Rifts Movie Talk

[Mercury]

Frankly, we haven't had a Heavy Metal style movie in some time... why not?

Now there is a movie I haven't seen in a while! Any particular aspect of this that you were thinking? Mini stories? Cartoon/comic book style? The concept of a single evil entity linking all of the stories togethere?

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it all that much. I've been running forums for a LONG time, and first off if someone doesn't look at or answer a thread, they generally won't get a new notification unless they decide to look in, subscribe to the thread, or answer an email. Besides, I think it would be best to leave it here, if for no other reason than a record, and the ability of others to answer, should they decide to.

Fair enough.

Consider, for a moment, that every single one of these folks were children at one time, they grew up with hopes, dreams, and ideas, and then actually managed to make them happen. However, even now, they get up and put on their pants one leg at a time, they still have their doubts, their problems in life, like all of us do. Mr. Siembieda has been extremely open with those of us in this community, about things that have taken place in his life, his losses, the issues that have plagues Palladium, himself, and those who we do admire for the work they've done. We are all a part of this family of gamers. Look, I don't even play Palladium anything on a regular basis, none of these games are my favorites, the last Palladium product I was able to afford was a direct-order copy of Dead Reign, which my sons have cracked open far more than I have. I love Beyond the Supernatural, I love Dead Reign, I love Rifts, I despise the Palladium game system. Still, this is my favorite gamer community in the universe, and I believe these games have a crap-ton of potential for game-play, if I could bring myself to either convert to another system I can actually use, or get over my problems with the present system. They are MY problems, by the way.

Anyway, if we, as gamers, are not allowed to introduce new information, even information that may never be used by anyone for any purpose, then we can't inspire others, and we won't grow ourselves into folks that can actually break into gaming. Were the economic climate of this nation in the same condition it was when Palladium opened its doors, perhaps I could start my own game company and put together my own rules, that anyone else in the world might despise, hehe. Anyway, if we don't try to put ourselves out there, and understand those who've had the balls to make and publish games are just like us, but with moxy, it's our own faults. So, scream it out...

Point taken, and thanks for sharing your problems As for screaming it out, I guess I can continue yelling in CAPS for the rest of the posts

You have all the time in the world to start.

True! Speaking of starting, I was thinking yesterday (while listening to some Queensryche - Silent Lucidity, if you must know, hehe) what a forge would look like. I decided to give the Anvil Galaxy a read over again, and wondered what you think of the idea of some 100 sided dice like looking mechanical contraption?

I had some other thoughts of what advanced alien computers might be like, and came up with the idea of a field of racks (think rack mounted computers in a datacenter) that eject from the floor glowing red hot (since they operator at such mind boggling speed), and instantly cool to something white ice hot when they hit the air. I was wondering of something like this for the 100 faces of the device ejecting in the direction of the face normals (in 3D, normals just mean with direction the face of a poly/tri/ngon is pointing). Although a D100 may not be visually as good as a D1000 or maybe more, I starting thinking "you know, could you have a Rift story without at least paying homage to the genre with something gaming/dice related in it?"

While I had no intentions to make something to this song, I did like how some of the lyrics make reference to "a doorway that I run through in the night", that reminded me of how the forge ran away and hid in the Three Galaxies. During some of the other lyrics, I had thoughts of either a second stager knighting a CK (in the sense of being silent in a dream and "protecting him in the night" and some of the other lines about giving him a chance blah blah), which made me think that maybe the conversion could involve spawning a new star in the galaxy, which is directly linked/fused into the CK as the base of his powers (and thus a fallen CK is linked to a star going nova and thus past its prime). Interestingly enough, if stars were created and linked to the CK's, it could explain why the galaxy is heating up and limited in how many CK there are etc.

