LotR to Universal?

I was browsing a gaming site today (sorta), and I came across a new LotR game for the Xbox. It will be released by Universal Interactive Studios... which is a division of Universal Studios.

Could this mean that Universal also bought the rights to the attraction? They could do some interesting (of course, they always do) things with a theme like this.

Other attractions that may make an appearance could center around these themes: The Fast and the Furious, The Mummy, and Harry Potter.

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I like fun. DO YOU?!

Well, The Mummy has been a rumored attraction for awhile now.  As for Fast and the Furious, that would make a killer attraction.  A LotR attraction would be awesome as well.  There are a lot of things that can be done with any of those choices.  An indoor launched coaster themed to FatF would really be something.  Imagine the themeing involved with that!  A dark ride based on The Mummy would be interesting to say the least, something along the lines of Indiana Jones at DL.  And of course, LotR leaves a lot of interesting thoughts in the mind about what sort of attraction that could be.  Part coaster, part dark-ride, part walk-through, part water ride... it's endless the possibilities with those movies.  :)
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I can see it now...
Frodo's Flying Fun Machine.

Actually Moria would make a very cool dark ride ;)
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--Greg
"The collective women in your life have more baggage than a Samsonite factory..."
My page

LotR?

Okay, when using non-coaster related acronyms, can we at least agree to define them once?
TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)
jeremy
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Besides, if we were really shutting down people we disagreed with, would Jeremy (2Hostyl) still be around? :) I think not. - Jeff 1/24/02

LotR == Lord of the Rings, one of the best pieces of literature the 20th century produced.

Good thing you don't claim to be a geek, Jeremy, or you'd be docked a rank ;)

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--Greg
"The collective women in your life have more baggage than a Samsonite factory..."
My page

LMAO...I had to ask our "movie-guy" (our film-student/assistant).  He was like, "LotR", WHERE have you been?  Once he TOLD me, I realize why it didn't occur to me...
I'll just never figure out what the "draw" is, but then again, I'm not even into Sci-Fi...maybe I just don't belong in the "smart" crowd....
At first, I was thinking there was extra LAND available, as in "Lot R"...bummer.
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*** This post was edited by rollergator on 2/25/2002. ***

Please, I knew about Lord of the Rings before many people on here were born. My dad had the whole series on tape (and by "tape" I mean those old 'reel-to-reel' machines. I used to listen to them with him but could never get into it.

I also got pretty tired of him calling me "Hobbit".
jeremy
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Besides, if we were really shutting down people we disagreed with, would Jeremy (2Hostyl) still be around? :) I think not. - Jeff 1/24/02

Well, my dad never called me a hobbit, but I can certainly agree with the "knew about it before many people here were born" comment.

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--Greg
"The collective women in your life have more baggage than a Samsonite factory..."
My page

Harry Potter is very doubtful.  HP was released by WB so if it were to be used, it would probably be in one of the WB Movie World's.  now don't quote me on this, but for some reason I remember New Line being a division of Fox and since they don't have parks (and espically after seeing what they did with Star Wars and Disney) it is very possible for them to auction off the rights to a LotR ride.  I don't know who's got rights to FatF and I really don't care since it looked about as intellectually devoid as Rollerball does.  entertaining?  maybe.  good ride?  well almost anything can be made into a good ride.  as for Mummy, Universal owns that and they even had some sort of party for the opening of Mummy and Mummy Returns at Universal Hollywood so that's just a matter of time.  of course, the rights to any movie could always be auctioned off to a chain of parks even if those parks are divisions of rival studios, but its more likely that the park chain will stay within their parent company and will not sell off rights to movies they can access for free to rival park chains.
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-Bob
Knott's Berry Farm Cuba ~South Park
"Your proctologist called, he found your head!" ~Jerry "The King" Lawler

coasterjedi, New Line is a division of Time Warner, TW also owns Warner Bros. So all the rights to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings belonmg to Time Warner, thet next few years they will really be raking it in from both franchises considering a new sequel will come out once a year. There is no way Time Warner would sell the rights of LotR to any amusement park, so if there is going to be a LotR attraction expect to see it at a Warner Bros. park. 

