New Line Cinema Options White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem ..

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http://www.worldofdarkness.com/press/movie.html

New Line Cinema Options White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem for
Multi-Picture Deal

Atlanta, GA, July 26, 2004 – White Wolf Publishing has reached an
agreement with New Line Cinema to produce a motion picture series
based on Vampire: The Requiem.


A modern horror game about vampires hidden among the living, Vampire:
The Requiem is the flagship property of White Wolf's World of Darkness
contemporary horror universe. New Line, the film company responsible
for such blockbusters as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Seven and the
Austin Powers franchise, brings a unique combination of artistic and
commercial acumen to the deal.


"We're excited that the company that brought Lord of the Rings to
the big screen has taken an interest in our flagship property," said
Mike Tinney, president of White Wolf. "New Line's creative executives
and producer Adam Fields have a great deal of enthusiasm for Vampire
and have taken great strides to partner White Wolf with New Line."


Adam Fields, producer of such films as Donnie Darko and Brokedown
Palace, has signed on to the project as producer. "Vampire is a
unique template for a fantastic movie franchise," said Fields. "I
look at a lot of computer games and roleplaying games, but Vampire and
the World of Darkness stand out thanks to their compelling visuals
and narrative. I'm very excited by the prospects of the movies and of
a future relationship with the talented folks at White Wolf."


Vampire: The Requiem is the newest property in White Wolf's award
winning World of Darkness series of books and games. Although other
properties tied to the World of Darkness have been licensed for
television series, action figures and video games, this is the first
major licensing agreement for White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem,
which will release as a pen-and-paper roleplaying game this August
21st. White Wolf is represented by the Gersh Agency.


Since its entry into the roleplaying game market in 1991, White Wolf
Publishing, Inc. has grown, maintaining an average market share of
26%. With collective book sales in excess of 5.5 million copies
during this time, White Wolf is one of two undisputed worldwide
publishing leaders for pen-and-paper roleplaying games. White Wolf
properties have been licensed for television series, comic books,
action figures, console and computer video games, coin-operated arcade
games, professional wrestlers, replica props and weapons, interactive
media events and a myriad of merchandise. More information on White
Wolf can be found at <http://www.white-wolf.com/> .


New Line Cinema is the oldest and most successful fully integrated
independent film company in the world. In addition to the production
and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, it has divisions
devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, licensing,
merchandising and international marketing and distribution. New Line
has long been a pioneer in franchise filmmaking, and its Lord of the
Rings trilogy is the most successful film franchise in history.
Together with its subsidiary, Fine Line Features, New Line is a unit
of Time Warner.

--
Conrad Hubbard
White Wolf Publishing http://www.white-wolf.com
Sword & Sorcery http://www.swordsorcery.com
"Promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries" - U.S. Constitution, Article 1,
Section 8

 

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conrad@white-wolf.com postulated:

:: New Line Cinema Options White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem for
:: Multi-Picture Deal

Let's hope the ball is not dropped and they get some writers (and a
director) who know what the hell they're doing.

Nimrod...
--
"...man's spiritual nature was derived from a Divine being, who had fallen
out of the world of light into the world of darkness. The process of
deliverance involved, in the first place, the resoration of this fallen
being ... by the voluntary decent of another Divine being, equal or superior
in rank."
- Hastings, _Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics_ VI, article
'Gnosticism'

 

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"Nimrod Jones" <Nimrod_V01D@doleos.demon.co.uk> wrote in message news:<2mng7oFonttmU1@uni-berlin.de>...
> conrad@white-wolf.com postulated:
>
> :: New Line Cinema Options White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem for
> :: Multi-Picture Deal
>
> Let's hope the ball is not dropped and they get some writers (and a
> director) who know what the hell they're doing.
>
Hell, sounds like a thread to me:

Who would you most like to see in charge of the project? Alex Proyas
(sp?) and Chris Nolan are names that leap to mind as directors. Maybe
David Finch. And I'd kill to have Jeunet take a shot at Changeling!

As for writers, who was the guy who wrote Jacob's Ladder and
Flatliners? That guy. And Bruce Baugh (here's hoping we get Justin as
a creative consultant; I hear he'll work for booze!^^).

