Stormlight archive Tv/Movie series

[Zionite]

I much rather prefer live action over anime.The chance to see Roshar and its characters Live certainly beats watching them animated.

 

I also vehemently disagree that no movie cld proprly potray the world of Roshar. Theres literally nothing in the world of Roshar we havent seen in movie form in one way or another.

 

I also feel the need to piont out that whether or not a Stormlight adapation is in movie,tv show or anime form there will be compromises to the story-Thats the cost of translating between book and screen.

 

What fans need to realize is that Compromise doesnt have to be bad-.Take a look at LOTR. There were changes when adapting to the Big screen but does change-the fact that the Trilogy was EPIC.(despite purist nitpicks).Stuff was cut out,shortened,rearranged but It dint dimnish the quality of the film-in fact Id argue it enhanced it.

[Zionite]

Agreed 100%  .  I think the windrunner powers would look silly live action.  They can do so many cool things animated.  I could only ever see it as a long form cartoon.

 

A Windrunners powers wld look like Quasi Telekiness and Flight on screen.All of which look awesome in Live action .

[Arcanist Lupus he/him]

There is one thing we haven't seen. Inception did a pretty good job of a fight scene where the direction of gravity is changing, but everyone in the fight scene was using the same reference frame. When Szeth fights, he spends some of the time on the wall, when everyone else is still on the floor. This would be harder than doing what Inception did.

 

Also, the entire LotR trilogy was about the length of tWoK (it's a bit longer, but close enough). And that was a trilogy. If you wanted to put the entire SA on the big screen, it would probably take 20 - 30 movies. And this isn't like Mistborn, where you could stop after the first book and say "We're done!" Also, we'd almost certainly lose all the interludes, which would make me sad.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Sir Read-a-Lot

[Galladon he/him]

I think there is already a thread on SA/anime.

First off while I think SA provides excellent TV/movie material, I must say that I think that the chances of a good televising (in whiche ever form) are less than Syl having afternoon tea with Odium.

I say this because though special effects are constantly improving and the cost of animation (not anime) has been 'adjusted', I think there is no possibility of such a Project getting the backing it needs and deserves.

 

That beeing said, I don't think this should be discussed at all here (because it beeing 'duh-hh'), so how would I want it done I mone wasn't an issue and I could have anyone I wanted? Let's see:

 

-definately TV-show (or a 6-part movie for each book (:   )

 

-Cast:

well for me there are only 2 truely difficult choices

Dalinar:- (50 something (1123-now) by the way not 40 )

            

I allways thought Clive Owen (the less pretty version of J. Dean) might be a close fit if you give him 5-8 years to age. He seems blunt enough

       

Kaladin:

Avan whatever seems like a good choice if you wanted Kal to look like he acts - a whiny little b... ( Sorry Kal I like you, but this pun had to be done).

We need more Rambodin and less Ram-blondy. Though I have to admit I haven't  found the right face yet

 

In regard to the other 2 proposals:

Shallan:

maybe something like this (but finding a cute redhaired actress shouldn't be too hard)-Jane Levy

 

Jasnah:

She is neither cute nor young, so I think Meghan Markle is definately out. But again haven't found the right mix between dignity elegance and arrogance either.

[lordofsoup]

Well seeing as there are only 2 out of the 10 books released and Brandon does not expect to have Book 6 finished until 2025, I highly doubt tha there will be a tv show or movie in the near future.

[WeiryWriter he/him]

I am firmly in the camp that any adaptation would have to be animated.  Rosharans do not map well (at all) to Earth-humans, they all (except the Shin) have epicanthic folds for example.  If it is animated they only have to worry about getting the *voice* right.  Not to mention the visual effects which would cost an obscene amount of money to look decent.  (And let's be honest I for one would want it to be considerably better than just decent). 

[bschnebs he/him]

If we're throwing out votes for Shallan, I'd vote for Molly Quinn.

