I was thinking about this because stories always have to be changed when they're turned into movies, for various reasons: limited budgets, not being able to get the effects right etc…
Sometimes it because of the vision of the director or the script writer being different or the studio wanting the story to focus on different things- Those are the most pathetic reasons for changes and usually result in shitty movies, like The Hobbit which was a piece of dirty, unwashed arse.
For Pinky TA, if a movie version had a huge budget I wouldn't change anything. I might tighten up the story a bit but I wouldn't drop things from it or change Pinky's look.
Initially I always thought I'd make a more "normal" version of Pinky for a film, with a more modest costume and all that, but I now realise that sort of thinking SUCKS and produces weak crap.
The X-men movies are quite good but the way they backed off from their traditional costumes and stuff like that was super lame, very cowardly.
Aeon Flux was an OK film but nothing as good or even comparable to the original animations.
I think you have to be true to your vision and keep what was good about it in the first place.
(Although if I was offered a LOT of money by someone who wanted to completely take Pinky TA off my hands and do their own version of the film story I would sell out no problem.)
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Comic Talk and General Discussion *
What changes would you make to your story if it was made into a movie?
Used Books is not really in a format or length for a movie, since it's a series of semi-stand-alone stories building on each other.
A movie would have to be its own distinct project set somewhere in the continuum. I think I would set it somewhere after the introduction of Kaida's former boss. I could use one of the note worthy arcs as a basis or simply make it a stand-alone. Since there is an ensemble cast, picking who to include and feature could be tricky.
I'd probably put more detail into the setting. I'm not confident at drawing cityscapes or crowds, so sometimes I think the setting is unclear. Might even change it to be set in a real city or a fictitious clone of an actual known city to help ground it. Something like NYC might fit the bill.
I might age the whole main cast by 5 years or so, early 30s to 40-something rather than have the 20somethings. I'd also probably change some of the names to more common American names. (The naming was from Used Books origins of what I intended to be an anime starring my friends.)
I actually pitched Attack of the Robofemoids to a producer and then had to stop pre-pre-production. I then balked at rewriting the script in order to pitch it again. One third of the story would be dumped. It's extraneous anyway. The costumes would be redesigned and the setting changed to the US so an audience could more easily identify with it. It was discussed that the topless shtick be dropped altogether or changed to just extremely revealing. (possible sale to Syfy too)
Interstellar Blood Beasts would also be trimmed and the costumes probably changed from the Italian Space Opera inspired air force outfits to the usual movie/TV sci-fi grunge wear.
Sword of Kings Total redesign of the look of the characters to change them from so obviously pseudo-medieval. Especially change the Norse or dump them altogether. Or keep them, and change the setting to the real Early Middle Ages. It could easily be set into a Dark Ages Britain/England with King Arthur or Alfred the Great and Lady Morgan or Witch of Endor instead of Falkimir and Glorreaka. Even King Stephen and Maud would work. Then could have the real Norse and tie it in with real events and people which budgets and already finished elements prevent me from doing now. I developed An accurate Medieval version of Searsha for another story line.
I am very flexible just to get it produced and see my name in the credits. And of course money would also buy my cooperation or much easier, letting me play a character. In Robofemoids I'd be one of the Grey Guys.
I feel like my comic doesn't have a wide enough appeal to be a movie, and a lot of stuff would have to change… maybe even the general idea of the main characters. So much of the comic is about parody and stereotypes that it would probably need to feel a bit spoofy to pull it off. Mystery Men comes to mind. They excuse a lot of silliness in that movie by creating a world that accepts it.
Given the chance I'd opt for an animated series over a movie. It would probably require fewer changes. Maybe an animated movie?
ozoneocean wrote:
The X-men movies are quite good but the way they backed off from their traditional costumes and stuff like that was super lame, very cowardly.
Do you really think they would be better off with the original costumes? I always thought nobody would accept them unless the entire atmosphere of the movie got really campy to match (like with 60's Batman).
I'm probably a bad person to talk about that, though. I've only been able to enjoy superhero stuff the further away from the comics it gets (except 60's Batman).
Ya know, I wouldn't change much for the Godstrain… Although if I had to make it all fit in a single movie there'd have to be some SERIOUS cutting and editing out of necessity, but maybe if I could do it as 2 or 3 movies.
The copious inner monologue in the comic would have to be voice-over in a movie… that could work, but might have to streamline it or else it'd drag!
My strip "The Dragon Fists of Smorty Smythe" is just a Martial arts comedy/adventure. Doing something on the line of 'Big Trouble in Little China' would be the way to go. The original story with him taking on the Hellriders with a little tightening up would be a perfect movie.
Hmm I don't think I'd change anything in Without Moonlight or Brave Resistance. Budget-wise I don't think they'd need too outrageous an amount (except maybe in BR crowd-shots for the upcoming battles would be needed more than in WM, but only by a margin).
I'd really want to be present for casting auditions and actor coaching though, especially for the youngsters, so that they'd act properly and carry the brunt of the movie's charge.
We try to keep the story as tight as possible as it is, so I don't think much would change at this stage. Though it might be better off being a series on HBO or Netflix… this thing is going to go forever! T-T
It would have to have to be in live action of course. We already have a casting list! :D
I think Pulse would have a few different challenges if you tried to make it into a two-hour movie. It would probably work better as something longer like an animated or live-action series.
