UPDATE: Hasbro files lawsuit - Warner Bros. to make a D&D Movie. AICN

[Empirate]

I don't believe the D&D brand will suffer for a bad movie, at least not where the pen&paper RPG is concerned. The two media are barely interconnected. Granted, if the D&D movie is a huge success, that may get people to look into what came before, and might hook some on roleplaying. I don't consider that to be very likely, though.

 

[Nytmare]

I don't believe the D&D brand will suffer for a bad movie, at least not where the pen&paper RPG is concerned. The two media are barely interconnected. Granted, if the D&D movie is a huge success, that may get people to look into what came before, and might hook some on roleplaying. I don't consider that to be very likely, though.

That's more what it is in my opinion. A good movie (hell even a mediocre movie) would open the game up to new people who didn't know about it. It's advertising, plain and simple. If either group managed to produce a movie that people watched, it would mean money, and toy lines, and card games, and tee shirts, and most importantly new blood. I don't know if I have much faith in either group being able to do that though.

A bad movie is embarrassing, but it's not going to drive people away from the game. It's just a wasted opportunity.

 

[Felon]

How in Gods name did WotC get wrangled into completely selling the rights to a "D&D" movie anyway? Did someone lie to their face and say, "This is just the way it is done?" Did they need the money that badly? Because I do not see how anyone in their right mind could just surrender a potentially important part of their IP like that.

What do you think anybody with an interesting bit of content is supposed to do if they're interested in the movie thing, but don't have the resources to make a movie of their own? They sell the rights, that's what. Any given non-movie company is basically stuck with that option if they want movie dollars at all. It's not as if you're "surrendering" anything: you're basically just shifting responsibility and risk to somebody who might actually have a clue how to pull off a movie. For doing that, you get a bucketful of money. Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.
And if the D&D movie blows? If it bombs at the box office? Not WotC's problem, but Warner Bros.'

A little from column A, a little from column B. Yes, it's sensible for companies to license their franchises. Yes, it's bad business to sell that license away.

But you'll be amazed what a company staring down the barrel of insolvency will sign away to generate short-term revenue. Especially when it's not just privately-owned, but solely-owned.

It seems that whateer form future D&D films will take, you can expect to see Courtney Solomon's name attached as producer.

 

[DnD_Dad]

Warner Bros. to make a D&D Movie. AICN

They should just do the first 9 Drizzt books or the dragonlance twins series and get it over with.

 

[darjr]

Well looks like Hasbro is suing.

http://www.purplepawn.com/2013/05/hasbro-files-suit-over-dd-movie/
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/hasbro-sues-stop-warner-bros-522262

 

[jonesy]

Huh. So Hasbro is saying that because the last two movies were tv movies the sequel rights revert back to them. They aren't contending the original rights, just the rights to make sequels. That tactic might bite them back big time if they lose the case.

 

[darjr]

I kinda informs a bit about what's going on. The guy who bought the rights just might be releasing crap in an attempt to just hang onto the license.

 

[RedShirtNo5.1]

Fascinating.
Paragraphs 6-9 deal with movie rights, and 10-12 deal with TV rights. With that structure, interpretation of the contract language looks quite clear to me. I wonder if there is some other agreement or judgment not described in the complaint.

 

[Dioltach]

They should just do the first 9 Drizzt books or the dragonlance twins series and get it over with.

They tried this with the original Dragonlance trilogy: an animated movie with a star cast. It never made it past the first part, as far as I'm aware.

 

[Empirate]

I kinda informs a bit about what's going on. The guy who bought the rights just might be releasing crap in an attempt to just hang onto the license.

Just like the last Spiderman movie, or X-Men: Origins. Sigh...