ENTIRE COSMERE OPTIONED FOR MOVIES

[hula he/him]

I definitely like the way that this forum's answers and conversation has grown immensely more mature from page to page ;-)

I think i read only one other person mentioning that Warbreaker would also make a good movie- It's magic system is very visual, and all sorts of things could "show" well.

I'm also on the cautious bandwagon due to what has been repeatedly said about book to movie adaptations. what helped me explain things like the Harry Potter series- is that by itself to those who had never read any of the books, the movies did a good job telling a story while including as much as possible of the source material- towards the end, I saw the movies as more "companions" to the book- where the film was able to expand on a lot of aspects of the book... I personally enjoy the movies and books themselves. 

On another hand one that i didn't see mentioned here book to movie adaptation, was "Jumper". I know a lot of people didn't really care much for Hayden's acting, but- as far as the movie goes, i liked it a lot- so much so, that I ended up reading all of the jumper-series books by Steven Gould. (4-5 at last count? its been a little while). As far as source material from books to movie- very little was actually there. the basic premise was there as in there was a dude named David, he could teleport, and people were after him. Aside from that, the movie went on a completely different tangent than the books. Having watched the film first, then read the books later- i think i liked the entire aspect a lot more. For me, it wasn't necessarily a matter of "the movie didn't follow the book at all", but more a matter of "a different story" in a "world" that i enjoyed. instead of getting one book to one movie, i got an additional separate story out of it all too. For me, the two are near separate, but related enough that i can imagine it being just an alternate story in the same world that i enjoy.

Now regarding Brandon's works- obviously I'm a fan of the books enough to troll these forums on a near daily basis... lurking in the background not ever really speaking up too much, but there anyway... so i really like the idea of a movie- even if it means getting some of the main points correct, and still being a really good movie. it could just be another "story" or a different "telling" of the same story. i think it helps knowing that Brandon'll be a producer and as Argent said before about how Brandon not some cash-seeking-new-writer just trying to make a quick buck... helps  a lot. knowing his hand'll be in it helps me think that even if for cinematic purposes the story is only 20-30% true to the source stories, but they're *quality movies*, i'll win anyway. i get to get more of the cosmere in a different story.

just my $.02

[Landis963 he/him]

Until I see a trailer, I will be cautiously optimistic.  I don't feel it useful to speculate further at this time.

[Emerald101 he/him]

I'm both extremely excited, and pretty scared. There's definitely a lot of potential with movie adaptations with the cosmere in general, but it could also be really terrible. I would hate for people to be exposed to a bad adaptation of tWoK, and decide that they won't read the book because of how bad the movie was. I definitely agree that they would be better off starting with mistborn, it lends itself far better to a movie adaptation. There's just so much book to WoK that it'll be difficult to try and squash it into one movie. And if they don't try and fit it into one movie, than they end up with a twenty movie set for the SA, since I doubt any of the sequels would condense into one movie much better. Mistborn, however, is a more ideal length, story type, world, and level of cosmere-involvedness. It would be an ideal hook to get people interested in the cosmere.

[Savanorn he/him]

I think if they did this like, say, the Marvel universe it'd work. 

Go SA1

MB1 

WARBREAKER

SA2

MB2

Elantris

MB3

Etc.

Especially given the rate Sanderson writes at, new books would be available pretty much as they were made into movies. Take into account stuff that is unpublished right now, and we've a really robust skeleton.

[Mistbornwithakitty she/her]

When I saw this, I did a faceplant onto my bed.  XD  My poor heart couldn't take it.

First things first---Some loud squealing, fangirling, and bouncing around the room is long overdue.  Give me a moment.

............... 

*takes a deep breath*  That was nice.  XD 

Now, on a different note.  I agree with most of you, this could be something amazing or a total catastrophe.  I'm not a fan of the "Saw" movie or any horror movies for that matter, but at this point, I trust Brandon Sanderson.  If he likes these guys, then I guess I'll give 'em a chance.    I'm ecstatic that the author is at least a producer, he has some say in all this madness (unlike some other adaptions I could name. lol). 