What music would you like to hear in WW films? A dark, bombastic Danny
Elfman theme or the melodic creepiness of Angelo Badalamenti?

Dex,
trying NOT to imagine Joel Schumacher's World of Darkness...<shudder>

 

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"Nimrod Jones"
> conrad@white-wolf.com postulated:

> :: New Line Cinema Options White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem for
> :: Multi-Picture Deal

> Let's hope the ball is not dropped and they get some writers (and a
> director) who know what the hell they're doing.

> Nimrod...

"Do you ever think we'll find evidence of life on other worlds?"
"Right now I'd settle for life on this one."

I mean...yeah, I'd love to see something WoD like that doesn't look
like Wolf Lake or Kindred: the Embraced or even Underworld. But I
think Hollywood wants the Catwoman audience, and not the people who
actually know what the World of Darkness is for an audience.

 

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In article <27420f11.0407271744.7a6684ea@posting.google.com>,
smilinglord@hotmail.com (Hand-of-Omega) wrote:

> What music would you like to hear in WW films? A dark, bombastic Danny
> Elfman theme or the melodic creepiness of Angelo Badalamenti?
>

Chris Vrenna with a full orchestra.


mdf

--
remove 'no junk' to reply

 

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>> conrad@white-wolf.com postulated:
>>
>> :: New Line Cinema Options White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem for
>> :: Multi-Picture Deal
>>
>> Let's hope the ball is not dropped and they get some writers (and a
>> director) who know what the hell they're doing.
>>
>Hell, sounds like a thread to me:
>
>Who would you most like to see in charge of the project? Alex Proyas
>(sp?) and Chris Nolan are names that leap to mind as directors. Maybe
>David Finch. And I'd kill to have Jeunet take a shot at Changeling!

Alex Proyas, Christopher Nolan, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and David Fincher are on my
short list of directors who I'd love to see take on WoD movies.

Hell, I'd even like to see McG work on Mage.

>As for writers, who was the guy who wrote Jacob's Ladder and
>Flatliners? That guy. And Bruce Baugh (here's hoping we get Justin as
>a creative consultant; I hear he'll work for booze!^^).

Bruce Joel Rubin wrote Jacob's Ladder and Flatliners, but also keep in mind
that he wrote Ghost, so he might be able to come up with a good script or 2.

I'd love to see Bruce Baugh tackle a script, and I also hope we'll get Justin
as 'creative consulatant' to boot.

>What music would you like to hear in WW films? A dark, bombastic Danny
>Elfman theme or the melodic creepiness of Angelo Badalamenti?

Angelo Badalamenti's music for 'Twin Peaks' was used in one of my V:tM games,
and it fit, so that type of music would probably work in a WoD movie.

>Dex,
>trying NOT to imagine Joel Schumacher's World of Darkness...<shudder>

Oh. no... he's the WORST person to unleash on the WoD...

My fondest wish ... that New Line Cinema will keep him and M. Night Shymalan as
far away from the WoD as possible.


Stephie
(back from vacation....)

 

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sfryar@aol.comSPAMIN8R (Stephie) wrote in message news:<20040730205042.05916.00002667@mb-m05.aol.com>...
> >> conrad@white-wolf.com postulated:
> >>
> >> :: New Line Cinema Options White Wolf's Vampire: The Requiem for
> >> :: Multi-Picture Deal
> >>
> >> Let's hope the ball is not dropped and they get some writers (and a
> >> director) who know what the hell they're doing.
> >>
> >Hell, sounds like a thread to me:
> >
> >Who would you most like to see in charge of the project? Alex Proyas
> >(sp?) and Chris Nolan are names that leap to mind as directors. Maybe
> >David Finch. And I'd kill to have Jeunet take a shot at Changeling!
>
> Alex Proyas, Christopher Nolan, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and David Fincher are on my
> short list of directors who I'd love to see take on WoD movies.
>
> Hell, I'd even like to see McG work on Mage.

I lost almost all interest in Mage thinking about that.