There was a Fast and Furious exhibit of cars at Universal the last time I visited over the summer, so that might be a good indication of things to come!! Also the sequel to the film is already in development so maybe there will be some sort of ride or attraction(possible a show?) but the time the film debuts in theatres. The film was just as succes as Tomb Raider (Actually more profitable considering how costly tomb raider was) and that has a ride so why wouldn't Fast and Furious?
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There is only so much time left in this crazy, I just crumbling erb. they don't understand the master plan, i just cumbling erb.
Outkast

I can't wait until Paramount starts their stage production of "Crossroads" this summer. Those movie rights will definitely be taking them far. But who will buy the rights for "Glitter" and "Freddy Got Fingered"?! As long as "Battlefield Earth" gets the recognition it deserves, I think I can live without the other two.

Don't dare compare Rollerball to Fast and the Furious. All  of the comparisons in the trailer of RB to FatF are forced and mostly false. FatF is by far the superior film. Rollerball is already being called one of the worst films ever.

I would like to see some type of adventure dark ride made after Lord of the Rings, but 1)since there are two more pieces left, 2)many people thought it had a "bad ending", and 3)well, the licensing is to Warner Bros., I don't know if we'll see one in the near future or at all. I hope to be wrong though, as the cinematography and the storyline are wonderful and would make for a great ride.  

BTW, if anyone is interested in movies from 2001 that actually had original concepts and were good: Memento, Ghost World, Bully, Mulholland Drive, Donnie Darko, Waking Life, Amelie, Amores Perros,...

sethman, your comarisons to TR:TR and the possibility of a FatF ride are two different things. One is clearly more marketable than the other and I don't think I could see a ride coming for it. True, a show is a possibility, but I wouldn't see it being a very good one.

And from your hypothesis that since Tomb Raider and FatF made a lot of money, there's no reason for them not to get a ride, that would also mean Hannibal, American Pie, Forrest Gump, Home Alone, The Sixth Sense, Ghost, What Women Want, Liar Liar, Tootsie, The Sound of Music, and Pretty Woman would have big chances to get a ride as well. Hmm, What Women Want as a ride or even a show would be... I can't even think of something like that.

*** This post was edited by Koaster King on 2/25/2002. ***

How about a royal tenenbaums ride? haha that was my favorite movie last year.

Mummy did have a year round maze at USH. i dunno if it was any good or if its still there. I would love to see a LotR ride by Universal or Disney, either way im sure it would be great.

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Brian-
I brake for hitchiking ghosts

Imaginear, I know you were joking about it, but I could never see The Royal Tenenbaums as a show or ride. It's a dramedy and doesn't feature anything flashy that would really make people want to see it or ride it at a park. Sure, it's a great movie, it made a decent amount at the Box Office for profits, and would probably be quite entertaining on Broadway. No matter how good it is though, I doubt you'll see this, Gosford Park, A Beautiful Mind, In the Bedroom, or anything along the lines of a plain drama or comedy at a park near you. They just aren't marketable in that sense.

As for Fast and the Furious, I think a racing Intamin Hydraulic Launch coaster (Xcelerator) would be cool.

Or anything launched for that matter.

Lord of the Rings would fit a EMV darkride (Indiana Jones) really well.

Who knows if these concepts will ever be brought to be life, but there sure is potential!

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Xcelerator-
0-82 in 2.3 seconds! =Wow!

Koaster King, I completely disagree with the statement that Tomb Raider is more marketable. Fast and the Furious targeted the exact  same segments that tomb Raider targeted. The popularity of the TR video game and Angelina Jolie is essentially negated by the fact that FaF involves a lot of really cool cars, whcih can almost always attract the real men:) I say they have similar markets and simlar odds of attracting the same demographics, the thrill-seekers and the male audience.