I actually think starting with WOK makes sense if you're coming from a "I want to make this into a booming franchise" perspective.  Think about it, it introduces so many rules of the Cosmere.  Shards, Wit, and worldhopping among them.  You want the people who haven't read the books to understand how this universe is going to work.  Although I'm not sure how you can fit a 1,000 page book into one movie....we'll see, I guess.  XD 

And lastly-- 

On ‎10‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 10:15 PM, bleeder said:

Allow me to transcribe the noises coming out of my mouth:

B-D-G-AHHHHHHH---P-D-BL-DGH-AT-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGHGHGHGHHHHHHHHH-PLLLLLLLLL-AGH I DON'T WANT THEM TO RUIN IT BUT I'M SO STORMING EXCITED AHHHHHHH OH MY GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHD AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

@bleeder, you are my spirit animal here^^. 

 

This girl is cautiously hoping for the best.  

[What's a Seawolf?]

1 hour ago, Mistbornwithakitty said:

 I actually think starting with WOK makes sense if you're coming from a "I want to make this into a booming franchise" perspective.  Think about it, it introduces so many rules of the Cosmere.  Shards, Wit, and worldhopping among them.  You want the people who haven't read the books to understand how this universe is going to work.  Although I'm not sure how you can fit a 1,000 page book into one movie....we'll see, I guess.  XD 

Wonko the Sane said (via main page thread) "For the record, I think just Kaladin or even Kaladin and Dalinar would make a much better film. Shallan is the one who throws a wrench in the works, as her story does not weave into the other two whatsoever."

 

Couple those two things together and I can begin to see how WoK would make a great first choice..

Firstly (and this is going to infuriate many fans, I understand) cut Shallan entirely or almost entirely from Movie 1.  She can play her part in book 2.  Have Movie 1 be ENTIRELY about Kaladin's journey.  There will be some Dalinar, but from a supporting perspective.  JUST that, with of course Cosmere building tidbits thrown in (for example, Wit, so when audiences see him in Mistborn or Warbreaker they do a double take)... and I believe you have a feasible movie representation of WoK.  (Minus Shallan, of course.)

And yes, I know cutting all or most of Shallan may cause some problems down the line, but a movie version of the SA is just not going to have room for a ton of main characters and all their development.

Edited October 28, 2016 by What's a Seawolf?
Small grammar corrections

[scifan he/him]

I would sincerely hope that they don't try to do each book as a single movie...  There's too much information to push into a single movie unless it's VERY long...  

Although, I keep thinking that the "best" way to do Stormlight Archive is as an Anime movie set... but somehow I don't think that's what they're trying to do...  I hope it doesn't end as a bust like the the WOT adaptations have been...

[Eki]

19 minutes ago, What's a Seawolf? said:

Couple those two things together and I can begin to see how WoK would make a great first choice..

Firstly (and this is going to infuriate many fans, I understand) cut Shallan entirely or almost entirely from Movie 1.  She can play her part in book 2.  Have Movie 1 be ENTIRELY about Kaladin's journey.  There will be some Dalinar, but from a supporting perspective.  JUST that, with of course Cosmere building tidbits thrown in (for example, Wit, so when audiences see him in Mistborn or Warbreaker they do a double take)... and I believe you have a feasible movie representation of WoK.  (Minus Shallan, of course.)

And yes, I know cutting all or most of Shallan may cause some problems down the line, but a movie version of the SA is just not going to have room for a ton of main characters and all their development.

Yeah, WoK would probably make a better film if Shallan's story wasn't there... but then WoR would be really weird.

Spoiler

Would Shallan's (and Jasnah's) first appearance be on the boat? When she arrives at the Plains? What about her Lies? WHAT ABOUT THE STICK

The first book sets Shallan up for everything that happens in WoR. I dunno. It's gonna be weird, I guess.

 

[bdoble97]

Am I the only one that thinks  they could do a hybrid practical effects/CGI motion-capture film. 

How about ththis 

1st trilogy of move. WOK 

  • Kaladin and Dalinar and all that is going on in the warcamps. 

• Jasnah and Shallan 

• Conclusion of Kaladin, Dalinar,  Jasnah and Shallan 

Do these three movies back to back to back like Peter Jackson did with the Lord of the Rings take a couple years off

2nd trilogy WOR

• Kaladin and Dalinar 

• Jasnah and Shallan 

• Kaladin, Dalinar and Shallan 

Now I know that six movies for just two books but like I was saying if you use a hybrid of practical effects motion capture CGI you could do a lot of stuff with the actors. Even though they will be ageing in real life past the age of their respected characters with the technology tat they used  for Robert Downing jr. In Captain America Civil War you can deage the actors andthe technology is only going to get better.  If you take this formula and have a Trilogy for each book your looking at what 30 movies which off the bat sounds like a lot of movies but look what Marvel's done how many movies have they done in eight or nine years 12. I think this could be done. But like what Brandon Sanderson has said already he believes Mistborn will be 1st 

[maxal she/her]

Interesting string of various comments you had today. 