A second version I had was a second stager deciding to end himself after loosing a loved one or something (queue flashbacks of some female I guess hehe), and commiting self to destruction by flying a solar sail like device into a star, only to discover the device hiding inside. Unfortunately, this would have to be during the near begining of time after the First and the One etc. But the key idea that I wanted to share was, what would happen when the second stager (or maybe just a first back then?) grabbed hold and was allowed to operate it? I had visuals of some energy ripping through him and leaving progressively different looking "prometean like" creatures in some illusionary (ie: the force of time and space "blasting" his DNA backwards a bit to reveal different looking creatures) races, thus giving birth to Dominators (promeatheans with nostrals, and non phased), then after that humans (similar but smaller and with hair etc). I had some other other thoughts here as well, like how the forge changes reality by instantly destroying everything and recreating it after alterations of its design in a pure white like pergatory/nothingness, but would appear instant due to creatures in it experiencing time relative to it etc. Not sure I like this game mechanic as much though. Although I figured the device itself should effectively grant an order of several hundred/thousand/million in magnitude when it comes to how it amplifies a time masters spells like a second stager, for example. Also, the song sounded neat since the lyrics mention "if you open your mind to mind" etc, which reminded me that the forge is alive.

Anyways, just another partially developed idea I thought I would share.

[Legend]

Now there is a movie I haven't seen in a while! Any particular aspect of this that you were thinking? Mini stories? Cartoon/comic book style? The concept of a single evil entity linking all of the stories together?

I think the mini-stories with, not necessarily the single evil entity, but a singular thread running through. I think that might give the best possible overall view, through either a singular movie, or a trilogy, etc.

True! Speaking of starting, I was thinking yesterday (while listening to some Queensryche - Silent Lucidity, if you must know, hehe) what a forge would look like. I decided to give the Anvil Galaxy a read over again, and wondered what you think of the idea of some 100 sided dice like looking mechanical contraption?

Not having read Anvil Galaxy, I'm afraid, I'm not even sure what the forge is supposed to be. As for the music, I love that entire album, though I must say that Jet City Woman has ever been my favorite. I hope to get that on CD one day; right now, I have it on cassette, and I've no way to play it. However, YouTube and Vimeo have the videos.

Oh, I need to share a quick story... I don't know how you feel about Prodigy/Breathe, but I love that tune, as silly as the words are. The video for that song, of course, is terribly odd, but I put my oldest son (who is going to be 16 on April 4th) onto it, and he was able to watch the first twenty seconds of the video before he shut it and asked me, "What in the world am I watching, here!?" I feel a pang of joy at this, because it means that I have, yet again, out-wierded him with something that's ACTUALLY cool, or not just out-of-date cool-to-me, hehe. That was fun... and I'm OLD, huh?

I had some other thoughts of what advanced alien computers might be like, and came up with the idea of a field of racks (think rack mounted computers in a datacenter) that eject from the floor glowing red hot (since they operator at such mind boggling speed), and instantly cool to something white ice hot when they hit the air. I was wondering of something like this for the 100 faces of the device ejecting in the direction of the face normals (in 3D, normals just mean with direction the face of a poly/tri/ngon is pointing). Although a D100 may not be visually as good as a D1000 or maybe more, I starting thinking "you know, could you have a Rift story without at least paying homage to the genre with something gaming/dice related in it?"

I don't see why something like that couldn't be one of the amazing visuals in the movie; unfortunately, I'm not sure what the colors would look like. Okay, so you have the rack -or something more contiguous than that, which ejects when it's reached its processing limit, but another one immediately fills its place, perhaps something almost like hair leaving a head. Rather than having a bunch of wires, perhaps it's one giant mass hovering in the air, no wires, the power source and a factory to continue producing new "racks" inside. Around where each of these racks is positioned, the little circle that would represent a number on a d100 would actually be some manner of gelatinous mess, which gel is ultimately conductive and used to transfer power as well as data in a seamless fashion.

Anyways, just another partially developed idea I thought I would share.

You really love the idea of the Cyber-Knights, don't you? hehe. I've read what they're about in the main book but, again, nothing beyond that, I'm afraid.

I imagine there being all sorts of various ways that were devised between the cataclysm and PA 101 in which all sorts of technology developed. My question is, how could we develop each item to seem organic to the world, and just alien enough for an audience to ask questions they soon have the answers to?

[Mercury]

I think the mini-stories with, not necessarily the single evil entity, but a singular thread running through. I think that might give the best possible overall view, through either a singular movie, or a trilogy, etc.

