WotC ICv2 Has A Theory That WotC Will Be Sold

[Remathilis]

You are correct with your statement. However that isn’t enough. If you think remaking the second half of fellowship of the ring is enough, luck to you. I respectfully disagree. Nobody makes a film expecting it to be meh OK.

You're misconstuing what I said. Nobody sets out to make a bad movie (unless your Ed Wood or Rob Zombie), but not every movie has to be a cultural touchstone multi-billion dollar endeavor. The first Pirates of the Caribbean film is a good fantasy/pirate film but didn't make Avenger's-level money. By the same token Avatar was a tremendous financial success but its sequels have been DOA for a decade. Sometimes, "good enough" is good enough!

You make a film because you think it’s going to capture people’s imagination and gets them exciting. Because there is a story that needs to be told in a particular medium. What is it about D&D that needs to be told as a film?

The same thing that the dozens of videogames and anime inspired by D&D has; a good story to tell. I mean, some young film-maker redid Seven Samurai but mixed in Sci-fi and Western elements and made a movie that the studios thought was unsellable. And by all accounts, it's pretty cliche and derivative, but no one faults George Lucas for making A New Hope.

D&D isn’t a story. It’s a framework for telling stories - most of which are amateur. That doesn’t make for great film making. A great story, combined with talent, great direction, cinematography, score and effects - make a good film.

D&D is also a setting. A bunch of them to be honest, but even the default "stripped down to no proper nouns" D&D still is a setting. It has races and sentient species, certain assumptions about magic and monsters, and even class identity are all very codified D&D. The setting for D&D is no worse than "A Galaxy Far, Far Away" or "Space: The Final Frontier"

I have zero interest in seeing the 4th, meh, fan fiction D&D film that only serves to confirm the worst the non D&D community thinks about D&D. We are just about getting to the stage where it’s cool. Go back and watch Wrath of the Dragon God and tell me you ever want to see that done again!

And the problem with those movies were they were written by a well-intentioned but novice producer on increasingly tighter-and-tighter budgets until they reached SyFy level badness. Assuming a fresh start with proper funding and a competent team, there is no reason to repeat the blunders of the past.

 

[Deset Gled]

"Inspired by a theme park ride" is why there was initial trepidation over the movie. "Mission to Mars" and "The Country Bears" had previously been inspired by theme park rides, as did "The Haunted Mansion," which was released only a few months later.

Um, Actually, the Country Bears are an audio-animatronic theatre presentation. They could colloquially be called an "attraction" but are in no way a "ride". Thank you.

While this may be pedantic, I think it is just as germane to the topic of Hasbro selling off WotC IP as anything else going on right now.

 

[embee]

Um, actually, the Country Bears are an audio-animatronic theatre presentation. They could colloquially be called an "attraction" but are in no way a "ride". Thank you.

It's a ride. Just don't get caught.

 

[grimslade]

Yes I could summarize a Pirates of the carribean film before it is made.

Fantasy swashbuckling on the high seas, full of treachery, back stabbing, swagger and booty. The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow leads a cast of eccentric ne’er do wells in an adventure in search of a lost legend.

It is close to the description of Cutthroat Island. Pirate movies were box office death until they weren't.
Listen, any movie needs to have a compelling story to catch an audience. The reasons PotC was successful were the characters and the setting were portrayed without hesitation. Initial screenings of Capt. Sparrow were horrified by his portrayal and studio heads wanted changes. Verbinski stuck with his actor.

A bestiary doesn’t make a story as any adventure writer knows.

You get the irony don’t you that the main mention of d&d creatures in modern media... the Demogorgon and Mindflayer... weren’t actually referencing the monsters!

I don’t think the d&d bestiary is worth a squat in Film terms.

What are Transformers, My Little Pony and GI Joe but a big bestiary? The references in Stranger Things made them more mythic than what we see in-game, but used D&D to cement the setting in the 80's rather than greek myth.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

What are Transformers, My Little Pony and GI Joe but a big bestiary?

Was GI Joe just a big bestiary? I think there might have been something else going on, but I just can't put my finger on it.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I kinda hate that this article is getting traction in the nerdosphere discussion spaces. It's essentially "hey, this is what I think could happen" without a shred of any evidence beyond that speculation. As far as I can tell, basing it on what happened with Pokemon almost 20 years ago and those two lawsuits (when a quick Google search shows that Hasbro has been involved in plenty of lawsuits themselves) is a very shaky foundation. The D&D brand has only grown in value since 5e came out, and Magic the Gathering has been a consistent moneymaker.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

In the past Hasbro and Mattel negotiated a merger/fusion but in the end Mattel said no.

I wouldn't be very surprised if Hasbro buys Asmodee Games.

I notice perfectly a Warner/Disney merger is a too fool idea, but in this last all companies are losing money by fault of the epidemic and now some merger or acquisition may be possible because any companies aren't able to survive the current economic crisis. And my intuition says me the 2021 will be the year of a radical cultural change in our society and this will affect the entertaiment industry. And I feel the presentiment 2021 is going to be an "annus horriblis", a bad year, for Disney, and I don't talk about economic profits but something more like some scandal or like this damaging the reputation.

Hasbro notices if it's bought by Disney it will lose licences with other companies, for example Warner. I guess it would rather to be still independient but it makes a lot of money with Disney franchises.

The audience not only wants to watch fun and good movies, but they start to miss characters who are right mentors and true fountain of wisdow. The audience notices the difference between an author sharing wisdow or only telling propaganda or "aggresive (ideologic) proselytizing", or the difference between strong characters or another boring and annoying Mary Sue/Marty Stu. And today lots of authors aren't welcome if they don't "dance certain music". The audience doesn't identify with most of new characters from the speculative fiction

The true goal of the D&D movie is to promote the brand, to sell more merchadicing products.

I guess the strategy by the megacorporations for this economic crisis caused by the epidemic is to hang on the storm and maybe leverage to buy some little company what is being destroyed, sinking because they are very cheap now. Hasbro, Disney or others will not buy but if they believe there is a good opportunity.

 

[Deset Gled]

I kinda hate that this article is getting traction in the nerdosphere discussion spaces. It's essentially "hey, this is what I think could happen" without a shred of any evidence beyond that speculation.

Is definitely a bit of a hit to ICv2's credibility (which is otherwise quite good IMNSHO).

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

In the past Hasbro and Mattel negotiated a merger/fusion but in the end Mattel said no.

Probably because the merged company would have been named Bro-tel.

That would be the best name for a company that made men's lacrosse equipment.

 

[Nilbog]

Probably because the merged company would have been named Bro-tel.

That would be the best name for a company that made men's lacrosse equipment.

Or they could've gone for hasmat which given the circumstances we are in would have been appropriate