First off, I would like to echo Deploy's fears when it comes to a Stormlight Archive movie adaptation. While it is true the movie industry has managed to successfully adapt classics such as Lords of the Rings and classic in the becoming GoT in a satisfying, grand and highly crowd pleasing way, the truth is it failed more often than it succeeded when it comes to fantasy. The Worlds of Warcraft happens to be the last example of bad trial at bringing fantasy onto the big screen. Now since I haven't seen the movie, I certainly cannot talk about it specifically, but I sure can talk about the difference in between a "good" and a "bad" movie. Good movie have appeal, they have characters the public can relate too or an impressive story whichever, they create emotions into the viewers which may be just raw pleasure to awe to sadness, but they do something. Bad movies fail to drag the viewer in, they can't relate to any of the characters, they don't care, the story is told in a too generic way, etc.

Second off, let's not kid ourselves. Movie producers primary goal is to make money, not to cater to fanbase and what may work in a book might not work on the big screen, especially when you are working with original material which may be popular within its own category, but is widely unknown to the large public. In other words, they need to turn a fantasy book which wouldn't appeal to a significant proportion of your bankable clients. More so, you need to adapt a book having no definite end while being part of a long-term series. No serious movie studio is going to lay down the bucks to produce the film series called the Stormlight Archive, to be completed in some 10 movies (more than Harry Potter which was a popular success even before they started working on the first movie), unless they were sure, absolutely sure they would make a hefty profit. 

I don't see how any studios could ever convince itself the Stormlight Archive is an absolute hit unless they got a highly bankable producers known for out-of-the-box successful products such as James Cameron and even he often had a hard time convincing them. 

Therefore, it seems incredibly highly improbable they would sign off to make 2-3 movie out of the first book only, especially considering this book has no definite ending. It is merely a prelude, but it doesn't have a valid conclusion and, for a first movie, I suspect the studio would prefer to produce a stand-alone. No promise of sequels unless the movie makes enough profit which means it will have to have an ending, a sense of conclusion which is very hard to foresee when working with WoK. This happens to be the one reason why I do think they, ultimately, will figure out Mistborn is a better starting point as the first movie works as a stand-alone: sequels aren't required. Sure you wouldn't get all the story, but you would get enough to call it a movie.

Now, let's figure out they truly believe in the product and decide to go with WoK. They wouldn't commit to one movie, but probably three, five if we are lucky, movies, unless it totally flops. To go this big would mean putting in the money to make it grand, to make it worth seeing, to give it a large public appeal so it would draw in crowds, more so since they are working with difficult material which doesn't have this natural grand public appeal. A good, a very, very good producer would be a good sign. The next Peter Jackson or the next James Cameron, someone capable of having a vision for it.

Once this is settled, they would make casting choices which aren't necessarily going to please some fans. They will put in a few bankable actors. They can't afford not to put in bankable actors into something as risky as WoK. They did get Sean Penn in GoT to help drawing in viewers: we can expect they will do the same with SA. They also are going to take liberties with the casting. This is a given. Which ones? I cannot say, but I expect it will happen. And I expect several fans to be unhappy about those.

Third off, they aren't going to make it "just Kaladin's" movie. It wouldn't work. Kaladin's story essentially is that of a young man who leaves for war, gets sell as a slave and ends up freeing himself completely oblivious to the higher political game being played. You can't just have his perspective: it would have no purpose. Why would I go see a movie about some guy carrying bridges in a fictional world for a fictional wa? Such close-up portrayals work in real-life inspired drama which works because it is real-life. People get the sense of "Oh this really happened" which helps them relate. I doubt it would work in a fantasy movie: viewers wouldn't be able to feel for the characters: it is too distant, too far-away. WoK thus needs its full cast, it needs to explain the underlining conflict brewing under the broken sky. We need this, we thus need the Dalinar, we need his visions, we need Jasnah, we need a bad guy and an even bigger evil to be discovered in the second movie.

