| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Shadowsoul |
Posted - 21 Dec 2017 : 04:46:41
After reading the thread about the D&D movie, I was thinking it would be better as a TV series that could have a events happening in different parts of the Realms each season with some crossovers in between that could eventually have a plot that requires everyone.
Opinions? |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 30 Jan 2018 : 18:32:12
I think the Realms would excel in episodic format, that allows for differing lengths of story arcs.
Here's hoping Netflix grabs the rights if Hasbro sells |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 04 Jan 2018 : 08:00:44
quote:
Wooly Rupert
I'm not sure that a Kickstarter could draw in that much money... Though, admittedly, most of what I've paid attention to on Kickstarter has been game-related or occasionally tech-related.
As compared to Axanar which generated millions on kickstarter. Obviously because many Star Trek fans wanted it enough and donated enough to make it happen. Until it was killed by CBS/Paramont - the legal "owners" of the Star Trek franchise.
Given their past kneejerky sledgehammering behaviours, why should we expect Wizbro would act any differently when confronted by a multi-million-dollar fan production based on "their" IP? |
| sfdragon |
Posted - 02 Jan 2018 : 07:48:39
make no mistake Wooly, I had no plans to go any further than I did |
| Varl |
Posted - 02 Jan 2018 : 02:36:50
NBC Universal just axed Chiller, a horror channel dedicated to an entire genre. Chances aren't good for a niche world within a genre that doesn't even have its own channel yet (though I'd pay well for channel strictly dedicated to fantasy) to be anything other than wishful dreams. This doesn't mean I wouldn't want to see a FR or other fantasy TV show other than GoT. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Jan 2018 : 15:32:42
Alright, folks, I think we've gone far enough in that particular direction. |
| sfdragon |
Posted - 01 Jan 2018 : 09:09:10
and all those who would gripe protest and what not about the drow having black skin are likely those who have a record... claiming its the media's fault for showing them in a negative light.....
bottom line: there is no su ch thing as a black or white race.... just the human race... anything else we did ourselves and drow lives dont matter |
| moonbeast |
Posted - 01 Jan 2018 : 06:27:57
Lord help us should we ever get embroiled in the Drow Lives Matter controversy….. :p |
| The Masked Mage |
Posted - 01 Jan 2018 : 05:32:22
quote:
Originally posted by Balmar Foghaven
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Would it piss-off 'true fans' of the Realms? you betcha... you guys would probably break-out the torches and pitchforks. Would it be an insane success - with the right anime house and writers, it damn sure would be. Its the PERFECT formula. Throw in Jarlaxle as our occasional, FUN antagonist (that even sometimes helps them) a'la Orochimaru or Hisoka. You've basically got 'evil elven jack Sparrow'. Screw gold... its PURE MITHRIL.
And canon be damned. I want The Forgotten Realms to become a household name. Having a great TV show will lead people to the real realms. You know how many anime fans read the mangas after a show becomes popular? And the animes don't follow the mangas all that well either. One facilitates the other while remaining different.
I would quite literally throw cash at the producers to see Jarlaxle done this way. It would make my year.
On a side note, I do wonder how many people would turn to the Realms after such an anime hoping to find manga only to be disappointed 
I would bet money against the Drow every being produced. the whole Black/White thing is too steeped in racial politics to divide it from real world issues.
(I know they are not "black" but they are black skinned)
Instant complaints and protests. |
| moonbeast |
Posted - 01 Jan 2018 : 04:29:20
Anything with plenty of gratuitous sex and violence can succeed in TV. Just ask the Game of Thrones producers…. |
| Balmar Foghaven |
Posted - 31 Dec 2017 : 07:34:44
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Would it piss-off 'true fans' of the Realms? you betcha... you guys would probably break-out the torches and pitchforks. Would it be an insane success - with the right anime house and writers, it damn sure would be. Its the PERFECT formula. Throw in Jarlaxle as our occasional, FUN antagonist (that even sometimes helps them) a'la Orochimaru or Hisoka. You've basically got 'evil elven jack Sparrow'. Screw gold... its PURE MITHRIL.
