Do you think that the Rifts movie will ever emerge?

[AlexM]

Well, as long as Jerry Bruckheimer continues to send us a Christmas basket every year... Hope springs eternal.



Alex Marciniszyn


Hope. I like that word.

[bigbobsr6000]

Yeah! That's good news.

[bigbobsr6000]

"Hope springs eternal." To coin a phrase.

[MrMom]

What would you think if instead of a movie that turned it into a TV series?

[Killer Cyborg]

The fact that the supposed writer I heard used to be a rifts player in high school and one of his dream projects (refering to a press release I forget which) can only be a boon to the Rifts movie...

That depends on his playing style.

[runebeo]

What would you think if instead of a movie that turned it into a TV series?

All things considered, I think a TV series would actually work better than a movie.

I think a CGI movie series would be best way to go, so it could be more violent and have some adult content. With a Starship Trooper like feel would go far to maybe getting some real movies made.

[Kryzbyn]

All I know is that if jerry shows me a Glitterboy that doesn't look like a Glitterboy <cough>NGage<cough> I'm walkin out of the theatre.
Don't need to hire a buttload of artists, the art is in the friggin books. Call Kevin Long up and use him as a production artist, or Apollo, or anyone else who has done art in the books. It truly bugs me when movies try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to stuff like this.
/end rant.

That N-gage GB did look cool, but..its not a damn glitterboy. Looks like Tony Stark made a glitterboy...

[oldnerd13]

As much as I think a RIFTS movie would be awesome, I'm afraid that the creative end would get snatched out form yunder Kev and the crew. Hollywood has a way of doing that to "little guys" with stories they want.

[Steve Dubya]

I think it's ironic because I don't really see a huge draw for Prince of Persia, and yet that movie got greenlit faster. I realize it probably has a vocal group of fans on some other forum, but it just doesn't do anything for me (the game wasn't really my cup of tea.)

I don't think that it has anything to do with the vocality of the fans as opposed to the fact that - as a video game - it has made more money, which could be interpreted as more exposure of the property.

[Vidynn]

Well, as long as Jerry Bruckheimer continues to send us a Christmas basket every year... Hope springs eternal.

and, did he again?

[Maryann]

Well, as long as Jerry Bruckheimer continues to send us a Christmas basket every year... Hope springs eternal.

and, did he again?

Nope, this year Brucheimer donated to charties in the name of everyone on his list ... Palladium included...

[Shawn Merrow]

Well, as long as Jerry Bruckheimer continues to send us a Christmas basket every year... Hope springs eternal.

and, did he again?

Nope, this year Brucheimer donated to charties in the name of everyone on his list ... Palladium included...

That's cool.

[Overlord Rikonius]

I too would love to see a rifts movie. My concern is that like Dungeon and Dragons it will be all effects and little story.

Rifts is a game world that encompasses so many subgenres of fantasy and sci-fi that there is almost to much material to deal with. So many Character classes and villians. Then Tech and magic and mind powers. For a two hour film that is way too much chaff. It would get bogged down in its own wealth of material.

I suspect the real reason of Bruckhiemer's interest (and last I heard, Disney?) is the merchandising of the movie material and beyond. Which from a producers point of view in the modern movie world is worth a hundred times more than any monies made from the movie itself. In essence the movie is an expensive advertisement for the toys.

Disney will water the RIFTS world down to a barely watchable PG-13. When the RIFTS enviroment and Game themes are most certainly an easy R (restricted) rating.

A RIFTS movie, considering the wealth of adult themes present in the material, is easily a trilogy. But If the first RIFTS movie doesn't do a minimum box office of 300 million globally, it is unlikely, if they make one at all.

Oddly I personally believe that the RIFTS world would be better suited to a TV series which would allow you to explore the vast amount of material the game world has to offer. But the fact that it is Sci-fi and fantasy rolled into one... the live action production costs would be prohibitive.

sci fi/fantasy effects keep getting cheaper. And if the movie does well, a TV series is more likely.

So your only option is to do it totally animated. But North American sensibilities towards animation still reside in the 1950's, so your animated series again will fall into the lame camp of stuff you see on the Cartoon Network.

Or an Adult Swim animated show.

[Preacher]

Just a question I've been asking myself since I heard that RIFTS might, and thats a distant might be picked up for a movie deal.

