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An Analysis of the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Trailer
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<blockquote data-quote="Abstruse" data-source="post: 8703213" data-attributes="member: 6669048"><p>So one thing about the "The movie doesn't match the rules!" that has been bothering me a bit is I think not understanding how the production of this movie is different than the 2000 film.</p><p></p><p>Note: I'm adding in some of my own interpretation of events and editorializing a bit so don't take this as a set-in-stone I-have-sources-for-this retelling of the history of the film. I'm working on something that is that right now. And this is relevant to an ongoing discussion to this film.</p><p></p><p>Courtney Solomon got the film rights to Dungeons & Dragons in the 1990s negotiating with TSR. Lorraine Williams signed off on the rights without (IMO) really understanding what she was signing away. Basically, Solomon got the film rights with no end date and got the rights to <em>everything </em>Dungeons & Dragons. Side note: This is why Dragonlance 5th Age happened, Williams realized if Dragonlance was no longer a D&D game, it wouldn't be part of the film rights deal and she could get the rights back for the NYT Bestselling novel series she signed away apparently without realizing. So this bad deal is what got us the Dragonlance shoehorned into the SAGA rules.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, fast forward a bit and Wizards of the Coast bought TSR and Hasbro bought Wizards of the Coast and they wanted to leverage their film rights to the popular D&D properties. Only to find out that Williams signed away all those rights. This ended up with a lawsuit where Wizards and Hasbro tried to get the rights back by pointing out an open-ended film rights in perpetuity deal was kinda BS. The lawsuit was settled with a new deal: Solomon kept the rights but added a "use it or lose it" clause that his company had to release a new film every five years or the rights would revert. It also limited the scope to D&D only and none of the campaign settings.</p><p></p><p>(Note: This is where I do the most speculation and personal interpretation.) Another part of the deal was Solomon could only use scripts approved by the rights holder, which was now Wizards of the Coast. Who could then just, you know, not approve any scripts for five years and get the rights back. Except Williams <em>had </em>signed off on a script. It was several drafts old, but it was a script that was approved by the rights holder.</p><p></p><p>So he managed to get a deal with New Line Cinema (who had just put all their eggs in the Lord of the Rings basket and wanted to use a D&D film to test the waters for a fantasy film revival). However, another part of the mess that the rights settlement had become was Solomon had to direct. Solomon had never intended to direct (there's a story out there where Solomon set up a meeting with James Cameron to direct the film and Lorraine Williams managed to offend him so bad Solomon claims he had to physically restrain Cameron).</p><p></p><p>So the 2000 film had a director who didn't want to direct who had never directed before with a script that had to be reverted back to a version several drafts old and rushed into production quickly to meet deadlines both for the rights and from the studio.</p><p></p><p>Yeah, in hindsight, this film had zero chance of being any good.</p><p></p><p>And Wizards of the Coast was aware of that. I mean you'd think with a big theatrical feature film coming out and WotC at the time releasing multiple books a month that they would have done some cross-promotion. Release a sourcebook with all the characters in the film statted and setting information for the film's unique world and the new magic items and whatnot. What did we get instead? An article in Dragon Magazine.</p><p></p><p>What does this have to do with the current film? Well...the production company is eOne, which is owned by Hasbro. Which means that Wizards of the Coast has been in the loop on production from the very start this time around <em>and </em>it's all in-house with Hasbro (well, plus distribution from Paramount). They're so keyed into what's going on with production that Rime of the Frostmaiden added a location to the adventure because it was in the script for the film to establish it's canon status well in advance of the film's release.</p><p></p><p>So my speculation is that we're going to get at least one if not several products released in late February/early March that directly ties into the film. At the very least, a sourcebook with information about the characters including new subclasses, spells, magic items, etc. to match the movie. Considering 2024 is going to be the big "5.5" relaunch of the core rules, I also wouldn't be surprised if there's a new Starter Set based on the film as well that will work as a preview the changes. It wouldn't be too hard since they're already in development on the new rules and they're supposed to be completely backward-compatible.</p><p></p><p>If the film reaches the mainstream audiences they'll need to in order to be a financial success, that will also mean a huge jump in demand for introductory products for new players. Putting out a film-themed Starter Set with a new druid subclass that allows Doric to within the rules wildshape into an owlbear (along with anything else they've done for the film that doesn't match the rules) is highly likely.</p><p></p><p>In fact, I'll go a step further. Wizards knew there would be a bunch of press about the film thanks to SDCC this weekend. Next week, Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Starter Set comes out. The one that has adult versions of the characters from the 1980s D&D cartoon. SDCC footage that hasn't been made public yet reportedly features what looks like a rival adventuring party that are adult versions of the 1980s D&D cartoon characters. Hmmmm...