What if... PlaneScape fanfilm? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

What if... PlaneScape fanfilm?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zenosaga_dup
Jul 01, 2006 19:45:44 I was just curious, but what if say... A group of amateurs worked together to create a live-action/CG PlaneScape fanfilm?

For example, the folks at Damnatus are working on their own amateur German live-action/CG fanfilm taking place in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

One can simply apply the same principles (amateur/live-action/CG) to PlaneScape.
#2
zombiegleemax
Jul 01, 2006 23:20:47 I think Planescape is one of the richest settings ever created, likewise and visually. You could even be daring and make an essentially plotless film, or one that revolved around many groups of characters in Sigil, and it wouldn't be boring. (And, of course, in my imagination, one of the story arcs is my own short story entitled "The Hive", to which there is a link in my signature). However, I wouldn't want such a venture to be bound by live action. I would almost certainly want some traditional animation, drawn in the style of DiTerilizzi's artwork, perhaps enhanced via computers, like that wonderful animated film Steamboy.
#3
bob_the_efreet
Jul 02, 2006 2:07:46 I am unable to decipher what you're actually trying to ask.
#4
calmar
Jul 21, 2006 6:44:15 He wants to discuss the possibility of a Planescape movie, I think... :D
#5
saurstalk
Jul 21, 2006 22:52:21 I think a good plotline would be the fall of the factions in Sigil:

1. The film begins with a narrative describing the multiverse and its complexities as the eyes of the camera sweeps from plane to plane, skyward and down, through portal after portal ...

2. The narrative shifts from describing the multiverse to the philosophies behind describing it, again as the camera soars across different landscapes and scenes ...

3. With the beginning narrative concluding with the tell of Sigil, the factions of Sigil ... and the tensions under the surface ... as the camera moves through a portal and exits as some burly creature dons its pants and emerges from a toilet.

The story could revolve around some "hero" who gets caught up on the edge of the factions ... perhaps bouncing from faction to faction or being used as a pawn between them.

Along the way, we meet a great many curious and exotic fantastic creatures.

And as the story progresses, we see the internal strife of Sigil erupt from that hero's angle and the Lady's retaliation.

Perhaps the end of the movie has the hero being mazed and the camera lifts to take in the landscape of his predicament.
#6
cmrscorpio
Jul 22, 2006 20:32:57 A Planescape fanfilm that does the setting justice is impossible to make. Planescape is too big. The politics of Sigil is too complex (even after Faction War).

The only way the setting could be done with any justice would be a series - and a long series at that - of shorts that each emphasize one aspect of the setting. A short about Sigil as the hub of the multiverse. A short about some of the theories behind the Lady. A short about life in each of Sigil's wards. A short about each of the factions. A short about how magic is gradually nullified as you approach the Spire. A short about the Blood War. A few shorts about some of the gatetowns. Etc, etc, etc, etc.

I would envision such a series as being similar to the Animatrix, but much longer.
#7
saurstalk
Jul 22, 2006 21:58:07
A Planescape fanfilm that does the setting justice is impossible to make. Planescape is too big. The politics of Sigil is too complex (even after Faction War).

The only way the setting could be done with any justice would be a series - and a long series at that - of shorts that each emphasize one aspect of the setting. A short about Sigil as the hub of the multiverse. A short about some of the theories behind the Lady. A short about life in each of Sigil's wards. A short about each of the factions. A short about how magic is gradually nullified as you approach the Spire. A short about the Blood War. A few shorts about some of the gatetowns. Etc, etc, etc, etc.

I would envision such a series as being similar to the Animatrix, but much longer.

What about if Torment were put to screen. Granted, NOT the novel Torment. (I wasn't too keen on that.) But if someone who was a good screenwriter and Planescape fan recreated the Torment storyline, that might work.
#8
cmrscorpio
Jul 22, 2006 23:23:23
What about if Torment were put to screen. Granted, NOT the novel Torment. (I wasn't too keen on that.) But if someone who was a good screenwriter and Planescape fan recreated the Torment storyline, that might work.

