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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1268 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 12:17:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Three pages and no one has bothered to think of the casting that Hasbro can afford for a Drizzt movie?
Two words: Idris Elba.
Yes. Though I'm torn between him as Drizzt and Drizzt's father. Having him as dad could manipulate people into begging for more background on the guy. 
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- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 13:38:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Caladan Brood
I think Ray Park (Darth Maul) could play the Dark Elf (with someone else dubbing the voice). Imagine him with ash grey face paint and he kind of looks like the Drizzt in my avatar. Also, he has fighting skills. And is even a name that might drive a considerable amount of Star Wars fans to the movie. In the scene were the hangar doors open and Darth Maul looks up to face the Jedi (I wonder what he was looking at, though, was there something interesting on the floor?) - it's basically the same look Drizzt gives in the avatar to the left.
Ray Park is a real life Artemis Entreri. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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sno4wy
Senior Scribe
USA
466 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 13:46:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
Ray Park is a real life Artemis Entreri.
Except that Artemis Entreri would be the equivalent of a person of color in our world. He canonically has (gray-tinged) brown skin and is Calishite. Calimshan is based on the Ottoman Empire and Arabic cultures, while its peoples canonically have "dusky brown" skin. Casting a white guy as him would be as inaccurate a portrayal of the character as casting a black woman as Catti-Brie. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 14:18:12
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quote:
Originally posted by sno4wy
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
Ray Park is a real life Artemis Entreri.
Except that Artemis Entreri would be the equivalent of a person of color in our world. He canonically has (gray-tinged) brown skin and is Calishite. Calimshan is based on the Ottoman Empire and Arabic cultures, while its peoples canonically have "dusky brown" skin. Casting a white guy as him would be as inaccurate a portrayal of the character as casting a black woman as Catti-Brie.
And things like that are part of why totally new characters are the better option. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 16:15:09
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I still think a 'reboot-style' movie (like Star Trek) with Drizzt & Co. works best - they are the PERFECT cast of characters for a movie. Add Alias and dragonbait to that group if we really need our more-then-human non-human beast person.
This doesn't have to stick to canon - why would it? Hell, throw Farideh into the mix as well. Maybe Dragonbait can hold up her massive rack (of horns).
And although he doesn't really fit the look, my brain keeps going to Vin Diesel for Entreri. He plays a great tough guy, and he's a closet D&D nerd - he should be rewarded for that!
I like Emma Stone for Cattie Brie, but she's probably getting too old. We need someone who could pull-off '17' or so, and thats pushing it with her.
And if we REALLY want to sell tickets, how about if Drizzt doesn't go out in the sun because... he gets all shiny?  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 05 Aug 2015 16:15:34 |
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Farrel
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
239 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 19:00:55
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Given the past D&D movies that I've been unfortunate enough to catch (I use the term catch as it wasn't a pleasant experience) I wouldn't go anywhere near it.
Just my very honest personal opinion.
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sno4wy
Senior Scribe
USA
466 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 20:08:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
And although he doesn't really fit the look, my brain keeps going to Vin Diesel for Entreri. He plays a great tough guy, and he's a closet D&D nerd - he should be rewarded for that!
I like Emma Stone for Cattie Brie, but she's probably getting too old. We need someone who could pull-off '17' or so, and thats pushing it with her.
What about Molly C. Quinn for Catti-Brie? I suppose, despite being 22, she still looks like a teenager, so she might be too "young" for that role. I feel like Catti-Brie is supposed to have this mature sort of feminine beauty.
I agree with rewarding D&D nerds, and while Vin Diesel does indeed play an awesome tough guy, there's more to Entreri than just the tough guy part though. I suppose it all depends on at what point of the Drizzt storyline would be portrayed, for earlier on there isn't much to him than the cookie-cutter antagonist type. Still, given his later developments, it's hard for me to imagine Vin Diesel as the angsty and frequently sexually victimized type. |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 21:56:55
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| Remember, we live in a glorious age of CGI that can make people appear taller or smaller. Vin Diesel as Wulfgar or Bruenor? |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2015 : 22:05:28
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| All they had to do was a proper Dragonlance movie and it would have been gold. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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Gyor
Master of Realmslore
1621 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 00:53:54
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| Given that a script has already been written, I doubt it will be about Drizzt, I think the FR element has been a rescent choice, which means changes will have to be made, but making it a Drizzt movie would take a whole new script. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 02:12:35
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Which means they took a generic fantasy script and are just slapping the FR logo on it?
