Is there an official Wheel of Time TV show?
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Has there been any Wheel of Time movie or TV show been created to date? If created, was the show officially sanctioned by the Jordan estate?
the-wheel-of-time
edited May 28 '16 at 5:19
Paul D. Waite
21.6k1690152
asked Feb 13 '15 at 16:23
HimarmHimarm
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show 8 more comments
Has there been any Wheel of Time movie or TV show been created to date? If created, was the show officially sanctioned by the Jordan estate?
the-wheel-of-time
edited May 28 '16 at 5:19
Paul D. Waite
21.6k1690152
asked Feb 13 '15 at 16:23
HimarmHimarm
1
1
@PaulD.Waite as you see from the answers the one that came out Sunday night may or may nor be official.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:29
2
@Himarm that kind of clause in such media contracts is very rare. The list of authors that have publicly disavowed adaptations of their work is rather long. Typically, you don't get that kind of creative control unless you're 1. a proven commodity, or 2. willing to give up some $$ in exchange.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:35
1
jordans heirs didnt sell the rights, jordan himself did while still alive, and he activly wanted a show to devolop similar to grrmartin, so i assume he also wanted some creative input on his part, as well as to be kept into the loop. and his book sales showed he was a proven commodity, as his wifes statement says, she was very surprised/put out by the fact no one talked to her, which leads me to believe they were supposed to talk to her.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:40
1
JK Rowling and JRR Tolkein are very much the exception rather than the rule, though more and more authors these days are wising up specifically because of disasters like this, or Alan Moore's "Watchmen", or Stephen King's "The Shining".
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:59
1
now, the people who made this crappy show are suing the robert jordan estate for slander. wtf.
– Himarm
Feb 16 '15 at 14:56
|
show 8 more comments
Has there been any Wheel of Time movie or TV show been created to date? If created, was the show officially sanctioned by the Jordan estate?
the-wheel-of-time
edited May 28 '16 at 5:19
Paul D. Waite
21.6k1690152
asked Feb 13 '15 at 16:23
HimarmHimarm
1
Has there been any Wheel of Time movie or TV show been created to date? If created, was the show officially sanctioned by the Jordan estate?
the-wheel-of-time
the-wheel-of-time
edited May 28 '16 at 5:19
Paul D. Waite
21.6k1690152
asked Feb 13 '15 at 16:23
HimarmHimarm
1
edited May 28 '16 at 5:19
Paul D. Waite
21.6k1690152
asked Feb 13 '15 at 16:23
HimarmHimarm
1
edited May 28 '16 at 5:19
Paul D. Waite
21.6k1690152
edited May 28 '16 at 5:19
Paul D. Waite
21.6k1690152
edited May 28 '16 at 5:19
Paul D. Waite
21.6k1690152
21.6k1690152
asked Feb 13 '15 at 16:23
HimarmHimarm
1
asked Feb 13 '15 at 16:23
HimarmHimarm
1
asked Feb 13 '15 at 16:23
HimarmHimarm
1
1
1
@PaulD.Waite as you see from the answers the one that came out Sunday night may or may nor be official.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:29
2
@Himarm that kind of clause in such media contracts is very rare. The list of authors that have publicly disavowed adaptations of their work is rather long. Typically, you don't get that kind of creative control unless you're 1. a proven commodity, or 2. willing to give up some $$ in exchange.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:35
1
jordans heirs didnt sell the rights, jordan himself did while still alive, and he activly wanted a show to devolop similar to grrmartin, so i assume he also wanted some creative input on his part, as well as to be kept into the loop. and his book sales showed he was a proven commodity, as his wifes statement says, she was very surprised/put out by the fact no one talked to her, which leads me to believe they were supposed to talk to her.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:40
1
JK Rowling and JRR Tolkein are very much the exception rather than the rule, though more and more authors these days are wising up specifically because of disasters like this, or Alan Moore's "Watchmen", or Stephen King's "The Shining".
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:59
1
now, the people who made this crappy show are suing the robert jordan estate for slander. wtf.
– Himarm
Feb 16 '15 at 14:56
|
show 8 more comments
1
@PaulD.Waite as you see from the answers the one that came out Sunday night may or may nor be official.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:29
2
@Himarm that kind of clause in such media contracts is very rare. The list of authors that have publicly disavowed adaptations of their work is rather long. Typically, you don't get that kind of creative control unless you're 1. a proven commodity, or 2. willing to give up some $$ in exchange.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:35
1
jordans heirs didnt sell the rights, jordan himself did while still alive, and he activly wanted a show to devolop similar to grrmartin, so i assume he also wanted some creative input on his part, as well as to be kept into the loop. and his book sales showed he was a proven commodity, as his wifes statement says, she was very surprised/put out by the fact no one talked to her, which leads me to believe they were supposed to talk to her.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:40
1
JK Rowling and JRR Tolkein are very much the exception rather than the rule, though more and more authors these days are wising up specifically because of disasters like this, or Alan Moore's "Watchmen", or Stephen King's "The Shining".
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:59
1
now, the people who made this crappy show are suing the robert jordan estate for slander. wtf.
– Himarm
Feb 16 '15 at 14:56
1
1
@PaulD.Waite as you see from the answers the one that came out Sunday night may or may nor be official.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:29
@PaulD.Waite as you see from the answers the one that came out Sunday night may or may nor be official.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:29
2
2
@Himarm that kind of clause in such media contracts is very rare. The list of authors that have publicly disavowed adaptations of their work is rather long. Typically, you don't get that kind of creative control unless you're 1. a proven commodity, or 2. willing to give up some $$ in exchange.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:35
@Himarm that kind of clause in such media contracts is very rare. The list of authors that have publicly disavowed adaptations of their work is rather long. Typically, you don't get that kind of creative control unless you're 1. a proven commodity, or 2. willing to give up some $$ in exchange.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:35
1
1
jordans heirs didnt sell the rights, jordan himself did while still alive, and he activly wanted a show to devolop similar to grrmartin, so i assume he also wanted some creative input on his part, as well as to be kept into the loop. and his book sales showed he was a proven commodity, as his wifes statement says, she was very surprised/put out by the fact no one talked to her, which leads me to believe they were supposed to talk to her.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:40
jordans heirs didnt sell the rights, jordan himself did while still alive, and he activly wanted a show to devolop similar to grrmartin, so i assume he also wanted some creative input on his part, as well as to be kept into the loop. and his book sales showed he was a proven commodity, as his wifes statement says, she was very surprised/put out by the fact no one talked to her, which leads me to believe they were supposed to talk to her.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:40
1
1
JK Rowling and JRR Tolkein are very much the exception rather than the rule, though more and more authors these days are wising up specifically because of disasters like this, or Alan Moore's "Watchmen", or Stephen King's "The Shining".
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:59
JK Rowling and JRR Tolkein are very much the exception rather than the rule, though more and more authors these days are wising up specifically because of disasters like this, or Alan Moore's "Watchmen", or Stephen King's "The Shining".
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:59
1
1
now, the people who made this crappy show are suing the robert jordan estate for slander. wtf.
– Himarm
Feb 16 '15 at 14:56
now, the people who made this crappy show are suing the robert jordan estate for slander. wtf.
– Himarm
Feb 16 '15 at 14:56
|
show 8 more comments
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
UPDATE 2: The lawsuit mentioned below has been withdrawn, and Harriet has announced an official official television show that is planned to air at some unspecified future date. We have no details on who's producing it or where/when it will air. The official announcement seems to imply that the studio won't be Red Eagle, but otherwise has no details.
