D&D 2 Movie Preview at Gen Con!

Folks,

I'm about to head out the door for Gen Con, but before the great Paizo train departs for the Midwest, I thought I'd drop a note here about an exciting program we'll be running at Gen Con Indy. We're previewing clips and behind-the-scenes interviews from Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, the newest D&D motion picture.

I know there are a lot of colorful opinions about the first D&D movie, but I've read the script for "Wrath of the Dragon God," and I think a lot of D&D players will enjoy this second movie much more than the first. It really "feels" like a D&D campaign.

I'm eager to see the clips myself, and would like to extend a formal invitation to all Gen Con-bound EN Worlders to join me on Saturday night. The below news release covers all the basics.

Thanks, and see you at the show!

--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon

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Dragon Presents a Sneak Peek At New D&D Movie
Gen Con Exclusive Event to Feature Clips, Behind-the-Scenes Info

Dragon magazine and Warner Brothers have teamed up to present a sneak preview of scenes from the new Dungeons & Dragons film, Wrath of the Dragon God. The highlight reel, which features scenes from the movie, an interview with Gary Gygax, and on-set clips, will play at back-to-back showings on Saturday, August 20th at Gen Con Indy.

The showings will begin at 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM on Saturday night, in the Capitol III Ballroom at the Westin Hotel. A Q&A session will follow each viewing. On hand will be Dragon Editor-in-Chief Erik Mona, and Cindi Rice, Creative Supervisor for the film, and Brian Rudnick, screenwriter, who will share behind-the-scenes information about the film.

Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God features a band of questing heroes as they attempt to thwart the plans of Damodar, whose plot to awaken the Night Dragon will bring doom to the kingdom of Ismer.

"I've read the script," says Mona, "and I'm impressed by how the film feels like a D&D campaign. From familiar spells to references to Juiblex and famous adventures from the game's past, D&D fans will find a lot to like in this movie. I'm really looking forward to seeing the clips, and to talking about the film with other D&D fans."

Admission to the special preview events is free to all Gen Con Indy attendees.

For more information, visit Paizo Publishing in the Gen Con Exhibit Hall (Booth #833).

If I didn't have Rel's Sky Galleons game, I'd be there.

i didn't see the first movie but i hear it wasn't such a success, why would they be making a new one?

I might have to try to check that out. I was hoping to drop into a pick-up EN World game that night, but if I catch the 8pm showing there still should be plenty of time for a pick-up game if anyone is running one.

kolikeos said:

i didn't see the first movie but i hear it wasn't such a success, why would they be making a new one?

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Mad Max I was no blockbuster, either.

In case you hadn't heard, when TSR auctioned off rights to a D&D movie, they didn't write in any creative control clauses. But apparently those rights got sold and the new people handling the movie actually approached WotC to seek their input, so this promises to be a little more in tune with the actual game.

kolikeos said:

i didn't see the first movie but i hear it wasn't such a success, why would they be making a new one?

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Because relatively speaking, the cost of making a movie is no longer the barrier it once was, which means that more questionable projects get the green light where twenty years ago they would have been shelved. It's part of the reason, IMO, for the plague of TV show film adaptations we see these days (coming summer 2006: Punky Brewster, The Movie).

In the case of the D&D movie, I recall hearing that the way the movie was financed, it was basically paid for before they started filming. So even though from a box-office perspective it bombed, finanically even their meager ticket sales were a profit. If the producers did something similar here, then that could be how they were able to justify a sequel.

There's also nothing in this press release that confirms that D&D 2 will be a theater release, or go straight to video.

Well, no matter. I'm not going to GenCon, and I have a NetFlix subscription. I'll see it... eventually.

mmmm.....KoDT Live reading or D&D II.....after exactly 0.00000038 seconds of consideration: KoDT.

Because they have sequel rights for cheap under the first contract and D&D is still an attractive brand - even if the first movie sucked.

Psion said:

Mad Max I was no blockbuster, either.

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The original Star Trek series struggled to stay on the air, too.

Psion said:

the new people handling the movie actually approached WotC to seek their input, so this promises to be a little more in tune with the actual game.

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Will there be a scene in which the entire movie screeches to a halt when Elwood Gutworthy argues with the dwarven gods that he should be able to Cleave off an Attack of Opportunity?

Erik Mona said:

...
I know there are a lot of colorful opinions about the first D&D movie ...

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The first D&D film is a comedy classic! (Just be sure to have 3-6 pints beforehand.) I don't remember laughing so much in a theatre since.