Hey folks, I haven't been following this project as closely as I should be, so I'm gonna make up for it. I got this scoop below, and decided to do some poking about. It began shooting in Prague on May 24. They've got close to $30 million for the whole show, and for now it is an independent film. This STATION X STUDIOS, that's doing the effects did the work on Kevin Smith's DOGMA and MY FAVORITE MARTION (though TIPPETT's folks did alot of that as well), and at SXSW, I met one of their people who seemed quite excited about their work on that, and the crew at STATION X. The director, Corey Soloman, I don't know a thing about... However, Topper Lilien and Carroll Cartwright (a pair of the screenwriters) do have a film coming out starring Paul Newman and Linda Fiorentino called WHERE THE MONEY IS.
The basic plotline has to do with an evil wizard wanting to dethrone a young empress (Empress Savina played by Thora Birch). Well she seeks the help of a thief (Ridley played by Justin Wayland) and Marina a young sorceress (Zoe McLellen)to find an ancient object that will help them save the kingdom. The bad guys are Profion of Tarak (a powerful magician/wizard with great powers) and Damodar (an evil sadistic commander of the Crimson Guard). Aiding the Empress, Ridley and Marina in their quest is Elwood, a bearded dwarf who is a fierce warrior (possibly played by Charlie Smith (AMERICAN JOB) though that is tentative), Snails who is Ridley's best friend and fellow thief (Marlon Wayans), and lastly Norda a beautiful elf tracker (tracks things not elves) to be played by an Asian actress... I've heard they were talking to Kristen Wilson (DOCTOR DOOLITTLE, GIRL 6). Well, that's it for Harry's side, now for our scooper...
Grant Boucher (co-founder of Station X Studios) was giving a seminar at my school today in Orlando and had some great news for D&D fans. Since Station X is handling all of the VFX for D&D he was able to tell us that principal photography began last week in Czechoslovakia. He also said that some of the locations where they're shooting are so remote that they have never been photographed before. He went on to say that the film will have about 200 FX shots including one battle scene that showcases around 75 dragons fighting overtop of a village. He said the release date has been slated for Halloween 2000.
Thanks,
Pankakes
