D&D Movie/TV What would a good D&D movie be like?

[Queer Venger]

Here's my leading star,

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Starts with a good script. Not a good D&D script - just a good script. Fun, interesting plot and characters. A script NOT written by any one of the producers, directors, or actors. Now send it for a light re-write to ensure sufficient D&D-isms to make it sensible that you're hanging the tag of "D&D" on it. Change a few place-names and character names if adapting to an existing, known D&D setting. This should not be hard and is not going to break any script that was tolerably crafted in the first place. Cast with good actors and tell them to take their roles seriously. Hire a director who knows FILM and has a proven track record of success and proof that they DO know film direction. Assign a TECHNICAL ADVISOR to ensure mostly that the movie simply doesn't stray OUTSIDE of D&D rules bounds rather than trying to ensure that rules come first. Don't give the effects work to the guys you knew in high school. Add actual money. Profit.

 

[Nebulous]

Cool question. I've thought of it many times before.

And it's not an easy one to answer. As a film fan, I would go with established directors who have a track record of movies I already love. This does not include Peter Jackson who jumped the shark with King Kong as far as I'm concerned and will probably never recover.

Not Michael Bay.

Who would I trust with the D&D franchise? Joss Whedon probably. Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead). JJ Abrams (Star Trek/Wars), Frank Darabont (Shawshank and Walking Dead), David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club).

But Hollywood is so fickle. They could easily give this to a newcomer with the right connections who has only made glitzy but popular music videos on his resume.


As much as part of me would like to see a Drizzt adaptation, i don't think that represents "classic" DnD. Classic adventuring to me would be like Gord the Rogue in Saga of Old City and Artifact of Evil. Plan it out like a trilogy with a plot arc, give it some thought ahead of time, not tagging on sequels haphazard.

A good Dragonlance trilogy would be good too, the original 3, and even Time of the Twins, are amazing books that would adapt well to heroic/romantic/epic fantasy.

No matter what they do, I don't want hardly any CGI monsters.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Who would I trust with the D&D franchise?

Not that he'd do it, but...

 

[Nebulous]

Not that he'd do it, but...

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lol. He's the Spanish Peter Jackson. i'd give him a shot too, yes. But this is a fantasy thread My ONLY stipulation despite ANY director and any scriptwriter is to not make this a computer generated fantasy world with CGI monsters and all that crap.

(but realistically guys this what we're going to get)

 

[Fabio Andrea Rossi]

To me, a good D&D movie means a party of heroes needs to be centerstage. Dragonlance novels, the first ones or the Twins saga, would fit nicely and still be "generic" enough not to be necessarily branded as a specific D&D setting to the large public.

The first Drizz't novels weren't bad, but too much centered on a single hero, which for me as a D&D player is not what I'd like to see in a movie (but still would watch it of course ).

DL has it all: a party, romance, adventure, dragons and a "comic relief" character who is actually funny and not too Jar Jar Garbish.

 

[jodyjohnson]

My ONLY stipulation despite ANY director and any scriptwriter is to not make this a computer generated fantasy world with CGI monsters and all that crap.

(but realistically guys this what we're going to get)

Yeah, like James Cameron's Avatar. That movie was a total flop.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

No matter what they do, I don't want hardly any CGI monsters.

Hear, hear!

 

[jayoungr]

Serious question: What do you want instead of CGI monsters? Animatronics? Guys in rubber suits? Maybe you're hoping for just human villains (evil wizards or the like)?

I get that you don't want special effects to be the beginning and end of the movie's substance, at the expense of story and character ... but IMHO a D&D movie with no monsters at all would be lacking in D&D flavor.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I'd rather have animatronics and people in suits and makeup. To me CGI along side real people is often too noticeable and comes off like Mary Poppins or Pete's Dragon (e.g., Jar-Jar and Azog).