 

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In article <c772e1f6.0408010455.1effbb5c@posting.google.com>,
usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) wrote:

> Mage
> *Writer: dunno.

Tim Powers or Charlie Kaufman both spring to mind.

--
Tyler

u d e t o d r y s t a n o i d f t

Bac>|wards

 

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Tyler Dion <tfdion@spammenot.com> wrote in message news:<L42dnVuODY0Nl5DcRVn-gA@telcove.net>...
> In article <c772e1f6.0408010455.1effbb5c@posting.google.com>,
> usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) wrote:
>
> > Mage
> > *Writer: dunno.
>
> Tim Powers or Charlie Kaufman both spring to mind.

Actually, having slept on it, Clive Barker is the right guy for the
job. People always think of Unknown Armies when they think of Time
Powers and Unknown Armies is really a quite different game. Charlie
Kaufman has done to much Generic Wierdness for my taste.

Grant Morrison also springs to mind for Mage, but he's too
metaphysically partisan.

Speaking of Barker, though, I've always wondered why Cabal didn't
register more off an influence on Vampire. He has a bad rap for
so-called splatterpunk, but that seemss to be most a function of being
a new successful hooror guy in the 80s.

M.

 

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usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) wrote in message news:<c772e1f6.0408011817.49010899@posting.google.com>...
> Tyler Dion <tfdion@spammenot.com> wrote in message news:<L42dnVuODY0Nl5DcRVn-gA@telcove.net>...
> > In article <c772e1f6.0408010455.1effbb5c@posting.google.com>,
> > usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) wrote:
> >
> > > Mage
> > > *Writer: dunno.

> > Tim Powers or Charlie Kaufman both spring to mind.

> Actually, having slept on it, Clive Barker is the right guy for the
> job. People always think of Unknown Armies when they think of Time
> Powers and Unknown Armies is really a quite different game.

It's all about The Lord of Illusions. I'm troubled that more people
don't like that movie.

> Charlie
> Kaufman has done to much Generic Wierdness for my taste.

Kaufman tends to like his own drum more than others. Which is fine,
but I wouldn't give him a pre-established setting and expect it intact
after he's done. He could be handed Mage, but give us a story about
his imaginary twin brother smoking peyote in the desert talking to a
box turtle. Although I'm sure it'd be a very interesting movie about
an imaginary brother smoking peyote with a box turtle.

> Grant Morrison also springs to mind for Mage, but he's too
> metaphysically partisan.
>
> Speaking of Barker, though, I've always wondered why Cabal didn't
> register more off an influence on Vampire. He has a bad rap for
> so-called splatterpunk, but that seemss to be most a function of being
> a new successful hooror guy in the 80s.

People who think Barker is only splatterpunk have obviously never
given him a chance outside of his early works. These are the folks
who say "Wow...he hasn't done anything since Hellraiser."

 

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In article <c772e1f6.0408011817.49010899@posting.google.com>,
usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) writes:

>Grant Morrison also springs to mind for Mage, but he's too
>metaphysically partisan.

And Morrison is only good when he's on his meds (or has a strong editor to rein
him in, I'm not sure which).

If I were producing a Mage movie, though, I'd probably spend a long time
looking at writers who *aren't* known in "fan" circles. Someone with solid
literary skills but who knows weird fiction too, and would enjoy bringing his
skills to popular entertainment.

I think Life Is Beautiful was far more a Mage movie than, say, Dark City was,
for portraying reality molded by belief. I'd want a writer who could show that;
a facility with Clive Barkerish occult references comes a distant second for
me.


Dean Shomshak

 

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So really, the problem is that anyone creative enough to write a Mage
film is creative enough that they wouldn't *want* to write a Mage film.

What we need is the creme de la franchise writers, those who write to
order for the studios. Is there such a thing?

