Sam Raimi came out of humble beginnings making films with his buddies up in Michigan only to wind up responsible for the biggest film trilogies ever to grace the summer blockbuster circuit. Now, the guy who made super-hero movies cool again will turn his camera lens on gaming as Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have tapped him to direct a film based on World of Warcraft.
While it might not seem so strange for the guy who made B-movies such as The Evil Dead and Maniac Cop to be making a licensed videogame movie, that's not really who Raimi is anymore. He's the goddamn Spider-man guy now. And with Blizzard bucks backing him and a massive audience practically guaranteed to go and see the film, it's practically a perfect storm. Whether it winds up being the most successful videogame film to date or the biggest financial failure since Super Mario Bros. is pretty much anyone's guess, but if anyone can pull it out, it's probably Raimi.
Check out a press release after the jump that lauds the many achievements of Raimi and the assorted producers involved in the project. What do you guys think? Would you watch a Sam Raimi-directed World of Warcraft flick?
Blizzard Entertainment® and Legendary Pictures Sign Sam Raimi to Direct Upcoming Warcraft® Movie Raimi, acclaimed director of the blockbuster Spider-Man series, will bring the forces of the Horde and the Alliance to life in epic live-action film. Charles Roven's Atlas Entertainment will produce alongside Raimi's Stars Road Entertainment.
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and Legendary Pictures announced today that Sam Raimi has signed on to direct the eagerly-anticipated major motion picture based on Blizzard Entertainment®’s award-winning Warcraft® universe. Raimi has, in the course of his career, clearly demonstrated a genius for developing and adapting existing fictional universes for mainstream audiences while staying true to the spirit of the original content.
Raimi directed the Spider-Man trilogy, which has broken box-office records around the world and garnered five Academy Award® nominations. Known for his imaginative filmmaking style, richly drawn characters and offbeat humor, Raimi wrote and directed the cult classic, The Evil Dead and produced 30 Days Of Night. He most recently wrote and directed the supernatural thriller, Drag Me To Hell.
“At its core, Warcraft is a fantastic, action-packed story,” said Raimi. “I am thrilled to work with such a dynamite production team to bring this project to the big screen.”
Charles Roven’s producing talents were recently seen with last summer’s blockbuster The Dark Knight, which grossed in excess of $1 billion, was nominated for eight Academy Awards® and won two. His body of work also includes the widely acclaimed Batman Begins and the sci-fi classic 12 Monkeys. Roven, with Atlas producing partner Alex Gartner, will be producing with Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull, Legendary’s Chief Creative Officer Jon Jashni, Raimi and Raimi’s producing partner Joshua Donen. Raimi’s partner, Robert Tapert, will be an Executive Producer and Blizzard Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of Creative Development, Chris Metzen, a Co-Producer.
“Partnering with Sam Raimi exemplifies Legendary's mandate of marrying the highest quality intellectual property to world-class filmmakers,” said Legendary’s Tull. “Sam's passion for 'Warcraft' is undeniable and we know that he will create an incredible film worthy of Blizzard's phenomenal franchise. We look forward to collaborating with our partners at Warner Bros. and continuing our successful relationship with Chuck in bringing this rich new world to the screen.”
“Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have a shared vision for this film and we searched at length to find the very best director to bring that vision to life,” said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment. “From our first conversation with Sam, we could tell he was the perfect choice. Sam knows how to simultaneously satisfy the enthusiasts and the mainstream audience that might be experiencing that content for the first time. We're looking forward to working with him to achieve that here.”
“Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft has become a second home for millions of players and Sam’s experience and talent make him the perfect director for this remarkable and action-packed world,” said Atlas’ Roven. “Alex and I are proud to be working with Sam and re-teaming with our friends at Legendary and Warner Bros.”