 

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2363729152/nm0703939?ref_=nm_phs_md_1

 

Edit: Can't figure out how to make a picture of her show up so added IMDB link.

Edited March 13, 2014 by bschnebs

[Inkthinker]

Animated TV series. Action-focused. Solid adaptation, no "tropes" that aren't native to the narrative. Boarded and directed in the US, like ATLA/Korra.

 

It's the best and only answer.

[Kurkistan he/him]

Animated TV series. Action-focused. Solid adaptation, no "tropes" that aren't native to the narrative. Boarded and directed in the US, like ATLA/Korra.

 

It's the best and only answer.

 

Oh great, we just need a quality to match some of the best animation to come out of America in decades. That should be easy. 

[Carlos Stormblessed he/him]

I think these are fun to think about, but I would be so so so sad if they made this a tv/movie. I just don't think society can handle something on this scale. I mean the Lord of the Rings movies are huge and epic and really long (I love them) for most people and the Way of Kings alone dwarfs it.

 

"Don't do it!" I empathically send into the minds of any possible future producers of this venture.....

[GroundPetrel]

Actually Meaghan Markle is Jasnah "s exact age.32

Angelina jolie wld be a great navani,but wld be expensive if gong tv show route

Huh.  She just LOOKS like she's 20 or so.  

 

Second part: True dat.  

[GroundPetrel]

I am firmly in the camp that any adaptation would have to be animated.  Rosharans do not map well (at all) to Earth-humans, they all (except the Shin) have epicanthic folds for example.  If it is animated they only have to worry about getting the *voice* right.  Not to mention the visual effects which would cost an obscene amount of money to look decent.  (And let's be honest I for one would want it to be considerably better than just decent). 

H'mmm.  With an LOTR budget, and letting the epicanthic folds thing slide (because it really is kind of a small thing), it would be a really good movie series or TV miniseries.  

 

Seriously, why did Brandon make the Rosharans who look most Asian lack epicanthic folds, and the ones who look Ethiopian, San, Kenyan, or generically Caucasian have the folds?  Makes a very cinematic series extremely hard to adapt perfectly.  

 

If we're throwing out votes for Shallan, I'd vote for Molly Quinn.

 

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2363729152/nm0703939?ref_=nm_phs_md_1

 

Edit: Can't figure out how to make a picture of her show up so added IMDB link.

 

Looks good.  She'd be a great Shallan.  

[Inkthinker]

 

Seriously, why did Brandon make the Rosharans who look most Asian lack epicanthic folds, and the ones who look Ethiopian, San, Kenyan, or generically Caucasian have the folds?  Makes a very cinematic series extremely hard to adapt perfectly.  

 

Not if you draw it.

The reason I don't want it done as a TV series or film is that it would require quite a lot of abridgement, and a LOT of very expensive VFX. One of the reasons Game of Thrones works on television is that it's a grounded series placed on an Earth-analog world. It's got traditional European trappings and traditionally human-looking peoples.

Roshar does not look like Earth. The cities of Roshar do not look like cities in Morocco, Prague or Ireland. Almost every creature and plant would require special effects. Costumes and peoples rarely have cultural equivalents that the production team can borrow from. Every suit of Shardplate is a unique costume, and requires multiple versions to be made (hero versions for the closeup, stunt versions for the smashy, extras for replacements when damage occurs). Every Parshendi requires full-body makeup and prosthetics. SO EXPENSIVE.

Or draw it. Not a thing in the Archives so far would even slow down a good animation house. We'll still have to abridge the script, but at least we don't have to sacrifice the visuals.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Inkthinker

[Chrono she/her]

If we're going for animation like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, or Hayao Miyazaki and the rest of the Studio Ghibli films, then I wholeheartedly approve. The animation is beautiful, the voice acting is superb (of course, your opinion may vary on that one) and they manage to do a great job with special effects (Princess Mononoke is famous for the seamless CGI effects that it has... Avatar, not so much). It would require less money, time, and hassle working with trying to get the right actor.

