# "Hey, that Ring movie made money... Let's Rip it Off!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157 "2002-12-27T14:30:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/1 "2002-12-27T14:30:22Z")
It’s inevitable that when a movie not only makes as much money but captures as much attention as Lord of the Rings that movies just like it follow two years later. And as we’ve seen time and time again the result is more often then not garbage. On the rare occasion someone can use the success of a film to springboard their own pet project they’ve been trying to get made for years and it’s watchable, but how many of the Star Wars or Jaws knock offs captured people’s attention? Now in these days we can expect two types of knock-offs, the low budget direct to video crap (as seen on the SciFi Channel) and the big budget pile of garbage. I’m going to side step the cheapy films since while it’s a given that we’ll be seeing a lot of national parks from them over the next few years it’s impossible to guess what they’ll do (“Alien Terminator of the Ring Cycle Bloodbath” perhaps?), but what big budget films do you think are going to result? My guesses: Another Conan film - Fresh from the “success” of Terminator 3 Arnold continues stepping back in his career to do another Conan. The Ring Cycle - “I heard that Token guy who wrote the Twin Towers stole from this Swiss Opera.” “Perfect! We don’t even have to license it! Get Jerry Bruckheimer on the phone!” Sword of Shannara - As long as they’re ripping off Jackson they might as well go with someone experience in ripping off Tolkien. ---
**Author:** ![Kaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Kaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaf)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/2 "2002-12-27T16:37:53Z")
Just to play contrarian to this view, one of my guilty pleasures is reading fantasy and sci-fi books and I’ve been looking forward for years to the day when technology had moved far enough forward so that we could see a bunch of fantasy/sci-fi films that looked believable. You think we are only going to get cheesy knockoffs, but I’ll refer you to Sturgeon’s Law which states: “Ninety percent of everything is crap.” So even if we get a ninety bad films, we’ll have ten good fantasy films, which is ten more than we’ll have now. I don’t think there is anything particularly awful about fantasy films, per se. There are just as many cheesy comedies, for instance as bad fantasy flicks. There’ll be a bunch of clunkers in there, but mixed in will be some good stuff. Oh yeah, don’t forget about the inevitable He-Man and the Masters of the Universe film. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/3 "2002-12-27T16:47:11Z")
And, thanks to the magic of the Internet, we’ll have adequate warning as to which ripoffs are pretty good, which ones are to be avoided at all costs, and which ones are good for a cheap laugh… ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/4 "2002-12-27T16:59:59Z")
Remember when Godzilla came out? There was that rip off Gargantua… ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/5 "2002-12-27T17:06:15Z")
Godzilla ripped off [The Lost World](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0016039). I’m guessing you could say any movie with the subject matter of an earlier movie is ripping it off. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/6 "2002-12-27T17:13:09Z")
There were some Twister rip offs shown over here. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/7 "2002-12-27T18:42:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kaf \* > \*\*Oh yeah, don’t forget about the inevitable He-Man and the Masters of the Universe film. 😃 \*\* [::cough::](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0093507) ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/8 "2002-12-27T18:57:33Z")
And not too long _before_ Lord of the Rings, there was the godawful _Dungeons and Dragons_ movie. All the special effects in the world couldn’t make that watchable. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/9 "2002-12-27T18:58:51Z")
Actually, I think a series of movies based on Wagner’s _Das Ring des Nibelungen_ would be interesting if done well. I think it’d be tricky, but not as tricky as a book adaptation as opera is relatively close to film. > [@](#): > > The Ring Cycle - “I heard that Token guy who wrote the Twin Towers stole from this Swiss Opera.” “Perfect! We don’t even have to license it! Get Jerry Bruckheimer on the phone!” I’m not one to point out typos unless they’re funny, and I couldn’t pass this one up. Imagine if you will the _Token Ring LAN Cycle_. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/10 "2002-12-27T19:08:56Z")
I _thought_ there had been a He-Man film, but…Courtney Cox? Heh. Heh, heh heh. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/11 "2002-12-27T19:52:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kaf \* > You think we are only going to get cheesy knockoffs, but I’ll refer you to Sturgeon’s Law which states: “Ninety percent of everything is crap.” So even if we get a ninety bad films, we’ll have ten good fantasy films, which is ten more than we’ll have now. You’re such an optimist! I think it will be more like this: Big-budget fantasy films are popular - we’ll see around 30 big-budget fantasy films before the trend disappears; of those 30, the 10% that aren’t crap will be the LOTR series. So get ready for 27 terrible productions. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/12 "2002-12-27T20:07:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, I think a series of movies based on Wagner’s Das Ring des Nibelungen would be interesting if done well. I think it’d be tricky, but not as tricky as a book adaptation as opera is relatively close to film. Actually I agree with you that the Ring Cycle (I hate typing out Nibelungen) could make a great set of films. But then so could Beowulf and we got 13th Warrior out of that. And the typos were supposed to be humorous… ---