The film will fall under Legendary Pictures’ co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. “Warcraft is emblematic of the kind of branded, event films for which our studio is best known. We have enjoyed great success with our partners at Legendary, and this is an incredible opportunity for us to work with Sam on a project that is so eagerly anticipated by so many,” said Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft universe is a rich fantasy setting that revolves around the epic conflict between the opposing forces of the Horde and the Alliance. Since its debut in 1994, Warcraft has developed a loyal following across the globe, with several bestselling, award-winning PC games and a range of popular licensed products including novels, action figures, apparel, comic books, board games, and more. World of Warcraft®, Blizzard Entertainment’s subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in the Warcraft universe, is the most popular game of its kind in the world. Its most recent expansion, Wrath of the Lich King™, is the fastest-selling PC game of all time, with more than 2.8 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of availability and more than 4 million in its first month.
Further details about the upcoming Warcraft movie, including cast and targeted release date, will be revealed as development progresses.
Contest:
1:40 AM on 07.22.2009
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I beat you to this! But hey, not much I can do about it now.
Go watch fucking Drag Me To Hell, then come back to me.
What he said...
However, I would not be caught dead watching this in theaters.
And I really do want to see Drag Me To Hell.
~j
Watch some of the Warcraft 3 cinematics for a taste of how cool this could be.
Also, I've never played WoW so I don't care whether it's faithful in the slightest, so long as the story is solid!
Now they shut the fuck up...
I wonder how things will work with you people?
Just hope that they don't make it too childish.Hope he will be in a Drag me to Hell mood when he thinks about audience(if its his to decide).
Where have all the 18/M rated films gone???
Raimi hates Venom as a character, he has stated this since he first started working on the first film. Sony Pictures forced Venom into the third film despite his distaste for the character. Those 'mistakes' were probably decisions he made to just get the character out of the picture.
so give Mr. Raimi a chance. btw....okay it may be a official statement....but i cant read anything about a World of fucking Warcraft movie on imdb. only that spider-man 4 will hit 2011 and that raimi will remake his best movie (for me) EVIL DEAD.
Here is the link to his imdb.com profile:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000600/
just scroll down its parted in producer, actor and director.
Have fun
But... but... you can say that to just about ANY movie, game, song, article, etc... that's a pathetic excuse! Raimi is a good director.
As for the story, I HEARD that it is going to follow the story of Thrall during the 'Rise of the Horde'.
With the way movies are going now, and the huge following WoW has, I wouldn't be surprised if this blew The Dark Knight out of the water.
Jesus, every WoW player is going to see this thing. Granted, there aren't that many hardcore players out there (less then 10% are hard raiders me thinks) but, the number of people that are devoted to it? Christ all mighty.
Also, take into consideration that there is a large teenager age group that plays the game. Maybe the movie might cut back on the violence so that it gets a lower rating allowing all the kids to see it. Might suck if that happens.
Blah...
I just hope he makes it as corny as the game is
Sam Raimi being included is even better.
Let's not split hairs here. a WoW movie would be horrible. It would HAVE to be PG13, if not PG. It would be practically all CGI. And so far, Sam raimi or not, video game adaptations have all completely failed.
Besides, after SW:TOR comes out, who in their right mind would still care about WoW?
Incidentally, Raimi acted in Maniac Cop 1 and 2. Albeit bit parts.
You act as though the game hasn't been toned down and bastardised for 15 year old's cash-money.
Nonetheless, I don't think Blizzard would LET them fuck this up, especially if one of their own wrote the script.
I'm sorry to say this. But none of that makes me feel any better about this mvoie. Writing a story for a game is one thing and writing a story for a movie is another thing. Just because you can do one well (relatively) doesn't mean you can do the other well. Do I really need to give you examples?
"And lead designer Rob Pardo said that it takes place in an Alliance point of view and its much less of a quest film. And more of war movie."
I see they're really pushing the boundaries with this one.
I am curious as what Bruce Campbell's role will be. And will they sneak in a Goblin saw for him to grab and slice up undead or orcs?
No, but usually when games get turned into movies, they're usually sent to writers who focus only on movie scripts. Blizzard took the smarter road and used Chris Metzen, who practically created a lot of the StarCraft and WarCraft's history and it shows that script side, there shouldn't be any mistakes made. Directing and acting side, thats another story.
http://nerdbastards.com/2009/07/22/sam-raimi-confirmed-director-of-world-of-warcraft-film/
as awesome as raimi is I can't imagine him helming an epic fantasy like this.