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Post by Lucius909 on Mar 9, 2005 20:21:56 GMT
...to me this would be a far smarter move than making a full theatrical release. License it to Sci-Fi or Sky/Fox, with a tied in terrestrial deal for after the inital showing. Worked for Peace Keeper Wars, and it means home TV networks can capitalise on the fuss about Spielberg without having to make something themselves. It's been done before.
Just a thought, but I do wonder if some kind of negotiation like this is taking place as we speak. To my way of thinking, it makes sense - there's no way this film presented in the novel sense would ever be even a lowish ranking cinematic release.
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Post by Dr_Moreau on Mar 9, 2005 20:29:10 GMT
At this point in the game anythings possible. May even flog it to the Hallmark channel who knows.
It feels like I'm 10 years old and waiting for Christams every single day. Oh, the pain!
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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 9, 2005 20:42:29 GMT
If it turns out to be a good film then I hope it's not relegated to the Sci Fi channel or some other Cable channel. I want to see HG Wells masterpiece on the big screen - which is where any adaptation of his book should be.
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Post by Refugee on Mar 9, 2005 21:09:07 GMT
Sounds like a plan. Slightly off topic but I thought the peace keeper wars was great.
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Post by dudalb on Mar 9, 2005 22:26:24 GMT
This possibility was already discussed in another thread.
SInce a lot of "original" Sci Fi movies were movies that were made for theatrical release but could not find distribution it makes sense.
Yes, PeaceKeepers Wars was good but that was the exception, not the rule involving the Sci Fi Channel.. Most Sci Fi channel original productions..the films in particular...have been horrible in quality.
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Post by dudalb on Mar 9, 2005 22:30:23 GMT
"If it turns out to be a good film then I hope it's not relegated to the Sci Fi channel or some other Cable channel."
Actually sale to a cable network is a step above "direct to DVD" on the film distribution pecking order. It will have more viewers then it would with "direct to DVD".
The Sci Fi channel will at least give it some promotion and advertising, whereas Direct to DVD is a black hole.
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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 9, 2005 22:38:18 GMT
C'mon guys let's not give the impression that we'd be happy with second or third best. Surely we all want this film to be on the big screen and to be a BIG event not stuck on some cable channel which hardly anyone sees.
I know there's nothing we can do about it but if the film makers do read these and other boards and they think fans will accept mediocrity - then that's what we'll most probably get.
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Post by Lucius909 on Mar 10, 2005 0:35:40 GMT
Mediocrity is not the issue - appeal to audiences is. This film may well turn out to be great - I hope it does - but outside of boards like this, it only has niche appeal. Big screen distributors won't touch it because it doesn't have a grand enough scale. Arthouse types won't because sci-fi is not a genre that really goes down well in those circles.
A TV deal of some sorts is going to be far better for this production. It avoids rights and distribution clashes, it can be put out as a form of small screen competition to Spielberg, it will have a greater potential audience than a limited (5 screen!) cinematic release, and the DVD will still be desireable.
I'll bet Hines is looking into this, and he should!
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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 10, 2005 1:40:25 GMT
Mediocrity is not the issue - appeal to audiences is. This film may well turn out to be great - I hope it does - but outside of boards like this, it only has niche appeal. Big screen distributors won't touch it because it doesn't have a grand enough scale. Arthouse types won't because sci-fi is not a genre that really goes down well in those circles. A TV deal of some sorts is going to be far better for this production. It avoids rights and distribution clashes, it can be put out as a form of small screen competition to Spielberg, it will have a greater potential audience than a limited (5 screen!) cinematic release, and the DVD will still be desireable. I'll bet Hines is looking into this, and he should! I totally disagree about it only having niche appeal. I think this film could have huge potential if it's done well. You could argue that about a lot of films that have turned out to be huge hits. Or big budget films that have flopped. It's also very hard sometimes to predict what will be a big hit and what won't. Also I can't see how you can say it doesn't have a grand enough scale. Ok there wasn't so many buildings to blow up in turn of the century England etc, but it's an epic story and just because it doesn't have all the worlds landmarks being blown apart doesn't mean it can't be spectacular and grand in scale. You can counter that anyway by showing the aliens and their machines etc in all their horrific detail. If I was Pendragon, I'd up the epic factor as much as possible. |
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Post by HTT on Mar 10, 2005 9:59:58 GMT
It would be good if Sci-Fi bailed Pendragon out. After all, it was the last, best hope for the Babylon 5 series and the spin-off movies. And their marketing is much better - if they could devote as much energy to promoting the original WOTW as they do the B5 DVDs, we're quids in!!