Fourth off, they aren't going to exclude Shallan from the story because a few readers don't like her and would rather the story was just about Kaladin. She is the only female character of any import: no producers is going to go forth with a large scale movie without a solid female lead. They invented one for the Hobbit because they thought the movie needed a major female character: they increased both Arwen and Eowyn's roles in LoTR for the same reasons. We can expect Shallan's role to be increased (and not diminished) within a WoK movie and Kaladin's to be reduced. Why? Because Shallan's character brings forth information while Kaladin's journey is mostly internal. The bridge four scenes are great to read, but there are too many of them: I expect a movie to cut them to the essential. A of Kaladin's scenes is him being depressed: a movie would have it say it once or twice, but it wouldn't waste half of its running time on it. Shallan's arc in a first movie would probably move into book 2.

A WoK movie would probably follow the main story arc: period. No interlude. If it works, works, then they might consider doing spin-off with the interludes, but most of it are probably going to be dropped of. 

In the end, I would say if they manage to turn it into a high quality movie such as LoTR, then I will turn off my eyes on the liberties they will take. Well, most of them anyway. I however have to echo others fears they will not pull it off. High budget movies flop on a regular basis: the latest Alice, Ben-Hur, Independence Day 2... Studios know how to deal with risk, they know a movie may not work, but they won't push it forward unless they have reasonable chances of believing it might work and even then, success is never guaranteed.

Also please bear in mind this merely is my humble opinion. You may agree or disagree. I am very ambivalent over this movie: I hope it will be great, but I fear it won't.

 

[DSC01 he/him]

Stormlight can work as a movie series, but there would have to be major changes to the way that the story is told. For one thing, the way that the story is a total mystery throughout, in all sorts of ways (what's up with the Heralds? what exactly happened in this history that we get brief glimpses of? What happened to Kaladin in the past? Shallan? Dalinar?)--that wouldn't work for a movie. They'd have to give us a lot more up front, without a bunch of beating around the bush about what is even going on from moment to moment. They'll have to take a good long look at what is accomplished in each character's arc in WoK and figure out how to take that and distill it into a relative handful of scenes that communicate all the same things, much, much more briefly. 

This means that Kaladin's hundreds of pages of depression and bad attitude would need to be summed up in a grand total of maybe 10 minutes' worth of screen time. Establishing a relationship with Syl, the way he finds new motivation and establishes a relationship with Bridge Four, etc.--these would have to be turned from events that slowly unfold over the course of 1,000 pages into a couple of key scenes.

Shallan could still be a part of the movie, but her efforts to become Jasnah's ward would have to be cut down to a couple of minutes. All of her studying would have to summed up with maybe 30 seconds worth of sighing over stacks of books and furious notes scribbling. What Shallan was up to would have to be laid out explicitly, not split up into a bunch of scenes that invite you to gradually piece together a picture of what she's doing. The transition from the Shattered Plains to Kharbranth would have to be done via extremely obvious segue. Like, as Dalinar is wrapping up a conversation, he could explicitly say, "My niece, Jasnah, is off researching..." and then it fades to Jasnah in Kharbranth, with someone calling, "Brightness Jasnah! Brightness Jasnah! [she turns to them] Ah, Brightness Jasnah! So good to see you..." The audience is already going to be way over their heads in this universe of moving plants and floating lights and mysterious magic, so they need to be told 5 times that there is a person named Jasnah, and she is related to the royal family and she--Jasnah, that is--likes to study, and--oh!--here she is, in a different city (like that other character just said she was, two or three times), and again, her name is Jasnah. Jasnah? Yes, Jasnah. 

In the end, once you trimmed away a lot of the internal debates and reflection (which are a great part of the books but don't work at all for a movie) and summed them up in brief scenes that communicate the characters' personalities and motivations succinctly (if with far less depth), you would have a couple of expository scenes and a bunch of action. It would definitely work, if it was done very, very well. Ultimately, almost every scene in the movie would probably end up not happening the way it did in the books at all but also still get the story to the same place. 

That said, Mistborn practically screams to be adapted first. Opening a franchise about a galaxy full of intricately detailed magic systems and demigods and such with a story hung on a familiar heist movie frame is just smart. The Shards' role in the plot is clearest of any Cosmere work, but the audience would have some time to settle in with how the magic works first. By the end of the trilogy, moviegoers would have some notion of how the whole universe works, and it would just work out a whole lot better. Doing WoK first would be like Marvel doing Guardians of the Galaxy before Iron Man. 