Could be interesting, but maybe only for a single one off thing. It would probably have a nice mini game session feel to it. Just not sure how well I would like such a thing, unless it were a comic in Rifts, in which case, bring it on!

Not having read Anvil Galaxy, I'm afraid, I'm not even sure what the forge is supposed to be. As for the music, I love that entire album, though I must say that Jet City Woman has ever been my favorite. I hope to get that on CD one day; right now, I have it on cassette, and I've no way to play it. However, YouTube and Vimeo have the videos.

Don't know what the forge is?! Okay, no worries, but it was kind of central to everything I've been talking about hehe. The Phase world book I think briefly touched on it, but the Anvil Galaxy dimension book goes into more detail. Although it doesn't really go so far as to nail it down to one definition, but instead lays out a bunch of rumours from different races and what they think it to be.

Basically you can think of everything in the universe starting with a race only known through lore as "The first", which had ultimate powers and abilities etc. They created a device called the Forge which they empowered with their souls or similar. Then, the "One" (typical angry loner who was jealous etc), got hold of it, and with a thought, wiped out the First and I think the entire megaverse or so, causing the forge to kill him, restore things, and then go into hiding somewhere (allegedly) in the Three Galaxies. Definitely worth grabbing a copy if you enjoy some back story. It covers more of the cosmo knights as well, and the hunt for the forge by other races.

Oh, I need to share a quick story... I don't know how you feel about Prodigy/Breathe, but I love that tune, as silly as the words are. The video for that song, of course, is terribly odd, but I put my oldest son (who is going to be 16 on April 4th) onto it, and he was able to watch the first twenty seconds of the video before he shut it and asked me, "What in the world am I watching, here!?" I feel a pang of joy at this, because it means that I have, yet again, out-wierded him with something that's ACTUALLY cool, or not just out-of-date cool-to-me, hehe. That was fun... and I'm OLD, huh?

Yup, know the song, great one too! Btw, if you ever wondered how Prodigy does some of their stuff, you may want to take a look at this.

I don't see why something like that couldn't be one of the amazing visuals in the movie; unfortunately, I'm not sure what the colors would look like. Okay, so you have the rack -or something more contiguous than that, which ejects when it's reached its processing limit, but another one immediately fills its place, perhaps something almost like hair leaving a head. Rather than having a bunch of wires, perhaps it's one giant mass hovering in the air, no wires, the power source and a factory to continue producing new "racks" inside. Around where each of these racks is positioned, the little circle that would represent a number on a d100 would actually be some manner of gelatinous mess, which gel is ultimately conductive and used to transfer power as well as data in a seamless fashion.

Well, I wasn't thinking that they eject when they reach any sort of limit or something per se, but was just trying to describe what each of the 100 faces act like when then eject outwards (red hot to ice cold looking). But I was envisioning it as something that floats though, as you mention. Power wise, the forge is probably the type of device that is run by something with the energy levels of (several) black holes or so. Think something along the lines of a universe/star/planet creating/destroying machine (which is pretty much what the forge is thought to be, but again, never actually described feature wise beyond how the first used it, and what other races believe it "might" be capable of).

You really love the idea of the Cyber-Knights, don't you? hehe. I've read what they're about in the main book but, again, nothing beyond that, I'm afraid.

No no no, hehe, but this was related to that fight scene (since I had to describe what was in the middle of the room, ie: the "device"). In all honesty, I played a Promethean, but never a CK. I just figure that if I were to do anything Phase World, you can't skip out the cosmo knights. That being said, Green Latern pretty much pilfered this idea a bit (see what happens the longer you wait!).

I imagine there being all sorts of various ways that were devised between the cataclysm and PA 101 in which all sorts of technology developed. My question is, how could we develop each item to seem organic to the world, and just alien enough for an audience to ask questions they soon have the answers to?

Well, the idea of showing advanced construction techniques and possibly the fabrication of GB's and/or Borgs at the start could answer some questions. Although I don't know if non-gamer viewers really care how you measure damage capacity (SDC vs. MDC), only that stuff looks cool and blows up! I bet you could sneak in a few scenes of a mega damage shot on an old M1A2 tank, versus a modern suit of power armor.