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Post by themotile on Mar 10, 2005 11:39:15 GMT
erm....peace keeper wars was given a prime time slot on Sky's flag ship channel Sky One, it wasnt relagated to the sci-fi channel with such crap as "code red: the rubicon conspiracy".
There is no garantee that its even good enough to be picked up by the sci-fi channel, thats the point, we just dont know either way, the genius that is Hines has made sure of that.
T minus 20 days and counting.
Tick follows tock follows tick follows tock.....
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Post by Lucius909 on Mar 10, 2005 18:25:14 GMT
Peace Keeper Wars was shown on Sci-Fi in the states..always thought it was odd that Sky nabbed it here, because they didn't really promote it much and released it in the dead post Xmas period.
Another option for Hines is to talk to the BBC. With the Spielberg film bound to gain a lot of media attention, there will be a focus on Wells too - I'm willing to bet some kind of programme appears about him somewhere on the BBC network - it's another opportunity at any rate.
Trust me, this film does only have niche appeal, outside of this fanbase, a stand alone major cinematic relase will not stand up on a twelve million budget, it will also look all wrong to a modern sci fi audience. Arthouse crowds don't do sci-fi unless it is of the most balls achingly existential variety a la the original Solaris (frankly, the most utterly boring film ever made!).
TV followed by a well done DVD release is the way to go. Sorry, but that's how it is in my book.
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Post by themotile on Mar 10, 2005 19:00:20 GMT
They would have more luck with Channel 5 as they show more crap films.
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Post by themotile on Mar 10, 2005 19:01:26 GMT
Heres an idea, split it into 3 pieces and sell it as a series to the BBC or sci-fi.
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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 10, 2005 20:09:37 GMT
Peace Keeper Wars was shown on Sci-Fi in the states..always thought it was odd that Sky nabbed it here, because they didn't really promote it much and released it in the dead post Xmas period. Another option for Hines is to talk to the BBC. With the Spielberg film bound to gain a lot of media attention, there will be a focus on Wells too - I'm willing to bet some kind of programme appears about him somewhere on the BBC network - it's another opportunity at any rate. Trust me, this film does only have niche appeal, outside of this fanbase, a stand alone major cinematic relase will not stand up on a twelve million budget, it will also look all wrong to a modern sci fi audience. Arthouse crowds don't do sci-fi unless it is of the most balls achingly existential variety a la the original Solaris (frankly, the most utterly boring film ever made!). TV followed by a well done DVD release is the way to go. Sorry, but that's how it is in my book. I agree with you that an epic novel filmed with a budget of 12 million dollars most probably won't have appeal outside of a niche audience. And if that's all that's being put in to Pendragons film, then it's pathetic. I think we can both agree though that if it was made on a big budget and done properly then it could be a big hit. I also agree with you about the original SOLARIS. How I managed to watch it all the way through [ I think it was over 3 hrs long wasn't it?], I don't know. It has to be one of the most boring films ever made. And what's even more amazing is most of the critics seemed to love it. If I remember correctly there was only one special effect in it [ which wasn't really an effects shot anyway ], and some critics laughably said it was the Russian equivalent of 2001. Typical arty farty bollox! The remake with G.Clooney was actually a lot better. |
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Post by Bayne on Mar 10, 2005 22:02:02 GMT
[glow=red,2,300]I doubt scifi would have anything to do with Pendragon... when I emailed them about their lack of reportage of anything other than the SS movie they didn't seem to believe that Pendragon had even started filming  [/glow] |
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Post by themotile on Mar 10, 2005 22:03:57 GMT
Why am I not surprised.
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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 10, 2005 22:12:57 GMT
[glow=red,2,300]I doubt scifi would have anything to do with Pendragon... when I emailed them about their lack of reportage of anything other than the SS movie they didn't seem to believe that Pendragon had even started filming [/glow] Hmm! Interesting. |
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Post by timeship2 on Mar 10, 2005 22:48:55 GMT
This reminds me of the movie "The Thing" where the critics thought the original was much better than the remake. I'm sorry but this is a case where special effects *do* make a film. I just do not find a man in a carrot suit frightening and full of suspense like they had in the original!
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Post by FALLINGSTAR on Mar 10, 2005 23:08:03 GMT
This reminds me of the movie "The Thing" where the critics thought the original was much better than the remake. I'm sorry but this is a case where special effects *do* make a film. I just do not find a man in a carrot suit frightening and full of suspense like they had in the original! Definitely! The remake of THE THING was great and still stands up well today. It wouldn't have been the same without Bottins superb fx. In fact I'm gonna go in to town tomorrow and pick myself up the dvd. Haven't seen it for ages. |
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