Edited October 29, 2016 by DSC01

[Botanica she/her]

This is really amazing news (for the sake of Brandon himself and the whole fandom), though I'm also worried and skeptical like most of you here. I always imagine that SA would work well as a TV series or animated/graphic novel series. (Man, I'm so dying to see it animated...) Film adaption just sounds kind of meh, unless it is handled with great care.

However, I know some guys from Chinese DMG who are in charge of Brandon's book/film franchise. I can feel their passion and they are actually very into cosmere. Perhaps we can trust them a bit more =) (It's a pity that I missed the chance to work with them.)

[maxal she/her]

I agree with you. It could work, but it is a highly risky project and there are many ways it could go wrong. It could however work with a creative producer with a cohesive vision. I do agree they would change how the story is being told: there would be no such thing as "Kaladin's movie" or "Shallan's movie". We would probably get the required backstory early on and not through flashbacks except for a few selected scenes usually involving the character thinking back about his former life.

Also it might be the producer's vision might clash slightly with the original material. Kaladin is a good example. He has, by far, the most page time, but most of it is him being depressed and beating himself up. This doesn't work in a movie. They are highly likely to remove several of those scenes and keep it to a minimum: show Kaladin wanting to kill himself after seeing what the bridge runs are, only to decide to try, again. Then you have about 5 minutes of him beating up Bridge four into a cohesive unit, all shown in accelerated. 

I also think Shallan's arc would be increased. I agree the part where she studies would be shown briefly, but I also think they would go further and probably end her arc with Jasnah's murder and her being shipwrecked.

In the end, the producers might decide they strongly believe in one character over the other. They might also decide to remove some characters. Szeth might not have much of an arc depending on how they decide to craft the story. Even if it saddens me greatly, they might decide to remove Adolin (I think this would be the wrong choice, but I have no idea what kind of story they will drag out of the books). Alternatively, depending on how the character will grow in future book, they might also give him a bigger role from the early movie. It all depends.

I also agree Mistborn is a much better choice. They could cast their bankable actor as Kelsier and a few others. Vin and Elend can go to new actors or young rising stars. It is just perfect for a movie adaptation. 

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

I donr think Adolin gets cut. He is rather important to a few storylines (Shallans dating life, the duels, what he does at the end of WoR). I think he is too important of a supporting character to cut.

[maxal she/her]

7 hours ago, Chull #445 said:

I donr think Adolin gets cut. He is rather important to a few storylines (Shallans dating life, the duels, what he does at the end of WoR). I think he is too important of a supporting character to cut.

But he might. We are dealing with a 2h movie. Adolin isn't a required character in WoK: he only exists because the first critics of WoK thought Dalinar's story arc was too internal. In a movie, we might not have the same issue and with only 2h, they might decide to reduce the cast. They will never cut out Shallan as she is the only female character, but Adolin might end up being nothing more than a cameo. Yes it saddens me as my hopes would have been a producer would believe in Adolin's character and give him a good role, but the reality is he might not. Anyway, I am not sure I want to see Adolin being cast, so it might be best if they leave him out. 

In any advent, I do not have a high level of faith in this movie. Sure the studio sounds excited, but they haven't actually ever produced anything which would lead me to believe they could pull SA off. The commercial success of SA would rely on a very precise list of conditions to be met. Out-of-the-box products have been known to be massive commercial success, but they had a few things playing in their favor: impressive scenery, unseen special effects, big names. It is possible for movies falling outside the usual recipe to succeed, but they must have a selling pitch.

The problem I see with SA is it doesn't have a selling pitch. It isn't a stand-alone: it is just one chapter of a long-term series: making a stand-alone movie will be difficult, though not impossible. Releasing the first movie of a series do work, when the series is known enough to create a mediatic buzz. SA doesn't even begin to qualify for this as it is completely unknown from the larger public. GoT was in this position too, but HBO played the political intrigue card which can appeal to everyone, it included violence/sex (we can critic as to whether or not it was a good idea, but it was within their selling pitch) and they had a normal cast with a few big names. The only out-of-the-box element was the fact it was a fantasy series. One new typically unpopular thing heavily compensated by impressive visual effect for television and all I have mentioned before. It was sufficient.