[Legend]

Could be interesting, but maybe only for a single one off thing. It would probably have a nice mini game session feel to it. Just not sure how well I would like such a thing, unless it were a comic in Rifts, in which case, bring it on!

Well, Harold Ramis, John Candy, and the others were able to make a fairly successful cult classic. Perhaps sticking with a main-stream movie would be better the trick.

Don't know what the forge is?! Definitely worth grabbing a copy if you enjoy some back story.

Thank you for the brief explanation; I'm grateful. Yeah, I've not been buying a lot of any sort of books lately, due to unemployment, but that's one I intend to purchase the moment I have money, again.

Yup, know the song, great one too! Btw, if you ever wondered how Prodigy does some of their stuff, you may want to take a look at this.

It's crazy how that all works together, but I love that tune.

Well, the idea of showing advanced construction techniques and possibly the fabrication of GB's and/or Borgs at the start could answer some questions. Although I don't know if non-gamer viewers really care how you measure damage capacity (SDC vs. MDC), only that stuff looks cool and blows up! I bet you could sneak in a few scenes of a mega damage shot on an old M1A2 tank, versus a modern suit of power armor.

I agree... the blowing things up with really cool looking machines is absolutely a requirement, hehe.

[Mercury]

Well, Harold Ramis, John Candy, and the others were able to make a fairly successful cult classic. Perhaps sticking with a main-stream movie would be better the trick.

Oh cool, I had no idea Harold Ramis was involved with Heavy Metal. But ya, +1 on sticking with a normal movie.

I agree... the blowing things up with really cool looking machines is absolutely a requirement, hehe.

Also agree! Disney also has the CPU power to throw at some heavy particle systems, fluid simulations and large army battles too, which is also another must have these days.

Btw, sorry for the long delay, but I didn't really have much else to add to this yet hehe. Although, you might be interested in another thread I started with the start of a 3D piece.

[Legend]

Btw, sorry for the long delay, but I didn't really have much else to add to this yet hehe.

Oh, I know what you mean. I figure this conversation will, eventually, heat up again. When it does, I'll be watching, hehe. By the way, I looked at the hammer you built, and it's amazing... thank you for sharing that.

[Mercury]

Btw, sorry for the long delay, but I didn't really have much else to add to this yet hehe.

Oh, I know what you mean. I figure this conversation will, eventually, heat up again. When it does, I'll be watching, hehe. By the way, I looked at the hammer you built, and it's amazing... thank you for sharing that.

No doubt. On a plus side, we made it go to page 8!

Thanks, and no problem! I guess we can cool it here for a bit so I can focus on some modelling and stuff. If I get any cool animations or stills or something related to the ideas I mentioned here, I will be sure to continue the thread.

Until then... o/

[Silas]

Tell me what you think about this idea. Bear in mind it is based on two major assumptions: 1) the movie/s will be made, and 2) RIFTS will be made into a trilogy. Here we go.

Start the first movie off by following a normal human, a Chi-Town guy in his late teens. (This will give the general audiences someone to root for and be attached to, before the rug is pulled out from under them.) Through that Chi-Town guy, we'll see the different faces of the city and the Coalition, including Deadboys, Dogboys, and how the society functions on all levels.

Next, take the boy out of Chi-Town. Get him running for his life and looking for any help he can find. (This will draw audiences in even more, getting them to empathize with the kid who feels alone and afraid.) Through his flight from Chi-Town, we'll see the darker and uglier side of the Coalition and their army.

Now the kid runs across a mercenary outfit, who decides to take him in so long as he makes himself useful. Some hard times hit the kid, but he manages to make a name for himself, even gaining an erstwhile mentor in an old Bounty Hunter. (This will give audiences a small glimpse into New West and maybe Vampire Kingdoms, just to get them curious. It also gives audiences a new character to focus on.) The kid grows in skill and ability, earning some grudging respect from some of the mercenary unit members. Through this time, we'll see some different lands and landmarks, like the Mississippi River.