And canon be damned. I want The Forgotten Realms to become a household name. Having a great TV show will lead people to the real realms. You know how many anime fans read the mangas after a show becomes popular? And the animes don't follow the mangas all that well either. One facilitates the other while remaining different.
I would quite literally throw cash at the producers to see Jarlaxle done this way. It would make my year.
On a side note, I do wonder how many people would turn to the Realms after such an anime hoping to find manga only to be disappointed |
| The Masked Mage |
Posted - 31 Dec 2017 : 06:43:34
Could not agree more with Markustay's statement that all these directors / producers think they know better.
I could not believe the nonsense they did to Tolkien's novels; gave away the entire story before it even began and lost any possibility for mystery or suspense. And people tell me it was because JRR was a bad storyteller. I guess that's why an entire genre has copied him for decades. Then they remove T.B., who I argue is the only character in all the novels that establishes the greater world and ethos of Middle Earth, so that when Gandalf comes back it literally makes no sense whatsoever because there has not been any establishment that the Maia are not mortals.
You see it over and over.
Shannara. Oh My God was that bad. Not one character even close to the book. Whole races just plain wrong. Plot without reason.
Another huge example was the adaptation of Ender's Game. Talk about missing the whole point.
I need to stop or I will go off on these movies forever :P |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 31 Dec 2017 : 01:05:43
quote:
Originally posted by Delwa
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
Just let Netflix have a go at it.
I've actually wondered the same thing. Is it even feasible for a company like Netflix to do a Kickstarter for special effects, with stretch goals as better and better effects?
I'm not sure that a Kickstarter could draw in that much money... Though, admittedly, most of what I've paid attention to on Kickstarter has been game-related or occasionally tech-related. |
| Delwa |
Posted - 30 Dec 2017 : 23:28:55
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
Just let Netflix have a go at it.
I've actually wondered the same thing. Is it even feasible for a company like Netflix to do a Kickstarter for special effects, with stretch goals as better and better effects? |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 30 Dec 2017 : 21:10:55
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
They're more worried about keeping their jobs than producing something of quality.
-I'd guess that's because, more or less, most of those corporate suit-types that are in charge of making important decisions in the kind of nerdy IPs that we're discussing aren't exactly part of that slobbering fanbase to begin with. Generic suit that is part of making some niche movie odds are got to where he is because of education, ambition, experience, and probably knowing a guy or two. The "integrity" of the product is not as important to him/her as being able to have 'executive whatever' on their resume, getting a raise/bonus, and moving on to the next project. Not all, obviously, but I'm sure it's more impersonal to them. I know, if I were in a similar situation regarding an IP that I'm not that familiar with/not a fan of/whatever, that's how I'd see it. Just doing a job, with my priorities more in line with whatever will make me look best in the context of my profession. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 30 Dec 2017 : 20:48:35
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
The Spellfire series - with MUCH tweaking - is ideal. Anime is IN right now, so are teen female heroes, so is fantasy, etc. Its a no-brainer, as far as I am concerned. They'd have to do something terrible to screw that formula up (not that they don't have a reputation for doing precisely that).
-DC has a multi-million dollar budget, decades of stuff to work with, a built-in slobbering fanbase, and they screw that up with every movie they release (and good- screw DC). Disney has a billion dollar budget, a mega-IP, and a built-in slobbering fanbase, and they've screwed that up two times out of three so far (and good- screw Disney Star Wars).
-It's apparently very easy for these corporate guys to screw this kinda stuff up.
Rule #1 - Don't hire a guy with an ego to make your movie/TV show.
*ulp* - that leaves me out. 
But seriously, we keep getting these guys who look at the IP, and think, "I can do it better. All those 'slobbering fans'? They're idiots! They don't KNOW what they want! I can do it soooo much better than those morons that came before me" (ya know... the guys who actually generated all those slobbering fans).