UPDATE: The section below on the legal status of the TV rights has been update to include the information from Red Eagle's law suit. (They're suing for slander of title and tortious interference, which is very rough terms is the business equivalent of libel) See: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fxx-pilot-airing-at-130-773110
tl;dr: Technically, yes, there is -- sort of. And it was as sanctioned as it needed to be to remain legal, though again, it's sketchy.
The rights to the Wheel of Time television program are held by a company called Manetheren LLC, which appears to have been formed by parent company Red Eagle Entertainment specifically for this purpose. (For all intents and purposes, Red Eagle is Manetheren LLC, so I'm just going to call them Red Eagle from now on). The rights to make adaptations of Jordan's copyrighted material was sold to Red Eagle very early on; they were tasked with everything from TV to comics to video games. (All of their prior efforts failed, giving them a terrible reputation among fans). That means that Jordan's estate has no say in who makes such a program or what the content is, since they sold those rights.
As is typical of such licensing deals, part of the requirement on Red Eagle's part was to produce and air a show or they would lose the rights. According to multiple sources, that was going to happen on Feb 11, 2015, and the rights would revert back to Bandersnatch, Jordan's production company. According to Red Eagle (in a law suit they've filed against Bandersnatch), they originally sub-licensed the rights to Universal, but those rights expired and reverted back to Red Eagle back in 2014. They were in the process of negotiating with Sony to produce a pilot when the expiration date of the Red Eagle/Bandersnatch deal rolled around.
In order to prevent that, Red Eagle rushed to put a show on the air. There was exactly one episode of it created, a pilot episode called Winter Dragon. (Rumor is that it was filmed in ~4 days, and it has exactly 2 credited cast members). It was produced by Billy Zane's production company, covers about 10 pages of the prologue of Eye of the World, and aired on the FXX cable channel on Monday 2/9/2015 at 1:30 AM.
After the episode aired, Harriet McDougal (Jordan's widow and current copyright holder) was very publicly angry with Red Eagle, and in a Twitter post, vowed to make sure "this never happened again". She also claimed in a follow-up statement (which has since been taken offline) that Universal, not Red Eagle, were the only people licensed to make sure a show. However, Red Eagle is now suing her over this post, claiming that she actively took part in the negotiations with Sony, and thus knew full well who had the rights and that she was the one encouraging them to make the show. So, there is clearly some dispute over just how "legal" the pilot was, but so far all evidence seems to point to Red Eagle being within their rights to make it.
In any case The CEO of Red Eagle was quite adamant that they did retain the rights, and are planning to take the show to series, to capitalize on the popularity of such programs:
Winter Dragon was "a pilot for a high-budget production television series," says Selvage. "We think there's huge demand for the television series internationally, and we're looking forward to producing it and getting it out in the marketplace."
He admits that they rushed the pilot into production, but that's actually not uncommon with pilots. They are often very low quality, and air are odd times, because they're not really meant for public consumption. Also, just because the pilot airs, doesn't mean there will ever be more episodes: a network still needs to agree to pick it up and pay for it. That hasn't happened.
But, technically speaking, this is a Wheel of Time TV series, put out by the people who own the TV rights, and it was broadcast on a legitimate TV channel. So, strictly speaking, there is an "official Wheel of Time" series.
As of today, you can watch the entire episode on YouTube:
Opinion Section: it's terrible. Don't bother. It was clearly a ploy to keep the rights. The acting is not terrible (I liked Billy Zane as Ishy), but every single other aspect of it was horrid.
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:54
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
92.7k17301469
2
A very good summary of the situation.
– Valorum
Feb 13 '15 at 17:26
Note: There's not exactly 3 cast members. Ishmael, Lews, Ilyena, and two children appear. So, at least 5 (not including possible extras for the dead bodies).
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:34
1
actually, I meant "cast members with billing", but I overstated, I thought Ilyenia had been credited but she was not.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
Update: lawsuit withdrawn.
– Quentin
Nov 7 '15 at 17:11
add a comment |
An official Wheel of Time television adaptation is currently in development.
The latest update from Variety:
Sony will produce along with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures. Rafe Judkins is attached to write and executive produce. Judkins previously worked on shows such as ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD,” the Netflix series “Hemlock Grove,” and the NBC series “Chuck.” Red Eagle partners Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon will executive produce along with Radar’s Ted Field and Mike Weber. Darren Lemke will also executive produce, with Jordan’s widow Harriet McDougal serving as consulting producer.
This was originally announced on the official Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Google+ Page:
The following is a press statement that has been approved by the studio involved in contract negotiations:
Update: Wanted to share with you exciting news about The Wheel of Time. Legal issues have been resolved. The Wheel of Time will become a cutting edge TV series! I couldn’t be more pleased. Look for the official announcement coming soon from a major studio —Harriet
However, without an announcement of a channel and a release date, we still don't know whether or not this will end up in development hell.
Some of the original answer is now outdated, but it tracks the history of the development of this show, and whether or not the pilot was "official" is still unclear. Due to settlements tending to have non-disclosure agreements, we'll likely never find out.
Originally, there was a lawsuit against Harriet for slander, but that has been dropped, and settlement discussions are still in the works with the production company. At this time, it's still unclear who will end up with the actual rights to produce a full TV series, or if it's going to happen at all.
No, there wasn't a WoT TV show. There was an unauthorized(?) production of a "pilot" episode, called "The Winter Dragon", that recently aired on TV. Pilots are often made that never make it into production for a series schedule. Example, look at Amazon Prime's Pilot Season. Many of their pilot shows were not picked up to be full seasons.
Regarding this work, Harriet McDougal made the following statement:
This morning brought startling news. A “pilot” for a Wheel of Time series, the "pilot" being called Winter Dragon, had appeared at 1:30 in the morning, East Coast time, on Fxx TV, a channel somewhere in the 700s (founded to concentrate on comedy, according to the Washington Post).
It was made without my knowledge or cooperation. I never saw the script. No one associated with Bandersnatch Group, the successor-in-interest to James O. Rigney, was aware of this.
Bandersnatch has an existing contract with Universal Pictures that grants television rights to them until this Wednesday, February 11 – at which point these rights revert to Bandersnatch.
I see no mention of Universal in the “pilot”. Nor, I repeat, was Bandersnatch, or Robert Jordan’s estate, informed of this in any way.
I am dumbfounded by this occurrence, and am taking steps to prevent its reoccurrence.
Harriet P McDougal
President and CEO
Bandersnatch Group, Inc.
February 9, 2015
From Dragonmount
It should be noted that Harriet McDougal, for those not in the know, is:
- The wife of the late James Oliver Rigney, JR (AKA Robert Jordan,
author of The Wheel of Time) - The editor for all of the official The Wheel of Time books
- The owner of The Wheel of Time copyright
The current understanding of the situation is that Harriet isn't able to make statements regarding this pilot, likely for legal reasons. However, many fans are under the impression that even if a company has the rights to make WoT media, everything still has to be signed off by Harriet first. Since "The Winter Dragon" short was not signed off by Harriet, it would be an unauthorized work if the belief about sign-offs is true.
There's also no guarantee that by creating and airing this content that Red Eagle will actually be able to keep the rights to produce WoT media for television. That is their claim, but Harriet's comments cast that claim in doubt.