BUT, if a movie-
First, you'd probably try to pair down the characters. You might be able to combine Annie's father, Connor and Dr. Mae into one character- probably Annie's father. So he'd be their doctor, trainer, and the scientist.
Second is you'd need some kind of larger battle or something that happens sooner than in the comic. I don't know if you'd speed up when the shapeshifter appears? (But that would bring up issues like the reveal of the second form of the suits which probably wouldn't be in the first movie). I don't think the fight with Mira in the cafeteria would be dramatic enough to have as the big threat of the movie. It would have to be something not in the comic I guess.
You'd probably need to streamline the story a lot. So no prologue, introduce the place and Annie and Tabitha, introduce the experiment to make them more powerful, it works, they get suits, then there's some threat or villain they have to fight. It would impossible to tell the exact same story. Too many people and other things happen.
I suppose a super-accelerated version could be- prologue, introduce the place and Annie and Tabitha, introduce the experiment to make them more powerful, it works, they get suits, the big bad meant for the end of the series shows up, and they get some huge power up (that could be one-time only) and they defeat him. They get return to being beginners again, but famous beginners. (that's kind of what a manga would have done.)
Then there's Annie's body. You'd have to either have her not change physically (most likely), Or get a buxom actress and make her look small-busted at the beginning, or a small-busted actress and use either CGI or practical effects to make her look buxom for most of the movie.
ozoneocean wrote:
Yeah, animation or live action…
If Pinky TA was animated I'd like it to be like Ghost In The Shell or Aeon Flux.
But I'd prefer it as live action.
You know, it'd be a fun exercise to turn your comic into a theatrical script.
I think a Ghost in the Shell aesthetic would look amazing! The manner in which they animate action scenes and movement would really suit your style.
It's funny. With regards to our scripts we tend to write it out like a screenplay, with little notes to remind me of a look or a direction I was thinking of the characters doing. (Though half the time I change things anyways :P )
I became obsessive about film theory for a while leading up to this project, in particular how a scene is staged to maintain momentum throughout what is mostly pure dialogue with splashes of action. That's why sketching sometimes takes me a while as I am trying to get the most effective angle most of the time.
Emevsa wrote:That's very similar to how I approach my stuff except I have a camera lens, sets and figures to help establish blocking. I have a stage background and was a film student so mise en scene (elements of a scene or frame) is kind of like a second language.ozoneocean wrote:
Yeah, animation or live action…
If Pinky TA was animated I'd like it to be like Ghost In The Shell or Aeon Flux.
But I'd prefer it as live action.
You know, it'd be a fun exercise to turn your comic into a theatrical script.
I think a Ghost in the Shell aesthetic would look amazing! The manner in which they animate action scenes and movement would really suit your style.
It's funny. With regards to our scripts we tend to write it out like a screenplay, with little notes to remind me of a look or a direction I was thinking of the characters doing. (Though half the time I change things anyways :P )
I became obsessive about film theory for a while leading up to this project, in particular how a scene is staged to maintain momentum throughout what is mostly pure dialogue with splashes of action. That's why sketching sometimes takes me a while as I am trying to get the most effective angle most of the time.
Made pitching Attack of the Robofemoids that much easier as the comic was already sort of a set of storyboards. And I freely admit to stealing from William Cameron Menzies for the sunrise/sunset scenes in Sword of Kings.
I definitely approach my page sequences with a cinematic rhythm. I am always imagining all the transitions that would occur from one panel to the next. Mindfold would probably work best as CG animation. Considering that there is only one human character in the entire story, the special effects budget for live action would be huge. These days, CG animation is getting cheap enough where such a thing wouldn't be prohibitively complex. Even some of the props and scenes in the comic itself are starting out as 3D models.
ozoneocean wrote:
Maybe we should all do it? :D
Write treatments or scripts…
That'd be super fun! Maybe we could all write treatments for a scene in our comics to share on a quackcast episode. Get the quack hosts to act them out on the air haha ^-^
Emevsa wrote:Oh no, the writers would have to do parts too. I'd love to do a conversation between Banes as Ed Wynn as Bravo talking to me as Carl Sagan in one of the Grey Guy conversations. Anybody do a Daffy Duck?ozoneocean wrote:
Maybe we should all do it? :D
Write treatments or scripts…
That'd be super fun! Maybe we could all write treatments for a scene in our comics to share on a quackcast episode. Get the quack hosts to act them out on the air haha ^-^
bravo1102 wrote:Emevsa wrote:Oh no, the writers would have to do parts too. I'd love to do a conversation between Banes as Ed Wynn as Bravo talking to me as Carl Sagan in one of the Grey Guy conversations. Anybody do a Daffy Duck?ozoneocean wrote:
Maybe we should all do it? :D
Write treatments or scripts…
That'd be super fun! Maybe we could all write treatments for a scene in our comics to share on a quackcast episode. Get the quack hosts to act them out on the air haha ^-^
OMG that'd be hilarious!
ozoneocean wrote:Oh I am excited to read this now!
That's a good idea.
A really really good idea.
That is now going to be the subject of tomorrow's newspost.
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