DC was never meant to be 'dark', FR was never meant to get blown up, and Star Wars was never meant to be good (sorry, it NEVER was - people just got better taste now). Oh, and J.K Rowling was never meant to write cheesy Romance novels. And actors were not meant to give their political opinions (c'mon... they're literally 'professional liars', just like politicians!)
You give someone just a smidge of power and suddenly they think they're geniuses. They're not. The trick is knowing you're fallible, and use focus groups to test the living hell out of your ideas before you release them on an unsuspecting public. YES, you can sell schlock to ignorant consumers, but you better know your audience REAL WELL (better than you think you do) and be one hell of a salesmen. Michael Bay makes a living at that.
Worst approach ever: "You know that stuff you've been buying from us for 35 years? Well, its garbage. We sold you garbage. You are a complete idiot for ever liking it in the first place. We made some new stuff (after destroying all the old stuff you loved), so just buy it, ya friggin' morons".
You can guess who that was. Designers, perhaps (its a stretch), but salesmen? They couldn't sell a ham sandwich to a starving person. Ego + Power + {lack of true friends who will tell you when you're wrong} = recipe for disaster. The problem with corporate America is its full of 'Yes Men' now, who will pretend everything that comes out of your mouth is Golden. Smart leaders keep tactless jerks around just to tell them the truth. It amazes me that so many of these products - including movies - get made and no-one working on them ever looked at the person next them and said, "ya know... this really SUCKS." They're more worried about keeping their jobs than producing something of quality.
RANT OVER. |
| The Masked Mage |
Posted - 30 Dec 2017 : 19:47:00
quote:
Originally posted by Mirtek
And even in GoT they don't really have enough money to do all the CGI they'd need. The direwolves are basically cut out because they can't afford to animate both the dragons and the wolves.
Would have been great to see Jon bring ghost to his meeting with Dani. Would have been perfectly logical to show of his power this way and I'd love to have seen Ghost scare the crap out of some dothraki.
But when even a show like GoT can't afford that, what chance would a FR series have, whith a total budget likely less than just the CGI part of GoT's budget?
Kinda my point. To do it and make it work, it will need to be a major production with a big budget. Otherwise it will fail like all the other low-rent fantasies out there.
Also of major importance are 2 things. 1) writing, sooo much of the fantasy movie/television genre is plagued with sophomoric writing - to the extent that it is parodied often. 2) What GoT had that the others didn't was flash. It had hot naked women from day 1 and heads rolled. Something for everyone :) |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 30 Dec 2017 : 18:30:10
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
The Spellfire series - with MUCH tweaking - is ideal. Anime is IN right now, so are teen female heroes, so is fantasy, etc. Its a no-brainer, as far as I am concerned. They'd have to do something terrible to screw that formula up (not that they don't have a reputation for doing precisely that).
-DC has a multi-million dollar budget, decades of stuff to work with, a built-in slobbering fanbase, and they screw that up with every movie they release (and good- screw DC). Disney has a billion dollar budget, a mega-IP, and a built-in slobbering fanbase, and they've screwed that up two times out of three so far (and good- screw Disney Star Wars).
-It's apparently very easy for these corporate guys to screw this kinda stuff up. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 29 Dec 2017 : 18:36:47
Which is why I say Hasbro needs to partner with a really good anime production house and do something dark & gritty.
I'd LOVE a live-action FR along the lines of GoT, but as Mirtek and others have pointed out, we are NEVER going to see one actually worth watching.
The Spellfire series - with MUCH tweaking - is ideal. Anime is IN right now, so are teen female heroes, so is fantasy, etc. Its a no-brainer, as far as I am concerned. They'd have to do something terrible to screw that formula up (not that they don't have a reputation for doing precisely that).