Even in the right hands, what you would get would be something so diluted that it would only have the semblence of Torment. Torment was great because the game was allowed 40+ hours to get the look, feel, tone, taste, and themes of Planescape. Storyline is one thing, but Torment isn't just a storyline, it's about characters, philosophy, self-exploration, betrayal, redemption, and damnation. I simply cannot imagine the mush that would result if all that were abbreviated into feature-length film. The result would be even more reduced than that atrocious Queen of the Damned movie that attempted to condense two of the Vampire Chronicles into one movie.

[edit] I guess what I'm saying is that Planescape (and, by extention, Torment) is just too heady to be put into the media of feature-style film. [/edit]
#9
ripvanwormer
Jul 22, 2006 23:56:40 Good point. Don't make it a movie - make it a TV series. Say, 50 half-hour episodes, following an ensemble cast.

A githyanki and githzerai, forced to get along by their faction. A time-lost bariaur tribe, and the one that's been left behind. A human child subjected to illithid experiments. Faction politics. Abyssal politics and Rule-of-Three. A dying world and the Doomguard. A dying pantheon and the Athar. Ormyrrs stealing the secret of flight from the mortai. Celestial infighting, and the Blood War weapons trade.
#10
calmar
Jul 23, 2006 7:08:36 Why filming Torment? - There are guys who wrote this story and, as it seems, are real experts. Why don't get them to write a new one?
#11
factol_rhys_dup
Jul 23, 2006 9:45:59 Whatever the movie, the Lady of Pain should appear at the end of the movie and only at the end of the movie. They'll talk about her all through it, but she'll finally be glimpsed at the end.
#12
zenosaga_dup
Jul 24, 2006 15:49:18 There was a unofficial novellization of PlaneScape: Torment by Rhyss Hess (who also made unofficial novels of the Baldur's Gate series) based more closely on the final game dialogue, and is available for download in several versions at Sorcerer's. While the unofficial novel leaves out a great deal of material in the game and sometimes makes choices that may not be ideal and also misses certain special opportunities, it is generally considered by the fan community to be the better novel. If there were to be a movie based on the game, the ideal people to write it are the actual game designers.
#13
saurstalk
Jul 24, 2006 18:07:29
Whatever the movie, the Lady of Pain should appear at the end of the movie and only at the end of the movie. They'll talk about her all through it, but she'll finally be glimpsed at the end.

I would have to say that this would be highly dependant on the story itself. In my opinion, the point in introducing the Lady of Pain would have to correspond with some climactic moment - regardless where it falls in the course of the movie.

Though we are merely mulling this over in our heads ... and no producer has openly stated an interest to make such a film ... I would be recalcitrant to make a TV Series or multi-episodic movie on it just yet. You have to establish a sufficient fanbase first - a collection of people who would connect not just with the setting, but the heroes of the story and the plot itself. So, I contend that the best approach is to draw up some 2 hour screenplay set in Sigil that has openers for sequels, but could stand on its own.

The main thing is to get people, beyond those who know the game, interested.

Granted, if you could convince SciFi that a series set in the multiverse would be great, they've done well taking some off-the-wall stories and making blockbusters out of them (i.e., Farscape), only to axe them later. *sigh* Okay, maybe not SciFi.
#14
zombiegleemax
Aug 19, 2006 3:41:52 i think they would do the bloodwar trilogy series of books before anything else. tho Dead Gods and Faction War would be incredible too!
#15
saurstalk
Aug 19, 2006 10:06:34
i think they would do the bloodwar trilogy series of books before anything else. tho Dead Gods and Faction War would be incredible too!

The fact is, if this were of interest, there are a series of exciting campaign modules that could be used. (It'd be pretty cool to see some of those put to life ... or CG.) For that matter, I'd like to see a Baldur's Gate movie .. particularly if it includes Durlag's Tower.
#16
cat_god
Aug 24, 2006 22:06:49 I'd buy a DVD.
#17
nerdicus
Sep 09, 2006 13:17:44 I have been imagining an animated series based on Planescape since I first got a look at the Factols Manifesto. If done right(which I mean, how could it be?) this could be amazing. The art style would certainly have to emulate Tony's style as he is as much a factor in the success of the setting as the setting itself.

