I’m sure Amazon will totally cut out all the Hollywood fiction from the history.
The new Amazon series is just Sir Ian McKellen narrating Middle Earth history as taken directly from Tolkien’s notes set to a little background music and with occasional charcoal sketches on screen.
GIVE IT
Yeah, I would unironically subscribe to Prime just for that.
I personally like the movie’s take, more. It sets Isildur up as a much more complex character with both the greed and the greatness. In the movie, Isildur basically embodies the traits of Men. That leads into Aragorn’s struggle as to whether he will take up Isildur’s mantle being one of both the greatness and the weakness. It’s much easier to reject being Isildur’s heir if it just means rejecting the greed of Man.
Yikes, I dislike Aragon’s characters changes too. The reluctant Aragorn/greed/weakness of men/Elrond’s scorn for men sub-plot wastes my time which is why I usually just watch that fan edit that guts all that crap (and more) and focuses on the main story. The added benefit of a much shorter run time cannot be ignored.
The movie depiction of the actual Sauron take down though is pretty weak and makes very little sense when you really think about it. Why would Sauron reach out to pat Isildur on the head with his ring hand instead of swinging his mace into his dome piece?
Hubris. It’s like reverse plot armor.
Why mess with success, right?
How can a show cost so much. And does amazon really think they are going to get that back in new subs when everyone already has prime?
Well, they paid $250 million just for the rights alone. That’s a quarter-of-a-billion already in the hole.
It’s not just about people buying Prime subs, but it’s also about them keeping their subs. Wal-Mart has been pushing hard to expand their free-shipping to counter Amazon, and you don’t need to pay Wal-Mart an annual fee. But Amazon saw this coming years and years ago, which is why Prime isn’t just about two-day shipping. You also get (probably) the next-best alternative to Netflix currently. It’s why Wal-Mart flirted hard with the idea of creating its own streaming service and original content.
And the evidence is overwhelming that Prime members spend a massive amount more at Amazon than non-Prime members. Which is how Amazon makes money. They need to keep people in Prime.
Yep, Amazon prime video is basically a loss leader. Its an investment in enticing both new subscribers to join and old ones to stay. After all, if you have a prime account you are far more likely to spend on Amazon and people who have prime spend a lot because it is so convenient. Amazon prime video has been putting out a lot of excellent original content and has also been building up a very respectable content library. It makes the cost of Prime much more palatable.
Okay, that’s what I was getting at. There is no way they think a billion dollar show budget will be directly profitable. But I’ll buy the rationale that keeping someone as a prime member makes it indirectly a profitable strategy.
Keeping Prime members is pretty important to them.
Seeing the diverse stuff coming out of Amazon Studios is worthwhile too.
https://www.brucebnews.com/2017/07/amazons-secret-weapon-is-of-prime-importance/
Amazon Prime members spend almost twice as much per year at Amazon as non-members. According to a recent study, Prime members spend an average of $1,300/year at Amazon. Non-members spend an average of $700/year. That’s an estimated $104 billion dollars in revenue from Prime members in 2017.
Amazon Prime is the most effective customer loyalty program ever created. Once you have paid the money to join, you will work hard to convince yourself that you are maximizing the benefits of your membership – by buying more from Amazon.
Here’s an interesting thing to consider. You think of Google as the only search engine that matters, but it’s not true in one important sense. Many of us do not do a Google search when we are shopping. We search Amazon, and only Amazon. We trust its low prices, wide selection, fast shipping, and generous return policies. Google is your search engine for a lot of things but Amazon is your search engine when you’re shopping.
In your mind, you are a winner if you order frequently from Amazon because you’re not paying directly for shipping. To keep winning, you order and order and order some more. If your membership fee doesn’t seem to cover all of your “free” shipping – well, Amazon still smiles all the way to the bank.
Amazon wants a piece of all economic activity. It is about to expand its scope in many different directions, and many of those will have extra benefits for Prime members.
They are also contracted to 5 seasons so might as well make the investment to set up shop in New Zealand.
I know it’s the case for me. Free Shipping makes getting random shit too easy.
“Running low on dog treats… might as well order some and get them by Thursday.”
Assuming the public domain still exists in Disneyzon America® 2030.
Well, yes, that’s true. Disney has been lobbying Congress to an insane degree over the years to stop their material passing into the public domain every time a milestone approaches. They will probably try to do it again, too.
The difference is, their comes a point in time when that approach will fail. There is a LOT of money to be made in the EU, Canada/Aus/NZ and in China and Japan. More, in fact, than there is to be made in the USA. So… at some point, that canary is going to sing, no matter what Disney does. Not every government in the world is for sale.
But your point is well taken, just the same.
Allowing the mouse to continuously be protected is one of the reasons I do not want other countries copying our terrible laws. There is nothing so precious about one mouse that our country should sell itself to protect.
Having said that, Disney is a company out for profits and rights. It’s not their job to just stop. It’s the public’s and their representatives job to enforce what we intended with Public Domain.