Rapporter från DragonCon

The DragonCon konferansen ägde rum i helgen och via darkhorizons.com har en del rapporter om vad de fick se droppat in.




Om "Dungeons & Dragons":
"Director Courtney Solomon unveiled the first public showing of the movie trailer used to secure foreign investments. Although of video quality and many effects shots were temporary, the trailer did show promise of things to come. Footage included shot of the thieve's maze complete with swinging axes and fire traps, multiple shots of a sprawling city of wizards using CGI as intricately as George Lucas did for The Phantom Menace, generous shots of many of the main characters fighting, casting spells, dodging obstacles and enemies. Of particular interest was a synchronized casting of what appeared to be fire spells by at least a dozen wizards on a balcony.




On set, Justin Whalin was promised daily by the director he would die that day, especially on the final shots of him running the thieve's maze. Actor Lee Arenberg says he played the game when younger, and although he didn't know it then, believes his dwarf character is a part he was meant for and has really gotten into it. Arenberg also says hopes the film is a success so he can play the part again. On that cue, Solomon confirmed that all principles were signed for both possible sequels of a trilogy should the film be a success. Other hints dropped by the director included the appearance of a lich in the film, in addition to the imps and beholder previously mentioned. There is something of a mind flayer in the film also, but details were omitted by Solomon because the story relies on the that particular part. Solomon also believes Jeremy Irons has done for an evil arch-mage what Jack Nicholson did for The Joker.

In addition to the theatrical cut being one hundred minutes, Solomon is seeking a PG-13 rating. The film has cost $35 million, and with seven special effects houses working on effects, there is still eleven weeks of work left to do. A total of sixteen scripts were written, not including the final shooting script which was adjusted on-set. In closing, Solomon said he felt no real competition between his film and the upcoming Lord of the Rings trilogy, saying that while they were two different films, each being individually successful can only help out the other one."




Om "Sagan om Ringen":
"I saw some LotR footage but am not sure if it is new. They showed how they created many CGI soldiers that were programmed to fight each other and respond to each other's fighting moves. More soldiers than ever on any screen apparently. They also showed that there is a new camera technology in which actors on a platform will move with the camera. Dec. 14, 2001 is the opening date for Fellowship of the Ring and the other two are the following Decembers."