''IF'' a movie or serie... what would be your idea?

[Xomudid]

Hiya.

 

I have seen threads about movies. I would looooove to see that happen as well. Though I would prefer a series to prevent getting the same effect as Eragon. Stuff a whole story in 90 minutes.

 

So...... IF the story is getting filmed... What would you say?

 

Where would it have to be shot according to you? What has definatly gotta be in, and what can be left out (little stuff) And all that sorta stuff.

[Gympok]

thats my problem... i dont want anything left out and i dont think you could get everything across in a movie form. There is a lot of thinking and description, maybe they could get it across but i wouldnt want anything cut out. That was my main problem with LOTR they left out Tom Bombadil, i understand why, but i never would have done it. HES AWESOME!

[nashdude]

I agree, a series is DEFINITELY the way to go. With as much material as is in the books, we could get a good six seasons EASY. (I do think that the full twelve seasons would be a bit much)

[Angel of Death]

Two books per season? That could work.

 

But where to shoot it... i don't have a clue.

[Jambo]

I disagree, they could make a movie work with a little work. As various ppl have already pointed out on other threads there is a lot in the books that can be removed without really changeing the story or that will take very little time to show (clothes, weather etc.). Some people have been mentioning LoTR as an example of how it should be, but although I liked those movies, I felt they weren't layed out very well. Some parts were talked about way too long or dragged on, and other parts/characters were completey removed, or put into the wrong movie(the Shelob thing was supposed to be in the third movie). And then they went and changed how some characters were supposed to act so, ya I don't know if they are going to turn the books into movies I don't mind cutting unimportant scenes but I can't stand when a character is unnecessarily changed for the hell of it. I think if they were to do movie they'd have to be really carefull cuz if they screw up an earlier movie they will doom the rest (see Eragon the movie ewwwwww).

[Moiraine_Damodred]

I think the best option is an animated series.  It gets around all the things that would prevent a series.  It won't cost any extra to make the fancy smancy stuff like weaves and such we all would want to see.  You won't have to find actors that look like the characters, only sound like them, which would be infintly easier.  and nothing would be let out like would happen in a movie.

[Darth_Andrea]

Actually I think a series done like the old BBC Chronicals of Narnia series was done would be great. One book per season would be great if it was done right and given a large enought budget.

 

 

Darth_Andrea

[Digbe]

As far as TV series goes... Charmed did very well.  The budget was relatively low, excluding the babes designer clothes.  Cole would makes a good Forsaken or Logain btw. 

 

Couldn't always fit one book in per season because of ratings and time configurations.  Not all of the books end at a point where a normal drama/scifi series end.

 

There are so many characters that alot of no-namers could have a part-time job for 8-10 years!!!

 

Plus if it were to really take off, they could always follow suit w/the cinema for the climatic points of the story/ 

[dmanmiller34]

I think that the only medium that could do it justice is Anime.It would definalty have to be a series. Now I am not a huge anime fan but as far as money is concered I think that is the only fesable way to capture the OP without making is seem weak or lame. A live action medium would burn through its budget in nop time tryind to depict channeling. A CG movie like Final fantasy would also be cool as well.

[Charlz Guybon]

I think the best option is an animated series.  It gets around all the things that would prevent a series.  It won't cost any extra to make the fancy smancy stuff like weaves and such we all would want to see.  You won't have to find actors that look like the characters, only sound like them, which would be infintly easier.  and nothing would be let out like would happen in a movie.

I agree, you'd need like 200 episodes to portray everything that's happened so far, anime is the way to go.

[Digbe]

THIS IS ME CONTRADICTING MYSELF MOMENTS AGO IN ANOTHER THREAD!!:

 

Everyone is dogging anime but they seem to forget that RJ and Co. would get some good bang for their buck with simple yu-gi-oh or whatever they are style card games  & other various assorted toys to go w/the more affordable anime/manga.  Cheaper and with an opportunity to focus more on storylines rather stage-props gimmicks and tracking down who the hell stole lindsy lohans donut that she wasn't going to eat anyways.  I hope you read me.