1
Harriet McDougal sold the rights to make authorized works to Red Eagle. By definition, anything they make is an authorized work. No one I've ever read or talked to believes otherwise.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:33
@MichaelEdenfield Read the quote from Harriet. The rights were to Universal Pictures, not Red Eagle. And, she's under the presumption that she can take steps to prevent this from happening, implying that it isn't authorized. Also, you can sell rights to a company for certain productions but still require that you have final say in the launch, as it may affect the perception of your copyright as a whole.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
@MichaelEdenfield My understanding is that Red Eagle sold the rights to Universal in 2008, because they couldn't afford to make WoT content, not the other way around. Red Eagle was only supposed to get production credit from this deal, but it seems as if they handled every aspect of it. The rights belong to Universal, but nobody in the general public knows how Universal was involved, if at all.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
See: thewertzone.blogspot.com/2015/02/…
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
huh. you're right, I had that backwards; I was sure that Universal had bought them right from Jordan's estate, not through a third party. though, if Red Eagle sold them to Universal, then the terms of that deal might have included a way to get them back; that still doesn't give Bandersnatch any say in the matter.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:51
|
show 1 more comment
There is not, although there have been several attempts, including some recent ones. Wikipedia states there was an attempt around 2000. See this article for more information.
The bottom line is, there seems to be a lot of interest, especially in the light of the very popular Game of Thrones series, but so far the pieces aren't together. The rights to make a TV series were sold off long ago, making things much more difficult now than they were previously.
edited 8 mins ago
Stormblessed
2,4871939
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:31
PearsonArtPhotoPearsonArtPhoto
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Yes, production is slated to start in September 2019 and it will be an Amazon offering.
answered 11 mins ago
CreosCreos
992
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4 Answers
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UPDATE 2: The lawsuit mentioned below has been withdrawn, and Harriet has announced an official official television show that is planned to air at some unspecified future date. We have no details on who's producing it or where/when it will air. The official announcement seems to imply that the studio won't be Red Eagle, but otherwise has no details.
UPDATE: The section below on the legal status of the TV rights has been update to include the information from Red Eagle's law suit. (They're suing for slander of title and tortious interference, which is very rough terms is the business equivalent of libel) See: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fxx-pilot-airing-at-130-773110
tl;dr: Technically, yes, there is -- sort of. And it was as sanctioned as it needed to be to remain legal, though again, it's sketchy.
The rights to the Wheel of Time television program are held by a company called Manetheren LLC, which appears to have been formed by parent company Red Eagle Entertainment specifically for this purpose. (For all intents and purposes, Red Eagle is Manetheren LLC, so I'm just going to call them Red Eagle from now on). The rights to make adaptations of Jordan's copyrighted material was sold to Red Eagle very early on; they were tasked with everything from TV to comics to video games. (All of their prior efforts failed, giving them a terrible reputation among fans). That means that Jordan's estate has no say in who makes such a program or what the content is, since they sold those rights.
As is typical of such licensing deals, part of the requirement on Red Eagle's part was to produce and air a show or they would lose the rights. According to multiple sources, that was going to happen on Feb 11, 2015, and the rights would revert back to Bandersnatch, Jordan's production company. According to Red Eagle (in a law suit they've filed against Bandersnatch), they originally sub-licensed the rights to Universal, but those rights expired and reverted back to Red Eagle back in 2014. They were in the process of negotiating with Sony to produce a pilot when the expiration date of the Red Eagle/Bandersnatch deal rolled around.
In order to prevent that, Red Eagle rushed to put a show on the air. There was exactly one episode of it created, a pilot episode called Winter Dragon. (Rumor is that it was filmed in ~4 days, and it has exactly 2 credited cast members). It was produced by Billy Zane's production company, covers about 10 pages of the prologue of Eye of the World, and aired on the FXX cable channel on Monday 2/9/2015 at 1:30 AM.
After the episode aired, Harriet McDougal (Jordan's widow and current copyright holder) was very publicly angry with Red Eagle, and in a Twitter post, vowed to make sure "this never happened again". She also claimed in a follow-up statement (which has since been taken offline) that Universal, not Red Eagle, were the only people licensed to make sure a show. However, Red Eagle is now suing her over this post, claiming that she actively took part in the negotiations with Sony, and thus knew full well who had the rights and that she was the one encouraging them to make the show. So, there is clearly some dispute over just how "legal" the pilot was, but so far all evidence seems to point to Red Eagle being within their rights to make it.
In any case The CEO of Red Eagle was quite adamant that they did retain the rights, and are planning to take the show to series, to capitalize on the popularity of such programs:
Winter Dragon was "a pilot for a high-budget production television series," says Selvage. "We think there's huge demand for the television series internationally, and we're looking forward to producing it and getting it out in the marketplace."
He admits that they rushed the pilot into production, but that's actually not uncommon with pilots. They are often very low quality, and air are odd times, because they're not really meant for public consumption. Also, just because the pilot airs, doesn't mean there will ever be more episodes: a network still needs to agree to pick it up and pay for it. That hasn't happened.
But, technically speaking, this is a Wheel of Time TV series, put out by the people who own the TV rights, and it was broadcast on a legitimate TV channel. So, strictly speaking, there is an "official Wheel of Time" series.
As of today, you can watch the entire episode on YouTube:
Opinion Section: it's terrible. Don't bother. It was clearly a ploy to keep the rights. The acting is not terrible (I liked Billy Zane as Ishy), but every single other aspect of it was horrid.
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:54
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
92.7k17301469
2
A very good summary of the situation.
– Valorum
Feb 13 '15 at 17:26
Note: There's not exactly 3 cast members. Ishmael, Lews, Ilyena, and two children appear. So, at least 5 (not including possible extras for the dead bodies).
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:34
1
actually, I meant "cast members with billing", but I overstated, I thought Ilyenia had been credited but she was not.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
Update: lawsuit withdrawn.
– Quentin
Nov 7 '15 at 17:11
add a comment |
UPDATE 2: The lawsuit mentioned below has been withdrawn, and Harriet has announced an official official television show that is planned to air at some unspecified future date. We have no details on who's producing it or where/when it will air. The official announcement seems to imply that the studio won't be Red Eagle, but otherwise has no details.
UPDATE: The section below on the legal status of the TV rights has been update to include the information from Red Eagle's law suit. (They're suing for slander of title and tortious interference, which is very rough terms is the business equivalent of libel) See: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fxx-pilot-airing-at-130-773110
tl;dr: Technically, yes, there is -- sort of. And it was as sanctioned as it needed to be to remain legal, though again, it's sketchy.
The rights to the Wheel of Time television program are held by a company called Manetheren LLC, which appears to have been formed by parent company Red Eagle Entertainment specifically for this purpose. (For all intents and purposes, Red Eagle is Manetheren LLC, so I'm just going to call them Red Eagle from now on). The rights to make adaptations of Jordan's copyrighted material was sold to Red Eagle very early on; they were tasked with everything from TV to comics to video games. (All of their prior efforts failed, giving them a terrible reputation among fans). That means that Jordan's estate has no say in who makes such a program or what the content is, since they sold those rights.
As is typical of such licensing deals, part of the requirement on Red Eagle's part was to produce and air a show or they would lose the rights. According to multiple sources, that was going to happen on Feb 11, 2015, and the rights would revert back to Bandersnatch, Jordan's production company. According to Red Eagle (in a law suit they've filed against Bandersnatch), they originally sub-licensed the rights to Universal, but those rights expired and reverted back to Red Eagle back in 2014. They were in the process of negotiating with Sony to produce a pilot when the expiration date of the Red Eagle/Bandersnatch deal rolled around.
