Rasarr she/her Posted October 30, 2016 Posted October 30, 2016 @maxal, while we're all ever so slightly worried about this, I think you are overestimating how much of a flop it could be. Yes, to paraphrase bleeder's friend, we won't be disappointed if our expectations are low, but it might just turn out alright (I'm sorry if this ends up sounding like an attack - I definitely mean this to be quite the opposite of one). Warcraft was hardly a commercial flop; it tanked in America, but elsewhere, hardly so - in China, for example, that movie was bigger than Force Awakens. This at least shows that there is interest out there for an epic fantasy movie, and the film itself proves that the technology is there to make the effects look the way they're needed. While SA doesn't have nearly the same level of recognition as Warcraft franchise does, it's different enough that it might just attrack the audience that wants to see something fresh. It's the same reason that attracted audiences to Watchmen, only with a more colourful and interesting world to keep audience's interest. I don't have much more to say in defense of the idea (I'm in the "cautiously optimistic" phase right now, and I know very little about the people involved), I'd just like to note that Adolin is unlikely to be cut for the same reason he was added to the book - Dalinar's conflict is too internal without him. Movies need a supporting character for the main ones to bounce off, and for that very reason, the filmmakers might find Adolin necessary. Who else is Dalinar going to exposit his issues to, Elhokar? 3
Guest Posted October 30, 2016 Posted October 30, 2016 1 minute ago, Rasarr said: @maxal, while we're all ever so slightly worried about this, I think you are overestimating how much of a flop it could be. Yes, to paraphrase bleeder's friend, we won't be disappointed if our expectations are low, but it might just turn out alright (I'm sorry if this ends up sounding like an attack - I definitely mean this to be quite the opposite of one). Warcraft was hardly a commercial flop; it tanked in America, but elsewhere, hardly so - in China, for example, that movie was bigger than Force Awakens. This at least shows that there is interest out there for an epic fantasy movie, and the film itself proves that the technology is there to make the effects look the way they're needed. While SA doesn't have nearly the same level of recognition as Warcraft franchise does, it's different enough that it might just attrack the audience that wants to see something fresh. It's the same reason that attracted audiences to Watchmen, only with a more colourful and interesting world to keep audience's interest. I don't have much more to say in defense of the idea (I'm in the "cautiously optimistic" phase right now, and I know very little about the people involved), I'd just like to note that Adolin is unlikely to be cut for the same reason he was added to the book - Dalinar's conflict is too internal without him. Movies need a supporting character for the main ones to bounce off, and for that very reason, the filmmakers might find Adolin necessary. Who else is Dalinar going to exposit his issues to, Elhokar? The problem is I do not want to put my expectations low, not for a Stormlight Archive movie, so yes I have them right up there. I want this movie to be a commercial success and I direly wish for the average viewer, the one having no previous experience with reading fantasy, might see this movie and understand how great fantasy is. It might be why I sound so sour. This being said, I am not convinced it will be a flop, but I see so many ways it might be, I fear. Yes, there are many movies who do flop in the States, but succeed elsewhere, The Watchmen previously mentioned is one such example. The Asian market is quite different than the Western one: fantasy has more success over than than over here which is why I fear they might solely market the movie for this market and not ours. The end result would be a highly niche product which may simply not work in our market. It will be a tough sell, not an impossible one, but a very hard one: very few Asian movies have a successful commercial career within North-America. Mind, it might not be what Brandon and his team are aiming for, but as a mere fan it is what I am hoping for. I had thus stronger hopes for SA, I had hoped for the next LoTR, nothing less. There are however a great deal of obstacles to overcome for this to happen. The major one being finding a way to draw viewers in: it is where WoW failed. People just weren't interested in watching the tribulations of orcs and such: I saw the preview, I read fantasy and I wasn't interested... There was nothing in it for me, so I didn't bother. SA might suffer a similar faith. As for Adolin, I do think he should remain in the story, but I love the character so much, I might be biased. I think he might be what the movie needs to succeed, even, but again my views might not be shared by the majority. I am quite alone in having those thoughts within the realm of fantasy fans.
