New D&D Movie Announced

[barsoomcore]

Gonna take down two birds on one stone here...

AFAIK, no one owned the film right since TSR sold it out in the option market. Solomon picked it up like you pick up a carton of eggs at Safeway.

Rights always belong to somebody, even if it's everybody. Since the rights weren't public domain (else they'd still be public domain) SOMEBODY owned them, and that somebody (if it wasn't TSR) had to have originally purchased them from TSR.

And if you don't mind, I'd have preferred a devoted but also SKILLED filmmaking fan.

Well, me too, but oh well. At least it wasn't Michael Bay.

Regardless if he owns the rights to the D&D trademark, he made a bad film.

No argument from me here. I LIKE the film, but it's definitely a BAD film.

Yeah, good for him, he's taken on this project. But to what expense? To make the D&D core happy (we know that answer to that)? To line his pockets full of money (you think he's sitting back smiling, but who really knows how he feels)? To get more "experience" in the film industry? Because he "Owns" the rights? Because he purchased the rights before anybody else thought of taking on the project?

Why do you care what his motives are? You can make up any answer you like to those questions. And why do you put "owns" in quotes? It's not a matter open for debate. Or, rather it is, since I don't actually KNOW that he owns the rights, but SOMEBODY does, and whoever does has every right to do whatever the heck they want to do with them. You can complain about what they do, you can say they aren't talented, but saying they don't have the right to do so is simply untrue.

 

[rowport]

Barsoom, with respect, I think that in defending your principle point you are losing track of other totally valid points.

You are essentially saying, Solomon saw a business opportunity to make lots of money with a D&D movie, and props to him for taking it and doing it. You also acknowledge that TSR made (yet another) stupid business decision in trusting him with the rights.

Fine. I doubt seriously that anybody will argue with that, because it is clearly factual.

What I believe that you are missing in the counterpoints, is not whether he had the LEGAL RIGHTS to do the D&D movie, just whether he SHOULD have done it. Any rational person- especially a D&D fan- MUST AGREE THAT HE MADE A LOUSY MOVIE! Right?? Right?? I mean, come on, it was terrible, awful, and frankly even if he did it for pure profit motive everybody (fans and the rest of the tiny viewing audiences...) would have been better off if he bought the rights, and HIRED A DECENT DIRECTOR!! With the possible exception of Wayans, the principle actors were actually decent. With a decent writer and director, this movie would have moved from a joke to at least passable, or better. The notion that the Sequel might be more of the same tripe is laughable for fans at best, and infuriating at worst. Seriously, if you do not agree with that, I have to wonder if you actually suffered through watching the first debacle..?

 

[BiggusGeekus]

The mage girl wasn't a very good actress, but she didn't have much to work with. I mean, she apparently loses her magic powers for half the film so she can be rescued by the hero. A friend of mine gave a great review from a non-gamers perspective (even though she did take a swipe at me): http://www.jabootu.com/d&d.htm

I don't know about LEGAL rights. But the D&D movie was a total failure even as a story. Solomon was over his head and shouldn't have been trusted with this much money or responsibility.

 

[Henry]

But I'm fairly certain that DMX, Jet Li and Tom Arnold are NOT attached to it. But I could be wrong...

Also keep in mind that when Kai Lord made that joke, the movie "Cradle 2 the Grave" had recently debuted... This is the case of a joke outliving it's timing.

So far, it's "early 2004" and we haven't seen anything on a D&D movie. It could be that funding fell through, or any of a hundred other possible disasters that keep a movie from being made. If it IS done, I'd like to see a jam-up plot, MUCH better and more cohesive than the one the first one had. I personally don't find fault with the actors, but more with special effects, plot, and some writing that fell flatter than a pancake. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, Mr. Solomon, good luck... 'cause you're gonna need it to overcome the negative inertia the first movie generated with viewers.

 

[barsoomcore]

Any rational person- especially a D&D fan- MUST AGREE THAT HE MADE A LOUSY MOVIE! Right?? Right??

Well of course it's a terrible movie. I've never said otherwise. I mean, I love it, but I'm a sucker for well-intentioned failures. But I'm not arguing for or against its (ahem) artistic virtues. I'm just saying that any statement to the effect of what Solomon is entitled to do is either correct or incorrect. Opinion doesn't enter into it.

The notion that the Sequel might be more of the same tripe is laughable for fans at best, and infuriating at worst.

Or a gleeful ray of hope. More bad movies made earnestly, by people who are actually trying to make something that matters to them, is better than more slick movies made by people who think I'm stupid.

 

[Felikeries]

getting the 'foozy shod' into the screen and tale is about what is expected
but i personaly see that sword violence and imaging that displaces the
mentality that 'magic' is sort of fake assed,should be in the next one

the tell tail signs of romance and an evil character that's 'stupid' is ok but lets take this into mode al'la mogue and see some slash and crash that makes bleeding wounds and 'austeire' smiles on the main characters faces any more featured

the city was nifty in the first,so keep the idea,easily,but now that there is more gore,as i suggested,let's see if a bad assasin etc,really snoops about,while the bad is portrayed in angst and summery of all that's evil within this film,aside from the main bad dude

anybody 'i can say' that my last campaign showed a 'stupid assed' bad dude
but also several evil'ites' in the act,easily this could be made into real epic material or at least portrayel

and the golden dm goes to....

"Zeffuaxiuth" the dark troll that uses acid blood from the eyes