TBF, Mags, you have been doing a lot of the heavylifting for the quest, so this will be in good hands.
To be clear to everyone, this is just me burning out on imagination of the quest, since my muse has been hitting me over the head a lot with so many different ideas that I just can't find myself too interested in this.
I'll still hang out here, though, since this still does have a sepcial place in my heart.
I'd like to thank you all for making this a wonderful experience while it lasted.
I'd also like to thank @Magoose, @Fluffy_serpent, and @Martin Noctis for doing so much to help prepare and write this quest. I couldn't have done it without you all.
Magoose, can we dedicate an action to creating a subsidiary dedicated to dubbing Lucasfilms projects, both English dubbing for imports and foreign language dubs for Lucasfilms proper films? Something like O'Brian Records?
This would be much less relevant than you may imagine though (ar least internationally)....
At this point in time the countries which practice general dubbing for the whole cast OTL (France, Spain, Italy, Germany, all South America, most of Asia...) already have a well established dubbing tradition with profesional teams of local voice actors who would adapt and dub basically anything released by Lucasfilms or any studio (films, TV series, Cartoons, Anime...) in that country anyway.
And for those countries who go for Original Voices with subtitles for everything except kid movies and shows, well the audience is already used to it...
So while I believe that the subsidiary dubbing company for things we import or produce is a great idea, we can pretty much omit the foreign language dubs division, because it would be redundant.
Edit: Admittedly if we manage to eliminate the terrible Voice Over dubbing technique used by the Slavic countries in the name of good taste, it would be awesome... But we are kind of out of that market from now.
Here is a pitch for two expansions to Lucasfilm. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts:
LucasLabs: Sand Batteries, Digital Cameras, Computer Graphics, the Walkman... Lucasfilm has a culture of experimentation and development and pushing the cutting edge of what is possible. Now, there is a dedicated space and equipment to help bring the imagination of a staff of Lucasfilm into reality. Walking through the Lab, one can find experimental puppets right next to the newest computer parts right next to an experimental camera. George is often found working here to such an extent that the Lab is informally called "George's Garage" or simply "the Garage".
Lucasfilm Legal Department: Formed when Bruce "the Goose" O'Brien was venting with Mike that it would be nice to have a team of lawyers working at all times who had experience with both international and domestic law and entertainment law. And someone to "pound the stuffing" out of those who try and screw with Lucasfilm. Legally. Informally known as "the Gaggle", Lucasfilm legal tries to live up to the reputation of Bruce "the Goose" O'Brien, who sued CBS into near-oblivion and who went toe-to-toe with the Great One. And won.
The first is related to the future LucasArts game company. I thought that not only would we make original games, but our own video games console, as well as import and translate games from overseas. (This is more of an excuse to bring Japanese games that were never officially published outside of Japan, such as Fire Emblem 1 through 6. I am an FE fan and I want those games to be popular, dammit!)
Aside from the, I have an idea for a TV pitch and maybe a few movies in me.
Cool that we'll have such a vibrant exchange of people and ideas between the studios. Also Sunrise adopting American culture is definitely a big W and one can only imagine how the butterflies will take place for the animation industry when everyone starts noticing their Sunrise colleagues are happy, healthy and very rich while making better work. Makes me imagine an episode of Shirobako where top dog animation studio "Sunset" announces a new hiring wave and everyone in the studio is rushing with thousands of other animators to get any spot they can.
Magoose, can we dedicate an action to creating a subsidiary dedicated to dubbing Lucasfilms projects, both English dubbing for imports and foreign language dubs for Lucasfilms proper films? Something like O'Brian Records?
I remember Bruce speaks a lot of languages, though I can't really find them written down anywhere. He could possibly do his own dubbing for films he's in if he's up for it.
Christoph Waltz for example is fluent in German (he's Austrian), English, and French with passable Italian. He did the dubbing of his character in the German and French dubs of Django Unchained and Inglorious Bastards.
I remember Bruce speaks a lot of languages, though I can't really find them written down anywhere. He could possibly do his own dubbing for films he's in if he's up for it.
Ah, correction, @King crimson made the pitch, I simply posted it for Crimson. I'd be happy to discuss details with whoever wants to post the sidestory, or you could simply ask Crimson about them instead.
So I only now realized that I missed out on the Empire discussion. I was very busy that week. I looked at the winning vote.
We're cutting the asteroid field scenes and instead putting in more Cloud City world building and Han/Leia scenes? Probably for the best. While it was still decent, I always thought the asteroid field part kinda dragged on. Though I did like the scene of the Empire searching for them.
I like that we're doing something with the other bounty hunters. Even if it's just them getting shot by the heroes or by Boba Fett. A nice free-for-all between all the bounty hunters, Han/Leia, and Boba Fett. We can have each bounty hunter do a different way of combat with possibly a little comic relief. Only a bit though.