Enter combat. The kid is seriously hurt his first time out, and ends up with a cybernetic limb, which he's taught to use by a partial-conversion borg, another member of the mercenary unit. (The kid's struggle to control and master his new limb will strike a chord with audiences, since he'll seem like someone they might know, or have seen, in real life.) Through the combat, we'll see the horror of battle and its effect on those people who fight for a living, whether they like it or have no other choice to survive.

Enter love interest. The kid meets another merc who knocks him for a loop. He becomes instantly infatuated, and only gets her attention when he saves her friend during another battle. Sparks happen, things start to get serious. (Audiences eat up a romantic angle, especially when they genuinely like the lead.)

Romantic hopeful dies in an ambush. Kid is devastated, and starts to get cold-blooded. Bounty hunter has to put him in his place when the kid crosses a line concerning D-Bees. (Audience sees the human and ugly side of their favorite character, which makes them uncomfortable about their own darker sides.)

The kid learns a hard lesson about how his life in Chi-Town left its mark on him, repents, and proves his new-found outlook. (Audiences love this bit. Their hero is back, and better than ever. He wiped off the mud of his darker side and looks golden again.)

Big finish with a hook: the Bounty Hunter and Partial-Conversion Borg confide in the kid about their concerns with the mercenary company, how it looks more and more like the company is a front for something nasty. Bounty Hunter, Partial-Conversion Borg, and the kid all grab their gear, their stashed creds, enough food and water for a couple weeks, and a small APC, and hotfoot as far away from the mercenary company as they can go.

_-End Movie One-_

The second movie could see the kid growing into a hard, but just, man as he and his two friends travel across the country, then into Europe. The kid's OCC would end up being Headhunter, and he would find a permanent love interest in the second movie, as well as his personal nemesis. Third movie would see the group traveling across Europe, hounded by the kid's nemesis and his little ragtag army, before they are transported back to North America's southwest region by a powerful mage. Of course, the small army follows and the climactic battle ensues, the kid and his love interest live, and they meet this interesting old woman named Erin Tarn who begins telling them a story to pay for her supper...

Of course, there are details I left out, so any good writer could toss in glimpses from other countries or continents, including Atlantis.

Okay, tell me the truth... do you think that might work well as a film representation of RIFTS?

[Legend]

I have to say, it sounds as if you thought of quite a few ways to get the audience directly involved, to bring them along on a great ride. Now, the question is, what would the corners, hills, and valleys of that ride look like?

This is very well done, at least the first part. I would have to see more about how and why they would go to Europe? Would they have to get a ride through a place near Juarez? Except for numbers, why would they run from the larger mercenary group/front? Are they trying to find evidence, to prove something, to get to an artifact or individual before they can, etc.? Or, are they literally running ONLY because of the numbers? And, why do I see Leonardo DiCaprio getting involved in this? (shakes head, remembers he doesn't even like LdC)

I think the first movie could be very well-written to draw audiences in, because you have some great ideas in there.

[Silas]

I was thinking the "something nasty" would be either an alien intelligence, or some other hugely powerful dark force.
The reason for the escape to Europe is because of that "something nasty" having eyes and assassins everywhere in North America.
Their escape would be financed by their own actions, but felicitated by the Black Market, which is dotted across the eastern coast of the former United States.

Just a few other ideas I came up with recently.

[Mercury]

heh, "unlimited ammo", nice one

We could just call it $SomethingNasty. Would make it much easier to add more!

$SomethingNasty++;

[Silas]

Thanks. That D-Bee was retired last year, sadly. He didn't go out with a bang, or a whimper, instead retiring to a small chunk of land somewhere around the medicine wheel in Utah where he founded a walled town meant to provide shelter for all beings. The designing process was real fun.

About filling in the gaps in that first movie idea... I honestly only wrote up enough to inspire a writer with more talent than I to jump on the project. I've suffered from terminal writer's block for the last six years, or so, which leaves me unable to perform the fine details necessary for such an undertaking. I would, however, thoroughly enjoy a collaboration with someone who can handle the fine details of a screenplay.

On another note, if KS or any staff are reading these posts, I would like to officially grant full permission for Palladium Books® to use any of my ideas posted on these forums for any purpose, whether for books, storyboards, or any other use Palladium might see fit.