Yes I do believe it will be made. May not be a 100% certainty but I believe there is a 98% chance that it will be made.

[Overlord Rikonius]

i suppose everyone has a view or opinion of how the movie would go, but if you make it to short and not enough action. i.e. showing powers or characters everyone knows from campaigns we've all done or created ourselves.

the only idea i have would be to start the movie in the beginning with someone narrating or even just leaving it voiceless showing the world as the rifts open and destroy the earth and then show how everything started coming through and changing our planet, then jump forward to us interacting with our new found crazy planet with all the new crazy tech and magic and mind powers people and creatures now posses. maybe at or around atlantis would start a good story of how a man with a new class of character never seen before starts his life out, but he is born with the abilities and develops them and is hunted for it, idk. maybe even warp him to palladium and show him interacting there

just an idea.

he could even jump back in time and try to interact with us and try to change history so those rifts don't open up and tear the world apart...

Ixnay on that last bit. If they do a "prevent the Rifts" story it should be a later movie, after they've established the setting and had a lot of bad stuff happen in-storyline. Just starting with it is too much too fast. Better to hold that arrow in the quiver for later. Also, warping to other game worlds first movie is probably also too much/too fast. Though they could have someone warp from that world, maybe give a glimpse of this other setting and set up fan buzz for a spinoff series.

[Overlord Rikonius]

Just a question I've been asking myself since I heard that RIFTS might, and thats a distant might be picked up for a movie deal.

Yes I do believe it will be made. May not be a 100% certainty but I believe there is a 98% chance that it will be made.

So it's being made under Palladium skill roll rules?

[Preacher]

Just a question I've been asking myself since I heard that RIFTS might, and thats a distant might be picked up for a movie deal.

Yes I do believe it will be made. May not be a 100% certainty but I believe there is a 98% chance that it will be made.

So it's being made under Palladium skill roll rules?

[Silas]

Why not have the movie follow the travels and adventures of Erin Tarn? That would give those new to the game a real taste of what RIFTS is all about, as well as give the diehards their fix the oldschool way. Nothing like Erin Tarn for some good descriptions and a lot of travel.

[Preacher]

I give it 5-10 years to get off the ground.

Agreed... I think it'll happen, but not inside of 5 years... I'd hope within 10!

-Rifter6

I think it will happen WITHIN 3 Years. I would almost be willing to bet on it.

[Preacher]

I give it 5-10 years to get off the ground.

Agreed... I think it'll happen, but not inside of 5 years... I'd hope within 10!

-Rifter6

I think it will happen WITHIN 3 Years. I would almost be willing to bet on it.

Any particular reason for this optimism?

Just Hopeful is all.

[Silas]

After the loss of those movies I mentioned in a previous post, I'm feeling more than a bit pessimistic on the possibility of a RIFTS movie coming to the big screen.

I mean I want to see one happen so bad, I can almost hear the particle beam blasts, but with all the silly Hollywood superstition, jumpy investors, and gun-shy movie goers, it doesn't look good right now.

Basically, I've seen all these other promised movies (third Hellboy Animated feature dropped, Marshal Law movie dropped, Looking For Group animated movie is still in limbo) not get made due to one issue or another. Most involve the making of the movie depending on the popularity of another slightly similar movie in theaters at that time, which seems patently ridiculous to me. Just because one movie didn't do great, it doesn't mean another in the same genre won't be a box office smash. It all boils down to how well the movie is made, not what trends in genre popularity the critics are claiming to be true this week. Still, this is how Hollywood works. One bomb in a genre and they avoid it until the fallout clears a bit, which can take years and mean many great ideas get scrapped or mothballed.

Pardon my skepticism. I'm just frustrated and needed to vent a bit. I really want the RIFTS movie to be made.

[Shorty Lickens]

That is assuming there will be more than one movie. If that is the case you are correct, the world would be better served as a big screen motion picture. Big budget and the opportunity to get a real feel for the world. I understand that you don't have to show the entire world, or even very many of the beings in the world for it to have the proper feel. However, I do think that a single 2 hour movie could not do justice to the setting.
A pre-planned trilogy like LotR could pull it off, but it doesn't seem possible to do properly in a single movie. I just don't think that the studios would be willing to green light a massive trilogy on a virtually unknown property. Of course that is just my opinion and we all know what they say about opinons.

You can turn a movie into a trilogy pretty easily. You just have to make two more after the first one!