In order to prevent that, Red Eagle rushed to put a show on the air. There was exactly one episode of it created, a pilot episode called Winter Dragon. (Rumor is that it was filmed in ~4 days, and it has exactly 2 credited cast members). It was produced by Billy Zane's production company, covers about 10 pages of the prologue of Eye of the World, and aired on the FXX cable channel on Monday 2/9/2015 at 1:30 AM.
After the episode aired, Harriet McDougal (Jordan's widow and current copyright holder) was very publicly angry with Red Eagle, and in a Twitter post, vowed to make sure "this never happened again". She also claimed in a follow-up statement (which has since been taken offline) that Universal, not Red Eagle, were the only people licensed to make sure a show. However, Red Eagle is now suing her over this post, claiming that she actively took part in the negotiations with Sony, and thus knew full well who had the rights and that she was the one encouraging them to make the show. So, there is clearly some dispute over just how "legal" the pilot was, but so far all evidence seems to point to Red Eagle being within their rights to make it.
In any case The CEO of Red Eagle was quite adamant that they did retain the rights, and are planning to take the show to series, to capitalize on the popularity of such programs:
Winter Dragon was "a pilot for a high-budget production television series," says Selvage. "We think there's huge demand for the television series internationally, and we're looking forward to producing it and getting it out in the marketplace."
He admits that they rushed the pilot into production, but that's actually not uncommon with pilots. They are often very low quality, and air are odd times, because they're not really meant for public consumption. Also, just because the pilot airs, doesn't mean there will ever be more episodes: a network still needs to agree to pick it up and pay for it. That hasn't happened.
But, technically speaking, this is a Wheel of Time TV series, put out by the people who own the TV rights, and it was broadcast on a legitimate TV channel. So, strictly speaking, there is an "official Wheel of Time" series.
As of today, you can watch the entire episode on YouTube:
Opinion Section: it's terrible. Don't bother. It was clearly a ploy to keep the rights. The acting is not terrible (I liked Billy Zane as Ishy), but every single other aspect of it was horrid.
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:54
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
92.7k17301469
2
A very good summary of the situation.
– Valorum
Feb 13 '15 at 17:26
Note: There's not exactly 3 cast members. Ishmael, Lews, Ilyena, and two children appear. So, at least 5 (not including possible extras for the dead bodies).
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:34
1
actually, I meant "cast members with billing", but I overstated, I thought Ilyenia had been credited but she was not.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
Update: lawsuit withdrawn.
– Quentin
Nov 7 '15 at 17:11
add a comment |
UPDATE 2: The lawsuit mentioned below has been withdrawn, and Harriet has announced an official official television show that is planned to air at some unspecified future date. We have no details on who's producing it or where/when it will air. The official announcement seems to imply that the studio won't be Red Eagle, but otherwise has no details.
UPDATE: The section below on the legal status of the TV rights has been update to include the information from Red Eagle's law suit. (They're suing for slander of title and tortious interference, which is very rough terms is the business equivalent of libel) See: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fxx-pilot-airing-at-130-773110
tl;dr: Technically, yes, there is -- sort of. And it was as sanctioned as it needed to be to remain legal, though again, it's sketchy.
The rights to the Wheel of Time television program are held by a company called Manetheren LLC, which appears to have been formed by parent company Red Eagle Entertainment specifically for this purpose. (For all intents and purposes, Red Eagle is Manetheren LLC, so I'm just going to call them Red Eagle from now on). The rights to make adaptations of Jordan's copyrighted material was sold to Red Eagle very early on; they were tasked with everything from TV to comics to video games. (All of their prior efforts failed, giving them a terrible reputation among fans). That means that Jordan's estate has no say in who makes such a program or what the content is, since they sold those rights.
As is typical of such licensing deals, part of the requirement on Red Eagle's part was to produce and air a show or they would lose the rights. According to multiple sources, that was going to happen on Feb 11, 2015, and the rights would revert back to Bandersnatch, Jordan's production company. According to Red Eagle (in a law suit they've filed against Bandersnatch), they originally sub-licensed the rights to Universal, but those rights expired and reverted back to Red Eagle back in 2014. They were in the process of negotiating with Sony to produce a pilot when the expiration date of the Red Eagle/Bandersnatch deal rolled around.
In order to prevent that, Red Eagle rushed to put a show on the air. There was exactly one episode of it created, a pilot episode called Winter Dragon. (Rumor is that it was filmed in ~4 days, and it has exactly 2 credited cast members). It was produced by Billy Zane's production company, covers about 10 pages of the prologue of Eye of the World, and aired on the FXX cable channel on Monday 2/9/2015 at 1:30 AM.
After the episode aired, Harriet McDougal (Jordan's widow and current copyright holder) was very publicly angry with Red Eagle, and in a Twitter post, vowed to make sure "this never happened again". She also claimed in a follow-up statement (which has since been taken offline) that Universal, not Red Eagle, were the only people licensed to make sure a show. However, Red Eagle is now suing her over this post, claiming that she actively took part in the negotiations with Sony, and thus knew full well who had the rights and that she was the one encouraging them to make the show. So, there is clearly some dispute over just how "legal" the pilot was, but so far all evidence seems to point to Red Eagle being within their rights to make it.
In any case The CEO of Red Eagle was quite adamant that they did retain the rights, and are planning to take the show to series, to capitalize on the popularity of such programs:
Winter Dragon was "a pilot for a high-budget production television series," says Selvage. "We think there's huge demand for the television series internationally, and we're looking forward to producing it and getting it out in the marketplace."
He admits that they rushed the pilot into production, but that's actually not uncommon with pilots. They are often very low quality, and air are odd times, because they're not really meant for public consumption. Also, just because the pilot airs, doesn't mean there will ever be more episodes: a network still needs to agree to pick it up and pay for it. That hasn't happened.
But, technically speaking, this is a Wheel of Time TV series, put out by the people who own the TV rights, and it was broadcast on a legitimate TV channel. So, strictly speaking, there is an "official Wheel of Time" series.
As of today, you can watch the entire episode on YouTube:
Opinion Section: it's terrible. Don't bother. It was clearly a ploy to keep the rights. The acting is not terrible (I liked Billy Zane as Ishy), but every single other aspect of it was horrid.
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:54
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
92.7k17301469
UPDATE 2: The lawsuit mentioned below has been withdrawn, and Harriet has announced an official official television show that is planned to air at some unspecified future date. We have no details on who's producing it or where/when it will air. The official announcement seems to imply that the studio won't be Red Eagle, but otherwise has no details.
UPDATE: The section below on the legal status of the TV rights has been update to include the information from Red Eagle's law suit. (They're suing for slander of title and tortious interference, which is very rough terms is the business equivalent of libel) See: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fxx-pilot-airing-at-130-773110
tl;dr: Technically, yes, there is -- sort of. And it was as sanctioned as it needed to be to remain legal, though again, it's sketchy.
The rights to the Wheel of Time television program are held by a company called Manetheren LLC, which appears to have been formed by parent company Red Eagle Entertainment specifically for this purpose. (For all intents and purposes, Red Eagle is Manetheren LLC, so I'm just going to call them Red Eagle from now on). The rights to make adaptations of Jordan's copyrighted material was sold to Red Eagle very early on; they were tasked with everything from TV to comics to video games. (All of their prior efforts failed, giving them a terrible reputation among fans). That means that Jordan's estate has no say in who makes such a program or what the content is, since they sold those rights.