--
Tyler

u d e t o d r y s t a n o i d f t

Bac>|wards

 

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dshomshak@aol.com (DShomshak) wrote in message news:<20040803123353.03887.00000084@mb-m14.aol.com>...
> In article <c772e1f6.0408011817.49010899@posting.google.com>,
> usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) writes:
>
> >Grant Morrison also springs to mind for Mage, but he's too
> >metaphysically partisan.
>
> And Morrison is only good when he's on his meds (or has a strong editor to rein
> him in, I'm not sure which).
>
> If I were producing a Mage movie, though, I'd probably spend a long time
> looking at writers who *aren't* known in "fan" circles. Someone with solid
> literary skills but who knows weird fiction too, and would enjoy bringing his
> skills to popular entertainment.
>
> I think Life Is Beautiful was far more a Mage movie than, say, Dark City was,
> for portraying reality molded by belief. I'd want a writer who could show that;
> a facility with Clive Barkerish occult references comes a distant second for
> me.

It's not that Barker does occult. It's that he's willing to create
new worlds, and fill them with exceptional characters.

 

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Stephie wrote:
>
> >Dex,
> >trying NOT to imagine Joel Schumacher's World of Darkness...<shudder>
>
> Oh. no... he's the WORST person to unleash on the WoD...

Oh I dunno, I think he could do an interesting job on a Changeling flick. I'd
rather go with Luc Besson on that one though.


--
Jon
-----
Cats are the embodiment of angels here on Earth.

 

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lord zog <evil_lord_zog@spin.net.au> wrote in message news:<41106531.891606A1@spin.net.au>...
> Stephie wrote:
> >
> > >Dex,
> > >trying NOT to imagine Joel Schumacher's World of Darkness...<shudder>
> >
> > Oh. no... he's the WORST person to unleash on the WoD...
>
> Oh I dunno, I think he could do an interesting job on a Changeling flick. I'd
> rather go with Luc Besson on that one though.

If "Joel Schumacher doing a decent job on a Changeling flick" you mean
"has a really good chance of making sure it'd be horribly bad", then
yes. He's a nice guy, and has good taste in movies, but isn't the
person I'd call for Changeling.

Luc Besson could do a WoD movie, maybe, but I doubt Changeling.
Changeling needs a certain style attached to it, and while I love
Besson's work, I don't think he has the right mindset to pull it off.

 

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dshomshak@aol.com (DShomshak) wrote in message news:<20040803123353.03887.00000084@mb-m14.aol.com>...
> In article <c772e1f6.0408011817.49010899@posting.google.com>,
> usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) writes:
>
> >Grant Morrison also springs to mind for Mage, but he's too
> >metaphysically partisan.
>
> And Morrison is only good when he's on his meds (or has a strong editor to rein
> him in, I'm not sure which).

With the exception of The Invisibles, he's benefitted best from a
structure -- even if it's one he can destabilize, the way he did by
playing up the continuity issues in his run of Animal Man.

> If I were producing a Mage movie, though, I'd probably spend a long time
> looking at writers who *aren't* known in "fan" circles. Someone with solid
> literary skills but who knows weird fiction too, and would enjoy bringing his
> skills to popular entertainment.
>
> I think Life Is Beautiful was far more a Mage movie than, say, Dark City was,
> for portraying reality molded by belief. I'd want a writer who could show that;
> a facility with Clive Barkerish occult references comes a distant second for
> me.

Barker's main talent is the ability to keep a humanistic perspective
on strangeness. Imajica's brilliant in this regard, since the
characters' personal feelings and histories weave into the larger
metaphysical themes quite nicely.

Generally, though, I have no problems with Mage being a solid genre
movie. I can see plenty of movies about metaphysical exploration, none
of which are Mage. I'd prefer a sophisticated treatment, but not one
which is subtly shamefaced about its origins and name-brand
attributes. I'd like to see a strong emotional, metaphyscial and
surreal component; I'd also like to see self-adhesive mystic sigils
blowing up cars and a CGI Voormas puppetted by Ray Park.

M.

>
> Dean Shomshak

 

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Malcolm Sheppard wrote:

> a CGI Voormas puppetted by Ray Park.

/There's/ a casting I'd have never considered in a million years.
--
Stephenls
Geek
"I'm as impure as the driven yellow snow." -Spike

 

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Stephenls <stephenls@shaw.ca> wrote in message news:<2nd56hFv4156U1@uni-berlin.de>...
> Malcolm Sheppard wrote:
>
> > a CGI Voormas puppetted by Ray Park.
>
> /There's/ a casting I'd have never considered in a million years.