 

Live action is a very hard endeavor for these books, because of all the ridiculous amounts of money you have to spend. Like Inkthinker said, Shardplate sets alone would drive the budget through the roof. Combine the budget for all of the Lord of the Rings movies and Avatar (the one with the blue aliens), and you have a big enough budget for one movie. This is totaling up prosthetics for Parshendi (similar to Uruk-Hai and Orc prosthetics), props, costumes, sets, and most expensively, CGI. Avatar had a massive budget because of all the CGI it had to do to make Pandora look foreign. Think about how alien Roshar looks. It's incredibly different from our world. CGI is cheaper these days, but you have to create the entire world of the Stormlight Archive. 

 

Live Action TV wouldn't even come close to having a budget like this. And in shows like Merlin and Once Upon a Time, where there is a ton of CGI involved, it looks awful. That's the budget a regular TV show has to work with. It ain't happening.

 

Okay, okay, rant over.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Chrono

[Inkthinker]

Hey, if James Cameron reads the books and decides he wants in on this, I'm down with it. Don't get me wrong... but it kinda requires that Avatar level of CG to make it happen.

Of course, James Cameron has been known to adapt works that he likes... far stranger things have happened.

[Zmann966 he/him]

I would say not only possible, but probable.
Give it time (lots)
It took how many DECADES to do Lord of the Rings? And 15 years to do Song of Ice and Fire?

Something as big as Sanderson's tales won't go forever without Hollywood jumping on the bandwagon. That's why most of this stuff GETS movie deals. It's a safer bet than anything original: pre-established fanbase, plot basics already ironed out, increases attention and, therefore, booksales.
I actually think SA has a better shot than Mistborn, honestly.

 

Even the idea of production costs, getting the script shortened down, and visuals figured out, is nothing when it comes to Hollywood thinking they have a new cash-cow.

 

It'll happen.
But it won't be for years and years. (Then another few years of production, a few more for editing/compositing) 
I'm gonna ballpark 2041.
 

 

Until then, let all wonder and fanboy at how amazing a Stormlight Archive movie would be with my mock-up teaser trailer for the WoR book!:

 

/shameless plugging

[israel8491 she/her]

Not to rain on the parade, but I don't think any adaptation, animated or live-action, would do a suitable job. These books just aren't written in an adaptable format.

I love these books so much, but I wouldn't be happy if a film or tv adaptation was announced.

[Guest Monster Energy]

Honestly, I don't think this story could be properly adapted to a TV Series and, if it did happen, I fully expect to dislike it.  But that doesn't mean it shouldn't happen.  I think I would rather have the adaptation to watch and ridicule for its inaccuracies than to not have it at all.

[Zionite]

Apologies to anyone I offended in my posts-I did not know Shorthand was forbidden on this forums.Hence my reputation as a hoe.

 

Now unto the the topic-I personally dont see the big deal with the level of CGi nneded for Roshar. I mean its an alien planet so what?Weve seen enough Alien planets on the Big screen at this piont. Even the hated John carter movie had an awesome Alien planet and superhuman battles.So no I feel that Roshar and its Inhabitants can be done justice with current movie technology a there is nothing within this world we have not seen on screen in one form or the other.

 

The Story is a different matter.Whilst Stormlight series requires movie level special effects,the narrative structure seems more suited to a tv series.So thats a bit of a problem

Edited March 15, 2014 by Zionite

[Zionite]

There is one thing we haven't seen. Inception did a pretty good job of a fight scene where the direction of gravity is changing, but everyone in the fight scene was using the same reference frame. When Szeth fights, he spends some of the time on the wall, when everyone else is still on the floor. This would be harder than doing what Inception did.

 

Also, the entire LotR trilogy was about the length of tWoK (it's a bit longer, but close enough). And that was a trilogy. If you wanted to put the entire SA on the big screen, it would probably take 20 - 30 movies. And this isn't like Mistborn, where you could stop after the first book and say "We're done!" Also, we'd almost certainly lose all the interludes, which would make me sad.