That would suck. Expected... but still muy sucky. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1268 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 03:29:46
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| I'm not so sure. How many Realms novels were intended for another setting and wound up getting put into the Realms? It's been done before, and it can be successful. It just depends on how it's done. |
- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
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Rymac
Learned Scribe
USA
315 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 05:05:07
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A generic fantasy script would no doubt go through rewrites/revisions. A Forgotten Realms movie would (obviously) take place with Realms locations, backstory & history, etc. It would need to have a level detail for it to be properly called a Forgotten Realms movie vs a D&D/generic fantasy movie. However, a first movie (assuming there is a "universe" to be developed over numerous movies) would be light on the detail, rather than get bogged down in it. Good movies "show," rather than "tell."
I doubt big screen actors be initially cast, unless agreeing to waive their usual compensation. What are the over/under odds of Stephen Colbert getting a cameo? |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 07:59:05
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Vin Diesel is not a closet D&D nerd. He's probably the most high profile D&D nerd. The man posted a picture of his D&D themed birthday cake on social media (http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?2759-Vin-Diesel-s-D-D-Birthday-Cake#.VcL_UEVrW8E). Give the guy some credit.
He's probably D&D's biggest ambassador to the wider world. Other celebs might mention they play D&D, but few have actually written the foreward to a D&D anniversary book or posted their game themed birthday cake to their millions of social media followers.
Most D&D celebs fit the stereotype of geek and no one thinks anything of it. Vin plays tough guys in movies (and is the third highest earning male actor worldwide) but is able to navigate both that and maintain his geek cred.
The next most overt D&D nerd is probably Stephen Colbert who gave the game several prominent mentions when he was still hosting his eponymous show. We'll see if he can sneak some mentions in during his new gig (or maybe he has already). If he can make some headway via late night TV ... that would be something.
Then again, with all these other more popular and famous franchises vying for viewer attention of late (GoT, etc.), perhaps being a D&D nerd is just being a second-class nerd or worse yet a hipster nerd ("We prefer our fantasy mildly-obscure, of pre-1975 vintage, and analog.").
quote:
Originally posted by Mapolq
Warcraft is a juggernaut of pop culture...? At least where I'm from, it's even more niche than D&D. Is it that different in other parts?
WoW is still the biggest MMO, at least with a paid subscription (and probably regardless of pay model). While subscription numbers are falling, inevitable given a ten year old game, as of early 2015 it's still at ~7 million.
Its player base at its peak was in the low double digit millions and as of 2014, there have been over 100 million player accounts started over the game's lifetime. That very likely means about 100 million people have tried the game at some point over the last ten years.
Beyond the MMO, the franchise has three 'legendary' RTS (one of the foundational series in that genre), and its characters and lore lives on in more recent offerings like Heartstone (a digital trading card game) and Heroes of the Storm (a MOBA MMO).
It has the requisite comics, books, merchandise for an IP of its caliber (multi-billion dollar IP). It notably has two versions of a PnP RPG, both d20 based. The first version is an adaption of standard D&D for Warcraft, the second departs more from D&D and takes into account more World of Warcraft classes and skills.
Beyond gaming, it is the source for several internet memes and generally is a big part of gamer culture, which has shifted more and more into the mainstream (pop culture) over the last decades.
How is this relevant? (Besides the Warcraft movie being currently in development, with casting done and CGI test already completed)
In our circles, the split between friends knowing what Warcraft is and what D&D/FR is may be more evenly split, but amongst the wider audience there is no contest that Warcraft is a household name compared to Forgotten Realms or even D&D. People may have *heard* of D&D, but people *know* what Warcraft is. Just as they know LotR is or know what GoT is.
The fantasy field has gotten more crowded in the years since the first D&D movie's release. The quality has also improved compared to the campy fantasy movies of yesteryear. The goal post has moved and any potential contender has to really kick it into high gear to eke out its niche.
Understandable why Hasbro was annoyed at the old TSR-era movie deal, which created a string of forgettable at best, laughable at worse B-movies while younger or contemporary IP franchises have risen to achieve success across the spectrum.
Not just Warcraft, but games like Dragon Age and Elder Scrolls (even Warhammer) are major video game franchises, with the accompanying books, comics, art, merchandise, etc. They've all taken pages from D&D's playbook and ran with them to great success, while D&D itself has been stuck as a second or third-tier property for a long time.