He's a marvelous physical actor, even outside martial arts.

Old Voormas would be played by Omar Sharif.

M.

 

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Zane Graves wrote:
>
> If "Joel Schumacher doing a decent job on a Changeling flick" you mean
> "has a really good chance of making sure it'd be horribly bad", then
> yes. He's a nice guy, and has good taste in movies

<snip right there>

Everyone? Too stupid to live, or what?

--
Christopher Adams - Sydney, Australia
What part of "Ph'nglui mglw'nath Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" don't you
understand?
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/prestigeclasslist.html

 

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"Christopher Adams" <mhacdebhandia@yahoo.invalid> wrote in message news:<G5oQc.34362$K53.25730@news-server.bigpond.net.au>...
> Zane Graves wrote:
> >
> > If "Joel Schumacher doing a decent job on a Changeling flick" you mean
> > "has a really good chance of making sure it'd be horribly bad", then
> > yes. He's a nice guy, and has good taste in movies
>
> <snip right there>
>
> Everyone? Too stupid to live, or what?

Scuse me?

I'm just unsure if you're talking about me, or if you're talking about him.

 

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Zane Graves wrote:
> Christopher Adams wrote:
>> Zane Graves wrote:
>>>
>>> If "Joel Schumacher doing a decent job on a Changeling flick" you mean
>>> "has a really good chance of making sure it'd be horribly bad", then
>>> yes. He's a nice guy, and has good taste in movies
>>
>> <snip right there>
>>
>> Everyone? Too stupid to live, or what?
>
> Scuse me?
>
> I'm just unsure if you're talking about me, or if you're talking about
> him.

No, it's you. Come on! I'm sure Joel Schumacher is a nice guy, but his taste in
movies includes Neon-Light Batman, 8MM, and tacking a horrible flight-into-orbit
shot on the end of a good Larry Cohen script.

--
Christopher Adams - Sydney, Australia
What part of "Ph'nglui mglw'nath Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" don't you
understand?
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/prestigeclasslist.html

 

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"Christopher Adams" <mhacdebhandia@yahoo.invalid> wrote in message news:<FiyQc.34840$K53.24469@news-server.bigpond.net.au>...
> Zane Graves wrote:
> > Christopher Adams wrote:
> >> Zane Graves wrote:
> >>>
> >>> If "Joel Schumacher doing a decent job on a Changeling flick" you mean
> >>> "has a really good chance of making sure it'd be horribly bad", then
> >>> yes. He's a nice guy, and has good taste in movies
> >>
> >> <snip right there>
> >>
> >> Everyone? Too stupid to live, or what?
> >
> > Scuse me?
> >
> > I'm just unsure if you're talking about me, or if you're talking about
> > him.
>
> No, it's you. Come on! I'm sure Joel Schumacher is a nice guy, but his taste in
> movies includes Neon-Light Batman, 8MM, and tacking a horrible flight-into-orbit
> shot on the end of a good Larry Cohen script.

*ahem*

I was talking about the actual movies he WATCHES, not the movies he
MAKES.

Which is why I said "he has good taste in movies". A friend of mine
works at the video store he frequents.

 

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In article <c772e1f6.0408041355.3377d436@posting.google.com>,
usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) writes:

>> I think Life Is Beautiful was far more a Mage movie than, say, Dark City
>was,
>> for portraying reality molded by belief. I'd want a writer who could show
>that;
>> a facility with Clive Barkerish occult references comes a distant second
>for
>> me.
>
>Barker's main talent is the ability to keep a humanistic perspective
>on strangeness. Imajica's brilliant in this regard, since the
>characters' personal feelings and histories weave into the larger
>metaphysical themes quite nicely.

I've only read WeaveWorld and The Great And Secret Show, and they didn't
impress me much on any count. I also saw that movie with the time-traveling
priest, and thought it stank on ice. Maybe these just aren't Barker's best
work.

