Entry 01 - Cindi Rice, Co-Executive Producer

Hello, fellow Dragonlance fans!

I'm sorry it's taken so long for anyone from the Dragonlance animated film team to post directly on the site, but we've been so focused on the production that this keeps slipping by. We have been reading the forums though, so be assured that we're listening to your feedback.

I thought the easiest way to start would be to simply address some of the topics/questions that you have introduced in the forums. So, here goes:

Who are you people anyway?

Since the team's bios are listed here on the site, I won't bore you with the technical details, but I can tell you how I personally got involved in the movie. Since its inception, I've been a sort of "spiritual guide" for the project, and I've seen it through every step along the way. I actually came from TSR (where I worked as an editor on the D&D worlds) years ago, and then Wizards of the Coast (as an editor and then as a brand manager for the same brands). As you would guess, I am a gamer and a fan of D&D, Dragonlance, and all of the associated properties, which I love deeply and passionately. Soon after Hasbro bought us, I transferred to their entertainment division here in LA (just after the release of the first D&D movie), where I worked for several years on bringing the D&D brands into film and television. As is the standard for Hollywood, tons of deals were set up, though few made it through to production. I did have the pleasure of working on both Scourge of Worlds and the second D&D movie with Silver Pictures, during which my most important responsibility was to help the producers understand the brand and advise them on how to align their creative visions with the game itself. Some battles I won. Some I lost. But I am still proud to have been a part of those projects. I even set up a few Dragonlance entertainment deals as well, but none of them got off the ground. Along the way, I met John Frank Rosenblum, who joined my D&D game and became both my friend and later my business partner (when I left Hasbro). Then, one day, after a particularly passionate plea to a Paramount executive about Dragonlance, I was introduced to Steve Stabler, an independent producer who had just made a deal with them to create an animated feature film with Toonz. Steve has produced countless successful motion picture franchises, and his partner Arthur was a senior Paramount executive for over a decade, overseeing some of its largest film releases. When I met them, they were trying to figure out what their first project for this new Paramount deal should be, so I pitched the Dragonlance story to them. They fell in love with it right away and convinced their investor that this property should be a high priority. And, here we all are.

Why are you doing this as animation?

Why not? Animation is a fantastic and creative storytelling medium, which allows us an amazing amount of freedom to represent an entirely unique fantasy world, something completely unlike our own. Still, don't misunderstand me. We did not pass up live-action film opportunities to make this one. That is still a very viable option. However, I've seen many deals for Dragonlance come and go, and this is the first one to actually become a reality. Would we like to make a live-action Dragonlance movie? Absolutely! Up to now though, nobody has been willing to put up $75m+ to make that a reality, and believe me, I've tried. Every studio in town has seen Dragonlance about a dozen times, in different formations and with different creative teams attached - all to no avail. I don't think that means that a live-action movie will never happen, but I do think that an animated movie only helps that effort. More importantly, it certainly won't hurt those chances, and I'm thrilled that we get to see Dragonlance on the screen in the meantime.

Will this go direct-to-video?

We honestly don't know yet. Everyone on the team has their preference, but the reality is that if we get a chance to release the film theatrically, I'm sure we will. The final decision will be made by Paramount, based on the status of the marketplace when the movie is released. They have guaranteed video release though, which makes us very happy. The video market is the strongest part of the entertainment business these days, and theatrical is generally nothing more than a marketing expense for the DVD. A video release is a strong, viable model for continued entertainment product, and it has no relation to quality or appreciation. Still, we won't know for a while exactly what the final distribution plan will be. Personally, I also prefer to fly under the radar (so to speak) and do projects that the studios don't feel the need to help us "improve." The bigger your project is, the more mass-market they need you to make it, and I'd rather not see the story butchered in the name of simplification.

Go on to Part 2 »