Yeah, that worked out real great for The Matrix, didnt it?

[Silas]

I feel I must agree about the need for a more expansive view of the RIFTS universe in the movie. If it were solely based in and around Chi-Town, it would give the average movie-goer the wrong idea about the RIFTS world.

Put yourself in the place of someone totally ignorant of RIFTS. You go see a movie about some futuristic version of Chicago, involving a Coalition of humans fighting against aliens and monsters. You might hear reference to magic or psi powers and you might see dogboys. Confusing, at least. A yawnfest, at worst. Either way, it's a bomb.

In order to convey the immensity and diversity of RIFTS, you need to follow a band of travellers. Maybe a merc company or "conventional party" of adventurers. That way the viewers can see the world from multiple angles: the Coalition, deebees, mages, psionics, and the difficulties faced in survival outside of big cities.

Yes, I also believe it would take more than one movie to properly show viewers just how huge and strange everything became after the coming of the rifts. You could no more cram the entirety of RIFTS into one movie than you could cram the Library of Congress in audiobook format onto a single CD. By trying, you'd only give people a tiny fraction of the big picture and leave them unsatisfied.

[Eclipse]

Sounds like they have a big budget thing goin on here.

Three years later, it's safe to say they've nothing going on let alone something big budget

[Silas]

I'm curious if there's been any news Palladium might be able to leak without getting into potential trouble.

*crosses fingers, sits on the edge of his seat, and whispers "pleasepleaseplease"*

[Silas]

Hate to say it, but I'm not going to hold my breath anymore for a RIFTS movie. As much as I really want one to happen, it seems Disney, JB Films, and Hollywood, in general, just don't have the desire or drive to see it made. If it does happen, I'll honestly be shocked and amazed.

[mercedogre]

maybe an anime series would be good

[Apollo Okamura]

Honestly, it's hard to say...

On the one hand, Disney is still holding onto the Rifts media license with an iron fist, having spent lots of money over the years to do so. So making the movie at some point would be in their best interests.
On the other hand, with the crazy amount of Avengers and Star Wars buzz, that will span the next several years, I'm sure it's not a priority for them by any stretch. They could just as easily be holding on to the license to keep it away from any competition.

And with Jerry Bruckheimer, one of the bigger advocates for the movie, having left Disney for wider pastures, there's a little less hope for a Rifts feature being released by Disney any time soon; unless he can somehow push to have it produced through Paramount...

Should the opportunity arise, I wouldn't be surprised if Palladium ever tries to get their license back; since they've been approached by many people over the years to create various projects based on Rifts (movies, games, animation, etc.), only to have them give up, when faced with the House of Mouse (Disney owns the rights to ALL Rifts related multi-media).

Only time will tell...

[Apollo Okamura]

Disney just announced ALL of its movies for the next 4 years:

http://thechive.com/2015/10/31/disney-j ... h3gcl:pbjx

No Rifts

[Alrik Vas]

Heh. Yeah, they don't have a true monopoly, but they've absolutely cornered the market.

[Dave the dragon]

It's an interesting question of scale, really. There are levels of money that seem mind-boggling to the average person that are considered daily petty cash for a business. Not to denigrate Palladium in any way, but its budget for the decade is probably smaller than Disney spends on parking fees, just for the animators' work offices in Los Angeles. (supposedly a million a day, just in parking permits and fees)

Disney bought Star Wars for $4Billion, and it wasnt even considered a major buy financially for the company; by that I mean that while the Star Wars IP is a big deal, $4Billion is not "massive" for Disney today. 4 years prior (2009), Disney bought Marvel for the same price. In 2006, Pixar was a $7.6Billion purchase. And that still wasnt straining Mickey's wallet. In 5 years, they pumped out over 15 Billion dollars. With the same financial hardship you or I would show buying the kid a happy meal on payday.
The list of what they own and they have a net worth of @$179.5 Billion. Not that Im in any way speaking ill of them. But even if they are dropping double digit millions a year to keep the Palladium IP (which we can reasonably guess they arent, or Mr Sembeida wouldnt be having financial troubles. ever ) That still wouldnt be "a lot", for Disney, even though it would be for Palladium.

And that, respectfully, is my point, with all due respect to Apollo. That to suggest that Disney has spent "a lot to hold onto this" really is a subjective statement. To the House of Mouse, any monetary figure under 8 digits is a simple rounding error in the accounting. Millions of dollars is still pocket change to the company that could buy a significant portion of Africa with the monthly operating expense of any one of its amusement parks.

