Presented without further unnecessary commentary, the trailer for "K-11" - an apparently sleaze-tastic thriller set in a segregated gay/transgendered California prison ward, written and directed by one Lynne Stewart, mother of Kristen:
"Warcraft" Movie Lands Duncan Jones
The Hollywood Reporter - er... reports that director Duncan Jones, late of "Moon" and "Source Code" has landed the hypothetically coveted job of helming Legendary Pictures "Warcraft" movie; which is apparently still happening despite the property's pop-culture ubiquity seeming to have peaked a couple of years ago.
In related news: Nerds? You are now out of excuses to have not already seen "Moon" and "Source Code."
Good news for Jones, in any case, whose worked hard and definitely deserves the cache that'll come from helming a likely-successful blockbuster; but forgive me if I'm not jumping over the moon. I'm just not really seeing what a "Warcraft" movie can realistically offer beyond being a "LOTR" riff with a more D&D-inspired aesthetic. Fodder to make a good movie, certainly (particularly with a great filmmaker onboard) but "Warcraft" is more beloved for its gameplay and depth/granulaity - not its story or even really its visuals.
Honestly? THIS is the franchise I'd like to see jump in front of the "ordinary person zapped into gameworld" bullet that you ONE game-adaptation is going to have to take at some point. Let's get real: The ONLY reason "Warcraft" is worth spending $100 million+ on making a movie is because "WORLD OF Warcraft" blew up into a huge mainstream phenomenon - hence why that one "South Park" episode is probably the best narrative thing ever associated with the franchise - and it did so because of the "take a break from work/life and ADVENTURE!" aspect of the MMO. If your trying to put the "Warcraft Experience" onscreen... that's kinda IT in my estimation.
In related news: Nerds? You are now out of excuses to have not already seen "Moon" and "Source Code."
Good news for Jones, in any case, whose worked hard and definitely deserves the cache that'll come from helming a likely-successful blockbuster; but forgive me if I'm not jumping over the moon. I'm just not really seeing what a "Warcraft" movie can realistically offer beyond being a "LOTR" riff with a more D&D-inspired aesthetic. Fodder to make a good movie, certainly (particularly with a great filmmaker onboard) but "Warcraft" is more beloved for its gameplay and depth/granulaity - not its story or even really its visuals.
Honestly? THIS is the franchise I'd like to see jump in front of the "ordinary person zapped into gameworld" bullet that you ONE game-adaptation is going to have to take at some point. Let's get real: The ONLY reason "Warcraft" is worth spending $100 million+ on making a movie is because "WORLD OF Warcraft" blew up into a huge mainstream phenomenon - hence why that one "South Park" episode is probably the best narrative thing ever associated with the franchise - and it did so because of the "take a break from work/life and ADVENTURE!" aspect of the MMO. If your trying to put the "Warcraft Experience" onscreen... that's kinda IT in my estimation.
A Humble Hope for Help
So... I generally avoid using the Blog(s) for things like this, but wide nets need to be wide.
I'm looking to get in touch with people in the book-publishing business, specifically video-gaming related stuff but really at this level any inroad would be a good inroad; but there's a pretty wide disconnect between the digital press world and the print world, so... don't really have any idea how to do that.
BUT I'm betting I've got at least a few friends/followers/fans/colleagues reading these things who might have some tidbit of advice/direction/access to offer; so if that describes you please feel free to pop said info into the comments here (or, if you prefer, a way in which I could contact you to get it.) Any little bit helps, honestly :)
Thank you.
I'm looking to get in touch with people in the book-publishing business, specifically video-gaming related stuff but really at this level any inroad would be a good inroad; but there's a pretty wide disconnect between the digital press world and the print world, so... don't really have any idea how to do that.
BUT I'm betting I've got at least a few friends/followers/fans/colleagues reading these things who might have some tidbit of advice/direction/access to offer; so if that describes you please feel free to pop said info into the comments here (or, if you prefer, a way in which I could contact you to get it.) Any little bit helps, honestly :)
Thank you.
Public Appearance Announcement (UPDATE)
Head's up: I'll be introducing an evening (6:30pm EST) screening of "The Avengers" on Saturday (Feb. 2nd) at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA. More details on the screening, part of The Brattle's 2012 Best Of series, can be found on their website.
(UPDATE!) Also: I can also proudly announce that I'll be a guest at SGC 2013, June 21 - 23 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas in Dallas, TX.
(UPDATE!) Also: I can also proudly announce that I'll be a guest at SGC 2013, June 21 - 23 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas in Dallas, TX.
Big Picture: "A Disturbance In The Force"
Here's your obligatory "JJ Abrams is doing Star Wars now, too" episode - though I'm rather proud of how it turned out despite it's own obligatory-ness...
Nifty "Evil Dead" Promo
The producers of the "Evil Dead" remake would like you to know you can go to this website and record yourself being freaked-out by the recent trailer. So... yeah, that's a thing.
First
For those of you asking, YES I've seen Adam Quigley's "You Don't Understand 'Sucker Punch'" video on Slashfilm and YES the similarities to my own work from four months ago - starting from the title and down through... everything else, really - are hard to miss. But no, this isn't a Coulton/"Glee" thing; the movie has a pretty specific through-line, so there isn't anything "shady" about two critics coming to the same basic set of conclusions about it. Still, might as well watch them and judge for yourself...