Argent he/him Posted October 31, 2016 Posted October 31, 2016 Some WoBs from Reddit: Quote Q: From a scale of 1-10, with 1 being you won't know the movie is done until you see the trailer, and 10 being you're writing, directing, and starring as Kaladin/Kelsier in the movie, how much involvement and power will you have in the screenwriting and production? A: Too early to tell. But I wouldn't want to have too much. I'm not a film maker. I have told them from the start that I want creative input, but that I feel the best adaptations happen when passionate film makers are allowed freedom to practice their art. Q: All other potential issues aside, since Stormlight was explicitly mentioned in the announcement, do you personally have any concerns about the characters being whitewashed in these adaptations? Is that something you're kind of hoping to cover with your own creative input? A: This is one I've already talked to them about a lot, as it's something that's already happened. (Though much of the fanart gets it right, covers often do not.) They're aware, and are a Chinese company. The trick will be deciding on just how Alethi look to people on Earth. (I.E. if we go with straight up Asians, for ease of casting, or if we look for people who would look accurately Alethi--which would require people who have a unique heritage.) Quote Q: Thanks for clarifying, u/mistborn ! Sorry for feeding the overreaction train. Does this keep open the possibility of doing television shows (like Wax and Wayne) or animated series (lots of fans would love to see something similar to Avatar: The Last Airbender)? A: We've explored all of those options, and I've been firm that I think Wax and Wayne is television. Quote Q: What are the odds of there being a Warbreaker film at some point? That feels so necessary but so possible to be skipped over too. A: It is very likely if other films are doing well. The main reason that they bought the cosmere, instead of just TWOK and Mistborn, was because they like the idea of crossover films. That's all the buzz these days. We'll just have to push to make sure they keep it subtle, so it works, rather than stuffing in the references. Q: If you were going to do the Stan Lee thing and cameo, any tiny role that immediately jumps to mind? A: I suggested that I die in a creative way in each film as revenge for characters I have killed. Quote Q: I'm still hoping they do a reckoners series to get their feet under them with your writing style before they tackle the cosmere A: The Reckoners is at Fox, and they have a screenplay that I hear they are pleased with. Quote Q: I find it interesting that Stormlight (an on-going saga) is going to be made before Mistborn (a finished one, at least the original trilogy). Is the reason for this that they want to make first the book in which Hoid has the most screen-time (or page-time) so that people get attached to him and then use him as the character that unifies all the other films, like Tony Stark or Wolverine do in their own Cinematic Universes? A: Some of the people on the project really, really like Stormlight Archive. That's part of why. Thinks [sic] like you mention are in our minds as well. I do still personally think Mistborn will come together first. But they're very eager for Stormlight, so we shall see. Q: I imagine both Stormlight Archive and Emperor's Soul are books that it would be relatively easy to cast Chinese actors in. A: Yes, it is what drew them to my work in the first place. Quote Q: It might sound insensitive but....are you not as big as I thought? You, Butcher and Rothfus (or maybe Martin...special mentions to McClellan and Weeks)....I always imagine you three as the BIG names in the genre of the generation. I guess I have the bias of how much I love your books but it seems to me someone so acclaimed could in the figurative sense "name their price" A: It's not insensitive. I'm pretty happy to be able to be make a living at all, let lone to be as successful as I've been. I'm certainly "big" for fantasy--the issue isn't that, it's that even popular books just don't make a dent in film numbers. It takes so much to finance a film these days, that it's very rare (and requires a huge, huge fanbase) for anyone to risk putting an author in charge. We're not a known element. For example, Stephenie Meyer (of Twilight fame) wasn't popular enough to get creative control from a major studio, which resulted in her going to a second string studio to get the power she wanted. And she was orders of magnitude more popular than GRRM is now. The only author I know of to manage it for sure is Rowling. In answer to your question, last I checked (which was around the end of the year last year) Pat, and Jim, and myself were basically even. Pat sold the least of us three that year, but when he has a new book out, he jumps to the highest of us by a significant margin. Over time, we are pretty even in the US. (Though it should be noted Pat does that with far fewer books than the other two of us.) George was about five times our numbers, and there weren't any fantasy writers in between him and us that I recall. Dashner (author of Maze Runner, and a friend of mine, so I thought to look) was about seven times our numbers. (Even with Grisham.) Hunger Games was about double us. Big romance/thriller writers hovered at around George's level. Fifty Shades of Grey (the one book alone, not the series) in its first year sold about 10 times what Pat, Jim, and I sell in a year. So while we might be big sellers for our respective genres, we become small fish when we swim out into romance/thriller waters. The only one who can hold his own out there is George, and maybe Niel Gaiman. (I didn't think to glance at his numbers.) And even they don't sell enough to name their price with a film studio. These are places with the kind of cash flow that they could buy every single copy of every Sanderson, Rothfuss, AND Butcher book ever printed, misplace them on accident, then shrug and write it off. 5