And lets face it, the Mouse is about to pull a Scrooge McDuck on the cash flow for the next few years. Even if Star Wars sucks balls in the worst possible way, it will still rake in enough bank to make us suspect unholy deals with Alien Intelligences. For comparison, Attack of the Clones, which, as the middle of the Prequel Trilogy was destined to suck the worst, and everyone knew it even before the film came out. Yet it still brought in about $6 for ever dollar spent making it. And thats just one trilogy. Then we have the Marvel Universe, which is still booming out block-busters. People are arguing about quality, but you cant deny the profit.

Disney doesnt have to experiment, or be edgy, or anything. They're sitting on cash cows and they know it. And then they can go tap Pixar and the other companies they've bought up to make anything Marvel and the Star Wars people dont have time for. When ABC studios isnt producing any tv specials or movies. Or they can just green-light yet another Kingdom Hearts game.

Its a shame, because there are so many stories that could be told. I could easily see this being more like the "Clones" cartoon, and an easy cash cow for everyone for a few years. But, well, Disney actually being responsible, and trying not to be too greedy. We can hope someone gets ambitious, but thats the only hope left, for now.

[Apollo Okamura]

And that, respectfully, is my point, with all due respect to Apollo. That to suggest that Disney has spent "a lot to hold onto this" really is a subjective statement. To the House of Mouse, any monetary figure under 8 digits is a simple rounding error in the accounting. Millions of dollars is still pocket change to the company that could buy a significant portion of Africa with the monthly operating expense of any one of its amusement parks.

Yes, very true; though sadly, that's part of my point as well. For Disney to continue to hold on to the license, to them it's petty cash. For other studios that might be interested in acquiring the license from Disney (in whole or part), that petty cash is quite significant. Likewise, unless there's a particular project brewing, it's financially in Palladium's best interest to let Disney continue to option the license, even if they don't do anything with it; which of course makes it unavailable for other outside projects. An unfortunate catch 22.

Given that Disney really doesn't have to do anything with Rifts until they feel like it, we probably have a better chance of seeing a Nightbane or Splicers movie before Rifts.

[Dave the dragon]

Yeah. Total bummer. I suppose its in the better interests of PB to continue the status quo; they get something, Im assuming, for Disney squatting on the rights. While it may be frustrating for the fans, a guaranteed check is a nice thing to have, and I can understand Mr Sembeida not wanting to risk that, even if the economy is starting to improve.

Its a shame that no one is allowed to look at the agreement to see what other avenues of revenue generation are possible. Im reminded of the Star Trek film that started on YouTube (so it got around IP laws). As I understand it, it turned out so well the company bought it, sunk some more money for better production and clean-up, and its supposed to be hitting theaters soon.

I dont know if the secrecy is a gag order form Disney (which is actually unusual for them) or what, but if a few knowledgeable people were allowed to read the agreement to look for loop....I mean options, Maybe a way could be found to increase the needed revenue for PB.

[Apollo Okamura]

Well... *ahem*...

I actually tried to pursue one such loop... "option" a few years ago, almost worked too, but unfortunately the risk-to-cost ratio was too high.
That being said, there's very little wiggle room when it comes to Disney's license - their legal department likes to keep things air tight.

It's not like contracts such as these are made public; but I would say that anyone that's been directly involved with dealing with the Rifts licence, is privy to the agreement, as needed.


As far as fan stuff goes, it's a complicated topic on many levels.

Palladium can't endorse any kind of Rifts film, fan-made or otherwise, as they would risk getting sued themselves by Disney.

Personally, I'd say if fans wanted to put together their own film, clearly marked as a non-commercial, unofficial, fan-film, go for it!
The worst that could happen is that Palladium or Disney might demand to take it down.

On the other hand, Disney didn't even flinch when the Rift MMORPG came out, not even to ask them to change the name. So I don't think they'd be too concerned with a Rifts fan film, especially with all the other Disney/Marvel/Star Wars fan stuff out there.

[Dave the dragon]

I didnt mean to sound negative, its just that a total gag order leaves ya grasping in the dark.
I know Palladium cant break the agreement. But even telling us what we cant do is a nudge, to the creative mind. And depending on who "leaks"....
Sorry, my usual hobby these days is politics and news, if ya didnt guess. Figuring out the "5 Ws" of spin is getting to be a constant habit.

