Sweatpea Entertainment suing WotC over film.
- Thread starter darjr
- Start date
am181d
Adventurer
I don't expect any correlation between the amount spent on the legal case and the budget of the movie itself. If anything, a protracted lawsuit will just make them hungrier for a big payday to counterbalance.
If all they wanted was a cheap special effects movie with low tier actors, they would have kept the rights where they are. For better or for worse, they're looking for another franchise in the vein of GI Joe, Transformers, and... um... Battleship.
Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
Have you seen the Dragonlance movie? *shudders* Cthuhloid horrors would be less insanity-inducing.
Who themade this agreement? "Permanent exclusive rights"? No wonder Hasbro lawyers have been all over D&D for the past years. Whoever signed that original contract, if that's true, was a complete and utter moron.
Need you ask? Lorraine Williams.
Dire Bare
Legend
Pretty sure I read in a recent interview with Courtney Solomon (the man behind the D&D films), that he is somehow related to Williams (she's like an aunt of his or something like that).
Pretty eff'd up contract for Hasbro/WotC, that's for sure. I hope they manage to destroy it in the legal proceedings, but it wouldn't surprise me if they can't.
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
I doubt it actually. One thing I have learned about Hollywood is that it doesn't matter how crappy the end product is - if it makes money they'll do it another and another and another... It doesn't matter if it's direct to VHS - if the people putting up the money make a profit they'll do another one. Do you care if anyone ever even sees it? You do not. Do you care if the overwhelming majority opinion of it is that it's execrable? You do not. This is what I believe Economics 101 would refer to as the Profit Motive.
As far as the lawsuit goes, if the end result is they get to continue to generate profits with vomitously bad movies then bring on the lawyers. Having the rights in perpetuity? You BETTER believe they'll take that to the highest court they can afford. That is THEIR cash machine and they will NOT care if the money it dispenses is really, really grimy. I'm quite certain that WotC/Hasbro may not even be particularly interested in trying to make a movie. What THEY want is to just put a stop to Sweepea and Solomon dragging the image of what is otherwise THIER IP into the mud with utterly awful movies. Even if they win the rights back, the perception of a D&D Movie is strictly in the direct-to-video realm of quality. A D&D movie will only appear in the discount bin at Best Buy, or at Toys-R-Us being outsold by the Barbie DVD's - but there will STILL be profit. Execrable profit from execrable movies, but profit nonetheless.
A D&D film ceased to be a respected idea by the gaming public... hell, by the general public since the first abomination. I suppose it MIGHT recover with time or by convincing someone with actual talent, taste, and skill to write it, produce it, direct, and act in it. But face it, the likelihood of that EVER happening saw "remote" pass by just about 13 years ago now. Melting snowballs in hell have now formed mighty, raging rivers. Unless WotC/hasbro wins their case(s) it simply will. not. happen. No credible movie will ever again bear the moniker of "D&D" with any pride. It will simply be used to churn out crap to make marginal profits riding on whatever may be left of the good name of the brand propped up by other products.
Just MHO.
It's like the Lord of the Rings film rights. Except we didn't get Peter Jackson making D&D films. We got Courtney Solomon.
Cheers!
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