**Author:** ![Kaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Kaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaf)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/13 "2002-12-27T20:58:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > \*\*You’re such an optimist! \*\* Well…I am an optimist. One of the reasons I like _LotR_ so much, is because it was such a huge success that it paved the way for a bunch more fantasy films. Once Hollywood sees they have a hit on their hands, especially one of this size, there will be a rush to knock off the formula. And the formula that works so far is: Big Fantasy Book = Big Movie = Success. Granted we only have _Harry Potter_ and _LotR_ to go on so far, but think of the huge number of untapped stories and series out there. I think the phenomenon will be much like the current rush to make movies out of comic books. Especially becaue fantasy books tend to have lots of sequels, which is perfect as everyone in Hollywood wants to develop franchises right now. I’m also a fan of comic book movies, but that is neither here nor there. Granted there will be a bunch of bad ones made, but the OP basically generalized all fantasy films as direct to video, which I’m not concerned about, or as a “big budget pile of crap”. Which shows a prejudice against big budget films, which is what I dispute. Now, the question becomes, which fantasy series’ are ready for the leap to film? ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/14 "2002-12-27T21:15:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kaf \* > \*\*Now, the question becomes, which fantasy series’ are ready for the leap to film? \*\* Ooh ooh! Song of Ice and Fire! Song of Ice and Fire! [sub]Actually, they’d probably butcher it and kill all the complexity, but if it were done right, it’s be gold. Plus, it’s going to be at least five books, so that’s a strike against it, too. Ah well, let me have my fantasy about fantasy.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/15 "2002-12-27T22:00:12Z")
> [@](#): > > **Kaf** :Now, the question becomes, which fantasy series’ are ready for the leap to film? The _Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser_ stories by Fritz Leiber would be fun. Or Moorcock’s _Elric_. And, borderline fantasy (but what else would you call it?) but I would kill to see a decent adaptation of Zelazny’s _Amber_ series. Probably no way it could be done without being butchered though… Come to think of it, either _Lord of Light_ or _Creatures of Light and Darkness_ would probably be loads of fun too… ---
**Author:** ![BioHazard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3bc359/32.png) [@BioHazard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BioHazard)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/16 "2002-12-27T22:06:39Z")
HIJAK I hope they make a Prince Valentine’s Castle Fantasy film. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/17 "2002-12-27T22:11:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kaf \* > \*\*Now, the question becomes, which fantasy series’ are ready for the leap to film? \*\* Well, if they’re looking for big, epic fantasy, they couldn’t go wrong with Tad Williams’ “Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn” series. It’s not as “rich” as Tolkien, but it’s practically begging for a filme treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/18 "2002-12-27T22:14:18Z")
How many people nationwide do you think went to see _The Ring_ because they thought it was the sequel to FOTR? Notice how many more superhero movies we’re getting, now that X-Men was so popular? Spiderman I & 2, Daredevil, Hulk, Piglet’s Big Movie… ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/19 "2002-12-28T02:30:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tangent \* > \*\*And not too long _before_ Lord of the Rings, there was the godawful _Dungeons and Dragons_ movie. All the special effects in the world couldn’t make that watchable. \*\* [My review of _Dungeons and Dragons: The Movie_ using the AD&D rules](http://home.netcom.com/~rogermw/ADnD/MovieReview.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157/20 "2002-12-28T03:37:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quixotic78 \* > \*\*Ooh ooh! Song of Ice and Fire! Song of Ice and Fire! > > [sub]Actually, they’d probably butcher it and kill all the complexity, but if it were done right, it’s be gold. Plus, it’s going to be at least five books, so that’s a strike against it, too. Ah well, let me have my fantasy about fantasy.[/sub] \*\* I don’t know that there’s really an effective way to show the multiple viewpoints in Song of Ice and Fire. The audience would get irritated with the frequent shifts, and the intriguing changes of points of view, which subtly alter the readers’ ideas of who is good and who is bad, would probably not translate well to film. People would be furious that after two movies showing Jaime is a villain, we’re supposed to be sympathetic to him in the third movie. And movies don’t like characters as conflicted and complicated as Tyrion. I think Tad Williams’s _Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn_ would translate well. It’s obviously in the mold of Tolkein - unlikely hero on an impossible quest - but unlike most of these works, it’s actually well-written and has an exciting story of its own. Plus, there are more women characters. I’ve also just been rereading Katya Reimann’s trilogy, too (argh, why is the name of the series escaping me?; the first book is titled _Wind From a Foreign Sky_), and I was struck even as I was reading at how well most of it would work on film. The magic used is very simple, and is also _visible_, which is nice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-that-ring-movie-made-money-lets-rip-it-off/145157.md?page=2)