Breakfast Topic: How to make WoW work on the silver screen
by Amanda Dean 
May 7th 2008 at 8:00AM
I'm really enjoying the Heroes coming in this summer's movie lineup. I absolutely loved Iron Man, I'm stoked about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and I can't wait Christian Bale's encore Batman performance in The Dark Knight. There's been noise since Blizzcon 2007 that there will be a World of Warcraft movie. The synopsis on IMDB reads:
Thrall will be in the movie. It will be told primarily from the Alliance point of view The time of the movie is set about 1 year before World of Warcraft begins. The film is mainly about cultures in conflict. It won't be an adventure movie like LoTR, more of a war film.
But it has little other information about what may be included. One thing we know for sure is that Uwe Boll (of BloodRayne infamy) will not be receiving the movie rights. I expect any WoW movie to be as abhorrently bad as the as the campy but quaint Dungeons and Dragons film of 2000. To be successful, a
If I found myself making the WoW movie I would definitely cast Samuel L. Jackson as Thrall. Even Snakes on a Plane was not bad enough to override his intrepid coolness (but the snakes did creep me out enough that I couldn't keep watching). I would avoid Ben Afleck at all costs. Since WoW is a worldwide phenomenon, I would focus on elements such as epic battle scenes and special effects that translate easier than dialog. I would also try to stay as true to the lore as possible, balancing both Horde and
If you were in charge of directing, producing, or casting a World of Warcraft movie, what would you do to make it successful?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, BlizzCon, Back In The Day
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Boon May 7th 2008 8:17AM
I would ensure there is a sex scene involving proudmore.
PHOENIX34 May 7th 2008 8:00PM
iI think the winning formula is take one race of Alliance and have them follow a quest that involves meeting and befriending one of each of the other races and classes and have them be like LOTR band (cept no ring) and kill a big boss. It needs humor too tho. Chuck Norris should be in there and Christopher Walken should play an undead warlock = profit $$$
but blizzard never listens to good ideas
CJ May 7th 2008 8:20AM
a war movie? *snore*
I'd say present it the way Harry Potter/Narnia/LoTR was presented, they didn't just go into those universes, they gave us characters that discovered everything with the viewers. And it should have a good plot, there are tons of story arcs to choose from in warcraft.
glorft May 7th 2008 8:41AM
Snore??
I'm glad its a war movie. The original games were nothing but. While I love WoW, the original games will always have a certain flare about them. Yes, I know it will still be very different. And the reason LoTR, Harry P., etc. all worked is because they started from the beginning and went from there. If they decided to to follow the warcraft story we'd have 15 movies.
Bloodwynde May 7th 2008 8:20AM
Orc Boobies and Gnomes exploding every ten minutes.
jaykay May 7th 2008 8:26AM
i just wish they did a pure CGI movie like the cinematic trailers.... otherwise it's just gonna be some 1/2 arsed lotr copy.
those cinematics are perfect.. i just wouldn't change something that rocked.
alrdye May 7th 2008 9:44AM
I totally agree Jaykay. I'm very disappointed they decided to go the traditional route but it could be complete crap and I'd probably still see it just cause its Warcraft. But I hope they don't bank on that from their fans. And Blizzard typically demands high quality so I bet they hold the same standards for their movie.
Crispy May 7th 2008 12:24PM
I've read a lot of the comments so far and so just have a couple of points.
1. CGI v. Live Action - I agree that the movie would be awesome as CGI. However, I think Blizz chose live action because creating a 100% CGI feature length movie literally takes about 3-5 years to produce in order to be cost effective. That said you wouldn't see a finished product for some time considering that Blizz doesn't even have a working script yet and I'm pretty sure they want to get this movie out before the WoW popularity starts to fade too much.
2. Plot - I play alliance almost exclusively. Having said that one of the things that I enjoy about WoW is that there isn't a clear division of Good v. Evil between the two factions. To say that humans are more marketable in a movie doesn't give audiences enough credit in my opinion. If I were in charge I would use WC3 as my story line. That allows for both sides to get relatively equal screen time, allows for some epic battles and finally allows for some easy input of backstory from WC1 & 2 through dialogue/flashbacks. Then, once that movie is out you can branch out into a number of different directions.
3. Casting - If it were me I would put relative unknowns in the prominent roles with the exception of Thrall or any other character that will use heavy use of make-up/CGI. In those cases I would use people that have AWESOME acting chops and distinctive voices. Two people that come to mind for Thrall are Lawrence Fishburn (sp?) and Ron Pearlman.
Sorry for the long post and remember this IS opinion and I'm open for discussion ;-)
Drew May 7th 2008 8:23AM
Focusing on battle scenes as opposed to dialogue is a sure way to make this movie flop. It would be a hit with WoW fans, but wouldn't translate to the general audience. What they need to do is find a way to introduce everyone to the story, without going into too much detail that the movie gets bogged down in lore. Have one lore theme, and go with that. You can include lots of little references throughout the movie that fans would notice, but the average viewer doesn't catch. Also, emphasis on classes needs to be cut out. They can have the classes, but focusing on trying to include every class or every race would throw too much into the mix. Having a warrior or rogue doing particular moves would be a disaster and be incredibly lame for new viewers. It needs to feel like a movie, not a videogame (DOOM). This movie needs to be very basic and easy to understand. If it's successful, then you can start to branch out a little bit, but not at the start.
