DMG Using VR Pitch the Cosmere to Sell Studios

[Argent]

Looks like DMG, the company that recently acquired cinematic rights to the Cosmere, is doing something interesting - they are using virtual reality to pitch the idea to investors. Now, before we get too excited, we are not talking about DMG making a VR movie or anything like that. But they are creating a 15 minute Stormlight pitch, which Brandon describes as:

Quote

"It’s amazing,” he said. “You see all these storms and fighting and canyons filled with alien life."

The VR pitch won't be available to us for quite some time, but eventually it will be, and I think we'll turn that day into a holiday. A holy day, even.

All in all, pretty exciting stuff.

[Guest]

I'm still not sold on Stormlight to be adapted as movies, I'd rather see a series format, but I'll watch em anyway.

Mistborn could work well as movies though.

Edited May 3, 2017 by SLNC

[CosmereQuestioner]

15 minutes of VR time on Roshar! How awesome would that be to see? Probably a lot of dialogue and explanation for the suits, but a lot of awesome packed in there too!

[Argent]

22 minutes ago, CosmereQuestioner said:

15 minutes of VR time on Roshar! How awesome would that be to see? Probably a lot of dialogue and explanation for the suits, but a lot of awesome packed in there too!

I doubt it, actually. Not only does Brandon mention the highstorms and the strange Rosharan flora and fauna, it would also make for a pretty weak pitch. Keep in mind, this is meant to convince people to throw money at this movie, they want to show off the coolest bits, not a bunch of people talking about big swords and power armor.

[CosmereQuestioner]

I guess I should have used "voiceover" not dialogue. Yes, landscapes and fauna, but that won't alone show off the uniqueness...i'd imagine also some action shots containing lashings, spren, or even giant swords.

[king of nowhere]

that's great news. if nothing else, hopefully we'll get to see the virtual reality at some point.

the only thing I'm worried about is the technical times of the adaptation. clearly if they do it like game of thrones they will make a season for every year, two at most. but brandon writes a stormlight book every 3-5 years. with 2 books written and 8 to go, the tv will soon outpace brandon, and then it will either go its own way, spoilering future books and possibly diverting from canon, or it wiill be put on hold, with the risk of losing public, and there is also the problem of aging: if we took a 20-years old actor for kaladin and a 60 years old for dalinar, by the time they make the last season kaladin will be 40 and dalinar may even be dead. So, not sure it is the right time for a tv adaptation. unless they want to make big movies like lord of the ring, but anyway there's the same problem with actors aging too appreciably by the 5th book.

that said, there is another thing that leaves me dumbfounded: they say about brandon " His literary work has sold some 15 million copies "

I mean, what? brandon wrote definitely more than 15 books, so that's less than a million sales for every book. it's one american in 300 if he was only selling in the usa, and since he isn't, that's even less. is brandon's popularity really so small in a vast and uncaring world ? or maybe 15 million copies were only referring to the stormlight archive? well either way we should go to the nearest bookstore and buy some more copies of sanderson books we already have just to raise his stats, because 15 millions books sold does not give the man justice.

[Andy92]

Toss Morgan Freeman into the VR pitch.

"In a world where crabs are the size of whales..."

Okay maybe not. 

[Jude]

Man I've been waiting for this for forever. Awesome thank the stormfather!!!

[Jofwu]

12 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

the only thing I'm worried about is the technical times of the adaptation.

That was my first instinct as well, but I actually don't think it's necessarily issue. Let's say it takes Brandon another 25 years to finish Stormlight. That's 3 years per book plus a 4 year break. (He's averaged 3.5 years/book I believe, and says he wants to pick that pace up a bit) And let's say the first movie doesn't come out for another 5 years. This means they need to drag the movies out over the course of 20 years. If they want to release 1 movie per book at a rate of 1 movie per year then that's a problem. But they could do 1 movie/book every 2 years and the books and movies would wrap up at the same time. Alternatively (and preferably) they could do 2 movies per book and release every year. If they need to stall a little bit, that's not a problem. Stretch the release dates and/or slow the average pace just a little bit.

And if the movies take about 20 years then aging isn't a problem. You'd pick actors in their mid-20s to play Kaladin/Shallan/etc.When the first half is wrapping up 10 years later they're mid-30s. It's totally feasible for someone that age to play a 20-year-old character, especially one who has been through a lot as our heroes will. Makeup is magical. And it's the same story for the second half, thanks to the 10 year (or so) in-world break. The aging problem is manageable.

13 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

that said, there is another thing that leaves me dumbfounded: they say about brandon " His literary work has sold some 15 million copies "

You severely overestimate Brandon's popularity or fantasy book popularity or both.

SUPERSTAR sci-fi/fantasy authors reach into the 100s of millions. We're talking JK Rowling, Stephen King, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Stephanie Meyer (barely).

Authors with a highly popular series can get up pretty high in the 10s of millions. That's Robert Jordan, GRR Martin (who may break 100M one day, thanks to the TV show), Pratchett, Christopher Paolini, Suzanne Collins.

Sanderson is fairly popular among fantasy readers. But he hasn't broken into a HIGH level of popularity among the fantasy community, and he certainly hasn't broken into a more mainstream audience. He does have a lot of writing left in him. Between Stormlight and Mistborn he'll probably get up pretty high one day. Mistborn (era 1) is the only particularly notable finished thing he brings to the table right now. Of course a successful movie would help a lot. The book industry is small potatoes compared to the movie industry.

[TheLordRuler]

Any extra news on this?

[Farnsworth]

On 5/3/2017 at 5:16 PM, Andy92 said:

Toss Morgan Freeman into the VR pitch.

"In a world where crabs are the size of whales..."

Okay maybe not. 

And mighty princes poop in their armor in the heat of battle...

[Asrael]

You all deserve to hear the Morgan Freeman voice I hear when you make up these quotes: True Facts about the Octopus

Edited October 4, 2017 by Asrael

[Djarskublar]

I'd bet they just remake the fan film of the Chasmfiend fight we already have. Cuz that's pretty sweet. They'd need to change it up so that you see Plate in comparison to regular soldiers.

[Stark]

I know this is old, and a little necro-y.  But If they were going to do anything VR for stormlight, I would want to be able to get Dalinar's visions as mini VR playgrounds, where you don't always have to follow the same path, much like Dalinar's actual visions.  That would be nuts.

 

With Morgan Freeman providing the voice of Honor, of course.  Or Liam Neeson.

[Sparkrunner]

Necromancy!

Edited January 23, 2018 by Roadwalker