 

Personally,  Cartoon movies such as mentioned earlier: Princess Mononoke was awesome.  Personally, though.  My wife got me sucked into Charmed... and after being a Wot-head, I think I saw more into the story of Charmed than that which was originally included by A. Spelling.  Which is why I loved the series much more than my wife.  Not to mention Alyssa Milano~ Moiraine.. hmm.

[Davram]

I think either a series or an animated movie/series would be great.  I doubt a movie will work considering all the side-plots etc.  Even if they did make a movie its storyline would be messed up.  [move]'Points' to Eragon.[/move]

[Siemba]

Anime or cartoon would be cheaper but I dont think it would work, mainly because, in general, animation gets tacked with 'kids appeal' regardless of the story. And if you watered WoT down to make it kiddy friendly, it would suck noodles. Not to mention that people who havent read WoT would be less likely to want to watch-in general theyd see cartoon and think it was for children. Ok, this doesnt refer to many people, but its the opinion of the majority. And it would lead to cheesy merchandise (apparently the lastest kids toy is a 'Jesus doll'... :-\) which would annoy me personally. An acted film would be interesting if it was done properly and would probably appeal to a wider audience.Then again, commercialness aside, Id quite like a WoT animated film or series. A series could work quite well-theres enough dramatic bits to leave as cliffhangers and you could probably do it with, say, 3 POVs per episode...*ponders*

 

 

 

[Davram]

Mehm true

 

[Guest cwestervelt]

I used to think a movie would be a great.  Now, I hope it never happens.  The same goes for a series.  Give almost any good book to Hollywood, and they will find some way to ruin it.

 

That said, there is not enough in a book to make a series out of.  Maybe a miniseries but nothing longer.  Some books could be done in a single movie without cutting that much plot out.  I'm just about done another reread of Eye of the World a single movie could definitely be made from it.  It might be on the slightly longer side, but I'm not one to complain about a movie running 2 1/2 hours or more if it is well done.  The books, as has been mentioned many times, are very descriptive.  Much of what is there is background details that can be provided simultaneously on film while the can't only be relayed sequentially on paper.  And I don't see the PoVs lending well to the screen.  Too much information is provided through personal thoughts, not dialog.  Sure, voice overs have been done, occasionally well.  On the whole, the just don't work very well.  As for anime, you lose a large market right there.  Too many people simple wouldn't watch it for that reason alone.  There may be some very good animated films out there, but too much junk has colored the image for main stream acceptance.  Look what happened when the Lord of the Rings was attempted that way.

[jaimevotrechapeau]

I think they could do a normal movie, but instead of a book a movie you can include a couple of books per movie especially later on in the series. in the end you would likely end up with about four movies...? sure you would end up with deleting some scenes or some characters altogether, but seriously? a great deal of 'fluff' can be taken away and still not effect the movie too terribly. not gonna lie, as i read the series i am continuously planning out what would go in a movie. like, 'delete this, forget this, this goes in' etc, etc. but i do think real people would be better because anime is aimed towards a certain group of people and the general american populace isnt rolling with that whole bit. like i know i personally wouldnt go see in anime movie even if it is the wot simply because its slightly dorky. and anyways, i dont think you can achieve the same depth with paper characters v. flesh and blood.

[lsm]

an hbo mini series would be the way to go IMO. they could get a few seasons, but in a mini series format, it works well to expose all the different characters and plots.

[Guest cwestervelt]

an hbo mini series would be the way to go IMO. they could get a few seasons, but in a mini series format, it works well to expose all the different characters and plots.

 

Actually, that appears, at least at one time, to be RJs preference should it ever be done to.  I'll have to see if I can dig up the quote...

 

Looks like it wasn't on any of the usual places I check.  Either that or I'm just not seeing it now.  I don't see a movie as being likely in any event.  The Wheel of Time has been optioned a couple of times, but apparently never with any real serious intent.

[inkubate]

I dislike the idea of it being on HBO, simply because i dont have it  >:(

 

but as for a a mini series, that would be cool, but i dont want to see WoT in theaters, simply because the movie would probably get a cool fan base as large as LoTR's then the fan base would fade and being a WoT fan would become the geeky/dork thing to do, true many people people here would continue to be die-hard fans, like myself, but i dont want WoT to ever be labeled as geeky or dork-ish, and if that means keeping it out of the lime light, so be it...