>Generally, though, I have no problems with Mage being a solid genre
>movie. I can see plenty of movies about metaphysical exploration, none
>of which are Mage. I'd prefer a sophisticated treatment, but not one
>which is subtly shamefaced about its origins and name-brand
>attributes. I'd like to see a strong emotional, metaphyscial and
>surreal component; I'd also like to see self-adhesive mystic sigils
>blowing up cars and a CGI Voormas puppetted by Ray Park.

I don't think a non-genre writer would necessarily be "subtly shamefaced" about
the material's origins. Mario Puzo's screenplay for Superman didn't strike me
as ashamed of the material. My chief worry with a genre writer is you'd get the
self-adhesive mystic sigils but *not* the ideas that make Mage, for me,
something bigger and better than most other games of High Weirdness.

The X-Men and Spider-Man movies strike me as movies made by perceptive admirers
of a genre, who love their source material but can see it from outside, too.
Ang Lee's Incredible Hulk, OTOH, doesn't seem to love the source material
enough for its own sake, and tries too hard to be "sophisticated." I fully
agree that a screenplay that saw Mage *only* as a vehicle for metephysics would
be a disaster.

(Of course, Hollywood can screw anything up, so the best writer in the world
would still be no guarantee of a good Mage movie.)

Oh, and a composer for the film score:

My first choice: Elliot Goldenthal. His scores for Interview with the Vampire
and Titus show he can evoke both weirdness and action through music, and can
fuse diverse styles into a coherent whole. I'd like the score to shift styles
to reflect each character, as a sort of underline for their paradigm:
electronics and minimalist rhythms for Technocrats, Baroque counterpoint for
the Hermetic, world music sounds for the Dreamspeaker, and so on. But this
would sound really awkward if the composer wasn't brilliant at combining
different styles.

Second choice: Brian Tyler. His score for Children of Dune combined symphonic
and world music sounds for a suitably exotic ambience.

Third choice: Trevor Jones. He's done dark, lush scores for fantasy/weird
films before.

Weird choice: Philip Glass. Symphonic minimalism. He's never scored a movie
with an actual plot, but he can create incredible moods of weirdness and dread
(Fog of War or his opera adaptation of Fall of the House of Usher) and he
knowns how to incorporate world music too (Kundun, Koyaanisqatsi).


Dean Shomshak

 

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dshomshak@aol.com (DShomshak) wrote in message news:<20040806153933.28443.00000124@mb-m10.aol.com>...
> In article <c772e1f6.0408041355.3377d436@posting.google.com>,
> usiel@vampirethemasquerade.com (Malcolm Sheppard) writes:
>
> >> I think Life Is Beautiful was far more a Mage movie than, say, Dark City
> was,
> >> for portraying reality molded by belief. I'd want a writer who could show
> that;
> >> a facility with Clive Barkerish occult references comes a distant second
> for
> >> me.
> >
> >Barker's main talent is the ability to keep a humanistic perspective
> >on strangeness. Imajica's brilliant in this regard, since the
> >characters' personal feelings and histories weave into the larger
> >metaphysical themes quite nicely.
>
> I've only read WeaveWorld and The Great And Secret Show, and they didn't
> impress me much on any count. I also saw that movie with the time-traveling
> priest, and thought it stank on ice. Maybe these just aren't Barker's best
> work.

Ou tastes differ, I suppose. Imajica is a hard read but it stands out
as one of his best. Mostly, thjough, I'm talking about the fact that
Barker doesn't usually leave the plot dangling in esoterica. Action
happens when there's comingling of friendship, love, angeer and the
wider, plot-driven circumstances of things.

> >Generally, though, I have no problems with Mage being a solid genre
> >movie. I can see plenty of movies about metaphysical exploration, none
> >of which are Mage. I'd prefer a sophisticated treatment, but not one
> >which is subtly shamefaced about its origins and name-brand
> >attributes. I'd like to see a strong emotional, metaphyscial and
> >surreal component; I'd also like to see self-adhesive mystic sigils
> >blowing up cars and a CGI Voormas puppetted by Ray Park.
>
> I don't think a non-genre writer would necessarily be "subtly shamefaced" about
> the material's origins. Mario Puzo's screenplay for Superman didn't strike me
> as ashamed of the material. My chief worry with a genre writer is you'd get the
> self-adhesive mystic sigils but *not* the ideas that make Mage, for me,
> something bigger and better than most other games of High Weirdness.