IF D&D wants to break-out, it needs a break-out movie.
Or a TV show. Even if barely approaching GoT popular. Also note Shannara is getting a TV show on MTV, we'll see how that works out.
Or a triple A video game. Biggest fantasy games right now seem to be Dragon Age Inquisition, Witcher 3, and an older game that still being played and modded is Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Funny thing is Witcher 1 was originally built on the NWN engine, while Dragon Age was Bioware's attempt to do something like Baldur's Gate, but with their own IP.
D&D has a habit of inspiring, training, and laying the ground work for other people's success. |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2384 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 12:34:03
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The idea is amazingly horrid.  |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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Kyrel
Learned Scribe
151 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 13:52:19
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To be honest, I have VERY mixed feelings about a Forgotten Realms movie. The Realms is so large a setting with so many established characters and history, that in order for a movie company to make a movie in this setting, and pay homage to the established canon, they would need to have the script writers and other important staff be either longtime FR fans or willing and able to do some insane research into the setting. Alternatively they'd have to go with completely unknown characters set in a part of the Realms with little defined history, or finally just more or less ignore the history, and just try and avoid it, whilst at least allowing the visual imagery to match up the setting descriptions from the game.
I find it unlikely that Warner will spend the time required to actually make a movie and script that will flawlessly fit into the RPG canon, so my guess is that they will make new characters, set the time in either the post-Spellplague age or outside of the canon timeline, and then try and give the visual impression of the setting location they pick. As for using established characters I seriously doubt it, outside of perhaps a cameo appearance to make the FR fans happy.
While I agree that a Drizzt movie based off of one or more of the books could probably be pretty successful (VERY much depending on the execution...), I doubt that we will see that, at least not in any way that is liable to satisfy the real fans of the character (who is not a large enough demographic for a large movie to cater to).
Personally I expect that we'll get a movie that tries to hit the different movie/fantasy archetypes in the same way Star Wars did, meaning that we'll probably get a young warrior as the main character (that we'll see "grow" into the role of a hero), we'll get the questionable sidekick, (who'll probably be a rogue who'll come through for his friends, despite appearances), a capable female (to play the romantic love interest of the main character), we'll see a wise old mentor of sorts (likely in the form of a wizard), and finally we'll get the comedic sidekick for us to laugh at. Amongst that mix we'll likely see mainly humans, but also a dwarf and an elf. Further races will likely be found amongst the background or supporting characters, and other "standard" D&D classes are also likely to make an appearance in that form (i.e. the Paladin). The basis of the characters are likely to be generic in this manner, but hopefully the script and character portrail will be able to turn it into something watchable, though I'm not overly optimistic.
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 16:38:00
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| Well unfortunately Chris Perkins has his hands in it so my hopes for a good and serious D&D movie are basically piss in the wind. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 17:40:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
Well unfortunately Chris Perkins has his hands in it so my hopes for a good and serious D&D movie are basically piss in the wind.
THIS.
This gets me more worried then anything/anyone else involved in this project. I worry about his motivations - pulling an even larger, more powerful corporation into the mix controlling FR's IP. 
Think about it - its going to be a generic fantasy story - why not just use D&D? Why'd it have to be FR? There is no point in using the FR IP unless you were using the existing stories... or you want to 'muddy the waters' legally even further. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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BenN
Senior Scribe
Japan
382 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 18:00:00
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The way I see it, anything that broadens the franchise, and gets more people interested in the Realms, is a good thing - more likelihood of future releases etc.
Also, no-one here knows about the actual situation, plot, characters, actors, etc, so all the doom-laden griping is somewhat premature AFAIK.......
Granted, there is the track-record of two abysmal (see what I did there?) movies, but let's keep a (hopeful) open mind about the future!
My $0.02. |
Edited by - BenN on 06 Aug 2015 18:00:37 |
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Mapolq
Senior Scribe
Brazil
466 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 19:16:01
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I don't see how even a horrible movie could significantly harm the IP in any way (I wouldn't bet that many people actually *stopped* playing D&D or cast it off as something ridiculous because it had a bad movie or two), so I stay happy that they're doing *something*. It would have to be a truly spectacular flop for it to damage the IP, and a spectacular flop requires a significant budget for the movie itself, which I doubt it has. Small-budget movies *can't* be complete financial disasters for a sizable company, so at worst we don't get any more movies and they switch funding to other media.