[RobertAlexWillis]

I don't have HBO either, inkubate, but I wouldn't mind having them do it, for the same reason I'm glad ASoIaF got optioned to them: they have the money to do it well.  It'll come out on DVD, if it gets done.

 

There really is no way I could possibly see justice being done to WOT in a feature film format.  TEoTW is the least complicated of the books, and it would be a long movie, even heavily editing the story.  TEoTW alone is about as long as the entire LOTR trilogy, which is somewhere between 9-10 hours (thats an estimate) in feature movie length, and still is missing elements of the actual story.

 

A mini-series of 6-8 one hour episodes for each book would work, in my opinion.  Of course, then you'll have to have 12 seasons ... thats a lot of episodes, especially one hour episodes.

[TheRedSon]

Two things I don't understand about this conversation when it comes up...

 

1)  What difference does it make if it's "dorky?"  I don't see a lot of "cool" people picking the books up on the fantasy aisle as it is.

 

2)  Why we're so worried about the special effects.  I think Hollywood can handle any effect tWoT could throw at them.  It's the story I don't trust in movie format.

 

About Eregon,

 

Having read the book I wondered why anyone else that had read it would want to make a movie out of it...

 

Having seen the movie I realized none of them had read the book.

 

If Chris Paolini hadn't made so much money stealing his story from George Lucas, setting it in Tolkien's world and bandwagoning JK Rowling's hype...  I'd really feel sorry for the guy.

[RobertAlexWillis]

I just pictured Harrison Ford saying "Flying a dragon ain't like dusting crops, farmboy."

[Guest cwestervelt]

It makes a lot of difference if the movie is dorky or not and I would hope any fan of the books would care.  Making a bad movie will reflect badly on the books.  A good movie might actually encourage a couple people who haven't read the books to do so.

 

The problem that a movie would run into, effects wise, is that there is nothing to see.  If they tried to depict channeling the way the books do, the movie wouldn't make sense.  You would have too many things happening for no reason.  As for Hollywood's ability to manage any effect the screen writer comes up with, that isn't really a problem.  Coming up with something that would satisfy a majority of the books fans is something else.

 

All in all, I say the best option is not to even try.  We don't need Wheel of Time fans that have never read the books.  We already have enough of those with Lord of the Rings.  Another series for which the idea of a movie once excited me.

[TheRedSon]

Excuse me.  I thought you said an animated film or series would be "dorky" as in only dorks, nerds and geeks would want to watch it.  If by "dorky" you meant a sad excuse of a story that only marginally represents RJ's work then obviously none of us want to see that.  Poor craftsmanship is not something I enjoy spending my time or money on. 

 

This story can be done well as a live action or animated reproduction.  It will not and cannot (and most likly should not) be the same once adapted to another format, but the idea that it shouldn't be tried for that fact alone...  That line of thinking would produce a world sadly lacking in the arts.  There is a lot of art in this world inspired by preexisting art.  Much of it designed to capture the intent of the original in a new medium.  After all, the world is full of Phantom of the Operea, Les Miserable and Wicked fans that have never read the books.  Thanks to photography and the printing press it's full of fans of Picasso, Rembrandt and DeVinci that have never seen their work.

[RobertAlexWillis]

The problem that a movie would run into, effects wise, is that there is nothing to see.  If they tried to depict channeling the way the books do, the movie wouldn't make sense.  You would have too many things happening for no reason.

 

I don't really think thats the case.  The audience could see gateways opening, balefire firing, fireballs and lightning, etc.  Even things like floating a pitcher of tea would be adequately explained by gesture or something while seeing a pitcher of tea float across the screen.  About the only thing that would really need to be seen would be the Cleansing, and the visual effects could be done from Rand's POV ... he can see what's going on, after all.  Maybe some of the more complex Healings, or channeling battles (like say, Nynaeve and Graendal in Tanchico) ... but again, doing it from the channeler's POV would allow the effects to be seen.

 

The larger issue in my mind is the butchering of the story that would have to occur in any feature film format.