I think that Bill Plimpton would do very well also, as his style has a unique-ness that would add to the flavor of the setting.
It would be so cool if tat the begining of the series it started out with actors and it was about the group that played the game. Once they get palying it goes into animation. As the story progresses, the gmae plotline could somehow tie the real world into it, so that once it is in full force, the players of the game are totally emersed in the story. Where the line between realuty and game get blurred then totally obscurred.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zenosaga_dup Jul 01, 2006 19:45:44	I was just curious, but what if say... A group of amateurs worked together to create a live-action/CG PlaneScape fanfilm? For example, the folks at Damnatus are working on their own amateur German live-action/CG fanfilm taking place in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. One can simply apply the same principles (amateur/live-action/CG) to PlaneScape.
#2 zombiegleemax Jul 01, 2006 23:20:47	I think Planescape is one of the richest settings ever created, likewise and visually. You could even be daring and make an essentially plotless film, or one that revolved around many groups of characters in Sigil, and it wouldn't be boring. (And, of course, in my imagination, one of the story arcs is my own short story entitled "The Hive", to which there is a link in my signature). However, I wouldn't want such a venture to be bound by live action. I would almost certainly want some traditional animation, drawn in the style of DiTerilizzi's artwork, perhaps enhanced via computers, like that wonderful animated film Steamboy.
#3 bob_the_efreet Jul 02, 2006 2:07:46	I am unable to decipher what you're actually trying to ask.
#4 calmar Jul 21, 2006 6:44:15	He wants to discuss the possibility of a Planescape movie, I think... :D
#5 saurstalk Jul 21, 2006 22:52:21	I think a good plotline would be the fall of the factions in Sigil: 1. The film begins with a narrative describing the multiverse and its complexities as the eyes of the camera sweeps from plane to plane, skyward and down, through portal after portal ... 2. The narrative shifts from describing the multiverse to the philosophies behind describing it, again as the camera soars across different landscapes and scenes ... 3. With the beginning narrative concluding with the tell of Sigil, the factions of Sigil ... and the tensions under the surface ... as the camera moves through a portal and exits as some burly creature dons its pants and emerges from a toilet. The story could revolve around some "hero" who gets caught up on the edge of the factions ... perhaps bouncing from faction to faction or being used as a pawn between them. Along the way, we meet a great many curious and exotic fantastic creatures. And as the story progresses, we see the internal strife of Sigil erupt from that hero's angle and the Lady's retaliation. Perhaps the end of the movie has the hero being mazed and the camera lifts to take in the landscape of his predicament.
#6 cmrscorpio Jul 22, 2006 20:32:57	A Planescape fanfilm that does the setting justice is impossible to make. Planescape is too big. The politics of Sigil is too complex (even after Faction War). The only way the setting could be done with any justice would be a series - and a long series at that - of shorts that each emphasize one aspect of the setting. A short about Sigil as the hub of the multiverse. A short about some of the theories behind the Lady. A short about life in each of Sigil's wards. A short about each of the factions. A short about how magic is gradually nullified as you approach the Spire. A short about the Blood War. A few shorts about some of the gatetowns. Etc, etc, etc, etc. I would envision such a series as being similar to the Animatrix, but much longer.
#7 saurstalk Jul 22, 2006 21:58:07	A Planescape fanfilm that does the setting justice is impossible to make. Planescape is too big. The politics of Sigil is too complex (even after Faction War). The only way the setting could be done with any justice would be a series - and a long series at that - of shorts that each emphasize one aspect of the setting. A short about Sigil as the hub of the multiverse. A short about some of the theories behind the Lady. A short about life in each of Sigil's wards. A short about each of the factions. A short about how magic is gradually nullified as you approach the Spire. A short about the Blood War. A few shorts about some of the gatetowns. Etc, etc, etc, etc. I would envision such a series as being similar to the Animatrix, but much longer. What about if Torment were put to screen. Granted, NOT the novel Torment. (I wasn't too keen on that.) But if someone who was a good screenwriter and Planescape fan recreated the Torment storyline, that might work.
