the States.

In other words, Sauron won.

Tolkien is rolling in his grave.

So now an asshole who embodies so much of what Tolkien hated is going to make money off of Tolkien's work.

That sure is terrible, but it's not going to stop me from buying or reading Tolkien.

Considering that I already have all of the copies of his books that I need, and he's not exactly writing a ton more material from beyond the grave, I think it's safe to say that this development won't concern me all that much.

But even if you didn't, would you really rather not buy the books now?

I doubt the typical reader is going to know or care about this.

Agreed, I think who publishes a book is a level beyond what most people will care about. And I don't think caring about it too much would be all that desirable either. You can't be aware of all the money streams from every purchase you make.

Still, the thought of Murdoch making even a cent off these books, be it through sales or licensing, is sickening to many, considering how he's influenced political turmoil everywhere.

Edited by Mario1995 on Mar 29th 2021 at 9:41:22 AM

Look as long he can't write new lord of the rings books and defile Tolkien's legacy its a non issue,it's a business development and nothing more

If I only read books from publishers I agreed with politically on every issue I would probably have very little to read.

"Oh no, Rupert Murdoch has cooties! Sauron won! Tolkien is rolling in his grave!" Come on. Grow up a little, people. Tolkien's words remain his, no matter who is publishing them.

The concern is . No-one's saying that Rupert Murdock is going to defile Lord of the Rings simply by being connected to it, it's that he will influence future Middle Earth media to be conservative garbage.

Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on Mar 29th 2021 at 1:06:47 AM

wanna check your hair for lice now? I hear they like straw

How? The publisher and the copyright holder are two very different things, by my understanding. Nor would anyone who published Tolkien-derived books (if that were permitted) be obligated to publish with Harper-Collins.

I'm just uncomfortable with Rupert Murdoch having any amount of power and influence, at all, over Lord of the Rings.