D&D Movie/TV What would a good D&D movie be like?

[pkt77242]

I would really like to see WoTC buy the rights to Joe Abercrombie's First Law series and turn them into movies. That could be a great trilogy.

 

[Gillywonka]

I would have it be a cross between something like Lord of the Rings, Braveheart, 13th Warrior, Arn and some Pan's Labyrinth mixed in . You would be watching a DnD movie without me telling you it's DnD. I wouldnt say things like, cleric or paladin, etc (instead, show what they are), or show underground corridors that have no architectural literacy. I would also choose a setting or culture in which to base it in as opposed to having a united nations of races that intermix in every city all over the planet for no reason. It wouldn't be campy with a bunch of DnD buzz words but i would work in easter eggs in respect to DnD. Anyone not familiar with DnD would say they saw an awesome sword & sorcery. Anyway, that would be my foundation. (oh, and nothing like Xena, Kevin Sorbo or the last DnD movie).

 

[Hussar]

A film that isn't a good story will fail. If they try to make a D&D movie into a Ghostbuster or Get Smart movie, it will fail.

If D&D wants a real shot at succeeding, it has to be a real movie. Not some jokey, action-comedy that doesn't take itself seriously. Fantasy fans don't enjoy seeing fantasy done like some jokey action-comedy.

It should take itself as seriously as movies like Conan and use an established D&D novel property if the movie is to succeed. If they don't, I see another failure like all the other D&D movies.

There's been four Terry Pratchett movies that are all well received. We had, between the two of them, about a dozen years of Hercules and Xena. Never minding shows like Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fantasy that doesn't take itself too seriously? Yeah, there's a pretty long list of successful franchises for that. I mean, even the Harry Potter movies had a fair bit of comedy in them. And, really, it's not like Conan took itself that seriously.

Oh, and The Princess Bride and Stardust would both like to have a word with you.

I'd actually go so far to say that anything that's branded as D&D needs to be pretty light hearted. Would anyone go into a D&D movie and expect Game of Thrones? Would you expect a D&D movie to be closer to Nolan's Batman or to Raimi's Spider Man? I'm thinking the latter would capture D&D much, much better.

Classic quest stuff. Heck, you could use Isle of Dread as a basis. Group of adventurers head to the fantasy island (minus the midget) and take on weird fantasy stuff like brain eating fish people. That might be too Pirates of the Caribbean though. Heck, the Baldur's Gate series had a pretty strong story and would fit nicely into Forgotten Realms. Might make a great starting place.

Honestly, even Rise of Tiamat would be a fantastic starting place. Imagine the opening scene - the party, traveling along the road on horseback, crests the rise to see a town being assaulted by a dragon and its followers. The party then gets entangled in a plot to open the gate for Tiamat and have to battle dragons and cultists along the way to seal the portal. What's wrong with that for a movie plot?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There's been four Terry Pratchett movies that are all well received.

There have been?

 

[Hussar]

There have been?

My bad, only three.

Hogfather, aired by Sky One, Christmas 2006 as TV film.
The Colour of Magic, aired by Sky One, Easter 2008 as TV film.
Going Postal, aired by Sky One, Easter 2010 as TV film.

But, all things considered, they were quite well done.

 

[Celtavian]

There's been four Terry Pratchett movies that are all well received. We had, between the two of them, about a dozen years of Hercules and Xena. Never minding shows like Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fantasy that doesn't take itself too seriously? Yeah, there's a pretty long list of successful franchises for that. I mean, even the Harry Potter movies had a fair bit of comedy in them. And, really, it's not like Conan took itself that seriously.

Oh, and The Princess Bride and Stardust would both like to have a word with you.

I'd actually go so far to say that anything that's branded as D&D needs to be pretty light hearted. Would anyone go into a D&D movie and expect Game of Thrones? Would you expect a D&D movie to be closer to Nolan's Batman or to Raimi's Spider Man? I'm thinking the latter would capture D&D much, much better.

Classic quest stuff. Heck, you could use Isle of Dread as a basis. Group of adventurers head to the fantasy island (minus the midget) and take on weird fantasy stuff like brain eating fish people. That might be too Pirates of the Caribbean though. Heck, the Baldur's Gate series had a pretty strong story and would fit nicely into Forgotten Realms. Might make a great starting place.

Honestly, even Rise of Tiamat would be a fantastic starting place. Imagine the opening scene - the party, traveling along the road on horseback, crests the rise to see a town being assaulted by a dragon and its followers. The party then gets entangled in a plot to open the gate for Tiamat and have to battle dragons and cultists along the way to seal the portal. What's wrong with that for a movie plot?

Never heard of a successful Terry Pratchett movie. TV film? Hell no.

Hercules and Xena is what you're holding up as what you want the D&D movies to be about? Really?

Buffy took itself seriously. It was a goofy named series that played it straight. Firefly also played it straight. You and I have a different view on what playing it straight is.