Was does SA the movie have? It doesn't have a large enough public, it is relatively unknown, so you can't create a buzz based on popularity of the books outside the realm of fantasy readers. I will say it again, because it is epic fantasy, it will be harder to sell than any other movie: it will need to bring in something impressive to the table. Right now, from what I have gathered, it is being produced by an Asian firm and they intend on using an all Asian cast which will be a tough sell in the Western market. The studio doesn't have big enough names attached to it. The only way epic fantasy can be a commercial success is if it is done with care and style, if it has a large enough budget to bring in the wow factor. Unfortunately, we are in 2016. The wow factor is harder to pull off than it used to be. Just a few years back, a movie could be a success merely base on "special effects": people would see it, even if it was bad merely because the "special effects" were amazing. We are passed this age: viewers now require more. Avatar is the last movie I have seen being marketed with "must see special effects" and we can all agree how fabulous it was. However, it had James Cameron name tied to it and known actors which may have spent half the movie being blue, but once they merge, the movie was so awesome nobody cared about that. 

Therefore, if you can't create an appeal with the names attached to it, the casting, the story, then what the heck do you have to sell it? You need to give the people a reason to go see it. Why would they want to see it? What in it for them in this movie? How do you market it?

Here are thus my fears for the movie. It is possible, it can be done, but I have a great deal lot of doubts. I have a very hard time seeing how they could possibly market it outside the Asian market.

Edit: I have just read other comments from Brandon himself onto the movie deal... He does say we need to chance bad movies if we are to get another GoT. In other words, he knows the movie might be bad, but he is willing to chance on that just to get a movie done. I am even more highly ambivalent over the whole deal now I have read this. The world does not need another bad fantasy movie: it will only kill the genre. Thus my fears increase some more: I do think it was premature of Brandon to sell his rights, but it is hard to tell really. Maybe it was the right decision, but standing from where I stand, I am not sure it was, not at all. 

Edited October 29, 2016 by maxal

[bdoble97]

@maxal what makes tou think WOK would be only a 2hr movie. I could easily see it being 2 1/2 -3hr movie with an  extended 4hr Blu-ray cut. 

[maxal she/her]

1 minute ago, bdoble97 said:

@maxal what makes tou think WOK would be only a 2hr movie. I could easily see it being 2 1/2 -3hr movie with an  extended 4hr Blu-ray cut. 

Oh well yes, it could be longer, but you are now talking about something major: only the biggest hits get the 4h extended Blu-Ray treatment. Do not get me wrong, I sincerely hope (and die for) a adaptation which would reach the quality level of LoTR, a massive box-office success which would bring in flocks of new people into the world we all love, but...

I have a bad feeling about the deal being struck down. I have an even worst feeling when I read Brandon Sanderson himself say and I quote:

I understand. But here's the thing: you can't get a Game of Thrones if you don't risk a bad movie. Some authors are not willing to risk this, which I can respect. But I am willing to take the chance. I hope to be able to work with the film makers and make it happen the right way.

My interpretation is the author is willing to risk a bad movie for the opportunity of making one. My personal viewpoint is yet another bad fantasy movie would hurt the genre more than it would help. A never-ending string of bad low quality adaptations aren't going to help the cause. What we need is another LoTR and/or another GoT. Stormlight has potential, but I do think it is too early for it right now.

The right way may not also be the best commercial way. 

It is thus we are left with a choice: do we want a good high quality movie which viewers from all across the world are going to flock in to watch or do we want a medium quality adaptation perhaps truthful to the story, but unable to sell outside a niche market? For my part, I'd rather have the first one, but everyone's millage may vary here and it is obvious Brandon much prefer having a movie over having a really good movie.

 

 

[bdoble97]

@maxal so what if we get a 2hr theater release na 3 hour Blu-ray. Kind of like Zack Snyder did with Watchmen even though I  never have seen the movie but I've talked to enough people with them saying the  3-4 hour director's cut was epic. 

[maxal she/her]

33 minutes ago, bdoble97 said:

@maxal so what if we get a 2hr theater release na 3 hour Blu-ray. Kind of like Zack Snyder did with Watchmen even though I  never have seen the movie but I've talked to enough people with them saying the  3-4 hour director's cut was epic. 

Again, you are talking blockbuster, an average one which didn't make enough money per Hollywood standard, but a blockbuster nonetheless. The Watchmen movie had a budget of 130 million dollar: it generated 292 million of dollar world-wide. It got profit, but not enough to commandeer a sequel: its domestic claims were small. In other words, it was one of those movies which worked better across the sea. If it were SA, then the studio would have stopped after the first movie: the reaction not being positive enough. They only bother with sequels for high budget movies with those who generated hefty profits. 

