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Post by sleepyscholar on Jun 21, 2023 23:00:12 GMT
Regarding the idea of turning existing FFs into movies, when worrying about specific elements in them, I think we should remember that movies will always involve significant modification to the plot, the setting, the characters and everything else, including the title. Hell, I mean I just adapted an FF (admittedly unfinished) as a roleplaying adventure, and it involved significant modification. And we're talking there about very close media, and the modification being done by the original author. With a movie, the medium is very different, and those doing the modification would be very different to the original author (and probably not very interested in the original author's ideas). When I was planning out ideas for a Black Vein Prophecy movie, I did similar to what you said. The ordering of the chapters was difficult to plan though. I had part of the finale moved to the beginning but told in such a way to suggest that Bezenvial was the hero (at least through his children's eyes). There was a whole chase sequence as well with Maior fleeing from a group of Man-Horses before falling off from the crumbling battlements into the sea to be rescued by Velkos. I skipped the catapulting part. I'd watch it! It also occurs to me, given my comments on how movies alter things, that given Julian Sands seems to be lost for good in the hills of California, you can watch the Magehunter film -- Warlock -- and honour him. And as for The Crimson Tide, just watch any of those barbarian movies which begin with the kid's village being trashed by the baddie (the obvious one being the original Conan with Arnie, of course). The latter case would have the dual advantages of no mudworms, and no Death's Messenger. And there's one or two Hammer films that would give a bit of a Stephen Hand vibe, no?
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Post by pip on Jun 22, 2023 16:07:34 GMT
A Deathtrap Dungeon series would be great. It would need more characters, and more interaction between the characters within the dungeon to make it work, but sure, it could be great, and I'd watch it. Imagine protagonists with different character arcs trying to go through the dungeon for different reasons, and in every episode some of them would die to a monster or an ingenious trap, but you have no idea who. Characters would split up to go different ways, maybe reunite later, form temporary alliances they might end up betraying, etc.
Except that concept is a bit too much like Squid Game (which I thought was ok... but they could have done much better with it IMO), and Squid Game is cheaper to produce since it takes place in the present time and not in a fantasy world (the biggest obstacle to any FF book ever being made into a movie, I suppose; any of them would need an AAA budget).
I'd also love to see movies based on books like Siege of Sardath and Slaves of the Abyss, which have very compelling storylines even without the interactive element of gamebooks (but again, AAA budget needed).
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Post by nathanh on Jun 23, 2023 13:53:15 GMT
Daggers of Darkness is a good shout I think. First, you have a hero being pursued by assassins, which is classic action movie stuff. Then, you've got an adventure over an entire kingdom, so you have lots of options to zoom in on different encounters. Some of these will be fast-paced action and some will be slower, so you get a range of pacing without having to force anything. You have some Heroic Trials which are again classic and you can make them whatever you think looks cool on screen. You can also expand the plot here from just passing the trial and getting the token to having to inspire the different groups to rise up with you against the evil lord. This neatly sends you to a climactic battle where the loyalists heroically face overwhelming odds so the hero can just get inside the castle to have a shot against the baddie. Finally, you have Chingiz's daughter who can play a role throughout the story as someone who helps the hero but isn't entirely trustworthy but also not entirely obviously suspicious. This gives you the option to give a nod to the "choose your own adventure" genre by filming two alternative endings, one where she betrays both sides and takes the throne, and one where she and hero get together and rule Happily Ever After.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jun 23, 2023 14:03:42 GMT
This gives you the option to give a nod to the "choose your own adventure" genre by filming two alternative endings, one where she betrays both sides and takes the throne, and one where she and hero get together and rule Happily Ever After. A bit like the Cluedo film which had six different endings and each cinema was given a reel with a random ending.
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Post by a moderator on Jun 23, 2023 14:37:14 GMT
This gives you the option to give a nod to the "choose your own adventure" genre by filming two alternative endings, one where she betrays both sides and takes the throne, and one where she and hero get together and rule Happily Ever After. A bit like the Cluedo film which had six different endings and each cinema was given a reel with a random ending. [pedant]Three different endings. A fourth was scripted and may have been filmed, but was not used.[/pedant]
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jun 23, 2023 17:05:59 GMT
A bit like the Cluedo film which had six different endings and each cinema was given a reel with a random ending. [pedant]Three different endings. A fourth was scripted and may have been filmed, but was not used.[/pedant] Ah my mistake.
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Post by vastariner on Jun 23, 2023 19:56:12 GMT
Fun fact: Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's was the singing telegram girl in the film.