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Abstruse, post: 8703213, member: 6669048"] So one thing about the "The movie doesn't match the rules!" that has been bothering me a bit is I think not understanding how the production of this movie is different than the 2000 film. Note: I'm adding in some of my own interpretation of events and editorializing a bit so don't take this as a set-in-stone I-have-sources-for-this retelling of the history of the film. I'm working on something that is that right now. And this is relevant to an ongoing discussion to this film. Courtney Solomon got the film rights to Dungeons & Dragons in the 1990s negotiating with TSR. Lorraine Williams signed off on the rights without (IMO) really understanding what she was signing away. Basically, Solomon got the film rights with no end date and got the rights to [I]everything [/I]Dungeons & Dragons. Side note: This is why Dragonlance 5th Age happened, Williams realized if Dragonlance was no longer a D&D game, it wouldn't be part of the film rights deal and she could get the rights back for the NYT Bestselling novel series she signed away apparently without realizing. So this bad deal is what got us the Dragonlance shoehorned into the SAGA rules. Anyway, fast forward a bit and Wizards of the Coast bought TSR and Hasbro bought Wizards of the Coast and they wanted to leverage their film rights to the popular D&D properties. Only to find out that Williams signed away all those rights. This ended up with a lawsuit where Wizards and Hasbro tried to get the rights back by pointing out an open-ended film rights in perpetuity deal was kinda BS. The lawsuit was settled with a new deal: Solomon kept the rights but added a "use it or lose it" clause that his company had to release a new film every five years or the rights would revert. It also limited the scope to D&D only and none of the campaign settings. (Note: This is where I do the most speculation and personal interpretation.) Another part of the deal was Solomon could only use scripts approved by the rights holder, which was now Wizards of the Coast. Who could then just, you know, not approve any scripts for five years and get the rights back. Except Williams [I]had [/I]signed off on a script. It was several drafts old, but it was a script that was approved by the rights holder. So he managed to get a deal with New Line Cinema (who had just put all their eggs in the Lord of the Rings basket and wanted to use a D&D film to test the waters for a fantasy film revival). However, another part of the mess that the rights settlement had become was Solomon had to direct. Solomon had never intended to direct (there's a story out there where Solomon set up a meeting with James Cameron to direct the film and Lorraine Williams managed to offend him so bad Solomon claims he had to physically restrain Cameron). So the 2000 film had a director who didn't want to direct who had never directed before with a script that had to be reverted back to a version several drafts old and rushed into production quickly to meet deadlines both for the rights and from the studio. Yeah, in hindsight, this film had zero chance of being any good. And Wizards of the Coast was aware of that. I mean you'd think with a big theatrical feature film coming out and WotC at the time releasing multiple books a month that they would have done some cross-promotion. Release a sourcebook with all the characters in the film statted and setting information for the film's unique world and the new magic items and whatnot. What did we get instead? An article in Dragon Magazine. What does this have to do with the current film? Well...the production company is eOne, which is owned by Hasbro. Which means that Wizards of the Coast has been in the loop on production from the very start this time around [I]and [/I]it's all in-house with Hasbro (well, plus distribution from Paramount). They're so keyed into what's going on with production that Rime of the Frostmaiden added a location to the adventure because it was in the script for the film to establish it's canon status well in advance of the film's release. So my speculation is that we're going to get at least one if not several products released in late February/early March that directly ties into the film. At the very least, a sourcebook with information about the characters including new subclasses, spells, magic items, etc. to match the movie. Considering 2024 is going to be the big "5.5" relaunch of the core rules, I also wouldn't be surprised if there's a new Starter Set based on the film as well that will work as a preview the changes. It wouldn't be too hard since they're already in development on the new rules and they're supposed to be completely backward-compatible. If the film reaches the mainstream audiences they'll need to in order to be a financial success, that will also mean a huge jump in demand for introductory products for new players. Putting out a film-themed Starter Set with a new druid subclass that allows Doric to within the rules wildshape into an owlbear (along with anything else they've done for the film that doesn't match the rules) is highly likely. In fact, I'll go a step further. Wizards knew there would be a bunch of press about the film thanks to SDCC this weekend. Next week, Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Starter Set comes out. The one that has adult versions of the characters from the 1980s D&D cartoon. SDCC footage that hasn't been made public yet reportedly features what looks like a rival adventuring party that are adult versions of the 1980s D&D cartoon characters. Hmmmm... [/QUOTE]
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