Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood

Joe Spillane
Text and Film
Final Paper


Toby Miller’s Global Hollywood 2 explores the influence of marketing on the film industry. Miller argues that the trend in marketing to increase surveillance on the audience will greater influence the decision making of Hollywood filmmakers to make films that are solely created based on their ability to be merchandised, marketed, and to turn profit. Film becomes a cultural comedy that can be packaged in a way that will guarantee its success. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy has become one of the most successful media franchises in history. Using sections of Toby Miller’s Getting the Audience from Global Hollywood 2, this essay will attempt to convey how The Lord of the Rings (LotR hereafter) demonstrates Toby Miller’s theories about decision making in Hollywood.

The Conditions of Film Marketing
This section of Miller’s book explores how filmmakers are constantly attempting to reduce making “high risk” projects by using pre-screening. The film companies’ desire to avoid making “bad” films has in some cases been successful, but also in some cases great failures. The LotR franchise was in some ways a “high” risk project and in some ways was a guaranteed success. Before the huge success of the LotR trilogy and the Harry Potter series, the fantasy genre was generally considered detestable by Hollywood executives. There had also been an animated version of LotR was released in 1978 directed by Ralph Bakshi. The animated film intended to cover the first half of the trilogy and a second film was to be made to cover the second half. The film was a disappoint both to the fans of the LotR novels and financially to the film company that made it. The second film was never commissioned and the general consensus became that the LotR series couldn’t be translated into a successful film. When Peter Jackson approached New Line Cinema about making the series it too was met with some reluctance. Not only was fantasy seen as a dead market, but Peter Jackson himself was relatively unknown other than his reputation of making gory, low budget, horror films. Peter Jackson was able to convince New Line Cinema to make the film by using a one hour film reel he had made of the LotR history and pre-existing fan artwork. Jackson’s argument was that the LotR franchise had already been promoting his film for nearly 40 years. Between 1954 and 1955 Allen and Unwin published J.R.R. Tolkien’s LotR novels to great critical success. The book series spawned a slew of fan clubs, fan artwork, and merchandising, and quickly developed a strong cult following. In order to sweeten the deal, Jackson would film all three films in New Zealand where the cost of filmmaking is much less. It is estimated that New Line Cinema saved almost ten million dollars due the favorable exchange rate between the US and New Zealand dollar. Also by filming all three films at the same time, the studio could save millions of dollars because it did not have to move or reconstruct the sets made for the films. Jackson also intended to use a small New Zealand special effects company (Weta Works) that would also help to keep the budget of the film down. After finally securing the ok from New Line Cinema to make the films, Jackson was given an initial budget of 270 million dollars to make all three films which eventually grew to 310 million dollars.

Textual Gatekeepers: Positioning, Playability
This section of Getting the Audience explores how marketing warlocks attempt to appeal to basic human instincts that will produce a desired reaction from the viewer. Miller quotes Ries and Tout in this section and how this can determine a film’s “playability”. Ries and Tout argue “…its basic approach…is not to create something new and different, but to manipulate what’s already up there in the mind, to retie the connections that already exist…” (268) LotR has an uncanny ability to appeal to a massively varied audience. The films themselves can be simply labeled as “fantasy”, but in fact they encompass a number of genres. There are elements of the film that can be attributed to the fantasy, romance, action/adventure, kung-fu, coming of age, horror, and historical genres. Jackson and New Line cinemas had a plan to make sure the film could be celebrated by all categories of viewer. There was the “male babe” factor that was conveyed with the casting of Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) meant to attract female viewers. Not to mention the “female babe” element portrayed by Liv Tyler (Arwen) meant to attract teenage boys and young men. There was the “geriatric hero” element that was conveyed by a wise, yet kung-fu strong, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) meant to attract older audiences. There was also the romantic theme conveyed by Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler’s relationship (a standard obligatory plot in Modern Hollywood). Another element that LotR utilized effectively was its use of CG animation. By using state of the art effects the film appealed to those who are drawn to state of the art special effects. These elements (and there are many more) are just some of the ways that New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson assured they would instill a specific reaction from a variety of audiences.

Advocacy Marketing and its Others
This section highlights how the promotion of a film itself can be a driving force in the media. It gives examples of how Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and The Lord of the Rings series marketing campaign landed the covers of many mainstream magazines. This focus on the production and marketing of the film bolsters the film’s buzz among the public. Another symbiotic relationship is created with the film being promoted while at the same time the magazine seller selling magazines. Between 2001 and 2004 there were several articles written in
Time magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and Variety magazine that focused on the financial investment of New Line Cinema and the marketing that went into the films. In February of 2002 for example, Variety magazine released an article named “World of Wizardry for AOL Time
Warner” that focused on the huge 860 million dollar profit the films had turned to date. In fact magazine coverage continued for a full year after the release of The Return of the King. Since most film companies had been purchased by huge international conglomerates (such as AOL Time Warner) during the 80s to the 90s it is inevitable that each branch of the corporation would work to promote each other’s products. The magazine articles helped to create buzz around the film, and the success of the film helped to sell magazines.