Koaster King,Your comment that not every succesful film can became a successful ride or attraction is valid, but you know those movies do not have the potential to be rides(although, Hannibal would make a great dark ride!) due to such things as they are comedies or have darker tones not suitable for a theme park. Anyways, I mention Fast and the Furious as being extremely successful among teens and twent-somethings because it has the appeal of certain demographics that will go to amusement parks looking for thrills. 

Koaster King, the one thing that we are seeing eye to eye is your list of original films for 2001. some excellent films right there especially Momento and Amorres perros.  I would like to add a few more to that list: The Pledge, the Others and the previously mentioned Royal Tenenbaums. All very innovative and enthralling films, check them out!

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There is only so much time left in this crazy, I just crumbling erb. they don't understand the master plan, i just cumbling erb.
Outkast

sethman, I do agree about The Royal Tenenbaums and I originally forgot that, as well as The Man Who Wasn't There and possibly Bully and No Man's Land from the list. I'm sure there's a few others I haven't seen yet. I didn't list The Others, because even though I did like had it was pulled off and had more fun watching it that Sixth Sense, there were a few many comparisons for me to list that. Specifically, the "dead people" theme, that it was an idea from Buena Vista after TSS success, and it was just a slight twist overall. Definitely a great film though in my top 10 or so of the year. I'll have to watch The Pledge again, because I wasn't completely paying attention the first time around.

I'm glad you liked Amores as it was incredibly disturbing and at points I could barely breathe because of how graphic it was. Second best foreign language film so far I've seen of 2001. Check out Amelie! Very intelligent humor and fast-paced to watch.

Your statements are very valid as far as the appeal of the two films and how marketable they in particular were, but I think merchandising, theming, etc. for a movie like Tomb Raider would probably overall be more successful. If you disagree, that's perfectly fine. I do know that racing is very big right now, but I can't seen a ride called "The Fast and the Furious". A FatF car exhibit would be great though. I think that could be pulled off well.

*** This post was edited by Koaster King on 2/25/2002. ***

Keep in mind...

Twister = Warner Brothers.

And that was, what, 1997 or 1998? Sure Warner owns the rights to these films, but that doesn't mean that they won't sell them. They've done it before. The only films that you can officially count out are Disney films and Lucas films, as they do go straight to WDI.

Also, Universal seems to have a good relationship with Columbia/TriStar, the company which produced MiB, T2, and has the rights to the Spider-Man movie (which may or may not be signifigant). I believe that Universal plans to have some sort of marketing thing with the attraction and the film of Spider-Man...

If a LotR attraction surfaces somewhere, it will be within the next year or two. However, I do think that we can bank on a TF&TF and a Mummy attraction very soon, maybe two in one year as both franchises are very popular.

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I like fun. DO YOU?!

Koaster King, you keep coming up with great films I seem to forget no matter how memorable, I loved the Man that Wasn't There. It is my favorite Coen Bros film, edging out "O Brother where art thou"  how amazing was Billy bob in that movie, he deserves best actor for that role. 

I definitely will check out Amelie, I have heard nothing but exceptional things about the film. It will be hard to top Amores Perros, though for best foreign film. Probably be impossible to compare the two films since one being a light-hearted comedy and the other a gripping very intense film.  Disturbing is almost an understatement for Amores Perros. I have heard that Lantana, which debut about 3 weeks ago, is quite a excellent film, I was hoping maybe you have seen it?

Anyways, I see you point about merchandising for TR:TR, a action figuare and all sorts of other merchandise already exist for TR. Only time will tell if we will actually see a FaF thrill ride or exhibit. I would be worried about the longeivity of a FaF ride since the movie isn't that memorable and the teenage audiance/ opinions about what's cool are very ephemeral nowadays. (myself included)
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*** This post was edited by sethman on 2/25/2002. ***

*** This post was edited by sethman on 2/25/2002. ***