D&D 5E The Cinematic Future of DnD 5th edition

[dave2008]

The writer would be near meaningless if they adapted some of the stories they already have. Both the Baldur's Gate series and Planescape Torment have such compelling stories that it would be a challenge to find a way to screw them up - even a complete rank amateur could make a solid screenplay out of them.

I'm not so sure about that, I'm pretty sure I could butcher any story put in front of me if I tried to make it a screenplay

 

[Moraine]

Maybe Forgotten Realms is too bland, too generic. But I'd love movies based on the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy.

 

[Hussar]

As [MENTION=7006]DEFCON 1[/MENTION] says, a successful movie does not always translate into a successful product. Novel adaptations often boost sales of the book, but games have seen uneven response and comic sales have not dramatically increased despite Marvel owning theaters.

But, what it means is that Marvel is in no chance of going belly up. People tend to forget that Marvel, by the end of the 90's, was gasping its last breath. They'd sold off their biggest names to other movie studios, and they were still barely keeping the lights on. Marvel, for all intents and purposes, was dead.

The movies and the MCU has meant that Marvel, at least for some time, doesn't have to rely on comic book sales to keep the lights on. It gives them all sorts of breathing room. A successful (and by successful, I mean, a movie that actually makes money, not top of the charts, but, makes enough money) D&D movie means a new revenue stream and gives Hasbro that much more of a reason to treat D&D as an important brand, instead of simply deciding to shelve the hobby for a decade or two, which no one wants.

I think the big trick here is to recognize success as success. A movie doesn't have to be Transformers or Star Wars to be a success. I know they say that Battleship bombed, but, I'm kinda confused. It made 300 million at the box office for a 200 million dollar movie. Isn't that a success? And it was successful enough that other board game movies have been greenlit and there have been rumblings of a Battleship 2.

Even the idea of the writer being from Wrath of the Titans, which was considered a success (and for some reason, despite not being that much cheaper than Battleship and making largely the same money :/) so, I'm not sure what the problem is.

BTW, what happened to that Russell Crowe thing - Chainmail? Is that still in the works?

 

[Storyteller Hero]

I know they say that Battleship bombed, but, I'm kinda confused. It made 300 million at the box office for a 200 million dollar movie. Isn't that a success? And it was successful enough that other board game movies have been greenlit and there have been rumblings of a Battleship 2.

It needed to make much more than $300 million for the studio to break even because the marketing budget is usually equal to anywhere from 50% to 100% of the production budget, and the movie theaters themselves get a substantial cut of the ticket sales.

The sequel being speculated is usually no more than speculation - if the first one didn't even break even, then at most a sequel would go straight to home with a much smaller budget.

 

[Jester David]

But, what it means is that Marvel is in no chance of going belly up. People tend to forget that Marvel, by the end of the 90's, was gasping its last breath. They'd sold off their biggest names to other movie studios, and they were still barely keeping the lights on. Marvel, for all intents and purposes, was dead.

The movies and the MCU has meant that Marvel, at least for some time, doesn't have to rely on comic book sales to keep the lights on. It gives them all sorts of breathing room. A successful (and by successful, I mean, a movie that actually makes money, not top of the charts, but, makes enough money) D&D movie means a new revenue stream and gives Hasbro that much more of a reason to treat D&D as an important brand, instead of simply deciding to shelve the hobby for a decade or two, which no one wants.

Not really.
First, the economics of the Marvel bankruptcy are complicated, involving stock dealings and purchasing media companies, and less with the publishing of the comic.

Regardless, the MCU is handled by Marvel Studios, which is its own company (or rather a different subsidiary with both owned by Disney) with its own CEO and finances. I doubt very much the profits of that company are being directed elsewhere. If the comics tank, they can close up that business without dramatically affecting anything else. But, similarly, if the MCU dries up and stops producing hits, Marvel Studios can move to other projects while the comics continue unaffected.

Marvel publishing and all involved very much have to continue making money despite the MCU printing cash, in the exact same way D&D needs to keep making money despite MtG keeping Hasbro in the black.
A huge D&D movie would mean lots of money to Hasbro Studios but not necessarily tonnes of cash directed at D&D. In the same way G.I. Joe: Retaliation made $375 million on a $130 budget and is guaranteed to pull in a third movie but the toy line hasn't seen much attention in years.

I think the big trick here is to recognize success as success. A movie doesn't have to be Transformers or Star Wars to be a success. I know they say that Battleship bombed, but, I'm kinda confused. It made 300 million at the box office for a 200 million dollar movie. Isn't that a success? And it was successful enough that other board game movies have been greenlit and there have been rumblings of a Battleship 2.

Not if you also spent $50-$100 million on advertising.
The production costs tend to involve just the making of the movie and not all the side costs, which can be pretty darn expensive if a movie is a hard sell.

 

[DEFCON 1]

It needed to make much more than $300 million for the studio to break even because the marketing budget is usually equal to anywhere from 50% to 100% of the production budget, and the movie theaters themselves get a substantial cut of the ticket sales.

The conventional wisdom from industry types is that a film has to make back double the "production budget" for it to break even. Because as Storyteller Hero says, the second half is marketing costs and tickets sales going to the theaters themselves. So if Battleship's production budget was $200 mil... it had to hit $400 mil to even begin to be considered a hit.

 

[wedgeski]

The writer would be near meaningless if they adapted some of the stories they already have. Both the Baldur's Gate series and Planescape Torment have such compelling stories that it would be a challenge to find a way to screw them up - even a complete rank amateur could make a solid screenplay out of them.

Off you go then.

 

[Giant2005]

Off you go then.

Yeah I'm not going to do that. Either I write the screenplay and sell it and get sued into bankruptcy, or I write the screenplay and do nothing with it at all. Generally when the best case scenario results in you having wasted your time pointlessly, it isn't a good idea to pursue that course of action.

 

[Umbran]

Yeah I'm not going to do that. Either I write the screenplay and sell it and get sued into bankruptcy, or I write the screenplay and do nothing with it at all. Generally when the best case scenario results in you having wasted your time pointlessly, it isn't a good idea to pursue that course of action.

Yes, but on the other hand is is really, really easy to claim that a piece of writing is easy to do. But then, interestingly, everyone who makes such a claim has some reason to beg off actually *doing* it. Very convenient, that.

Armchair quarterbacking, and all that.

 

[Giant2005]

Yes, but on the other hand is is really, really easy to claim that a piece of writing is easy to do. But then, interestingly, everyone who makes such a claim has some reason to beg off actually *doing* it. Very convenient, that.

Armchair quarterbacking, and all that.

I'd be more than happy to do it if I was being paid to do so by the IP owner. I couldn't promise that it would be of the highest quality, and I certainly couldn't promise that it would be of a quality comparable to what could be achieved by a professional, but I could promise that I would be more than capable of turning it into a completely serviceable script.

As for that nonsensical spin you wanted to put on your commentary, you have it all backwards. I don't need to find a reason not to spend weeks of my time aimlessly doing something that I know has no potential value for me. I would need to find an incentive to actually bother doing so.