Given the level of current tech, and the passion of the fans still here, it could be possible to set up some sort of animated episodes on Youtube or wherever.

Not that Im interested in helping; too much bad blood with past "fans" and the company itself. But I love to see people succeed and catch their dreams.

[Apollo Okamura]

I hear ya.

It isn't so much of a gag order, rather than it pretty much comes down to Palladium can still do whatever they want internally with Rifts, but outside of that, Disney has control of everything else media-related regarding the license (including Youtube and any yet-to-be-developed media). There are some small avenues they'd be willing to negotiate, but as you might imagine the price is rather high (pocket change for them). Not much more to it really.

In fact, the project I tried to pursue was actually an animated web series, but between production costs and dealing with Disney, it became too costly and too risky to continue - even with the small loop-holes.

As far as fans go, they can also still do their thing (under fair-use), but whether Disney decides to enforce any kind of cease & desist is ultimately up to their whims, as it is with any fan creating anything Disney-related.
Like I mentioned, fan-art in general has become increasingly unpopular with the big companies, especially now that fan-created content has become more common-place and more available. There has even been more and more talk of banning fan art from major conventions. Many fans and artists are unhappy with it, but these license holders are completely within their rights to protect their copyrighted characters/worlds.

Best bet for fans looking to create something for public media: Make it Rifts-ish. Be inspired by the Rifts setting, but whatever you want to put out there, make it your own.

As far as Palladium/Disney goes, I think when the time comes to renew the contract, I hope it's on provision that Disney actually starts doing something with it during a particular time frame (like 20th Century Fox had with the Fantastic Four). Here's hoping...

Or who knows... I'd love to see a Nightbane movie. Hey studios... Get on that!

[Dave the dragon]

In one of the other threads on the topic, someone mentioned along the same lines:
Palladium was the first megaverse. No reason anyone cant pull a Marvel and start with the unsigned properties, tell a few stories that just sort of naturally lead into a Rifts combined shot every so often.

[VIsgar]

You're missing a category: I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath.

I agree with this Poster.

They've got a great enough story to make a movie in my opinion.

[Blue_Lion]

You're missing a category: I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath.

I agree with this Poster.

They've got a great enough story to make a movie in my opinion.

Yep

[Silas]

Sadly, the House of Louse... I mean Mouse, will never release the rights until or unless a long list of other properties bomb and don't make them money, including Star Wars. I, for one, am so sickened by Disney's withholding of the properties that I'm seriously wanting to organize a bunch of angry fans to start hassling the company to make the RIFTS movie. With enough unhappy people writing and calling them, especially with the extra pull an interested actor or director could apply, we might get Disney looking seriously at the movie option.

It's either this, or giving up and saying Disney can go **** themselves.

[Forar]

Why the hostility? Presumably Disney is paying for the license/option/whatever, PB is currently making money for doing literally nothing.

If they didn't include something in the contract about having a finite time limit or an option not to renew, that'd be on them. Why do you think shoddy Fantastic Four movies keep getting made? They want to hold onto the rights.

Without seeing the contract, it seems a bit excessive to throw name calling around.

Though I'd recommend trying to attract passionate people asking politely for a movie to progress rather than 'a bunch of angry fans'. Prove that there are a LOT of people willing to pay for movie tickets and DVDs/BluRays/Digital Copies and SAMAS/Glitter Boy toys and lunchboxes. Because an effects heavy movie with a budget in the 8 figures or more will need butts in seats to be profitable, and a couple of people throwing anger and snark on Twitter isn't going to indicate profitability.

Perhaps not a perfect 1:1 comparison, but Robotech is probably as big or bigger than Rifts by a good margin, and that's been in development hell since before the Internet era.

[Fenris2020]

Movies of this type usually follow either successful tv shows or well-written book series. Even successful comics.
Palladiumbooks hasn't really put out any of those categories.

[Orin J.]

from what i've heard about the situation, it seems like the rights have been optioned as a "just in case" so they can cash in if palladium suddenly catches on with everyone rather than them having any intent of actually making a film to attract people.

looking into figuring out a pitch for one of the other properties as a webseries or something might help.....keep it away from disney though, they're....um, not really to be trusted to these things.