As is typical of such licensing deals, part of the requirement on Red Eagle's part was to produce and air a show or they would lose the rights. According to multiple sources, that was going to happen on Feb 11, 2015, and the rights would revert back to Bandersnatch, Jordan's production company. According to Red Eagle (in a law suit they've filed against Bandersnatch), they originally sub-licensed the rights to Universal, but those rights expired and reverted back to Red Eagle back in 2014. They were in the process of negotiating with Sony to produce a pilot when the expiration date of the Red Eagle/Bandersnatch deal rolled around.
In order to prevent that, Red Eagle rushed to put a show on the air. There was exactly one episode of it created, a pilot episode called Winter Dragon. (Rumor is that it was filmed in ~4 days, and it has exactly 2 credited cast members). It was produced by Billy Zane's production company, covers about 10 pages of the prologue of Eye of the World, and aired on the FXX cable channel on Monday 2/9/2015 at 1:30 AM.
After the episode aired, Harriet McDougal (Jordan's widow and current copyright holder) was very publicly angry with Red Eagle, and in a Twitter post, vowed to make sure "this never happened again". She also claimed in a follow-up statement (which has since been taken offline) that Universal, not Red Eagle, were the only people licensed to make sure a show. However, Red Eagle is now suing her over this post, claiming that she actively took part in the negotiations with Sony, and thus knew full well who had the rights and that she was the one encouraging them to make the show. So, there is clearly some dispute over just how "legal" the pilot was, but so far all evidence seems to point to Red Eagle being within their rights to make it.
In any case The CEO of Red Eagle was quite adamant that they did retain the rights, and are planning to take the show to series, to capitalize on the popularity of such programs:
Winter Dragon was "a pilot for a high-budget production television series," says Selvage. "We think there's huge demand for the television series internationally, and we're looking forward to producing it and getting it out in the marketplace."
He admits that they rushed the pilot into production, but that's actually not uncommon with pilots. They are often very low quality, and air are odd times, because they're not really meant for public consumption. Also, just because the pilot airs, doesn't mean there will ever be more episodes: a network still needs to agree to pick it up and pay for it. That hasn't happened.
But, technically speaking, this is a Wheel of Time TV series, put out by the people who own the TV rights, and it was broadcast on a legitimate TV channel. So, strictly speaking, there is an "official Wheel of Time" series.
As of today, you can watch the entire episode on YouTube:
Opinion Section: it's terrible. Don't bother. It was clearly a ploy to keep the rights. The acting is not terrible (I liked Billy Zane as Ishy), but every single other aspect of it was horrid.
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:54
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
92.7k17301469
edited May 28 '16 at 11:45
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:54
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
92.7k17301469
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:54
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
92.7k17301469
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:54
KutuluMikeKutuluMike
92.7k17301469
92.7k17301469
2
A very good summary of the situation.
– Valorum
Feb 13 '15 at 17:26
Note: There's not exactly 3 cast members. Ishmael, Lews, Ilyena, and two children appear. So, at least 5 (not including possible extras for the dead bodies).
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:34
1
actually, I meant "cast members with billing", but I overstated, I thought Ilyenia had been credited but she was not.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
Update: lawsuit withdrawn.
– Quentin
Nov 7 '15 at 17:11
add a comment |
2
A very good summary of the situation.
– Valorum
Feb 13 '15 at 17:26
Note: There's not exactly 3 cast members. Ishmael, Lews, Ilyena, and two children appear. So, at least 5 (not including possible extras for the dead bodies).
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:34
1
actually, I meant "cast members with billing", but I overstated, I thought Ilyenia had been credited but she was not.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
Update: lawsuit withdrawn.
– Quentin
Nov 7 '15 at 17:11
2
2
A very good summary of the situation.
– Valorum
Feb 13 '15 at 17:26
A very good summary of the situation.
– Valorum
Feb 13 '15 at 17:26
Note: There's not exactly 3 cast members. Ishmael, Lews, Ilyena, and two children appear. So, at least 5 (not including possible extras for the dead bodies).
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:34
Note: There's not exactly 3 cast members. Ishmael, Lews, Ilyena, and two children appear. So, at least 5 (not including possible extras for the dead bodies).
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:34
1
1
actually, I meant "cast members with billing", but I overstated, I thought Ilyenia had been credited but she was not.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
actually, I meant "cast members with billing", but I overstated, I thought Ilyenia had been credited but she was not.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
Update: lawsuit withdrawn.
– Quentin
Nov 7 '15 at 17:11
Update: lawsuit withdrawn.
– Quentin
Nov 7 '15 at 17:11
add a comment |
An official Wheel of Time television adaptation is currently in development.
The latest update from Variety:
Sony will produce along with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures. Rafe Judkins is attached to write and executive produce. Judkins previously worked on shows such as ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD,” the Netflix series “Hemlock Grove,” and the NBC series “Chuck.” Red Eagle partners Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon will executive produce along with Radar’s Ted Field and Mike Weber. Darren Lemke will also executive produce, with Jordan’s widow Harriet McDougal serving as consulting producer.
This was originally announced on the official Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Google+ Page:
The following is a press statement that has been approved by the studio involved in contract negotiations:
Update: Wanted to share with you exciting news about The Wheel of Time. Legal issues have been resolved. The Wheel of Time will become a cutting edge TV series! I couldn’t be more pleased. Look for the official announcement coming soon from a major studio —Harriet
However, without an announcement of a channel and a release date, we still don't know whether or not this will end up in development hell.
Some of the original answer is now outdated, but it tracks the history of the development of this show, and whether or not the pilot was "official" is still unclear. Due to settlements tending to have non-disclosure agreements, we'll likely never find out.
Originally, there was a lawsuit against Harriet for slander, but that has been dropped, and settlement discussions are still in the works with the production company. At this time, it's still unclear who will end up with the actual rights to produce a full TV series, or if it's going to happen at all.
No, there wasn't a WoT TV show. There was an unauthorized(?) production of a "pilot" episode, called "The Winter Dragon", that recently aired on TV. Pilots are often made that never make it into production for a series schedule. Example, look at Amazon Prime's Pilot Season. Many of their pilot shows were not picked up to be full seasons.
Regarding this work, Harriet McDougal made the following statement:
This morning brought startling news. A “pilot” for a Wheel of Time series, the "pilot" being called Winter Dragon, had appeared at 1:30 in the morning, East Coast time, on Fxx TV, a channel somewhere in the 700s (founded to concentrate on comedy, according to the Washington Post).
It was made without my knowledge or cooperation. I never saw the script. No one associated with Bandersnatch Group, the successor-in-interest to James O. Rigney, was aware of this.
Bandersnatch has an existing contract with Universal Pictures that grants television rights to them until this Wednesday, February 11 – at which point these rights revert to Bandersnatch.
I see no mention of Universal in the “pilot”. Nor, I repeat, was Bandersnatch, or Robert Jordan’s estate, informed of this in any way.
I am dumbfounded by this occurrence, and am taking steps to prevent its reoccurrence.
Harriet P McDougal
President and CEO
Bandersnatch Group, Inc.