On the other hand, if the movie is actually good or even okay, it could bring good news. |
Never sleep under the jackfruit tree.
Tales of Moonsea - A Neverwinter Nights 2 Persistent World. Check out our website at http://www.talesofmoonsea.com and our video trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am304WqOAAo&feature=youtu.be, as well as our thread here at Candlekeep: http://www.forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12955
My campaign thread: http://www.forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16447 |
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 22:25:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Mapolq
I don't see how even a horrible movie could significantly harm the IP in any way (I wouldn't bet that many people actually *stopped* playing D&D or cast it off as something ridiculous because it had a bad movie or two), so I stay happy that they're doing *something*. It would have to be a truly spectacular flop for it to damage the IP, and a spectacular flop requires a significant budget for the movie itself, which I doubt it has. Small-budget movies *can't* be complete financial disasters for a sizable company, so at worst we don't get any more movies and they switch funding to other media.
On the other hand, if the movie is actually good or even okay, it could bring good news.
If this movie fails in any way then we are looking at four failed attempts, well five if we count the Dragonlance cartoon movie, at making a D&D movie. People will from then on basically give up and not even look twice at another attempt. This could damage the brand as a whole and either cause Hasbro to concede that the brand isn't as valuable as they were hoping and instead focus on the game, or shelve it. Hasbro really has their heart set on following the Marvel path of making D&D a multi billion euro franchise. I can go ahead and save them the trouble because it won't happen. D&D has had games, movies, toys, and cartoons for years. They aren't doing anything new except for the slow release schedule and sticking with their god awful stories. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 22:30:14
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Re: original stories
No. The overwhelming majority of D&D and FR novels have been merely lackluster or meh. Only a small few have really wowed readers. This should tell Hollywood that it ain't easy to create a really good story in this world. If it were, then we would already have a whole lot more great Realms novelists than Bob, Elaine, Paul, Ed, Rich, etc. We should have dozens of them. But we don't.
Great Realms stories require more than just moving around various Realms playing pieces. The Realms nuggets are only a starting point--the media. But what remains elusive for so many writers is that magic of good storytelling. Bob Salvatore obviously has it in spades. Most don't.
The Hollywood writer that they bring in for this sure as Hells had better not just use Forgotten Realms lingo as mere window dressing for some lame story, and then when that lame story flops, he had better not blame the Forgottten Realms aspects for that failure. A lame story about cops does not make cops lame. A lame story about soldiers does not make soldiers lame. A lame story about doctors does not make doctors lame. A lame story about dogs does not make dogs lame. So nobody had better blame the Forgotten Realms if Hollywood pulls out a lame story about the Forgotten Realms. Blame the lame story.
Better yet, get the master(s) directly involved, and avoid the lame story syndrome altogether.
Re: reboots
No. I am a G1 Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Star Trek fan, all the way. I don't care how much $ they throw at the SFX to pretty them up, when they don't honor the original stories. When those stories really matter to me, when they're from an IP that I have closely followed over years, then I don't want anyone arrogantly reworking things to make them trendier or cooler or timelier or whatever-the-Hells-they-wanna-call-it to justify dorking around with it.
Optimus Prime was a flatnosed cabover truck and Megatron was a gun, damn it!
And so, I haven't spent a single cent on any one of those stupid reboots. I've borrowed others' copies, watched them in disgust, and then repeatedly returned to my admittedly-flawed originals for the feels.
Again, the rarity of lasting, really good Realms novels goes to show that it just ain't that easy to tell these kinds of stories. It takes more than just pulling a few names or iconic pics out of some books and plastering them across the silver screen, and then running them through some idiotic all-new caper.
It takes honoring their established history and legacy. It takes a commitment to Ed's world, and to the various superstar writers' proven stories.
Don't just borrow a superficial semblance to the FR and then use that to prop up a wholly new tale. Don't use it as mere window dressing.
Do it right, or don't do it at all.
Re: analogies to the Marvel comics movies
Those comic films certainly didn't start with Ant-Man.
Much less with Bug-Guy, some completely made-up, vague side-reference to comic archetypes and imagery without any actual basis in the world's existing lore.
There is so much gold already in them thar hills of the FR. Hollywood needs to mine there, and not try to get rich digging a brand new mine somewhere else. Most people who simply start digging wherever they want to, end up with bupkiss.