Ruva May 7th 2008 8:22AM
I'm curious as to the reason 90% of WoW media is from an Alliance point of view. Is there no way to balance things out so that both factions get their time in the light without making players (who are Horde) believe that Bliz favours the Alliance?
Of course, this post is merely an observation which repeats what many Horde players have spoken to me about in the past.
Mastique May 7th 2008 8:41AM
Wow, thats the first time I have heard that. I play both sides, although, at the moment, I'm mostly Alliance. It has always seemed to me that the Horde gets most of the coverage. On this site, I have definitely noticed a leaning towards the Horde. The developers themselves admit that the horde is their favorite. All of the "cool" stuff is attributed to the horde. But as you said about your post, this is just my opinion from what I have observed. I don't lean towards one side or the other, and while I do enjoy playing tauren and the occasional blood elf, most of my friends are alliance, ergo, I tend to follow them if I want to play with others. I guess they both have their strengths and weaknesses.
And since this post has swayed off topic, I will add... WoW movie.. will definitely see it... won't expect to like it, therefore I will be ecstatic if I do, and not so disappointed if I don't. :)
Pzychotix May 7th 2008 8:53AM
Alliance is simply more marketable to the mass non-WoW audience. Blizzard isn't about to make a movie that bombs at the box offices.
Worcester May 7th 2008 11:58AM
I say go 100% on the Alliance side. Make the Horde look like terrible, evil people.
Why? That way when a bunch of new people decide to start playing, they'll roll the "cool" Alliance guys... and I'll finally have some decent world PvP!
Server: Coilfang
Population: 5 Horde to 1 Alliance
Actually... as an Undead fan, I love our storyline. Yes, I'm quite ignorant of the other races. Oh well.
Kuarlos May 7th 2008 9:28AM
Personally, I'd prefer it if they didn't use any well known actors/actresses. When you see someone in a new movie that you've seen in others, it just leaves a kind of expectation about what their character will be like. It will be very hard to make a Warcraft movie that lives up to Blizzard's standards. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up scrapping the whole idea in the end.
Doug May 7th 2008 9:34AM
thats why we need cgi. think about it it, the blizzard cgi artists that do the cinematics are amazing. they would prolly need to hire more so they could handle the work load.
Sirg May 7th 2008 8:32AM
Jaina - Thrall romance (lol) should be a good sideplot
Some commercial and appealing scenes:
- mage polymorphing mobs into sheeps,
- mage creating a portal, conjuring food or table :D
- warlock summoning a voidwalker (it's pretty unique compared to all the beasts fantasy viewers are used with)
- gnomes and their funny tech
- ogres and ogre related funny scenes
- some epic battle, like AV
- nelf and belf architecture and settings
The plot could follow the Missing Diplomat chain quest
I agree that it should be a basic movie, enjoyable to anyone, not only to fans, that would make newcomers curious about wow and it's lore...
yazah May 7th 2008 8:40AM
1) it is from the alliance point of view because non-WoW players can identify with humans much easier than they can identify with green monsters and jamacan trolls. And a solid "good vs evil" setting makes battle more fun, rather than "semi-good vs semi-good."
2) From some of the concept art shown at blizzcon, the story looks like it will be centered around the Worldtree.
3)yes, I totally agree that there shouldnt be distinct classes shown in the movie. I would rather see "schools" where some people are more "warrior-ish" or more "mage-ish" but where there is still a lot of diversity in their abilities (pallies doing dps, for example). :)
4)If there is ever a scene that is designed to look like my computer screen does when I am playing, I think I will walk out. I want a movie, not a clone of the game on the big screen.
Liel May 7th 2008 8:39AM
I am pretty sure it will be good, Blizzard will try and protect its cash cow. I plan on staying away from postings on boards because I am sure the 14 year olds will be saying "no way hunters cant do that" and lame stuff like that.
I am a sucker for fantasy films anyways.
Uranium May 7th 2008 8:42AM
I would simply love to have the creative rights to this film. I don't really see why it couldn't work as an adventure movie, many story based WoW comics are exciting and enjoyable despite focusing on just a few characters. However a war movie should work just as well - as long as they leave enough extra detail in for the fans, meaning i hope it's not just a Horde vs Alliance battle royale.
Coming from an Alliance perspective myself, it's obviously pleasing that it should take place from the Ally point of view, but i just hope this doesnt make the horde the 'bad guys.'
The film could be brilliantly epic, and i hope it captures the games feelings; pride, teamwork, fun... as well as plenty of gnome jokes and a pure evil warlock... Obviously, Blizzard will want non-players to see the movie and consequently get into the game. i hope this means plenty of recognisable scenery, so new players can say 'hey, this is that bit from the film!' In turn, we'll have the pleasure of watching the film like a checklist... 'been there, got that...', and hopefully, 'nah, you could never solo Mor'ladim in my day...'
My opening scene: flying over clouds, credits appear, we zoom through the clouds and reveal a sprawling series of ruins. Cut to a rogue lockpicking a cage holding captives. We pull back to reveal a human male warrior and female human paladin. they look anxious. We turn to their point of view and move steadily backwards as hundreds of Trolls swarm up a staircase leading to the heroes. This is of course...Zul'Farrak.
Excuse that, I have fond memories of ZF... :P
Zakk May 7th 2008 1:05PM
Oh my goodness, yes!! Would love to see a ZF scene!
And I agree with whoever said relatively unknown actors would be best. To be honest, I'd just be super disappointed if I saw a well known actor in a WoW movie. WoW is supposed to be of its own. When you get the famous actors in there, it just becomes another in a slew of non-unique movies.