Just throwing that out there.

[Legend]

Honestly the huge World of rifts would be near impossible to show in a film. How about a tv-series instead? i know many seriea are crap but a few are very good and that will make it possible to have several types of main characters like juicer, mage, psychic, robot pilot etc.

The problem, as I see it, is getting this into the faces of a lot of people. A movie never truly fails, as long as it makes some money, whereas television programs do not really make all that much money and can be cancelled before anyone really has an opportunity to see them. Firefly.

No, it would need to be a movie, or a trilogy, and the potential success of a program could be determined from how well, or poorly, the franchise would do. It would need to show a limited portion of the world, with as wide-ranging powers, abilities, and technology as possible, and it would need to have a fantastic Humano-centric story. Then, the level of quality of programming would need to remain that way.

Earth 2, Firefly, Terra Nova, Hemlock Grove, Merlin, Farscape, Babylon 5, Dracula, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and most all of the shows on CW or Fox, have had limited success with audiences, and most were very short-lived, and all of these have had elements I would consider important to a Rifts television program, all elements mixed into the same world.

I'm going to tell you, right now, that if Peter Jackson attempted to put Middle Earth on television, it would fail within six episodes, despite the amazing marvelous work he's done with the movies. Something like Rifts belongs on the movie screen, and would have zero life for just that reason. It was one of the big-three stations (ABC, NBC, and CBS) here in America that were looking to put a D&D type fantasy television show into production, but I only ever saw one article on Variety.com, I think it was, about it, and have heard nothing since. Once Upon A Time: Wonderland did not complete a full season before it was taken off the air, and the only reason the original Once stays around is because nearly two-dozen million people have been invested in it, including me, from the beginning. However, it's already becoming tiresome, it's obvious now that the writers are desperate to have new material, and I do not presume to believe it will actually last beyond this season.

The term used by J.K. Rowling to describe most people in the world, Muggle, is entirely on the money, though I prefer Mundane. Most people don't have the imagine God gave a rabbit and, thus, can only stand to be taken "someplace else" for short periods of time, at most. So, I'm afraid a television program simply would not work. Heck, a movie might not work, either. Look at Dungeons and Dragons that had a Wayans brother, Jeremy Irons, the little Princess from "Neverending Story", and a few actors who went on to do larger and better projects. The script for that movie wasn't bad, the plot and waypoints relatively easy to follow, the comedy was not horrible, and the settings were not only in-line with D&D, but were understandable to most. The movie didn't even make it into the theater; I watch it from time-to-time on DVD, and think it should have had a fair shot in the theater, but it wasn't even deemed good enough for little theaters. So, whomever would seek to build a Rifts movie, would need a LOT of money, a LOT of clout, an excellent script, at least one A-List actor, not Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson, and would need to be lovingly marketed from the very beginning. It would have to be an all go, no quit, no fail project, period.

I'm not trying to be a party pooper, here, but that's my take on the whole thing, as much as I really would love for it to happen.

[palladiumjunkie]

Look at Dungeons and Dragons that had a Wayans brother, Jeremy Irons, the little Princess from "Neverending Story", and a few actors who went on to do larger and better projects. The script for that movie wasn't bad, the plot and waypoints relatively easy to follow, the comedy was not horrible, and the settings were not only in-line with D&D, but were understandable to most. The movie didn't even make it into the theater; I watch it from time-to-time on DVD, and think it should have had a fair shot in the theater, but it wasn't even deemed good enough for little theaters.

The first D&D movie was released in theaters, and it bombed, badly. It cost an estimated $45 million to make, and only grossed $15,185,241 at the box office in the U.S. Even with a $30 million dollar loss, they still made a sequel, but it was released straight to TV/DVD.

EDIT: Worldwide, it did make approximately $34 million. So, not as bad, but still a bomb.

-Chris

[Legend]

Thank you for the statistics, I appreciate them. I didn't know it actually did that well, nor that it was in theaters at all. I'm happy to be corrected.