Pagerunner he/him Posted October 31, 2016 Posted October 31, 2016 10 minutes ago, Argent said: Q: If you were going to do the Stan Lee thing and cameo, any tiny role that immediately jumps to mind? A: I suggested that I die in a creative way in each film as revenge for characters I have killed. In other words, Brandon will play the Cosmere version of Agrajag, to keep up with the Hitchhikers' references. 1
Samaldin he/him Posted October 31, 2016 Posted October 31, 2016 Brandon dying in each cosmere film could become really weird. When the general populance becomes aware of the cosmere they will probably start to look for worldhoppers (like we do) and then there will be that guy who worldhops just as much as hoid and has a magic system which lets him cheat death^^ 4
Oversleep Posted October 31, 2016 Posted October 31, 2016 3 hours ago, Samaldin said: Brandon dying in each cosmere film could become really weird. When the general populance becomes aware of the cosmere they will probably start to look for worldhoppers (like we do) and then there will be that guy who worldhops just as much as hoid and has a magic system which lets him cheat death^^ Let's make Brandon's death a Funny Background Event. For example, he'd always die in the background of the Hoid scene. Like Kaladin approaches Hoid playing flute and in the distance you could make out a soldier falling into the chasm... 3
marsoupial they/them Posted October 31, 2016 Posted October 31, 2016 1 minute ago, Oversleep said: Let's make Brandon's death a Funny Background Event. For example, he'd always die in the background of the Hoid scene. Like Kaladin approaches Hoid playing flute and in the distance you could make out a soldier falling into the chasm... Why must you constantly trope? I go on almost as many embarrassing trope spirals (partially because of this website) as I do embarrassing Wikipedia spirals. But yeah, that would be very amusing. So I was reading an article from a Spanish-speaking news source about the upcoming film universe, and it translated to this. Language gap, anyone? Spoiler DMG Entertainment , the same producers who take to the big screen the Valiant Universe, have reached an agreement for the rights to the novels of Cosmere of Brandon Sanderson , as published by Variety . The company has paid 270 million dollars for the rights, and the agreement includes a minimum amount (which has not transpired) to the writer for each film you make. Because of the scope of the universe created by Sanderson, DMG has compared this acquisition to obtaining the rights to a universe of comics. Books are a mixture of science fiction and fantasy, and develop in different worlds and time periods, but they are linked by an intricate system of magic that connects the frames between them. The Cosmere contains various sagas as "The File of Storms' (which could be classified as epic fantasy), 'Mistborn' (technological urban fantasy), 'White Sand' (graphic adventure novels), and more, but readers have given them only small clues about how these huge epics are all listed in a single universe. 'Arcanum Unbounded', to be published on November 22, will highlight the connections between these worlds in the next book Sanderson, titled. DMG has not lost time and is already preparing the adaptation of the first volume of the epic fantasy ' Archive of Storms ', the acclaimed ' The Way of Kings '. Although the books of 'The Archives of Storms' are first in line for translation to film and already have writers assigned, DMG is also seeking writers for an adaptation of' The Final Empire ', the novel begins to' Born of the mist'. Brandon Sanderson said he was delighted with the company that has acquired the rights to his novels set in the Cosmere: "DMG people are not only producers or putting money. They are amateurs. From the first moment we met, I knew they understood my vision and where I'm going with the Cosmere, and I am excited to work with them to bring their vision of the universe to the big screen." Screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan , responsible for several films of the franchise 'Saw' duo, have been selected to adapt 'The Way of Kings', with Sanderson andJoshua Bilmes (Jabberwocky, one of the largest literary agencies in English) language on board as executive producers. 1
What's a Seawolf? Posted November 1, 2016 Posted November 1, 2016 You know, the more I think about it, the more I feel like Warbreaker would be the perfect start up movie. Mistborn and SA have the potential to be much bigger and of course have more sequel potential, but also carry the most risk. If you screw one of those up, you effectively kill that franchises movie series and a huge chunk of the cosmere. If Warbreaker is screwed up, there would still be other chances. The GA is not going to have a clue Warbreaker was supposed to be connected to Mistborn, the SA etc. So it's not like the brand would be tainted. And Warbreaker has an INCREDIBLY visual magic system, one that's easily seen, explained AND understood. Not to mention, because the producers etc. wouldn't be going for a mega-blockbuster like I assume Mistborn/SA would be (relatively speaking anyway,) the budget and associated risk with Warbreaker would be far less. The company/producers/directors can get their feet wet in translating one of Brandon's books for the big screen and seeing what works and what does not etc. Thoughts? I know most of us would rather see one of the big two franchises first, and I know companies don't exactly have the patience for this sort of thing, but all told I feel like Warbreaker is the best opening movie option. 4