#8 cmrscorpio Jul 22, 2006 23:23:23	What about if Torment were put to screen. Granted, NOT the novel Torment. (I wasn't too keen on that.) But if someone who was a good screenwriter and Planescape fan recreated the Torment storyline, that might work. Even in the right hands, what you would get would be something so diluted that it would only have the semblence of Torment. Torment was great because the game was allowed 40+ hours to get the look, feel, tone, taste, and themes of Planescape. Storyline is one thing, but Torment isn't just a storyline, it's about characters, philosophy, self-exploration, betrayal, redemption, and damnation. I simply cannot imagine the mush that would result if all that were abbreviated into feature-length film. The result would be even more reduced than that atrocious Queen of the Damned movie that attempted to condense two of the Vampire Chronicles into one movie. [edit] I guess what I'm saying is that Planescape (and, by extention, Torment) is just too heady to be put into the media of feature-style film. [/edit]
#9 ripvanwormer Jul 22, 2006 23:56:40	Good point. Don't make it a movie - make it a TV series. Say, 50 half-hour episodes, following an ensemble cast. A githyanki and githzerai, forced to get along by their faction. A time-lost bariaur tribe, and the one that's been left behind. A human child subjected to illithid experiments. Faction politics. Abyssal politics and Rule-of-Three. A dying world and the Doomguard. A dying pantheon and the Athar. Ormyrrs stealing the secret of flight from the mortai. Celestial infighting, and the Blood War weapons trade.
#10 calmar Jul 23, 2006 7:08:36	Why filming Torment? - There are guys who wrote this story and, as it seems, are real experts. Why don't get them to write a new one?
#11 factol_rhys_dup Jul 23, 2006 9:45:59	Whatever the movie, the Lady of Pain should appear at the end of the movie and only at the end of the movie. They'll talk about her all through it, but she'll finally be glimpsed at the end.
#12 zenosaga_dup Jul 24, 2006 15:49:18	There was a unofficial novellization of PlaneScape: Torment by Rhyss Hess (who also made unofficial novels of the Baldur's Gate series) based more closely on the final game dialogue, and is available for download in several versions at Sorcerer's. While the unofficial novel leaves out a great deal of material in the game and sometimes makes choices that may not be ideal and also misses certain special opportunities, it is generally considered by the fan community to be the better novel. If there were to be a movie based on the game, the ideal people to write it are the actual game designers.
#13 saurstalk Jul 24, 2006 18:07:29	Whatever the movie, the Lady of Pain should appear at the end of the movie and only at the end of the movie. They'll talk about her all through it, but she'll finally be glimpsed at the end. I would have to say that this would be highly dependant on the story itself. In my opinion, the point in introducing the Lady of Pain would have to correspond with some climactic moment - regardless where it falls in the course of the movie. Though we are merely mulling this over in our heads ... and no producer has openly stated an interest to make such a film ... I would be recalcitrant to make a TV Series or multi-episodic movie on it just yet. You have to establish a sufficient fanbase first - a collection of people who would connect not just with the setting, but the heroes of the story and the plot itself. So, I contend that the best approach is to draw up some 2 hour screenplay set in Sigil that has openers for sequels, but could stand on its own. The main thing is to get people, beyond those who know the game, interested. Granted, if you could convince SciFi that a series set in the multiverse would be great, they've done well taking some off-the-wall stories and making blockbusters out of them (i.e., Farscape), only to axe them later. sigh Okay, maybe not SciFi.
#14 zombiegleemax Aug 19, 2006 3:41:52	i think they would do the bloodwar trilogy series of books before anything else. tho Dead Gods and Faction War would be incredible too!
#15 saurstalk Aug 19, 2006 10:06:34	i think they would do the bloodwar trilogy series of books before anything else. tho Dead Gods and Faction War would be incredible too! The fact is, if this were of interest, there are a series of exciting campaign modules that could be used. (It'd be pretty cool to see some of those put to life ... or CG.) For that matter, I'd like to see a Baldur's Gate movie .. particularly if it includes Durlag's Tower.
#16 cat_god Aug 24, 2006 22:06:49	I'd buy a DVD.
#17 nerdicus Sep 09, 2006 13:17:44	I have been imagining an animated series based on Planescape since I first got a look at the Factols Manifesto. If done right(which I mean, how could it be?) this could be amazing. The art style would certainly have to emulate Tony's style as he is as much a factor in the success of the setting as the setting itself. I think that Bill Plimpton would do very well also, as his style has a unique-ness that would add to the flavor of the setting. It would be so cool if tat the begining of the series it started out with actors and it was about the group that played the game. Once they get palying it goes into animation. As the story progresses, the gmae plotline could somehow tie the real world into it, so that once it is in full force, the players of the game are totally emersed in the story. Where the line between realuty and game get blurred then totally obscurred.