Suppose they put ME in charge (but they aren't that clever LOL); I'd merge the Spellfire story with the Drizzt stories. Swap-out Cattie Brie for Shandril and its pure gold. An angsty emo dark elf (make him young as well) competing with big barbarian dude for ('Chosen One') girl's affections. There's our tropey love-triangle. Plus we get an annoying, tropey 'dwarf king' and a hob... err.. Hin for comic relief.
Would it piss-off 'true fans' of the Realms? you betcha... you guys would probably break-out the torches and pitchforks. Would it be an insane success - with the right anime house and writers, it damn sure would be. Its the PERFECT formula. Throw in Jarlaxle as our occasional, FUN antagonist (that even sometimes helps them) a'la Orochimaru or Hisoka. You've basically got 'evil elven jack Sparrow'. Screw gold... its PURE MITHRIL.
And canon be damned. I want The Forgotten Realms to become a household name. Having a great TV show will lead people to the real realms. You know how many anime fans read the mangas after a show becomes popular? And the animes don't follow the mangas all that well either. One facilitates the other while remaining different. |
| Mirtek |
Posted - 29 Dec 2017 : 17:13:16
And even in GoT they don't really have enough money to do all the CGI they'd need. The direwolves are basically cut out because they can't afford to animate both the dragons and the wolves.
Would have been great to see Jon bring ghost to his meeting with Dani. Would have been perfectly logical to show of his power this way and I'd love to have seen Ghost scare the crap out of some dothraki.
But when even a show like GoT can't afford that, what chance would a FR series have, whith a total budget likely less than just the CGI part of GoT's budget? |
| Diffan |
Posted - 29 Dec 2017 : 08:25:17
A show for the Forgotten Realms would be too costly. Game of Thrones does well because HBO has a crap ton of money AND there's not that much magic and CGI that really goes into it (compared to what it would be for a magic-rich setting like the Forgotten Realms).
Now a Black Company show, dark-gothic fantasy, would draw more people in because it's similar to Game of Thrones. Less magic, more overall setting and tones, etc. I always felt the Realms were much more lite by comparison. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 23 Dec 2017 : 03:24:36
Wizbro has always been brutishly heavyhanded and aggressively territorial with their branded IPs. And stubbornly locked into their existing supply/logistics chains, unwilling to experiment with anything which could risk breaking (changing) the once-successful mold they forged so long ago.
Without WotC driving such a movie or series - the way Blizzard drove World of Warcraft - it simply would never happen. That's even before things like producers and executives and ratings get considered. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 22 Dec 2017 : 22:33:15
quote:
Originally posted by The Masked Mage
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
-Without a huge budget, history does not look favorably on live action fantasy series'/movies. All those terrible Sci-Fy Channel series'/movies, the D&D movie, the numerous straight-to-video/DVD shows there have been over the years...
I think modern CGI is getting to the point where this will no longer be the case. Dragons are starting to look real; that is the key.
What's more, people were sad when the dragon got killed a couple months ago in GOT. Time is ripe.
-I dunno. It's 2017, soon 2018, and the special effects on plenty of those shows are pretty poor. Game of Thrones has a tremendous budget, and is really the outlier.
-Echoing Mark, I've always figured that fantasy/sci-fi shows would just generally come across better animated, since it gives way more leeway to the writers in terms of what can happen. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 22 Dec 2017 : 18:14:02
Grimdark anime, as I said above. Love the idea of 'sympathetic dragons'. Imagine ours heroes (the 'investigators' I mentioned above) finding their way to a dragon cave... and discovering a cowering, frightened creature. If you first put a few scenes in of backstory - one of the characters recalling a dragon-attack from her childhood - the shear shock value of a scene like that would be an amazing visual. The grand, magnificent 'dragons of old' have been reduced to wretched creatures afraid to use their magic, or even leave their lairs.