With the exception of that one this one thing,everything else is doable.So id say special effects arent a problem for an adaptation

As for the length,Id argue that the core story of the books does not have to be as long as the books-In fact Id argue certain parts of the story wld have to be shortened,reduced,compressed in order to avoid boring a cinematic audience.-For example Kaladins depression arc will have to be shortened for a movie audience.

 

A movie adaption wld only cut out the non essential interludes.Essential ones to the plot like Travingan,Szeth and Enshonai will remain

[Guest Monster Energy]

Apologies to anyone I offended in my posts-I did not know Shorthand was forbidden on this forums.Hence my reputation as a hoe.

Hahaha, I'm sorry - but that's the best typo I've seen on this forum ever. Have an up vote for it hahaha.

EDIT: I tried to make a dummy account to up vote that again, but this site was too smart for me

Edited March 15, 2014 by Monster Energy

[Zionite]

Hahaha, I'm sorry - but that's the best typo I've seen on this forum ever. Have an up vote for it hahaha.

EDIT: I tried to make a dummy account to up vote that again, but this site was too smart for me

Lol.I just noticed it.It is hilarious.Im leaving it as is

[Arcanist Lupus he/him]

Now unto the the topic-I personally dont see the big deal with the level of CGi nneded for Roshar. I mean its an alien planet so what?Weve seen enough Alien planets on the Big screen at this piont. Even the hated John carter movie had an awesome Alien planet and superhuman battles.So no I feel that Roshar and its Inhabitants can be done justice with current movie technology a there is nothing within this world we have not seen on screen in one form or the other.

 

It's worth noting that John Carter grossed a lot higher than you might think.  According to this, John Carter was the 29th highest gross of 2012 - above Looper, Argo, and lots of other films which got much better reviews and made significantly more profit.  So why did John Carter lose so much money?  Because it was absurdly expensive to produce.  Just because the effects can be done doesn't mean they can be done cheaply.

[Zionite]

 

 

It's worth noting that John Carter grossed a lot higher than you might think.  According to this, John Carter was the 29th highest gross of 2012 - above Looper, Argo, and lots of other films which got much better reviews and made significantly more profit.  So why did John Carter lose so much money?  Because it was absurdly expensive to produce.  Just because the effects can be done doesn't mean they can be done cheaply.

 

John carter was a Financial failure because not enough people turned out to watch it.It cld barely recover its budget.

The hobbit unexpected journey had the same budget amount and made a profit of about 3 times the Budget.Why?Enough People to watch the movie.

A big budget movie will always recover its budget and more if the story and marketing is excellent.I see no reason why this wld not be the case for Stormlight archives

[WeiryWriter he/him]

   

John carter was a Financial failure because not enough people turned out to watch it.It cld barely recover its budget.

The hobbit unexpected journey had the same budget amount and made a profit of about 3 times the Budget.Why?Enough People to watch the movie.

A big budget movie will always recover its budget and more if the story and marketing is excellent.I see no reason why this wld not be the case for Stormlight archives

 

The Hobbit movies also built off the success of the Lord of the Rings movies, not to mention The Hobbit is significantly better known than Stormlight.  Brandon is pretty well known in the sci-fi/fantasy community but unfortunatetly he just doesn't have the presence in the public awareness that Tolkien does.   Not to mention Stormlight would require a much higher effects budget than The Hobbit.

 

Personally I just don't think Stormlight is suited for a live-action movie, at all.  The effects budget would by outrageously high.  And it would cut out so much of what makes Stormlight awesome that it would be kind of pointless.  Mistborn is the series that should get movies, not Stormlight

 

oh and @GroundPetrol I strongly disagree with your stance on the epicanthic folds, that is not something that should be changed.  Period. 

 

Anyway everybody listen to Inkthinker, he knows what he's talking about.