The Watchmen selling pitch was dark comic book adaptation with peculiar visual effects at a time where super-heroes movies were starting to roam in. It draw in viewers because people were curious and the art direction was different than those we had seen before (again these were the years were you could sell a movie purely based on visual effects, the whole buzz over the Watchmen came from the art direction), but it didn't carry on because it was average. The casting was not memorable, no character truly stood out, the story was average and apart from the weird feel, there wasn't much to this movie to drag people in. It failed at dragging people in, at getting them invested into the story. In other words, for most people, the movie was boring, not completely outstandingly boring, but boring nonetheless.

This being said, the Watchmen still was a big enough movie they thought it was worth to release an extended Blu-Ray version: not all movie get this. 

What you ask for basically is a blockbuster. I too wish for a blockbuster, a high investment production the studio would truly believe in its commercial potential, but SA is a niche product. It is a tougher sale. Fantasy movies, apart from a few exceptions, have not historically worked well: too many bad ones, it lessen the genre's marketing appeal. My thoughts are they would need to go down the LoTR, the GoT and the Avatar route if they want to make it into a commercially successful franchise, but on all I have read on the subject, I have massive doubts. I suspect SA the movie will be a highly niche product with an average budget mostly aimed at the Asian market where it can more easily make profit. 

In other words, I don't think they are going to go down the blockbuster route which means there won't be any elongated version with previously cut out scenes. 

[cuimhne she/her]

On 10/27/2016 at 5:22 PM, Numuhukumakiaki'aialunamor said:

Just remember that the key to happiness in life is managing your expectations.

 

On 10/27/2016 at 5:23 PM, bleeder said:

You sound like my best friend. 

You mean that your best friend is Hoid?

[soyperson]

28 minutes ago, cuimhne said:

 

You mean that your best friend is Hoid?

My best friend had pre-ordered No Man's Sky for his PS4 a few months pre-release, and after, I asked him if it was a disappointment. His response, and I quote:

"Nothing is a disappointment when you don't set high expectations for anything."

He said the same when I asked him about the new Local Natives album, and his current relationship status.

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

If you guys doo want actors.

I bags Kaladin.

[soyperson]

I have now gone from "unimaginably happy and ecstatic" to "worried but hopeful."

[Sunbird she/her]

4 hours ago, bleeder said:

I have now gone from "unimaginably happy and ecstatic" to "worried but hopeful."

Even after reading all 5 pages of this thread, I'm still in the "unimaginably happy and ecstatic" phase. Yeah, okay, I don't know how the studio is going to pull this off, but Brandon says he trusts them AND he gets to be executive producer, so I think the future of the Cosmere Cinematic Universe is looking bright.

[maxal she/her]

6 hours ago, Sunbird said:

Even after reading all 5 pages of this thread, I'm still in the "unimaginably happy and ecstatic" phase. Yeah, okay, I don't know how the studio is going to pull this off, but Brandon says he trusts them AND he gets to be executive producer, so I think the future of the Cosmere Cinematic Universe is looking bright.

Careful, Brandon said he wouldn't have much say on what goes into the movie because he just isn't a big enough name for it (very few authors are). He also doesn't really know the team they hired, he just blindly trust they are good. When asked about the studio having hired the same screen writers as Saw, he responded Peter Jackson, the producer of Dead Alive, has been a strange choice for LoTR as well. He forgot the reason Peter Jackson was chosen was not because of Dead Alive, but because of critic acclaimed Heavently Creatures. The only plus I see into the studio's choice is the fact those guys managed to rejuvenated a dead genre: at a time where horror movies were instant flop, they pull out Saw which dragged in an entire generation. Those who were old enough at the time where the first Saw movie was released would remember how different it was from everything else: it was riveting. The sequels, not so much, but the original movie had something special. Not a small feat, but can they do it with epic fantasy? It may be out-of-the-box authors are exactly what fantasy needs in order to not repeat commercial flops such as World of Warcraft.

What worries me most is the fact the studio also doesn't have any major movies to their credit: they haven't done any super-production except for a participation in Iron Man 3. I also fear the movie will be majorly marketed towards the Asian market which would leave the western market where SA makes most of its sale disappointed. 

All in all, there are reasons to be doubtful about the whole deal, there are reasons to be hopeful, but I personally always tend to be septic.