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"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
Edited by - BEAST on 06 Aug 2015 22:33:05 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 23:31:19
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quote:
Originally posted by BenN
Also, no-one here knows about the actual situation, plot, characters, actors, etc, so all the doom-laden griping is somewhat premature AFAIK.......
Sadly, not having any information at all about something has never been sufficient to stop some folk about screaming that the sky is falling. It gets rather tedious, at times. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 23:56:24
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quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
Re: original stories
No. The overwhelming majority of D&D and FR novels have been merely lackluster or meh. Only a small few have really wowed readers. This should tell Hollywood that it ain't easy to create a really good story in this world. If it were, then we would already have a whole lot more great Realms novelists than Bob, Elaine, Paul, Ed, Rich, etc. We should have dozens of them. But we don't.
Great Realms stories require more than just moving around various Realms playing pieces. The Realms nuggets are only a starting point--the media. But what remains elusive for so many writers is that magic of good storytelling. Bob Salvatore obviously has it in spades. Most don't.
The Hollywood writer that they bring in for this sure as Hells had better not just use Forgotten Realms lingo as mere window dressing for some lame story, and then when that lame story flops, he had better not blame the Forgottten Realms aspects for that failure. A lame story about cops does not make cops lame. A lame story about soldiers does not make soldiers lame. A lame story about doctors does not make doctors lame. A lame story about dogs does not make dogs lame. So nobody had better blame the Forgotten Realms if Hollywood pulls out a lame story about the Forgotten Realms. Blame the lame story.
Better yet, get the master(s) directly involved, and avoid the lame story syndrome altogether.
The fact that some stories have been less than stellar doesn't mean that a movie that tells a new story will similarly be less than stellar. I would be very surprised if the person(s) writing the movie isn't working closely with at least one well-established author/lorelord of the Realms; otherwise, why would they even pick a specific setting?
Similarly, novel success does not necessarily equal movie success. A lot of books that have been popular have had lousy, even mediocre movies -- it took more than one try to make a successful Lord of the Rings movie; most people don't even know of LotR movies that weren't made by Peter Jackson. I've seen several movies based on The Three Musketeers; some stunk on ice, while others were fun and enjoyed a degree of success.
Additionally, movie adaptations aren't always faithful to the source material. Of the (kinda sorta) most recent Three Musketeers movies I've seen, I think only one of them was written by someone who had, on one occasion, actually been in the same room as the book. Most of them have just used character names and concepts -- sometimes rather broadly, at that -- and gone off in their own direction. The Disney one with Keifer Sutherland and Oliver Platt is an excellent example of that; it has next to nothing in common with the book, other than character names and trying to get to Calais to stop Lady diWinter.
Given the difficulty of adapting an existing story correctly and faithfully translating it to the big screen, as well as the fact that FR readers are a very small portion of the target audience, there is no reason at all for them to not go with a new story. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1268 Posts |
Posted - 06 Aug 2015 : 23:59:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by BenN
Also, no-one here knows about the actual situation, plot, characters, actors, etc, so all the doom-laden griping is somewhat premature AFAIK.......
Sadly, not having any information at all about something has never been sufficient to stop some folk about screaming that the sky is falling. It gets rather tedious, at times.
I think they're just worried about the sky falling because they aren't anywhere near a cave or umbrella. Earth bound creatures tend to panic when they don't have a means of escaping the weather, and the winds of change can get brisk. |
- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2015 : 01:08:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Given the difficulty of adapting an existing story correctly and faithfully translating it to the big screen, as well as the fact that FR readers are a very small portion of the target audience, there is no reason at all for them to not go with a new story.
But at the same time, why set it in The Realms at all, then? Thats my question.
Unless the novels were a selling point; think about how those talks with Warner brothers must have gone:
Warner: You want to do a D&D movie? NOPE - bad history with those.
Hasbro: But it could be huge! People love fantasy stuff right now!
Warner: ... and doesn't another company already own the rights?
Hasbro: Errr... yeah... but we could give them an end-credit and they could get a little sumthin-sumthin on the back-end (stole that line from Be Cool).
Warner: Why would we want to take this risk? We could just do any old fantasy movie and wouldn't have to partner with you.
Hasbro: {grasping} Ummmm... we have a best-selling novel line!
Warner: {leans forward, looking a wee bit more interested} Go on...