The movies the commenter mentioned were Ghostbusters and Get Smart. Both of those were comedies with action elements. They did not play it straight. They were parodies of their subject. Do you want a D&D parody? I don't.

D&D would be dumb as hell as not to start with novels that have a fan base outside of D&D. It wouldn't surprise me if they did. They've constantly made mistakes with their intellectual properties.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My bad, only three.



But, all things considered, they were quite well done.

I don't think there has been any meaningful release of them in the USA. If you didn't know of their existence- as I didn't- you wouldn't know to look for the DVDs. And those DVDs may not be available here, either...

 

[billd91]

Hercules and Xena is what you're holding up as what you want the D&D movies to be about? Really?

Buffy took itself seriously. It was a goofy named series that played it straight. Firefly[/] also played it straight. You and I have a different view on what playing it straight is.

The movies the commenter mentioned were Ghostbusters and Get Smart. Both of those were comedies with action elements. They did not play it straight. They were parodies of their subject. Do you want a D&D parody? I don't.

D&D would be dumb as hell as not to start with novels that have a fan base outside of D&D. It wouldn't surprise me if they did. They've constantly made mistakes with their intellectual properties.

Yeesh. You could stand to lighten up. Firefly injected a lot of humor into its stories and interactions (Jayne Cobb is as much comic relief as he is a serious character) - that's what Hussar's talking about, not parodying any source material. Game of Thrones can be oh so serious and straight (and yet still incorporate humor every once in a while - like Podrick's discussion with Tyrion after visiting the brothel), but D&D could easily shoot for a lighter tone.

As far as previous properties, I agree with other posters that they might do better to stay away from a particular story line or set of characters except as supporting characters rather than protagonists. And they should stay well away from the landmine that is Drizzt Do'urden. They want a movie that give them fame, not notoriety for racial insensitivity.

 

[Jester David]

Never heard of a successful Terry Pratchett movie. TV film? Hell no.

The influence of TV is understated, mostly because a movie can make so much more money. However, a successful movie has an audience of maybe 2 million people worldwide. A successful TV show (or TV movie) can match that... in one country. Popular blockbusters can clear more, but that's rare.

Hercules and Xena is what you're holding up as what you want the D&D movies to be about? Really?

Xena was incredibly influential. Lucy Lawless scored a guest spot on Simpsons. There were a dozen copycat shows in the wake of that program. We could only hope D&D was a third as influential.

That said, it's certainly not the tone I want in a D&D film.

Buffy took itself seriously. It was a goofy named series that played it straight. Firefly[/] also played it straight. You and I have a different view on what playing it straight is.

The movies the commenter mentioned were Ghostbusters and Get Smart. Both of those were comedies with action elements. They did not play it straight. They were parodies of their subject. Do you want a D&D parody? I don't.

Buffy is exactly the tone I'd like. Things were serious in Sunnydale. There were deaths and horror and craziness, but the characters were constantly irrelevant and cracking jokes, and there was a wry wit throughout.

Watch the Get Smart movie again. There's a great scene where Max is captured. He says "You underestimated me. And the element of surprise!" And throws a phone, missing the person holding him at gunpoint. Funny. Then he shoves a table and kicks the guys ass. The movie moves effortlessly between the two extremes. So much of that movie is played straight. The villain. Straight. The stakes. Straight. The fights. Straight. Replace Max with a generic spy and most of the movie would flow normally and work just fine. But it would be as generic and unoriginal as &^%$@. One of a thousand other spy movies.
Ditto Ghostbusters. The abduction on Dana Barrett is terrifying. Gozer is scary. The world IS ending. The giant hounds are frightening. It wouldn't take much to swap out the comedy lines and make it into a real action movie. Heck, if you watch the film as a kid you totally miss 90% of the humour and it is a straight movie about people fighting ghosts.

D&D shouldn't be a parody. But playing it straight is a damn risky move because everything in D&D is so, well, paint-by-numbers. If you don't try for intentional comedy it's very, very easy to hit accidental comedy and just make a cheesy ridiculous mess. Or a bland, flavourless, joyless movie without the magic and wonder of Lord of the Rings. After all, there's already generic fantasy movies out there. Willow. Dragonslayer. Dragonheart. That's been done D&D has to offer something new, a twist or variation on the genre.
D&D has a lot of novels and stories to its name, but NONE of them compare to the wealth of other novels that are already available, many of which are public domain and the rights could be acquired for nothing. That's not enough of a twist, especially since few of the novels are more than generic fantasy.

 

[DMCF]

Can't be campy. Hot chicks. Really good thespian actors for NPC parts, famous ones minus Patrick Stewart (he's done to many). Young, No-Name actors as the main cast. A love interest. Awesome battles. A halfling in a sequel (or people will talk crap and compare to LoTR, which I loved but could ruin a franchise)

A major supporting part played by Jarlaxle would be great. He's got such great flavor and works with any quest setting.