LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- American e-commerce and cloud computing company Amazon announced Monday it had closed a massive deal with Tolkien Estate and Trust, acquiring global TV rights to "The Lord of the Rings" based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novels with a multi-season commitment.
"Amazon Prime heads to Middle Earth," Jeff Bezos, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Amazon.com, which is also the world's largest online shopping retailer, tweeted Monday with a link to the company's statement.
The statement quoted Sharon Tal Yguado, head of Scripted Series at Amazone Studios, as saying that "The Lord of the Rings" is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen, so Amazon is very proud to take fans all around the world "on a new epic journey in Middle Earth".
The statement did not disclose details of the deal, but Hollywood's leading entertainment media Deadline.com revealed Monday that Amazon Studio paid close to 250 million U.S. dollars for the rights before any costs for development, talent and production.
The budget for a fantasy series of that magnitude is likely to be 100 million to 150 million U.S. dollars a season, the Deadline.com estimated.
The report also said Bezos himself directed the purchase, asking Amazon Studio to focus more on big, prestige-worthy shows with global appeal, similar to "Game of Thrones".
"The Lord of the Rings" novels was named in 1999 customers' favorite book of the millennium of Amazon, the the world's leading book seller. Moreover, that world already has been extensively explored on-screen with three Lord of the Rings movies and three Hobbit films.
"The Lord of the Rings" films have earned a combined gross of nearly 6 billion U.S. dollars worldwide and 17 Academy Awards.
