Elric Movie

[Anonymous]

I have been a professional Visual Effects Designer for the past 22 years and was first inspired to do this type of work because of my love for fantasy literature..In particular, The Elric Saga....

I would like the opportunity to speak to Michael Moorcock about possibly producing and directing films based on these stories...

I have hard news that there are others in the running, but no one would do these films justice like I can....
I could bring these films in for an unheard of budget , because of my experience and hundreds of resources.
I personally know all of the best people in the business, and they have told me that they would be willing to aid me in this....

I would love an opportunity to present my ideas to Mr. Moorcock on this matter..
After all, the bottom line to any film project is money, and I can guarantee that I can get it done for less, and make it look better than anyone else can....

-Rick Crane

[Michael Moorcock]

This isn't of course a choice I can make when so many millions of dollars are involved, Rick, but I suggest you watch these spaces for news that the script is ready for shooting and then get in touch with the Weitz brothers
production company or Universal. It would be a bit premature yet, since we are still at early script stage. All I can say at this stage is 'Good luck' for later.

[Anonymous]

Weitz Brothers

Hi Michael,

Unfortunately I don't see those guys as the ones to do it and wouldn't work for them, even for exorbinant amounts of money...They did "American Pie" for christ's sake!
The only fantasy epic that was ever done well, was "The Lord Of The Rings"..
The reasons for this is that the director had complete creative control, cared deeply about the work, and owned his own FX company.
Had it been a typical studio feature, which is exactly what Universal will make it, it would have been a forgettable failure.

I have my own effects company and would take up to two years for pre-production testing. Everything would have to look absolutely realistic in every detail. For instance, the look of Elric himself, acheived through makeup, wigs and wardrobe is something that would have to be tested over and over in order to get it just right.
After all, he can't just be a guy in a white wig with a pale face..............
I would find a thin actor who would be bulked up with state of the art prosthetics, for scenes where he drains the souls of his victims.
Elric would recieve their power in a very visible way which has never been seen before............................

I have no doubt that the Weitz brothers will completely destroy what could have been the most disturbing dark fantasy ever put on screen...........

Sorry to be a downer, but I have worked with big studios before and know how they operate....This film needs to be handled independantly and then sold to and distributed by a big studio, as was done so successfully with LOTR....I just wish that I could have a crack at presenting my ideas, without them being stolen by big studio executives...

Anyway, please keep me in mind for the project if it falls by the wayside..
They may want to do "American Pie 4" and forget about Elric.......................


-Rick Crane

[dlackey]

Wow that's a pretty negative assessment. I'm positive that Mr. M won't let anyone screw up Elric, and I'm pretty sure that the Weitz brothers can do the film justice. I loved "American Pie"! It was a return to the goofy 80's teen sex comedies, but done far more intelligently. If Peter Jackson can go from "Dead Alive" and "The Frighteners" to the LOTR trilogy, and the Wachowskis went from "Bound" to the Matrix movies, I'm pretty sure the Weitz brothers can handle more ambitious film making.

As for Elric's "transformation" when he is sucking souls, that sounds cool, but I don't think that is quite what the books described. I don't see it as a sort of video game power up, just as more of a bezerker type thing where his eyes are blazing and he has a crazed expression on his face. I see it as the sword leading him around hacking everything in sight (including friends sometimes). There definitely would need to be a black aura coming from the sword, and alien singing, which I don't know how anyone will be able to pull off.

Maybe whale recordings played at a different speed or something???

[Whiskers]

This detracts from your argument. Especially Matrix III.

the Wachowskis went from "Bound" to the Matrix movies

[dlackey]

I guess if you liked "Bound" it would detract from it. I thought it was a very average crime thriller carried by the premise of two hot women being lovers.

I agree though, the quality of the Matrix movies has degenerated, but the level of ambition is high all the way through and that is what I was referring to.

[Anonymous]

Elric Film

First of all, "The Matrix" was an interesting story, but "Bound" reminded me of The work of the Cohen Brothers early stuff, in that it was not just an average film about two lesbians, rather it was artfully shot and showed somewhat of a cinematic mastery on their part...
The Matrix sequels, on the other hand, were made to sell tickets and video games.....

As for Jackson...The guy loves films and has done great job with LOTR, but I can guarantee that he could not do that again.....With a huge epic, that is..
It had to do with the detail that Tolkien wrote into the stories and the fact that Jackson's own companies accomplished everything that you see on screen...
The Frighteners was an extremely well done film, and I don't in any way see LOTR as a "Step Up" from that film , just an epic story on a much larger scale...

If you think that "American Pie" was anything more than one big "Poop Joke",You don't know the first thing about real filmmaking.
It was a disgusting piece of gratuitous garbage that had no redeeming qualities whatsoever...
Once "Elric" begins shooting within the Weitz Brothers independant company, Universal will start dictating what can and cannot be shown..
This kind of big studio input is something that LOTR had none of, which is why it came out the way that it did.
Elric has no Hobbits in it....It has to be a very dark and disturbing tale, and I think that Universal will shy away from that aspect and make it into a completely different story....
They will consult with Mr. Moorcock at the beginning, but later on his input will mean nothing...