Ecthelion III he/him Posted November 1, 2016 Posted November 1, 2016 3 hours ago, bleeder said: The company has paid 270 million dollars for the rights One can only dream... 3 hours ago, bleeder said: DMG people are not only producers.... They are amateurs. XD
Oversleep Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 (edited) On 28.10.2016 at 9:46 PM, Oversleep said: Just for reference: I remember Brandon talking about sales of books and how different "levels" of books sell and that books after a film was released get such a huge boost so it's almost the most selling category (I believe the first category is those unpredictable wonders striking like a bolt of lightning and devouring the market. Like Twilight). Aaaand I found it! (emphasis mine) Quote I wish this info were more public too, personally. But I can try to guess a kind of rough estimate, based on what I've seen. (This is for first year ebook/hardcover combined, and only applies to fiction books, and not those by a celebrity.) On the chopping block: 5k (This is a book that did modestly well, but is probably overall losing money for the publisher. Some would keep publishing an author at this level, depending on expectations of growth, award recognition, or niche interest.) Solid seller: 5k-10k (This is a book most publishers will always be pleased with, and will continue to pay a decent advance for. This author may not make a healthy living on their book unless they can do more than one a year, but will probably always have a writing career.) High midlister: 10k-20k (This is an author who is well known in their genre, is a dependable seller, and has a dedicated--but small-fanbase. If you can find a writer with a number of books on the shelf, but they don't chart often on the NYT list with new books, they are probably in this category.) Genre Bestseller: 20k-50k (This is a book that charts on the bestseller lists without hitting the #1 spot. Authors who hit this consistently set trends in the industry, are well known in their genres, and are pulling low six figure advances. Breaking out of this level and into the next takes serious luck, even in a field which already requires a lot of luck.) Dominant Genre Bestseller: 50k-300k (These are the books that hit #1 on the bestseller list. Authors who do this consistently with each new book are generally at the top of their field, and are probably what you consider "super popular" in your post. But they--we, as this is where I am--are small potatoes compared to the next levels.) Breakout Bestseller: 300k-1mil (These are books that "break out" of their genre, or are the top of larger genres, like thrillers. Teen books with a lot of momentum can hit here too. Books in this category sell in airports or walmarts to the general public for months, as opposed to those in the category below, which sell really, really well for one week--but only because fans buy their books week one, rather than waiting. I've outsold Dan Brown and John Grisham...for one week. The next week, they trounced me.) Movie Books: 1-5mil (These are books from one of the other categories that have a film come out recently. Also, the tail end of the breakout bestsellers and the beginnings of phenomenon books. It gets really blurry in here as we're dealing with such large swaths of numbers. Game of Thrones books are in here, I believe. Note that they basically jumped over the category between, which often happens in sf/f when you get a film or tv show.) Phenomenon books: 5-20+mil (These are books that somehow SUPER break the mold, for reasons nobody really understands. DaVinci Code. Harry Potter. Twilight.)source Edited November 2, 2016 by Oversleep 2
Nymeros Posted November 4, 2016 Posted November 4, 2016 This.....sounds terrible. No thank you Hollywood. 4
Jondesu he/him Posted November 4, 2016 Posted November 4, 2016 20 hours ago, Nymeros said: This.....sounds terrible. No thank you Hollywood. So terrible. An amazing book series that we all love getting turned into a series of interconnected movies, all done by fans of the books? How could they? /sarcasm 6
Assassin in Burgundy he/him Posted November 6, 2016 Posted November 6, 2016 Guys, don't downvote @Nymeros He has an opinion and those should be shared without having to lose rep. 2
+Wax he/him Posted November 7, 2016 Posted November 7, 2016 I just echo everyone else's thoughts. SA is more of a multi season tv series book and mistborn is the book to movie prototype. Honestly, with SA, the most visual scenes were Shallan's, but with Mistborn, it was "ash is falling" visuals every second 1
HoidvsVoid Posted November 8, 2016 Posted November 8, 2016 I am looking forward for brandon to say WAFO. 6
WayneSpren he/him Posted November 25, 2016 Posted November 25, 2016 I'd love a movie, but Stormlight would definitely be better as a TV show. I've just started watching Game of Thrones, and I marvel at how they can easily fit an almost 1000 page book into just 10 episodes, season by season. Even if a Stormlight TV show would be slower or faster paced, depending, it would still be better than trying to stuff 1200 pages into a 2.5 hour movie. The amount of content included concerns me, and I really wouldn't like anyone to cut one of my favorite characters. And Lift! Lift's Shardfork! Think of the children, people. 1
Jude he/him Posted December 9, 2016 Posted December 9, 2016 I would think that all of his books should be a movie like stormlight archive and mistborn all those but tv shows eeh I dont know if i would like that.