February 9, 2015
From Dragonmount
It should be noted that Harriet McDougal, for those not in the know, is:
- The wife of the late James Oliver Rigney, JR (AKA Robert Jordan,
author of The Wheel of Time) - The editor for all of the official The Wheel of Time books
- The owner of The Wheel of Time copyright
The current understanding of the situation is that Harriet isn't able to make statements regarding this pilot, likely for legal reasons. However, many fans are under the impression that even if a company has the rights to make WoT media, everything still has to be signed off by Harriet first. Since "The Winter Dragon" short was not signed off by Harriet, it would be an unauthorized work if the belief about sign-offs is true.
There's also no guarantee that by creating and airing this content that Red Eagle will actually be able to keep the rights to produce WoT media for television. That is their claim, but Harriet's comments cast that claim in doubt.
1
Harriet McDougal sold the rights to make authorized works to Red Eagle. By definition, anything they make is an authorized work. No one I've ever read or talked to believes otherwise.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:33
@MichaelEdenfield Read the quote from Harriet. The rights were to Universal Pictures, not Red Eagle. And, she's under the presumption that she can take steps to prevent this from happening, implying that it isn't authorized. Also, you can sell rights to a company for certain productions but still require that you have final say in the launch, as it may affect the perception of your copyright as a whole.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
@MichaelEdenfield My understanding is that Red Eagle sold the rights to Universal in 2008, because they couldn't afford to make WoT content, not the other way around. Red Eagle was only supposed to get production credit from this deal, but it seems as if they handled every aspect of it. The rights belong to Universal, but nobody in the general public knows how Universal was involved, if at all.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
See: thewertzone.blogspot.com/2015/02/…
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
huh. you're right, I had that backwards; I was sure that Universal had bought them right from Jordan's estate, not through a third party. though, if Red Eagle sold them to Universal, then the terms of that deal might have included a way to get them back; that still doesn't give Bandersnatch any say in the matter.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:51
|
show 1 more comment
An official Wheel of Time television adaptation is currently in development.
The latest update from Variety:
Sony will produce along with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures. Rafe Judkins is attached to write and executive produce. Judkins previously worked on shows such as ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD,” the Netflix series “Hemlock Grove,” and the NBC series “Chuck.” Red Eagle partners Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon will executive produce along with Radar’s Ted Field and Mike Weber. Darren Lemke will also executive produce, with Jordan’s widow Harriet McDougal serving as consulting producer.
This was originally announced on the official Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Google+ Page:
The following is a press statement that has been approved by the studio involved in contract negotiations:
Update: Wanted to share with you exciting news about The Wheel of Time. Legal issues have been resolved. The Wheel of Time will become a cutting edge TV series! I couldn’t be more pleased. Look for the official announcement coming soon from a major studio —Harriet
However, without an announcement of a channel and a release date, we still don't know whether or not this will end up in development hell.
Some of the original answer is now outdated, but it tracks the history of the development of this show, and whether or not the pilot was "official" is still unclear. Due to settlements tending to have non-disclosure agreements, we'll likely never find out.
Originally, there was a lawsuit against Harriet for slander, but that has been dropped, and settlement discussions are still in the works with the production company. At this time, it's still unclear who will end up with the actual rights to produce a full TV series, or if it's going to happen at all.
No, there wasn't a WoT TV show. There was an unauthorized(?) production of a "pilot" episode, called "The Winter Dragon", that recently aired on TV. Pilots are often made that never make it into production for a series schedule. Example, look at Amazon Prime's Pilot Season. Many of their pilot shows were not picked up to be full seasons.
Regarding this work, Harriet McDougal made the following statement:
This morning brought startling news. A “pilot” for a Wheel of Time series, the "pilot" being called Winter Dragon, had appeared at 1:30 in the morning, East Coast time, on Fxx TV, a channel somewhere in the 700s (founded to concentrate on comedy, according to the Washington Post).
It was made without my knowledge or cooperation. I never saw the script. No one associated with Bandersnatch Group, the successor-in-interest to James O. Rigney, was aware of this.
Bandersnatch has an existing contract with Universal Pictures that grants television rights to them until this Wednesday, February 11 – at which point these rights revert to Bandersnatch.
I see no mention of Universal in the “pilot”. Nor, I repeat, was Bandersnatch, or Robert Jordan’s estate, informed of this in any way.
I am dumbfounded by this occurrence, and am taking steps to prevent its reoccurrence.
Harriet P McDougal
President and CEO
Bandersnatch Group, Inc.
February 9, 2015
From Dragonmount
It should be noted that Harriet McDougal, for those not in the know, is:
- The wife of the late James Oliver Rigney, JR (AKA Robert Jordan,
author of The Wheel of Time) - The editor for all of the official The Wheel of Time books
- The owner of The Wheel of Time copyright
The current understanding of the situation is that Harriet isn't able to make statements regarding this pilot, likely for legal reasons. However, many fans are under the impression that even if a company has the rights to make WoT media, everything still has to be signed off by Harriet first. Since "The Winter Dragon" short was not signed off by Harriet, it would be an unauthorized work if the belief about sign-offs is true.
There's also no guarantee that by creating and airing this content that Red Eagle will actually be able to keep the rights to produce WoT media for television. That is their claim, but Harriet's comments cast that claim in doubt.
1
Harriet McDougal sold the rights to make authorized works to Red Eagle. By definition, anything they make is an authorized work. No one I've ever read or talked to believes otherwise.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:33
@MichaelEdenfield Read the quote from Harriet. The rights were to Universal Pictures, not Red Eagle. And, she's under the presumption that she can take steps to prevent this from happening, implying that it isn't authorized. Also, you can sell rights to a company for certain productions but still require that you have final say in the launch, as it may affect the perception of your copyright as a whole.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
@MichaelEdenfield My understanding is that Red Eagle sold the rights to Universal in 2008, because they couldn't afford to make WoT content, not the other way around. Red Eagle was only supposed to get production credit from this deal, but it seems as if they handled every aspect of it. The rights belong to Universal, but nobody in the general public knows how Universal was involved, if at all.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
See: thewertzone.blogspot.com/2015/02/…
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
huh. you're right, I had that backwards; I was sure that Universal had bought them right from Jordan's estate, not through a third party. though, if Red Eagle sold them to Universal, then the terms of that deal might have included a way to get them back; that still doesn't give Bandersnatch any say in the matter.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:51
|
show 1 more comment
An official Wheel of Time television adaptation is currently in development.
The latest update from Variety:
Sony will produce along with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures. Rafe Judkins is attached to write and executive produce. Judkins previously worked on shows such as ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD,” the Netflix series “Hemlock Grove,” and the NBC series “Chuck.” Red Eagle partners Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon will executive produce along with Radar’s Ted Field and Mike Weber. Darren Lemke will also executive produce, with Jordan’s widow Harriet McDougal serving as consulting producer.
This was originally announced on the official Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Google+ Page:
The following is a press statement that has been approved by the studio involved in contract negotiations:
Update: Wanted to share with you exciting news about The Wheel of Time. Legal issues have been resolved. The Wheel of Time will become a cutting edge TV series! I couldn’t be more pleased. Look for the official announcement coming soon from a major studio —Harriet
However, without an announcement of a channel and a release date, we still don't know whether or not this will end up in development hell.
Some of the original answer is now outdated, but it tracks the history of the development of this show, and whether or not the pilot was "official" is still unclear. Due to settlements tending to have non-disclosure agreements, we'll likely never find out.
Originally, there was a lawsuit against Harriet for slander, but that has been dropped, and settlement discussions are still in the works with the production company. At this time, it's still unclear who will end up with the actual rights to produce a full TV series, or if it's going to happen at all.