Hasbro: Its not precisely D&D. Well, it is... its just set on a specific world with its own IP. Ever here of Drizzt?
Warner: The name sounds familiar - doesn't everyone playing an internet game name their guy that?
Hasbro: Yup! Thats the one! Based on the BEST-SELLING novels by our very own Bob Salvatore!
Warner: He wrote some Star Wars stuff, didn't he? I've heard the name. We sure would like to one-up Disney. Would we have to pay him for the rights as well?
Hasbro: Nope - thats the beauty of it - we own the characters out-right! if we just do a new story, with or without his characters, he won't even have a leg to stand on.
Warner: Okay. Our money, our story, our writers. Everything is to be done our way.
Hasbro: With our input?
Warner: Why? We just want to slap the logo on it - tie it to the novels. We don't really need any information on the place. We just toss in an elf, a dwarf, some angsty young people and a dragon living in an old dwarf hall.
Hasbro: Erm... that sounds a LOT like his books...
Warner: Really? I was thinking Lord of the Rings. Well, at least none of his characters ever had to throw a powerful evil artifact into a volcano, right?
Hasbro: Ummmm... about that... {looking sheepish)
Warner: Ha! Sounds like a match made in heaven! All the derivations and tropes we could possibly want, without worrying about the Tolkien estate or Peter Jackson coming after us! We'll do it!
How else could that have possibly gone? A large multimedia corporation that only wants 'wins' (don't they all?), and someone is trying to sell them what looks like a steaming pile - what other enticement might they have waved under their nose? Toy rights? good or bad, the toy rights could net both of them a fortune if the movie comes out in the fall (just before the Holiday buying season). The movie Cars was a flop with the kids, but every granny in America was buying those toys for their grandkids, not knowing that the kids could care less about the flick. That could be their angle...
But I still think its RAS and Drizzt. Even if they don't use them, several hundred novels based on a setting is nothing to sneeze at. Star trek fall short of that mark (I think), and its probably right around the same numbers for Star Wars. For better or worse, its the novels that sold that deal, no matter what you might think. D&D just doesn't have the brand power... not anymore. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 07 Aug 2015 01:13:23 |
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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1268 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2015 : 01:46:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
But at the same time, why set it in The Realms at all, then? Thats my question.
Oh, that's easy.  They've been all about two things lately: first, the Realms is their "flagship" setting, and second, multimedia approach to delivering their game.
Perhaps they're adapting the Sundering, or the Tyranny of Dragons, or some upcoming storyline to film? It would fit with their M.O. And if it is a Sundering film, the only explanation anyone really needs for the inevitable, "why now" question is legal issues held back the idea.
There are a lot of possibilities right now. But for now, we only have a very few facts to go on. |
- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6646 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2015 : 02:36:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
But at the same time, why set it in The Realms at all, then? Thats my question.
WotC are open about the fact that they are trying to make the D&D product multi-faceted and accessible through multiple mediums. It is clear that they have chosen the Realms as the vehicle for this initiative because it has some foundations (e.g. Salvatore's novels, Neverwinter Nights etc.) that can resonate with the buying/gaming public and potentially reach other sectors of the public.
Sure, the Realms isn't a Marvel or Star Wars Universe - not even close, much as we love it - but it represents the best IP that Wizards have to make their dreams come true. Let's be clear, the Realms is a placeholder for all this stuff that is happening and that is to happen across a number of product platforms. In the early 80s, it would have been Greyhawk. In late 80s, it would have been Dragonlance. The Realms is the last, best hope for the big breakthrough that WotC have been banking on (and no doubt telling Hasbro about in terms of "potential") for long term stability and financial support.
I consider that at some point in time the greater public consciousness will likely consider D&D and the Realms as synonymous. We gaming grognards will wince at this, but the young kid who has gone to see the new D&D movie set in ... dum, dum, daaaah ... the Forgotten Realms will be all over it. Hopefully he's not handed a crock.
What it also means in simple terms is that WotC are not looking at the Realms as solely a D&D gaming product. They tick that box through the Adventurer's League stuff. There is no need for them to produce a 5E FRCS or any of the other products we liked and loved from previous editions. People are playing D&D in the Realms? Box ticked. People are reading novels set in the Realms? Box ticked. People are playing computer games set in the Realms? Box ticked. People are watching movies set in the Realms? Box ticked. And so it goes.