legolasgalactica Posted June 29, 2017 Posted June 29, 2017 (edited) On 10/27/2016 at 1:36 PM, thegatorgirl00 said: I don't know what to think about this. On the optimistic side, my mind is imagining Harry Potter. On the pessimistic side, my mind is imagining Eragon. Time to go spend hours researching the people involved in writing and producing WoK. I much preferred Eragon over HP films (as movies). I actually don't understand the negative reception of the Eragon film overall. It had a lot in it that I had been wishing to see in Fantasy movies and is almost the only one to deliver (well)--excepting LOTR and Hobbit. I agree that they messed up the adaptation in important ways including characters, plot, and some details (like the races), but those things could have been added/changed without fundamentally changing the film as it stands. If you look at the movie separate from the book series, it's actually not so bad. It had its share of lame moments--almost every movie does, but I feel this was within industry average tolerances. And I think the HP movies wouldn't be all that great as standalone movies without the books to back them up. They're not awful, and the adaptation was great, but I just didn't love watching them and probably won't see them again, whereas I've rewatched Eragon several times despite its flaws. So if you're talking about how well they adapted the book to film, I totally agree with the concern, but for the most part, Eragon was not a bad movie as movies go. Now the Shannara series adaptation was just all-around dismal--the adaptation, acting, visualization, everything. I agree with the Game of Thrones type approach to Stormlight. Stormlight definitely has a lot of visuals I'd love to see on screen if done well: the world-building, the shard blades, Shattered Plains battles, etc. Mistborn would totally have been the better 1st option. The Wax and Wayne would be awesome too but have a lot of spoilers to be firsts. Also, I think that the Sixth of Dusk story and Shadows for Silence would be great on screen, although they'd need some expanding and Legion would be a great mini-series. Edited June 29, 2017 by legolasgalactica Clarification, added detail, grammar
Kairos Posted July 1, 2017 Posted July 1, 2017 Thoughts: I would far prefer to see Mistborn done well first. It's a far more natural lead-in to the Cosmere, as others have said. That said, if they're doing an Asian cast(which would make sense since the company is Chinese, plus it should help their budget), it would make sense to do a series that has what we would perceive as Asian characters. The obvious choice is the Emperor's Soul. That said, if they do SA: I could see a couple approaches. They could make a really gritty movie focusing on Kaladin and Dalinar, or they could go the book route and keep Shallan in there as well. Personally, I think that the Kaladin route makes the most sense. Shallan's arc in the book just would not fit cinematically with Kaladin's. It works in the book, but wouldn't on screen as is. Unless, they tone down a lot of Shallan's parts, focus on the intrigue, speed through her finding Jasnah, zoom in on the threat in the pages, and the looming threat of the Voidbringers. Final conclusion: Szeth's assassination of Gavilar would be so amazing if done well. I would pay to watch just that. 2
Straw he/him Posted July 2, 2017 Posted July 2, 2017 Honestly, I only watch movies based on books so I can tell my friends about all the stuff that was in the books but not in the movies. 7
Yitzi2 Posted July 3, 2017 Posted July 3, 2017 I could see Stormlight Archive working as a movie series...but only if they're willing to break each book into 3 (maybe 2) movies. If even Harry Potter 7 couldn't be done in a single movie... 1
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