No, there wasn't a WoT TV show. There was an unauthorized(?) production of a "pilot" episode, called "The Winter Dragon", that recently aired on TV. Pilots are often made that never make it into production for a series schedule. Example, look at Amazon Prime's Pilot Season. Many of their pilot shows were not picked up to be full seasons.
Regarding this work, Harriet McDougal made the following statement:
This morning brought startling news. A “pilot” for a Wheel of Time series, the "pilot" being called Winter Dragon, had appeared at 1:30 in the morning, East Coast time, on Fxx TV, a channel somewhere in the 700s (founded to concentrate on comedy, according to the Washington Post).
It was made without my knowledge or cooperation. I never saw the script. No one associated with Bandersnatch Group, the successor-in-interest to James O. Rigney, was aware of this.
Bandersnatch has an existing contract with Universal Pictures that grants television rights to them until this Wednesday, February 11 – at which point these rights revert to Bandersnatch.
I see no mention of Universal in the “pilot”. Nor, I repeat, was Bandersnatch, or Robert Jordan’s estate, informed of this in any way.
I am dumbfounded by this occurrence, and am taking steps to prevent its reoccurrence.
Harriet P McDougal
President and CEO
Bandersnatch Group, Inc.
February 9, 2015
From Dragonmount
It should be noted that Harriet McDougal, for those not in the know, is:
- The wife of the late James Oliver Rigney, JR (AKA Robert Jordan,
author of The Wheel of Time) - The editor for all of the official The Wheel of Time books
- The owner of The Wheel of Time copyright
The current understanding of the situation is that Harriet isn't able to make statements regarding this pilot, likely for legal reasons. However, many fans are under the impression that even if a company has the rights to make WoT media, everything still has to be signed off by Harriet first. Since "The Winter Dragon" short was not signed off by Harriet, it would be an unauthorized work if the belief about sign-offs is true.
There's also no guarantee that by creating and airing this content that Red Eagle will actually be able to keep the rights to produce WoT media for television. That is their claim, but Harriet's comments cast that claim in doubt.
An official Wheel of Time television adaptation is currently in development.
The latest update from Variety:
Sony will produce along with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures. Rafe Judkins is attached to write and executive produce. Judkins previously worked on shows such as ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD,” the Netflix series “Hemlock Grove,” and the NBC series “Chuck.” Red Eagle partners Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon will executive produce along with Radar’s Ted Field and Mike Weber. Darren Lemke will also executive produce, with Jordan’s widow Harriet McDougal serving as consulting producer.
This was originally announced on the official Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Google+ Page:
The following is a press statement that has been approved by the studio involved in contract negotiations:
Update: Wanted to share with you exciting news about The Wheel of Time. Legal issues have been resolved. The Wheel of Time will become a cutting edge TV series! I couldn’t be more pleased. Look for the official announcement coming soon from a major studio —Harriet
However, without an announcement of a channel and a release date, we still don't know whether or not this will end up in development hell.
Some of the original answer is now outdated, but it tracks the history of the development of this show, and whether or not the pilot was "official" is still unclear. Due to settlements tending to have non-disclosure agreements, we'll likely never find out.
Originally, there was a lawsuit against Harriet for slander, but that has been dropped, and settlement discussions are still in the works with the production company. At this time, it's still unclear who will end up with the actual rights to produce a full TV series, or if it's going to happen at all.
No, there wasn't a WoT TV show. There was an unauthorized(?) production of a "pilot" episode, called "The Winter Dragon", that recently aired on TV. Pilots are often made that never make it into production for a series schedule. Example, look at Amazon Prime's Pilot Season. Many of their pilot shows were not picked up to be full seasons.
Regarding this work, Harriet McDougal made the following statement:
This morning brought startling news. A “pilot” for a Wheel of Time series, the "pilot" being called Winter Dragon, had appeared at 1:30 in the morning, East Coast time, on Fxx TV, a channel somewhere in the 700s (founded to concentrate on comedy, according to the Washington Post).
It was made without my knowledge or cooperation. I never saw the script. No one associated with Bandersnatch Group, the successor-in-interest to James O. Rigney, was aware of this.
Bandersnatch has an existing contract with Universal Pictures that grants television rights to them until this Wednesday, February 11 – at which point these rights revert to Bandersnatch.
I see no mention of Universal in the “pilot”. Nor, I repeat, was Bandersnatch, or Robert Jordan’s estate, informed of this in any way.
I am dumbfounded by this occurrence, and am taking steps to prevent its reoccurrence.
Harriet P McDougal
President and CEO
Bandersnatch Group, Inc.
February 9, 2015
From Dragonmount
It should be noted that Harriet McDougal, for those not in the know, is:
- The wife of the late James Oliver Rigney, JR (AKA Robert Jordan,
author of The Wheel of Time) - The editor for all of the official The Wheel of Time books
- The owner of The Wheel of Time copyright
The current understanding of the situation is that Harriet isn't able to make statements regarding this pilot, likely for legal reasons. However, many fans are under the impression that even if a company has the rights to make WoT media, everything still has to be signed off by Harriet first. Since "The Winter Dragon" short was not signed off by Harriet, it would be an unauthorized work if the belief about sign-offs is true.
There's also no guarantee that by creating and airing this content that Red Eagle will actually be able to keep the rights to produce WoT media for television. That is their claim, but Harriet's comments cast that claim in doubt.
edited Apr 21 '17 at 13:12
answered Feb 13 '15 at 17:12
user31178
1
Harriet McDougal sold the rights to make authorized works to Red Eagle. By definition, anything they make is an authorized work. No one I've ever read or talked to believes otherwise.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:33
@MichaelEdenfield Read the quote from Harriet. The rights were to Universal Pictures, not Red Eagle. And, she's under the presumption that she can take steps to prevent this from happening, implying that it isn't authorized. Also, you can sell rights to a company for certain productions but still require that you have final say in the launch, as it may affect the perception of your copyright as a whole.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
@MichaelEdenfield My understanding is that Red Eagle sold the rights to Universal in 2008, because they couldn't afford to make WoT content, not the other way around. Red Eagle was only supposed to get production credit from this deal, but it seems as if they handled every aspect of it. The rights belong to Universal, but nobody in the general public knows how Universal was involved, if at all.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
See: thewertzone.blogspot.com/2015/02/…
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
huh. you're right, I had that backwards; I was sure that Universal had bought them right from Jordan's estate, not through a third party. though, if Red Eagle sold them to Universal, then the terms of that deal might have included a way to get them back; that still doesn't give Bandersnatch any say in the matter.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:51
|
show 1 more comment
1
Harriet McDougal sold the rights to make authorized works to Red Eagle. By definition, anything they make is an authorized work. No one I've ever read or talked to believes otherwise.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:33
@MichaelEdenfield Read the quote from Harriet. The rights were to Universal Pictures, not Red Eagle. And, she's under the presumption that she can take steps to prevent this from happening, implying that it isn't authorized. Also, you can sell rights to a company for certain productions but still require that you have final say in the launch, as it may affect the perception of your copyright as a whole.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
@MichaelEdenfield My understanding is that Red Eagle sold the rights to Universal in 2008, because they couldn't afford to make WoT content, not the other way around. Red Eagle was only supposed to get production credit from this deal, but it seems as if they handled every aspect of it. The rights belong to Universal, but nobody in the general public knows how Universal was involved, if at all.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
See: thewertzone.blogspot.com/2015/02/…
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
huh. you're right, I had that backwards; I was sure that Universal had bought them right from Jordan's estate, not through a third party. though, if Red Eagle sold them to Universal, then the terms of that deal might have included a way to get them back; that still doesn't give Bandersnatch any say in the matter.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:51
1
1
Harriet McDougal sold the rights to make authorized works to Red Eagle. By definition, anything they make is an authorized work. No one I've ever read or talked to believes otherwise.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:33
Harriet McDougal sold the rights to make authorized works to Red Eagle. By definition, anything they make is an authorized work. No one I've ever read or talked to believes otherwise.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:33
@MichaelEdenfield Read the quote from Harriet. The rights were to Universal Pictures, not Red Eagle. And, she's under the presumption that she can take steps to prevent this from happening, implying that it isn't authorized. Also, you can sell rights to a company for certain productions but still require that you have final say in the launch, as it may affect the perception of your copyright as a whole.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
@MichaelEdenfield Read the quote from Harriet. The rights were to Universal Pictures, not Red Eagle. And, she's under the presumption that she can take steps to prevent this from happening, implying that it isn't authorized. Also, you can sell rights to a company for certain productions but still require that you have final say in the launch, as it may affect the perception of your copyright as a whole.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:37
@MichaelEdenfield My understanding is that Red Eagle sold the rights to Universal in 2008, because they couldn't afford to make WoT content, not the other way around. Red Eagle was only supposed to get production credit from this deal, but it seems as if they handled every aspect of it. The rights belong to Universal, but nobody in the general public knows how Universal was involved, if at all.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
@MichaelEdenfield My understanding is that Red Eagle sold the rights to Universal in 2008, because they couldn't afford to make WoT content, not the other way around. Red Eagle was only supposed to get production credit from this deal, but it seems as if they handled every aspect of it. The rights belong to Universal, but nobody in the general public knows how Universal was involved, if at all.