Look at Dungeons and Dragons that had a Wayans brother, Jeremy Irons, the little Princess from "Neverending Story", and a few actors who went on to do larger and better projects. The script for that movie wasn't bad, the plot and waypoints relatively easy to follow, the comedy was not horrible, and the settings were not only in-line with D&D, but were understandable to most. The movie didn't even make it into the theater; I watch it from time-to-time on DVD, and think it should have had a fair shot in the theater, but it wasn't even deemed good enough for little theaters.

The first D&D movie was released in theaters, and it bombed, badly. It cost an estimated $45 million to make, and only grossed $15,185,241 at the box office in the U.S. Even with a $30 million dollar loss, they still made a sequel, but it was released straight to TV/DVD.

EDIT: Worldwide, it did make approximately $34 million. So, not as bad, but still a bomb.

-Chris

[palladiumjunkie]

Thank you for the statistics, I appreciate them. I didn't know it actually did that well, nor that it was in theaters at all. I'm happy to be corrected.

Look at Dungeons and Dragons that had a Wayans brother, Jeremy Irons, the little Princess from "Neverending Story", and a few actors who went on to do larger and better projects. The script for that movie wasn't bad, the plot and waypoints relatively easy to follow, the comedy was not horrible, and the settings were not only in-line with D&D, but were understandable to most. The movie didn't even make it into the theater; I watch it from time-to-time on DVD, and think it should have had a fair shot in the theater, but it wasn't even deemed good enough for little theaters.

The first D&D movie was released in theaters, and it bombed, badly. It cost an estimated $45 million to make, and only grossed $15,185,241 at the box office in the U.S. Even with a $30 million dollar loss, they still made a sequel, but it was released straight to TV/DVD.

EDIT: Worldwide, it did make approximately $34 million. So, not as bad, but still a bomb.

-Chris

Yeah, if the original budget hadn't been so outrageous, we may have seen the sequels make it to the theater. I personally liked the first movie, as I found it to be similar to more of our slapstick game sessions. Most of my friends hate it, but they like the second movie. The acting in the second movie was so atrocious, though, that I just couldn't enjoy it at all. Maybe if they would have had the better actors from the first movie, with the story of the second movie, then I might have been able to enjoy the second movie.

Doubtful, but possible.

-Chris

[Silas]

I thought of the D&D movies as having been made by Uwe Boll. That way, the real movie makers are spared the ignominy of being associated with a pair of cinematic diaper bombs. Everybody deserves a second chance, but Uwe Boll has shown no talent for movie making in any movie he's been attached to since he began. That's why, for me, he's going to take the blame for every non-Michael Bay smoking rear admiral on the silver screen.

Looking at all the Marvel movies out there, I could see RIFTS movies going the same route. Start off with one to grab attention, such as Nightbane or BTS, then go through HU and AU (Galaxy guide and original together), then Palladium Fantasy, and then Chaos Earth to culminate in the RIFTS series of movies, wherein you see a bunch of your favorite characters from the other movies, all trying to survive in this madhouse of a world where magic, psionics, super powers, ultratech, and aliens all exist. I figure about ten or twelve RIFTS movies should suffice, just to touch base on all the world books.

Dimension books would be a whole other can of worms.

[Legend]

I have to disagree, Silas. Going with ANY of Palladium's "lesser" brands to start out with would end badly. Perhaps, instead, the movies could be formulaic... each movie begins with an opening from Rifts, then switches to another game for the better portion of the movie, to help tell the story from the first and last portions, why they got the way they are. However, though you and I might go see each and every movie done in Palladium's Megaverse, none of them would make enough money to count. Unfortunately, the further we get away from 1993, the less likely it is we'll see anything that could be seen AND admired by enough people to make it work well for further movies.

[mercedogre]

RIFTS movie plot idea: re-do the classic Magnificent Seven movie with RIFTS O.C.C.'s. A troubled village/small kingdom plagued by bandits (Simvan?) and need to 'hire' heroes (Merctown maybe) to help to protect the small city. Leading the heroes is a Cyber-Knight (obvious), and a last stage Juicer (looking for redemption). A young eager mystic (looking to make a name for himself) wants to join the heroes but is initially turned away do to inexperience. A grizzled headhunter agrees to help if they can help rescue his partner (Vanguard brawler, Grackle tooth, or other DB merc soldier) from a CS detention center. During the rescue, they also release a tortured Burster. All five running from CS troops when rescued by the young mystic, who is then begrudgingly accepted into the group. To stealthily enter the city, Cyber-Knight recruits a wilderness scout. All seven heroes fight off bandits is a glorious battle. I like the idea of the original ending, three survivors, two ride off into sunset (Cyber-knight and Scout more than likely), one fell in love and stays behind after the battle and helps rebuild the city (maybe the mystic found a new life path/calling).