I'm not sure it's the writer so much as the production identifying why
the property was worth filming in the first place. X-Men really nailed
the reasons why people liked it in the first place and understood that
they ought to rearrange but not alter that essence.

> The X-Men and Spider-Man movies strike me as movies made by perceptive admirers
> of a genre, who love their source material but can see it from outside, too.
> Ang Lee's Incredible Hulk, OTOH, doesn't seem to love the source material
> enough for its own sake, and tries too hard to be "sophisticated." I fully
> agree that a screenplay that saw Mage *only* as a vehicle for metephysics would
> be a disaster.

Hulk had an awful third act, but I pretty much anjoyed it -- except
for the poodles. There was a great deal os miscasting, too. Lee's
whole shtick is restraint, but with the Hulk, you have to let that go.

> (Of course, Hollywood can screw anything up, so the best writer in the world
> would still be no guarantee of a good Mage movie.)
>
> Oh, and a composer for the film score:
>
> My first choice: Elliot Goldenthal. His scores for Interview with the Vampire
> and Titus show he can evoke both weirdness and action through music, and can
> fuse diverse styles into a coherent whole. I'd like the score to shift styles
> to reflect each character, as a sort of underline for their paradigm:
> electronics and minimalist rhythms for Technocrats, Baroque counterpoint for
> the Hermetic, world music sounds for the Dreamspeaker, and so on. But this
> would sound really awkward if the composer wasn't brilliant at combining
> different styles.

I don't reacll the music, so it must not have grabbed me.

> Second choice: Brian Tyler. His score for Children of Dune combined symphonic
> and world music sounds for a suitably exotic ambience.

Have't seen it, unfortunately.

> Third choice: Trevor Jones. He's done dark, lush scores for fantasy/weird
> films before.

Hmm!

> Weird choice: Philip Glass. Symphonic minimalism. He's never scored a movie
> with an actual plot, but he can create incredible moods of weirdness and dread
> (Fog of War or his opera adaptation of Fall of the House of Usher) and he
> knowns how to incorporate world music too (Kundun, Koyaanisqatsi).

I can see this. I'd go for this kind of thing mixed with a
contemporary suite drawn from Trent Reznor and RZA's choices. Not your
contracted-promo-tape garbage, in any event.

If I was to elevator-pitch the film I'd say Mage's atmosphere was a
mix of Strange Days, Natural Born Killers (the movie has good and bad
bits, but it has an amazing visual palatte) and the (first, and only
first) Matrix (yeah, yeah . . .). I'd want a movie with a low tech
psychadelic feel punctuated with more futuristic interludes and
characters who are variously competent, sorely tested and idealistic.

This bias is based on the way I've run Mage. I've always felt tried to
promote a raw emotional allegiance to things like sect and paradigm.
You don't hate the MiBs just because they serve an ideology dedicated
to keeeping you from teaching people to harness their power. You hate
them because they shot your lover in the face. This sort of
ideologically linked rage and sorrow was an increasingly important
subtext toward the end of the line and, I feel, grounds it where the
metaphysics may flutter away from audience grasp.

M.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.whitewolf (More info?)

Zane Graves wrote:
> Christopher Adams wrote:
>
>> No, it's you. Come on! I'm sure Joel Schumacher is a nice guy, but his
>> taste in movies includes Neon-Light Batman, 8MM, and tacking a horrible
>> flight-into-orbit shot on the end of a good Larry Cohen script.
>
> *ahem*
>
> I was talking about the actual movies he WATCHES, not the movies he
> MAKES.
>
> Which is why I said "he has good taste in movies". A friend of mine
> works at the video store he frequents.

Is it possible to arrange a beating or, failing that (since he's apparently a
nice guy), some way to ask him why he hasn't *learned* anything about filmmaking
for the last twenty years?

--
Christopher Adams - Sydney, Australia
What part of "Ph'nglui mglw'nath Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" don't you
understand?
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mhacdebhandia/prestigeclasslist.html