Lord of the Rings Consulting Producer Claims He’s Not Recruiting Dana Schwartz For Amazon’s Upcoming LOTR Series

By 
·May 11, 2020

Lord of the Rings consulting producer Bryan Cogman claims he’s not recruiting She-Hulk writer Dana Schwartz for Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings series.

Cogman recently sparked fears that Schwartz, known for her attacks on South Park, calling for an end to Western canon, and comparing men to Oscar the Grouch, could be getting herself involved in the Lord of the Rings series.

Schwartz had taken to Twitter to indicate that the her time in the She-Hulk writing room had ended and was asking if there was a showrunner or writer who was looking for someone with her skill set.

Related: Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk Writer Dana Schwartz Compares Men to Oscar The Grouch As She Continues Her Man-Hating Twitter Tirades!

She wrote, “The She-Hulk room ended so if you happen to be a showrunner looking for a writer who makes jokes and writes books and knows a lot of historical fun facts, hit me up!!!!”

Schwartz added, “Also, if you’re an editor who needs a freelancer on a feature, I happen to have a very lowkey social life and a lot of free time at the moment.”

Cogman responded, “Hi! Yes. Are your DMs open?”

He then added, “Or you could just DM me. Thanks. Love the podcast, btw.”

Schwartz then responded, “Just followed you : )”

Related: Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk Writer Dana Schwartz: “It Seems Impossible To Overstate The Cultural Damage Done By South Park”

Cogman’s comments and subsequent conversation would be brought to the attention of YouTuber Gary Buechler of Nerdrotic by fellow YouTuber Geeky Candi with the assumption that Cogman was reaching out to Schwartz to bring her onto Lord of the Rings.

Geeky Candi simply wrote, “RIP Lord of the Rings.”

Buechler would write, “Always available for free consultation Lord of the Rings on Prime.” He then provided his free consultation, “1)Keep Tom Shippey and listen to him at every turn. 2)Honor TOLKIEN’S messages and HIS mythology 3) Do not hire a Dana ‘banish western canon’ Schwartz”

Cogman would respond to the comment indicating that he was not looking to hire Schwartz onto Lord of the Rings. He wrote, “Ok. 1) Dana is a terrific writer and a cool person. Also the Western Canon will be just fine.”

He then added, “2) This has nothing to do with LOTR, I’m not the show runner, I’m just a consulting producer. 3) Be nice!”

In a separate follow-up thread, Cogman would detail his work on Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series.

He began, “Okay. A few people have been misinformed or aren’t reading my profile closely. So here goes, just this once… (THREAD)”

Related: Marvel’s She-Hulk Writer Dana Schwartz: “Fan Gatekeeping Is A Profoundly Toxic Subculture”

He then explained that he did help the Lord of the Rings writing team get the project off the ground, “I’m a consulting producer on LOTR. The job is exactly what it sounds like. I was involved heavily at the beginning, helping the incredible murderer’s row of writers get the thing off the ground before stepping away to focus on my own shows for Amazon…”

He then made it crystal clear that he is not running the Lord of the Rings show, “I’m not running it. I never was running it. I was honored and thrilled and happy to work on it for a spell.”

He concluded that he is working on his own series, “Now I’m writing movies, developing my own series, and have returned to Twitter mainly to talk movies with my ‘talking movies’ pals. That kind of thing is, by far, the majority of what you’ll experience if you follow me. If that’s not for you, all good!”

Related: Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk Writer Dana Schwartz Responds To South Park Criticism: “Is There Something That Women Are ALLOWED To Have An Opinion On?”

Although he did leave a caveat that he is still a consulting producer for Lord of the Rings.

Cogman’s original comments came just days before Deadline reported that New Zealand was opening up their country to allow film and TV productions to begin again after the coronavirus pandemic shut down production.

New Zealand Film Commission CEO Annabelle Sheehan stated, “The NZFC’s focus and commitment since the industry hiatus, has been the health and safety of all those who work in the New Zealand film industry and the ongoing sustainability of the wider screen sector. We are heartened and grateful for the hard work and partnership of the guilds who have worked to get this document completed so quickly.”

The document in question is reportedly health and safety production protocols that need to be in place for filming and production to restart.

Related: Rumor: Amazon’s Lord of The Rings Fires Entire Writing Staff – Season 1 Put On Hiatus

However, Deadline reports that the Lord of the Rings series has no plans to return to New Zealand any time soon. They report that the show had originally planned to go into a 4-5 month hiatus following the filming of the first two episodes. That planned hiatus was rolled into the shutdown due to coronavirus.

The first two episodes, being directed by J.A Bayona were not completed although Deadline details the majority of the shooting was finished.

The series has reportedly received a renewal for Season 2 despite not even finishing filming one episode.

Related: Actress Robyn Malcolm Wants a Female Gandalf for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV Series

It is expected to take place in the Second Age.

What do you make of Cogman’s comments regarding Dana Schwartz? Do you believe him?

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