[Alpha 11]

RIFTS movie plot idea: re-do the classic Magnificent Seven movie with RIFTS O.C.C.'s. A troubled village/small kingdom plagued by bandits (Simvan?) and need to 'hire' heroes (Merctown maybe) to help to protect the small city. Leading the heroes is a Cyber-Knight (obvious), and a last stage Juicer (looking for redemption). A young eager mystic (looking to make a name for himself) wants to join the heroes but is initially turned away do to inexperience. A grizzled headhunter agrees to help if they can help rescue his partner (Vanguard brawler, Grackle tooth, or other DB merc soldier) from a CS detention center. During the rescue, they also release a tortured Burster. All five running from CS troops when rescued by the young mystic, who is then begrudgingly accepted into the group. To stealthily enter the city, Cyber-Knight recruits a wilderness scout. All seven heroes fight off bandits is a glorious battle. I like the idea of the original ending, three survivors, two ride off into sunset (Cyber-knight and Scout more than likely), one fell in love and stays behind after the battle and helps rebuild the city (maybe the mystic found a new life path/calling).

I could go with that.

[Dave the dragon]

One of the biggest secrets of Hollywood is that most of the greatest films "of all time" are either retelling real life heroics, or carefully repackaged Masterpieces of the past.

Star Wars is essentially stolen entirely from Japanese storytelling and a few Japanese films. Lucas only got away with it because Americans werent familiar at the time. Now, we can see the shameless plagiarism.
Most of Shakespeare's works, modernized with Rifts gear and language, would easily work. Look up a short summary of Midsummer Nights Eve, Taming of the Shrew, or Othello.
Several of the Greek and Norse legends naturally lend themselves, even if we dont include the gods compendium. Perseus- "kill the monster, save the girl" is just another Tuesday in Rifts.
"Sneak into the homeland of the Giants, steal their source of power, take it to the only place it can be destroyed and do so, fight your way through more bad guys, get home and party." An actual mission of Thor and Loki in the Finnish (iirc) Sagas

We dont need a story, really. Hollywood can steal any of the top 25, just as it has done for decades. Just plug "glitter boy" in for hero, and "boom gun" instead of sword, and you're half way there.

[mercedogre]

what someone needs to do, is write a Rifts screenplay and name it something else, dont even tell the movie companies it's based on a RPG, let them think it's just the latest sci-fi movie, let it be the inside joke for all of us know about.

[mercedogre]

RIFTS movie plot idea: re-do the classic Magnificent Seven movie with RIFTS O.C.C.'s. A troubled village/small kingdom plagued by bandits (Simvan?) and need to 'hire' heroes (Merctown maybe) to help to protect the small city. Leading the heroes is a Cyber-Knight (obvious), and a last stage Juicer (looking for redemption). A young eager mystic (looking to make a name for himself) wants to join the heroes but is initially turned away do to inexperience. A grizzled headhunter agrees to help if they can help rescue his partner (Vanguard brawler, Grackle tooth, or other DB merc soldier) from a CS detention center. During the rescue, they also release a tortured Burster. All five running from CS troops when rescued by the young mystic, who is then begrudgingly accepted into the group. To stealthily enter the city, Cyber-Knight recruits a wilderness scout. All seven heroes fight off bandits is a glorious battle. I like the idea of the original ending, three survivors, two ride off into sunset (Cyber-knight and Scout more than likely), one fell in love and stays behind after the battle and helps rebuild the city (maybe the mystic found a new life path/calling).

I could go with that.

A sequel can involve the mystic grown up (8 or 9 level) as a leader of the small kingdom and selected others fighting against the CS trying to takeover the kingdom