Hasbro CEO: "D&D is Really on a Tear"

Sorry, that laugh was a result of clumsy fingers on my phone.

 

[Halivar]

In general, I agree: Michael Bay makes terrible movies. But the first viewing of the first Michael Bay Transformers, when that truck transformed into Optimus Prime and I heard Peter Cullins' voice again... I was 5 years old again, and for the rest of the movie I squealed like a little kid at Christmas. Even with 3 crappy sequels, for that one magical moment he gave me, I could never, ever condemn him. And to be honest, I think he could do the same thing with D&D.

 

[Agamon]

I parts of the UK 'going for a tear' is slang for having a bowel movement....doubt this was the intended meaning though?

We use "going on a tear" in Canada, just not to be confused with "going for a rip," which apparently means going for a drive, but I hadn't heard the term until that hilarious song (which I won't link, as it's NSFW). Probably an eastern thing...

 

[MechaPilot]

In general, I agree: Michael Bay makes terrible movies. But the first viewing of the first Michael Bay Transformers, when that truck transformed into Optimus Prime and I heard Peter Cullins' voice again... I was 5 years old again, and for the rest of the movie I squealed like a little kid at Christmas. Even with 3 crappy sequels, for that one magical moment he gave me, I could never, ever condemn him. And to be honest, I think he could do the same thing with D&D.

The first one is probably the "least worst" (I just can't bring myself to say "best" about any Michael Bay film).

Of course, it's not like Michael Bay is alone on my "nuh-uh, no way" list for D&D film directors. With Shamalan's track record (and after seeing what he did to Avatar), I want someone to pimp smack him if he even tries to throw his hat in the ring.

I do think Guillermo Del Toro could do an amazing D&D movie; I'd especially like to see what he does with mind flayers.

 

[Agamon]

In general, I agree: Michael Bay makes terrible movies. But the first viewing of the first Michael Bay Transformers, when that truck transformed into Optimus Prime and I heard Peter Cullins' voice again... I was 5 years old again, and for the rest of the movie I squealed like a little kid at Christmas. Even with 3 crappy sequels, for that one magical moment he gave me, I could never, ever condemn him. And to be honest, I think he could do the same thing with D&D.

I get that. I had the exact same feeling seeing Spider-Man first swinging through New York and the LotR teaser trailer showing the Fellowship march across the screen. My goosebumps had goosebumps.

I would just hope a new D&D movie, while being high action, would be a bit more cerebral than Mr. Explosions Are Cool is capable of.

 

[Celtavian]

I guess I'm one of the few that took The Transformer movies for what they were: tent pole films with a cliché plot and amazing special effects. I never understood the hate for them. It's not like The Transformers was based on a fantasy classic like Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter. It was based on a child's cartoon with simple moral lessons and characters. I would like a more from a D&D movie, but I'm not expecting some fantasy classic like Lord of the Rings. I'd be happy with something like the original Conan.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I do think Guillermo Del Toro could do an amazing D&D movie; I'd especially like to see what he does with mind flayers.

....I would be all "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY" if they did that.

Though speaking of D&D movies being made by famous directors makes me wonder what, like, a Cohen Brothers D&D would look like (a madcap adventure for a pile of gold featuring actual horrible things!), or a Wes Anderson D&D (well-dressed cosplayers trading quips with erudite monsters?), or a Scorsese D&D (a group of thugs on the wrong side of the law can't bring themselves to trust each other) or a Nolan D&D ("Why do you keep returning to the dungeon?" "Because I need to FIND HER!")...

I think one of the strengths of the D&D brand is that I have played games in ALL those modes, and then some. I think that D&D doesn't need to rely on one vibe, it just needs to be good, and the rest will follow.

"Be good" might mean explosions and Megan Fox and a Beholder that talks in catchphrases, but....you know, for certain values of "good," that works, if it embraces the cornball and delivers some good action scenes. But even if it does that, it shouldn't be LIMITED to that.

Obvious choices would include Sam Raimi, Joss Whedon, and Peter Jackson...and even they would do very different kinds of D&D movies.

 

[Halivar]

I would just hope a new D&D movie, while being high action, would be a bit more cerebral than Mr. Explosions Are Cool is capable of.

See, I think that would be a major mistake. While I like my campaigns serious and my plots intelligent and surprising, I still think the first rule is Fun. If the movie is not Fun, it will fail to make anyone say, "wow, there's a game behind this? I wanna play it!" The movie doesn't have to be fine film, or even a good film to positively affect the brand.

Whether you love him or hate him, the proof is in the pudding: Michael Bay transformed D) the Transformers brand into a multi-bajillion dollar empire. Bad movies or no, kids are buying more of the brand's core product than ever. Oh, to be 5 again and walk through today's Target Transformers aisle. I'd have an aneurysm of joy.

I don't want a good D&D movie; I want THAT, and if a crappy but fun high-budget movie will give it to me then sign me up and being for it.

 

[Agamon]

Whether you love him or hate him, the proof is in the pudding: Michael Bay transformed D) the Transformers brand into a multi-bajillion dollar empire. Bad movies or no, kids are buying more of the brand's core product than ever. Oh, to be 5 again and walk through today's Target Transformers aisle. I'd have an aneurysm of joy.

I don't want a good D&D movie; I want THAT, and if a crappy but fun high-budget movie will give it to me then sign me up and being for it.

We had a crappy D&D movie. More than one. I'd like a fun, yet good one, please.

Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey were high grossing, too. That doesn't necessarily equate to quality.

 

[Dire Bare]

NPR just did a piece on how WoTC made an early decision to maximize long term profits over short term profits for MtG.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2015/03/11/392381112/episode-609-the-curse-of-the-black-lotus

Ideally, Hasbro with think similarly for D&D.

Ah, that's exactly what they ARE doing. Thinking long-term.

Short-term profits over long-term: aggressive release schedule (4E)

Long-term profits over short-term: slow release schedule (5E)

 

[Remathilis]

I guess I'm one of the few that took The Transformer movies for what they were: tent pole films with a cliché plot and amazing special effects. I never understood the hate for them. It's not like The Transformers was based on a fantasy classic like Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter. It was based on a child's cartoon with simple moral lessons and characters. I would like a more from a D&D movie, but I'm not expecting some fantasy classic like Lord of the Rings. I'd be happy with something like the original Conan.

[Tangent]

The general premise was sound, the the problem with the Transformer movies were
* General focus on Sam and the human characters over the Transformers. In the first movie, I could accept seeing the war through a human's eyes, but often times the Transformers felt like side characters in their own story vs. the titular characters.
* The human focus means many of the Transformers (save a few like Optimus) are barely detailed (most of the Decepticons are a a black mess of snarling evil) or the barest minimum of a personality (such as the Racistbots in the second).
* Of course, the humans aren't much better; the large ensemble cast means few get anything resembling depth or an arc. Sam and Mikayla tries, but both are so bland that few care. Besides, we're here for the transforming robots, not Sam's love life.
* There is a lot of "lowest common denominator" elements: T&A, explosions, body fluid humor, etc.
* Oh, the plots of the second and third movie are really damn close. Like paint-by-numbers close.

[/tangent]

I'm no snob, I like the Star Wars Prequels. But The Transformer movies were almost cringeworthy bad. Sadly, it wouldn't have taken much to fix these problems, but the fact they didn't (and doubled down) on them makes it really bad.