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
Edited by - George Krashos on 07 Aug 2015 02:42:44 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2015 : 03:39:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
But at the same time, why set it in The Realms at all, then? Thats my question.
Oh, that's easy. <snip>
You kinda missed my point, though. I wasn't talking about WotC - Krash just hit that nail right on the head.
What I was saying was, "why would Warner Brothers want to invest in something that has failed several times before?" Say what you want about large corporations, but when it comes to making money they're not stupid. I can't possibly see 'D&D' be the selling point for WB in that deal - it just had to be the (previously?) successful novel line. As I said above, a few hundred novels set in The Forgotten Realms is nothing to sneeze at, IP-wise.
I have to wonder - Hasbro being what it is - if they aren't going to try their hand at a live-action version of the cartoon? After all, a lot of the early Realms stuff was based off the fact that Elminster visited our world, and people from our world could visit the Realms. They might just do a "Connecticut Yankee in King's Azoun's Court" kind of thing.
I think Martin Lawrence already beat that horse to death.
Whatever they do, though, it has to be tied to the novel lines, even if indirectly. I can't see WB banking on anything less. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2384 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2015 : 09:30:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Mapolq
I don't see how even a horrible movie could significantly harm the IP in any way (I wouldn't bet that many people actually *stopped* playing D&D or cast it off as something ridiculous because it had a bad movie or two),
It's not about how many stopped, it's about how many chose not to start. If you didn't notice, from 3e on the trend was not "cater to grognard", but "invite more, target more mentally dysfunctional".
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
If this movie fails in any way then we are looking at four failed attempts, well five if we count the Dragonlance cartoon movie, at making a D&D movie. People will from then on basically give up and not even look twice at another attempt.
So there were 4 failures, we're looking at 5th, but it's Totally Different? What is magic of number "5"?
quote:
This could damage the brand as a whole and either cause Hasbro to concede that the brand isn't as valuable as they were hoping and instead focus on the game, or shelve it.
Hasbro really has their heart set on following the Marvel path of making D&D a multi billion euro franchise.
In other words either confirm what some of corporate bureaucrats already push, or (in the unrealistic, but wishful-thinking approved case) confirm what others push?
Would that be a surprise...
quote:
They aren't doing anything new except for the slow release schedule and sticking with their god awful stories.
Well, of course. We Can't Offend the authors who produce mediocre drool on demand (they are loyal and dependent), only can walk over those who produce good stuff (they Do It For The Art and thus are perfect suckers... hey, where you run? And you?..)
Same old.
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
Re: original stories
No. The overwhelming majority of D&D and FR novels have been merely lackluster or meh. Only a small few have really wowed readers.
The first and foremost of which is the Teen Emo Conan Saga.
You know that anecdote about beasts being separated to "beautiful" and "smart"?.. 
quote:
This should tell Hollywood that it ain't easy to create a really good story in this world.
Let's look at their exploits in some better-documented world?
Welllll, how about ... A GIANT LASER THAT SHOOTS INTO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH!
Hence the question: even if someone will make a good story, what is a chance that the usual Hollywood herd of narcissistic thickos and semiliterate socialists will NOT eat it and poop it out in the form more in line with other malodorous dung piles they make?..
quote:
The Hollywood writer that they bring in for this sure as Hells had better not just use Forgotten Realms lingo as mere window dressing for some lame story, and then when that lame story flops, he had better not blame the Forgottten Realms aspects for that failure.
[...]
It takes honoring their established history and legacy. It takes a commitment to Ed's world, and to the various superstar writers' proven stories.
Don't just borrow a superficial semblance to the FR and then use that to prop up a wholly new tale. Don't use it as mere window dressing.
Do it right, or don't do it at all.
Do you deem it more or less likely than following the "legacy" of Neverwinters Nights and FR4e?
quote:
A lame story about cops does not make cops lame. A lame story about soldiers does not make soldiers lame. A lame story about doctors does not make doctors lame. A lame story about dogs does not make dogs lame.
Tell it to Paul Verhoeven. Oh, wait - no point to bother.
quote:
So nobody had better blame the Forgotten Realms if Hollywood pulls out a lame story about the Forgotten Realms. Blame the lame story.
You mean, unlike that falsetto chorus of shills who ran around blaming (in exactly the same words) Ed Greenwood for everything forced on him in the first place by corporate geniuses who-always-know-better?
What do you expect to cause such a change? |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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Forgotten Realms movie
