How Would You Make a D&D Movie?

[Branduil]

Write a good story first. Then adapt it to D&D. Do NOT try to turn a generic adventure into a good movie because it will not work. D&D adventures do not follow the same principles of storytelling that a movie does.

 

[smootrk]

I simply look at the adventure or module as the setting. A decent plot/story must be written, then get down to particulars of the characters' backstories. Let the special effects guys have a lot of the input for how things like magic effects might come out, including what the characters might do while doing magic or experiencing the effects of magic... I find the FX realm to have some of the most innovative and creative folks there are.

 

[ExploderWizard]

The first D&D movie was made to represent a BAD D&D game. One character (Ridley) gets to adventure surrounded by hangers on (everyone else in the movie). D&D is about a team of adventurers working together. The story as written did not present this.

The second D&D movie was an improvement IMHO despite the lower budget and production value. It could have been better if they ditched the lipstick guy though. It was still a crappy movie but it depicted a band of adventurers working together to face challenges.

A new D&D movie would need a writer who understands the dynamics of an adventuring group, a director that has proven that he (or she) can make a decent movie and production company that has the budget to hire adequate talent.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Step One: Do not cast any of the Wayans brothers in any part of the movie whatsoever. Period....

...that's a big improvement over that first D&D movie right there.

 

[Fifth Element]

Jon Favreau directing Vin Deisel as an ass-kicking fighter and Stephen Colbert as a self-obsessed elven wizard? Sounds good.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Make a fantasy movie, with a good story. Any story type can be used focus on the story and the characters. Under no circumstance reference any explicit D&D mechaincs.
The D&D elements should be there as flavour and background. Like, for instance, setting it is Greyhawk or Waterdeep. Visual effects, showing a fireball or magic missile or whatever, but let the mage cast the spell as often as the story requires and not be bound to the rules.
The mcguffin could be a classic D&D artifact, like they have to destroy the eye of Vecna or something like that.
Use the D&D monsters and stuff like that.

The important bit is that the story and characters is solid and that the background and bits inserted for the fans do not overwhelm the story or the characters.

 

[JVisgaitis]

Give Homeland to a Director. Hire Christian Bale to play Drizzt. Done.

 

[Insight]

I would start by being willing to fork out the money to actually get decent writers and actors. Maybe pair Salvatore or Hicks or another one of the writers whose done some good D&D novels with an experienced screenplay writer. And be willing to let them go a little darker with no goofyness or D&Disms. Basically make it a fantasy adventure movie but not neccesarily a D&D movie to the casual observer. So like someone said up above, no "i cast this" or other things are obvious game rules stuck into the movie.

More then anything it seemed like the last ones suffered from bad actors and too much cheesy filling though. Fixing those would probably make a huge difference, maybe enough of a difference to actually get a theatrical release instead of a made for TV one like last time.

From a studio point of view, the only way to make a D&D movie work will be to broaden the audience beyond just D&D players. Big budget movies must make money, and even if every D&D player went to the movie TWICE, it would not break even. A real D&D movie with GOOD special effects would have to be a big budget studio film and most likely a popcorn summer film.

That doesn't mean such a movie has to include major a-list stars. Which a-list stars were in LOTR? Which major a-list stars were in Spider-Man, or The Dark Knight for that matter?

 

[Lizard]

D&D 3.0 and 3.5 each had a movie to go along with their releases. I'd wonder why there is no similar movie for 4E's launch but its an easy guess that they previous two movies didn't make enough money. But if you were in charge of coming up with the basic concept of the 4E movie, what would it be?

Well, neither movie was made by WOTC, and I know the first one was more-or-less made over their objections, but there was no way to get the rights back. (I remember that when it came out, some ranters used it as "proof" WOTC was eeeeevil, because the movie was "their idea of what D&D should be". (Whereas now, we know, WOTCs idea of D&D is Dragonball Z.)

ANYway...

First thing I'd do: Not hire a Wayans.

Second: Use one of the settings which has real character. Spelljammer or Planescape or something, something which can't be filmed in some former Eastern European nation using a bunch of ren faire rejects.

Third: Keep pounding on the script until you can get in a true D&D flavor without intolerably forced and painful expository dialog. Peter Jackson managed to convey immense amounts of LOTR backstory without ear-splittingly bad dialog, so can I.

Fourth: No pathetic "comic relief". If there has to be one, it will not be a charmingly greedy rogue, absent minded wizard, stupid fighter, or lecherous bard.

Fifth: Hell, just hire Rich Burlew. OOTS is not only a hilarious gaming comic, it's turned into a great, dramatic, storyline.

 

[dmccoy1693]

I'm working on a spec screenplay that features gamers who play a D&D-like game (without being D&D of course - I don't exactly have the license from WOTC and don't expect to get one). I don't want to reveal much of the plot, but the gamers end up using their game knowledge to save the real world.

Use the OGL. It does not limit you to books alone. You can use it for movies too. And you can get things like armor class, hit points, magic missile, etc in there.