And then running into 'mindless hordes' of Spellplagued victims - basically zombies with some tentacles involved. You get you Walking Dead mixed with your Cthulhu, which are both very 'in' flavors. The group has to constantly keep moving, looking for allies - that gives us the opportunity to have cameos with guys like 'angry Drizzt' and 'crazy Elminster'. All the well-known Realms characters should be reduced to cameos that way. This also gives it a bit of that Avatar flavor... especially if one of the characters has a Plaguescar themselves - a powerful one they don't fully understand ("The Chosen One").
Even have at least one 'bad guy' help them, like Semmemon. Maybe he needs help himself, rescuing Ashemmi. It should definitely be 'shades of grey', not B&W (thats old-school fantasy; today's audience likes more complex characters and situations).
But most of all, live action or anime, TV or cinema, use previously unknown characters. They aren't going to make anyone happy when they 'get it wrong' (and they will). They could possibly have items that used to belong to famous characters (a staff, or possibly even Aegis Fang), as a nod to previous canon. Oh, and fill it with 'Easter Eggs'. Fandom loves those. At least one story-arc involving Zhentil Keep...
"I thought it was destroyed?"
"Zhentil keep is always destroyed. It keeps coming back like a Luskan Rash"
That sort of thing. |
| Starshade |
Posted - 22 Dec 2017 : 17:04:09
D&D as a TV show? Could end up as really hilarious, with wrong kind of writing, about as the "Dungeons and Dragons" from 2000, where mages used bags of magic, akin to larpers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ04mfAY2BU With funny effects anyone? :) |
| The Masked Mage |
Posted - 22 Dec 2017 : 16:23:45
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
-Without a huge budget, history does not look favorably on live action fantasy series'/movies. All those terrible Sci-Fy Channel series'/movies, the D&D movie, the numerous straight-to-video/DVD shows there have been over the years...
I think modern CGI is getting to the point where this will no longer be the case. Dragons are starting to look real; that is the key.
What's more, people were sad when the dragon got killed a couple months ago in GOT. Time is ripe. |
| Shadowsoul |
Posted - 22 Dec 2017 : 14:54:31
Just let Netflix have a go at it. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 22 Dec 2017 : 13:00:54
-Without a huge budget, history does not look favorably on live action fantasy series'/movies. All those terrible Sci-Fy Channel series'/movies, the D&D movie, the numerous straight-to-video/DVD shows there have been over the years... |
| sfdragon |
Posted - 22 Dec 2017 : 09:49:18
we were talking about harley in a skimpy chain mail bikini wielding a cat paw....... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...
oh that hurt so really bad,,,, BAT MAN!!!!! |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 21 Dec 2017 : 13:40:49
agreed, if anything, a cartoon would be the best path forward. Something in the tone of Avatar the last airbender and Korra, such that it appeals to kids and adults. They've had moderate success with that in the past 2 decades (for instance, a lot of adults enjoyed the Justice League which was more in-depth than the old superfriends and of course, some of the batman cartoons actually had really good darkness to them..... hold on a second while I picture Harley Quinn in a skimpy outfit..... hmmmmm..... anyway, um, what were we talking about?). |
| Markustay |
Posted - 21 Dec 2017 : 08:12:14
I think it would work better as an anime than a TV series - live-action fantasy TV-shows never work for me. I haven't liked any of them. Well... except maybe for GoT.
They can go full-blown 'grimdark' and set it during the 'century of nothing' (since it doesn't fall out within any edition, its kinda perfect -- you can draw from any era and not worry about canon). plus, you got that whole 'Spellplague' thing in the background, so its sort-of post-apocalyptic which is in right now. Have a group of heroes setting out immediately following the initial destruction, trying to investigate the Spellplague, and learn why Mystra's Weave collapsed over time... that sort of thing. Mad Max meets LotR. Crazed Mages, magic running amok, mutants (Plaguescarred), etc, etc... you can get pretty damn dark if you want. Oh, and lets not forget cameos by our favorite angsty Dark Elf. 'Uncover the secret of what really happened' is a pretty great and highly successful trope - you can get a lot of mileage out of the that as a metaplot. |
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