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
See: thewertzone.blogspot.com/2015/02/…
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
See: thewertzone.blogspot.com/2015/02/…
– user31178
Feb 13 '15 at 17:46
huh. you're right, I had that backwards; I was sure that Universal had bought them right from Jordan's estate, not through a third party. though, if Red Eagle sold them to Universal, then the terms of that deal might have included a way to get them back; that still doesn't give Bandersnatch any say in the matter.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:51
huh. you're right, I had that backwards; I was sure that Universal had bought them right from Jordan's estate, not through a third party. though, if Red Eagle sold them to Universal, then the terms of that deal might have included a way to get them back; that still doesn't give Bandersnatch any say in the matter.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:51
|
show 1 more comment
There is not, although there have been several attempts, including some recent ones. Wikipedia states there was an attempt around 2000. See this article for more information.
The bottom line is, there seems to be a lot of interest, especially in the light of the very popular Game of Thrones series, but so far the pieces aren't together. The rights to make a TV series were sold off long ago, making things much more difficult now than they were previously.
edited 8 mins ago
Stormblessed
2,4871939
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:31
PearsonArtPhotoPearsonArtPhoto
36.7k33177274
add a comment |
There is not, although there have been several attempts, including some recent ones. Wikipedia states there was an attempt around 2000. See this article for more information.
The bottom line is, there seems to be a lot of interest, especially in the light of the very popular Game of Thrones series, but so far the pieces aren't together. The rights to make a TV series were sold off long ago, making things much more difficult now than they were previously.
edited 8 mins ago
Stormblessed
2,4871939
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:31
PearsonArtPhotoPearsonArtPhoto
36.7k33177274
add a comment |
There is not, although there have been several attempts, including some recent ones. Wikipedia states there was an attempt around 2000. See this article for more information.
The bottom line is, there seems to be a lot of interest, especially in the light of the very popular Game of Thrones series, but so far the pieces aren't together. The rights to make a TV series were sold off long ago, making things much more difficult now than they were previously.
edited 8 mins ago
Stormblessed
2,4871939
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:31
PearsonArtPhotoPearsonArtPhoto
36.7k33177274
There is not, although there have been several attempts, including some recent ones. Wikipedia states there was an attempt around 2000. See this article for more information.
The bottom line is, there seems to be a lot of interest, especially in the light of the very popular Game of Thrones series, but so far the pieces aren't together. The rights to make a TV series were sold off long ago, making things much more difficult now than they were previously.
edited 8 mins ago
Stormblessed
2,4871939
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:31
PearsonArtPhotoPearsonArtPhoto
36.7k33177274
edited 8 mins ago
Stormblessed
2,4871939
edited 8 mins ago
Stormblessed
2,4871939
edited 8 mins ago
Stormblessed
2,4871939
2,4871939
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:31
PearsonArtPhotoPearsonArtPhoto
36.7k33177274
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:31
PearsonArtPhotoPearsonArtPhoto
36.7k33177274
answered Feb 13 '15 at 16:31
PearsonArtPhotoPearsonArtPhoto
36.7k33177274
36.7k33177274
add a comment |
add a comment |
Yes, production is slated to start in September 2019 and it will be an Amazon offering.
answered 11 mins ago
CreosCreos
992
New contributor
Creos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Please expand your answer; it is extremely short and has no source.
– Stormblessed
9 mins ago
add a comment |
Yes, production is slated to start in September 2019 and it will be an Amazon offering.
answered 11 mins ago
CreosCreos
992
New contributor
Creos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Please expand your answer; it is extremely short and has no source.
– Stormblessed
9 mins ago
add a comment |
Yes, production is slated to start in September 2019 and it will be an Amazon offering.
answered 11 mins ago
CreosCreos
992
New contributor
Creos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Yes, production is slated to start in September 2019 and it will be an Amazon offering.
answered 11 mins ago
CreosCreos
992
New contributor
Creos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 11 mins ago
CreosCreos
992
New contributor
Creos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 11 mins ago
CreosCreos
992
answered 11 mins ago
CreosCreos
992
992
New contributor
Creos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Creos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Creos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Please expand your answer; it is extremely short and has no source.
– Stormblessed
9 mins ago
add a comment |
Please expand your answer; it is extremely short and has no source.
– Stormblessed
9 mins ago
Please expand your answer; it is extremely short and has no source.
– Stormblessed
9 mins ago
Please expand your answer; it is extremely short and has no source.
– Stormblessed
9 mins ago
add a comment |
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1
@PaulD.Waite as you see from the answers the one that came out Sunday night may or may nor be official.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:29
2
@Himarm that kind of clause in such media contracts is very rare. The list of authors that have publicly disavowed adaptations of their work is rather long. Typically, you don't get that kind of creative control unless you're 1. a proven commodity, or 2. willing to give up some $$ in exchange.
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:35
1
jordans heirs didnt sell the rights, jordan himself did while still alive, and he activly wanted a show to devolop similar to grrmartin, so i assume he also wanted some creative input on his part, as well as to be kept into the loop. and his book sales showed he was a proven commodity, as his wifes statement says, she was very surprised/put out by the fact no one talked to her, which leads me to believe they were supposed to talk to her.
– Himarm
Feb 13 '15 at 17:40
1
JK Rowling and JRR Tolkein are very much the exception rather than the rule, though more and more authors these days are wising up specifically because of disasters like this, or Alan Moore's "Watchmen", or Stephen King's "The Shining".
– KutuluMike
Feb 13 '15 at 17:59
1
now, the people who made this crappy show are suing the robert jordan estate for slander. wtf.
– Himarm
Feb 16 '15 at 14:56