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Post by CharlesX on Jun 24, 2023 13:38:47 GMT
A Deathtrap Dungeon series would be great. It would need more characters, and more interaction between the characters within the dungeon to make it work, but sure, it could be great, and I'd watch it. Imagine protagonists with different character arcs trying to go through the dungeon for different reasons, and in every episode some of them would die to a monster or an ingenious trap, but you have no idea who. Characters would split up to go different ways, maybe reunite later, form temporary alliances they might end up betraying, etc. Except that concept is a bit too much like Squid Game (which I thought was ok... but they could have done much better with it IMO), and Squid Game is cheaper to produce since it takes place in the present time and not in a fantasy world (the biggest obstacle to any FF book ever being made into a movie, I suppose; any of them would need an AAA budget). I'd also love to see movies based on books like Siege of Sardath and Slaves of the Abyss, which have very compelling storylines even without the interactive element of gamebooks (but again, AAA budget needed). An FF series sounds to me a little like the D&D series, which was and is really good but basically did what it could with the concept. IIRC there were CYOA and D&D interactive DVDs, which got only middling reviews & didn't make money (meaning, sequels are unlikely and the original is nothing more than OK). I would have said FF was too niche for a film, but they made hit movies based on Arthur C. Clarke and even Isaaac Asimov, so you don't know. As someone has brought up Clue, it's just as well to point out Clue film barely works not because the concept is the most strong one but because it is a pop culture phenomenon, where Legend Of Zagor didn't sell (unlike, say, Goosebumps).
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Post by sleepyscholar on Jun 25, 2023 13:20:38 GMT
Fun fact: Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's was the singing telegram girl in the film. My lips are sealed...
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Post by evilwizard on Jul 9, 2023 19:11:21 GMT
If you follow the true path, Crypt of the Sorcerer mostly reads like a film so might work, though it would probably be ruined by executive meddling, bad casting and overreliance on bad special effects.
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Post by Pete Byrdie on Jul 10, 2023 10:05:28 GMT
A Deathtrap Dungeon series would be great. It would need more characters, and more interaction between the characters within the dungeon to make it work, but sure, it could be great, and I'd watch it. Imagine protagonists with different character arcs trying to go through the dungeon for different reasons, and in every episode some of them would die to a monster or an ingenious trap, but you have no idea who. Characters would split up to go different ways, maybe reunite later, form temporary alliances they might end up betraying, etc. Except that concept is a bit too much like Squid Game (which I thought was ok... but they could have done much better with it IMO), and Squid Game is cheaper to produce since it takes place in the present time and not in a fantasy world (the biggest obstacle to any FF book ever being made into a movie, I suppose; any of them would need an AAA budget). I'd also love to see movies based on books like Siege of Sardath and Slaves of the Abyss, which have very compelling storylines even without the interactive element of gamebooks (but again, AAA budget needed). I'm sold on a Deathtrap Dungeon series now I've read this. I can imagine flashbacks to each contestant's lives, as well as some local politics with Baron Sukumvit and other powerful FF characters.
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Post by CharlesX on Jul 10, 2023 19:59:50 GMT
If you follow the true path, Crypt of the Sorcerer mostly reads like a film so might work, though it would probably be ruined by executive meddling, bad casting and overreliance on bad special effects. Crypt Of The Sorceror seems to me to read like one of those b*llsh*t 'below-average' horror films like Stephen King, The Wishmaster or Blair Witch Project. I'm in two minds whether the screen ending or the directors cut would be the one where you escape or the one where you die as a hero.
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,679
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on Jul 10, 2023 22:11:35 GMT
Imagine the movie ending to Crypt of the Sorcerer be like:
Upon slaying Razaak, the hero flees the collapsing crypt. With rubble and stone falling around him/her the screen fades to black. Back outside, his waiting friends feel the shock of the crypt's destruction as the ground heaves and sinks into the earth. They don't know if their friend survived or not. Just then, they hear the scraping of gravel as a skeletal hand bursts out from the ground. They ready their weapons to fight the rising dead but Yaztromo stops them realizing that this IS their friend and the adventure is not yet over...
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Post by CharlesX on Jul 11, 2023 11:32:27 GMT
Imagine the movie ending to Crypt of the Sorcerer be like: Upon slaying Razaak, the hero flees the collapsing crypt. With rubble and stone falling around him/her the screen fades to black. Back outside, his waiting friends feel the shock of the crypt's destruction as the ground heaves and sinks into the earth. They don't know if their friend survived or not. Just then, they hear the scraping of gravel as a skeletal hand bursts out from the ground. They ready their weapons to fight the rising dead but Yaztromo stops them realizing that this IS their friend and the adventure is not yet over... Well-put, but what is the reason? Did they stick a Horned Demon Talisman in their pocket instead of wearing one? Bullshit like I was suggesting before.
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Post by a moderator on Jul 11, 2023 13:06:10 GMT
Imagine the movie ending to Crypt of the Sorcerer be like: Upon slaying Razaak, the hero flees the collapsing crypt. With rubble and stone falling around him/her the screen fades to black. Back outside, his waiting friends feel the shock of the crypt's destruction as the ground heaves and sinks into the earth. They don't know if their friend survived or not. Just then, they hear the scraping of gravel as a skeletal hand bursts out from the ground. They ready their weapons to fight the rising dead but Yaztromo stops them realizing that this IS their friend and the adventure is not yet over... Well-put, but what is the reason? Did they stick a Horned Demon Talisman in their pocket instead of wearing one? Bullshit like I was suggesting before.
What is the reason for Kull's having become a skeleton after slaying Razaak the first time? Having the hero afflicted by the same curse (or whatever) as their predecessor makes more sense than a lot of what actually happens in the gamebook.
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Post by petch on Jul 11, 2023 16:26:43 GMT
Champskees' summary of the ending in his solution still makes me laugh every time I read it, and as a movie ending would probably appeal to a discerning specialist audience:
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