Merchandise
This section explores how filmmakers will be more apt to a make a film that has the backing of other merchandisers that can promote the film. This creates a symbiotic relationship for both the merchandiser and the filmmaker. Each in turn works to promote the other’s products and create profit for both parties. In the case of the LotR, the merchandising seems endless. Since the 1950s there has already been a large amount of products centered on the LotR. These ranged from calendars, posters, artwork, statuettes, diaries, action figures, magazines (Tolkien Reader), fan clubs, and even an early video game released in 1985 entitle War in Middle Earth. With the release of the Jackson films New Line Cinema took this to a new level. One of the first things they did was to secure brand partnering. The LotR franchise secured deals with JVC (who released a DVD player with a LotR teaser entitled “A Glimpse of Middle Earth”, Gateway computers, General Mills, Sharp, Duracell, 7-up, Chrysler, Parker Brothers, Air New Zealand, and Burger King (which caused the infamous Lord of the Onion rings debacle). In fact between guaranteed brand partnering and foreign pre-sale guarantees New Line Cinema was able to make back nearly 80% of its original film budget of 270 million dollars before the first film was even released. But it doesn’t end with the films. LotR has produced a slew of trading card games, video games (EA games released three titles for each film and Turbine Industries have released an online prescription game that grosses over 25 million dollars a year), cell phone video games, bobble heads, statuettes and collectibles. There was also a huge drive to use the films to promote tourism in New Zealand. Air New Zealand even had an Aragorn Boeing 767 that would allow tourists to “visit” Middle earth. To date the franchise has grossed an estimated 4 billion dollars and is projected to eventually reach the ten billion dollar mark. Some say the films already have reached this mark. This is due to the things they can’t track like people’s memoirs, e-bay sellers (people who sell things from the sets of the films), tourism, and novels. With the release of numerous DVD versions (Extended editions, specialty covers, Behind the Scenes materials) and with future releases on new formats available (HDDVD and BlueRay) the franchise has an opportunity to profit for many, many years to come.

Textual Gatekeepers: Marketability
Perhaps the most interesting thing about these films is the way they were marketed. Since the novels already had such a strong cult following, New Line Cinema’s first goal was to get the existing fan base on-board. In August of 1998 New Line Cinema released its official LotR website. There was a considerable amount of buzz about the films almost immediately in online chat rooms and fan based organizations. New Line Cinema kept this website updated throughout the production process and leaked little tidbits of information designed to whet the appetites of hungry fans. Variety and Entertainment Weekly magazine released up to date information on the casting of the film. Variety and the LA times helped to hype up the films for two years before Fellowship was released. This was due to the fact that AOL Time Warner was affiliated with both the magazines and the film itself. The marketing campaign was full of synergy between the film industry and magazine industry. New Line also produced the Lord of the Rings Fan Club official magazine to help promote the film and to sell to existing fans. New Line also spent an estimated 31.4 million dollars to promote the release of Fellowship. 18.9 Million was spent on Network Televisions ads, 5.9 Million was spent on newspaper ads, and 4.5 million was spent on cable advertising. This ended up only being 12% of the film’s gross profit.
Even though the film seemed to be financially secure there was still a lot of pressure to release some sneak previews of what Jackson had been doing in New Zealand. All of the world’s anxieties about the quality o the film were laid to rest at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. New Line Cinema and Jackson brought along with them a 25 minute teaser clip from a scene from the Mines of Moria (Fellowship). After the clip had been shown, the entire audience erupted in applause. The clip itself was shown an additional five times at the festival. Soon after, New Line began inundating the movie’s trailers in movie theaters and websites. Allowing fans to access the trailers online helped bring record amounts of traffic to the Official Website and further created the anticipation in the public. There were also a slew of fan base websites that helped to promote the film as well (Ain’t it cool news being the most famous).
Another tool that was incredibly effective for New Line Cinema was its use of documentaries about the making of the LotR movies. Throughout 2000-2003 there were four main documentaries that promoted the film. Costa Botes “The Making of…”(2000), Dan Arden’s “Quest for the Ring” (2001), “Return to Middle Earth” (2002), and “Quest Fulfilled: A Director’s Vision” (2003), were as widely celebrated as the films themselves. The documentaries helped to bolster the film’s reputations for excellence and innovation and were a tool that became the standard for DVD releases.
The LotR trilogy also received numerous nominations and awards. Fellowship alone had 13 Oscar nominations and won 6. In total LotR receive an outstanding 30 Oscar nominations including best picture and best director. Winning awards like these are in fact promotion for the film itself. Oftentimes films that are released to moderate financial success get re-released after winning some academy awards. LotR of course achieved both financial and critical success but 30 Oscar nominations did seal the trilogy’s place in history.

Conclusion
Toby Miller would argue that Hollywood executives assess risk by a film’s ability to create profit. Since making movies is a business, the bottom line dictates the final call on what films will be made. So how did LotR get deemed a non risky project? Peter Jackson was able to cut huge costs by filming in New Zealand. The exchange rate was extremely favorable. By using a local Cg animation team (Weta Works) he saved several million dollars. Jackson was also able to present the films as a project that has endless marketing possibilities (even though product placement would have been difficult). The franchise had already established a strong following for over 40 years and New Line Cinema would only have to trust Peter Jackson to deliver what those fans expected. Jackson was able to sell the idea that New Line could sell LotR. Since AOL Time Warner has ties into several magazines and to New Line Cinema itself it was able to market the film across several aspects of the media. The brand partnering and foreign pre-sales guarantees alone quickly made up 80% of New Line Cinema’s initial investment. Some critics speculated spending so much money on three long films directed by a relatively unknown director was a risky investment. It was the LotR ability to be marketed that made the decision and easy one. In the end it has been an extremely good investment for New Line Cinema and it is speculated the franchise will soon earn over 10 billion dollars. Miller would agree that the LotR trilogy is a film that demonstrates how Hollywood can “get” its audience.

WORKS CITED
Thompson, Kristen. The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood. University of California Press. US. 2007.

Miller, Toby, et al. Global Hollywood 2. 2nd ed: British Film Institute. 2008

IMDB. 20 June 2008. <www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=the+lord+of+the+rings>