Did I mention that I've seen this happen on every film that I've worked on in the past 22 years...?
When a big studio gets hold of a property, they'll do anything that they can to get it the widest audience they can...And that always equates to a complete butchery of the writer's original intent....

[dlackey]

"American Pie" made me laugh. That's all that mattered to me. It wasn't "Citizen Kane", but then again, I didn't expect that, now did I? I am a movie watcher not a movie maker and if I enjoy something, then that's my right now isn't it? If your opinion differs, I don't care, I'm not going to get into a flame war with anyone on a message board I like to frequent. If Mr. M trusts them, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Anonymous]

American Pie

Oh, I'm not trying to get into an argument either....
I was just saying that "American Pie" went for easy laughs and Gross-out humor....The test of real comedic genius, is for the plot to make you laugh , without making you feel uncomfortable in some way. Whether it is gratuitous sexual content or gross situations.

You might not be a filmmaker, but if you were to write a screenplay with similar material, you'd get laughs as well...So it doesn't take any talent or "Intelligence" to do what they did, rather it was the lowest common denominator...

How many people can be funny without being digusting?
The ones that can, are what could be called "Intelligent Comedy"...

[Whiskers]

No doubt: The Freeway Scene was ground shaking. They really got it.

Matrix III was like watching a very bad episode of Deep Space 9.

I guess if you liked "Bound" it would detract from it. I thought it was a very average crime thriller carried by the premise of two hot women being lovers.

I agree though, the quality of the Matrix movies has degenerated, but the level of ambition is high all the way through and that is what I was referring to.

[Whiskers]

Re: Elric Film

I forgot, did The Matrix have any hobbits in it?

Elric has no Hobbits in it....

[Anonymous]

No Hobbits

What I was trying to illustrate, was that while LOTR was an epic story with obviously likeable little characters, Elric is a very strange character, and must be carefully crafted in a cinematic sense.

So, there were none in "The Matrix", but Keanu sounds like a hobbit name.

[dlackey]

So just out of curiosity what films do you have credits in that any of us would have heard of?

[dlackey]

Re: American Pie

Oh, I'm not trying to get into an argument either....
I was just saying that "American Pie" went for easy laughs and Gross-out humor....The test of real comedic genius, is for the plot to make you laugh , without making you feel uncomfortable in some way. Whether it is gratuitous sexual content or gross situations.

You might not be a filmmaker, but if you were to write a screenplay with similar material, you'd get laughs as well...So it doesn't take any talent or "Intelligence" to do what they did, rather it was the lowest common denominator...

How many people can be funny without being digusting?
The ones that can, are what could be called "Intelligent Comedy"...

Wow in the span of about two posts you've told I me I don't know jack about movie and demeaned my intelligence a number of times. You are a real piece of work. Let me clue you in on why American Pie was funny: it isn't mean (other than to Stiffler, who deserves it), and it isn't trying to be ironic like every other gen x comedy floating around out there. It's a story about guys in high school trying to get laid- not masterpiece theatre by any stretch of the imagination, but damn funny stuff, especially if you can indentify with the guys in the film. Everyone knew a twit like Stiffler in high school. Everyone knew of at least one hot foreign exchange girl they'd have given their left arm to spend a night with. Everyone experienced the embarrassment and pain of dealing with the opposite sex. This is universal stuff. The over the top gross stuff was obviously a reflection of the times- the summer of 1999 was the summer of gross out comedies, but there is more to American Pie than that.

There must be some reason that film critics, who usually blast gross out comedies, gave this film an average rating of B+. Ebert gave it 3 out of 4 stars, and say what you want about him, but he knows his stuff when it comes to film. He was one of the few with the balls to stand up for "Dark City", one of the most underrated films I've ever watched.

And if you think the Weitz brothers are all about poop, then maybe you should watch "About a Boy". If you had been around this website as long as I have, you'd know that Mr. M likes the way the Weitz brothers handle women characters, and he likes their enthusiasm for the Elric books. And you'd also know what a miracle it is that this film is even being made, because Mr. M has been very careful with the rights to his work. He could have sold out to any old hack 30 years ago and been a Stephen King type multi-gazillionaire right now.

[Anonymous]

Ok Then....

Well, Roger Ebert also brought the film, "Clerks" to the public's attention with his great review and made out Kevin Smith to be a "Genius".

I guess that I just can't identify with the characters in "American Pie" , because they were not put on screen for that reason.....
It was just a money making thing, and that's all...
Which is why they squeezed two sequels out of it....

I was on a similar message board many years ago and asked Mr.Moorcock for the rights to produce and direct a film version of "Elric", but was told then that It was optioned earlier and that I couldn't do it....
He said that with my enthusiasm and love for the work, I would be good for the project..
I'm not sure if that option elapsed, or what..
I'm just sorry that I won't get to put my energy and talent into something that spurred my creativity from the beginning of my career....

By asking me what my credits in film are, you are in essence saying that I'm probably a fraud....I take that as a major insult, but it's not suprising to me...