Movie Challenge - $300 Million USD = A new Epic franchise.

[Testament]

Honestly I think Warriors of Ultramar could be turned into a truly kick ass SF-action movie. If done well by someone who loves the setting (you know like PJ is a fan of LoTR) it could strike like the one that killed the dinosaurs. But there was an entire thread about that a while ago, I know since I started it.

Thing is WH40K is like D&D in that you don't make THE WH MOVIE, you make a movie set in the WH setting. Which I'm not sure you could even get across to movie executives.

Three words: First Tyrannic War. I haven't read Warriors of Ultramar, but the Battle of Maccrage and the last stand of the 1st Company is just perfect movie fodder insofar as 40K goes.

 

[Draumr]

Second Saga of Pliocene Exile (Julian May).
Wonderful mix of fantasy/sci-fi with strong character & visual aspects.

 

[Krug]

The Katamari trilogy. Surely.

 

[kingpaul]

The Katamari trilogy. Surely.

You lost me on that one.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Three words: First Tyrannic War. I haven't read Warriors of Ultramar, but the Battle of Maccrage and the last stand of the 1st Company is just perfect movie fodder insofar as 40K goes.

With you all the way. Let's face 40K is about the Space Marines, everything else was built up around them as the central core of the setting concept. And as a concept they have a great deal of traction, so the first movie should be about the SM. And the best opening to put a foot in the cinema door is by using a setup at least partially familiar to most people with an enemy that fits into an established movie niche. Thus the Nids are perfect, yes they're Zerg knockoffs but also Alien and a montage of every other gigeresque xenological horror. They push all the right buttons in the human reptilian brain as an enemy. If you could get a 40K movie made with a first string budget it would be a stop the Nid horde movie. From there you could branch out in the setting.

Now I'll speak heresy and the torches and pitchforks will be gathered. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire wouldn't make a very good movie trilogy. Nor would most of the other really big ones, The Wheel of Time just wouldn't work and Goodkind's in a similar boat. The Runelords might actually be workable as it can be more easily reduced than the others works but even that would have trouble.

What I would really like to see is the Honorverse done as arcs of related mini-series, one for each book. Ain't going to happen but it would be damned impressive if done right. Of course forcing Hollywood to treat the combat scenes as in the book would probably take hanging the first few writers to set an example. You might be able to pitch it as related to the various 90s movies involving submarines but it would be insanely difficult. And if they didn't treat the space combat properly the only market for it would shun anything they did like a hemophiliac in a Vampire convention.

 

[Dioltach]

I'd love to see a proper adaptation of the Arthurian legends: not the attrocity that was King Arthur, or First Knight, but something much closer to the source material, focusing on his background and youth, his reign and great battles, and his fall. Or alternatively a trilogy that focuses on Gawain and his adventures.

Another option, on a similar theme, would be the Irish Red Branch Cycle.

Or perhaps Elizabeth Boyer's Skarpsey books ...

 

[Klaus]

Arthur's trilogy would be:

Movie 1: focuses on Uther Pendragon and Merlin, and on Arthur growing up alongside Sir Kay. Ends with Arthur being declared rightful king and establishing Camelot.

Movie 2: focuses on life in Camelot, and Morgan LeFay raising Mordred, and Lancelot cheating on his wife with Arthur's wife.

Movie 3: The Grail quest, the fall of Camelot, and Arthur being taken to Avalon.

 

[Mistwell]

I'd love to see a proper adaptation of the Arthurian legends: not the attrocity that was King Arthur, or First Knight, but something much closer to the source material, focusing on his background and youth, his reign and great battles, and his fall. Or alternatively a trilogy that focuses on Gawain and his adventures.

I thought Excalibur did just fine in 1981, and it got Academy Award nominations as well.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Arthurian and Robin Hood based tales both share the same real problem: they are Open Source unprotected properties - they are in the public domain.

As such, you end up having to coin a trade mark to protect your licensed version of a public domain IP; therefore, it's not a very lucrative IP.

Licensing and toys is big business for a Triple A franchise. Without that revenue, I would argue you can't hit a LOTR/ Star Wars home run.

King Arthur would end up as a Jurassic Park style brand. Great movies which sell a lot of tickets and DVD's - and whose toy licensing is mediocre because anybody can make T-Rex and Raptor dinosaur toys.

Nope. That's not the stuff that motivates a studio to open the vault.

 

[John Crichton]

I thought Excalibur did just fine in 1981, and it got Academy Award nominations as well.

I was thinking the same thing.