Is the Emperor going to be introduced any further? Though granted he doesn't really do anything in this film other than commanding Vader to capture Luke, so we don't need to solidify lore for him yet.
Dracula: Blood Origins Directed by: Brian Da Palma
Written by: Dave Alister
Produced by: Alan Ladd Jr.
Production/Distribution Studio: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: Mickey Rourke (Vlad Tepes III/Dracula), Daniel Day-Lewis (Radu Cel Frumos), Farrah Fawcett (Carmilla), Chuck Connors (John Hunyadi), James Caan (Matthias Corvinus) and Omar Shariff (Sultan Mehmed II)
Budget: $30 Million Domestic Profits: $160,798,080
International Profits: $393,005,008
It had all seemed so simple back then. You'd just given Brian the budget for a film about Dracula that he'd shown interest while you focused on your own production and future acting role, while at the same time you were making plans to check on the future films when they came to editing and making sure they were all up to par.
Then came the delays with Conan, the new Batman production, helping Robin to deal with his cocaine addiction, spending time with your family that you just...well, something had to give, right? Besides, Solomon Kane came out just fine, receiving accolades and praise from even the Moral Groups. Clearly your directors had what it took and needed no help from you. Brian had even managed to get an all too amazing cast for his movie; Mickey Rourke, a former boxer now turned actors had primarily participated in TV Movies, yet he could show a deep intensity when he got into the role of Vlad Tepes. Daniel Day-Lewis...you don't know how Brian got this kid, but you could see a bright future for him on film with the seamless way he got into the young character of Radu.
Then he followed it up with a star cast that you didn't think possible; Farrah Fawcett had been in high demand ever since her debut in Charlie's Angels, Chuck Connors and James Caan were old hands when it came to both film and TV, and Omar Shariff had jumped at the idea of playing one of the most famous sultans in Ottoman history. Frankly, when it came to the cast it had all been perfect, with hardly any fault whatsoever. You'd felt that you could go to the premiere with no worries, and enjoy a good film with your lovely wife just as you'd done just last month...and hopefully not embarrass yourself again.
Seriously, HOW THE HELL WAS HE STILL ALIVE?!
And the movie itself... well you have to say it was quite fun in your opinion. It didn't have the dark, terrifying atmosphere of Halloween ,but it did have its own Eastern Medieval mysticism that just had you feeling that something was clearly out of place, something that just nagged at you without knowing exactly what it was and it just drove you crazy trying to find out what it is...and yet it just compelled you to keep on watching, to try and identify the feeling and overcome it, not knowing you have already become a captive as you can't keep your eyes of the screen.
Carrie thought you were being overdramatic, but it's there, you're sure of it!
But overall the story was a good one, a tale of a man who began with noble principles to protect his homeland, only to be beaten down again and again, betrayed by those he was supposed to help, dealing with near literal "Devil" on his shoulder as she tries to tempt him over and over, yet resisting it with amazing inner strength. And with it, the tragedy hits all the harder when the final blow is when his own brother fights against him in the service of his mortal enemies. Only when Radu breaks his armies, when he finds himself abandoned by the people he had sworn to protect, when his very allies turned against him and imprisoned him, only then did Vlad Tepes III died...and Dracula took his place.
...And yet, as a Vampire he still showed hints of humanity; breaking his enemies and freeing his people once more, sparing his brother even as he justified it to himself that he would be worth more as a hostage, ruling with an iron Fist, yet making sure his people still had order and justice even as he kept the enemies at bay with his newfound powers. Dracula had become a monster, but one that still held on to the embers of his humanity. Even as more and more slipped away through the centuries until he became the very monster he accused Carmilla to be, he fought and struggled with every step in his tragic tale.
Radu also shined in the story. The brother who'd had enough of war, who believes that the best way forward was peace and for that they needed to work with the Ottomans. Brian really did an amazing job by showing both sides as valid options, yet at the same time showing that the greatest tragedy is that Radu could not see the atrocities and danger that the Ottomans were bringing to his people, how he had been deceived and had deceived Vlad's allies in turn. If Vlad was the brother who'd seen the truth and reality of war and the world, Radu was the brother who'd been sheltered, lied and deceived to the point he believed strangers more than his brother.
God, now you see why Mike didn't want to put this in October (besides the debut of Halloween of course). This movie might be scary, but is more of a tragic tale, a dark fantasy story rather than a pure Horror one.
The audience certainly agreed with you when the time came. All of them coming expecting horror, yet being pleasantly surprised by a different offering. Yet none of them left unsatisfied, all felt that the story was just too good to complain about. The designs for Transylvania were faithfully reproduced when it came to filming giving it an atmosphere of depression and old-time eastern architecture. The comparison between the more prosperous cities of Hungary, or even the Ottoman Empire, show a clear underdog to whom they can relate and cheer for, and the scene of Vlad's most sinister action, "The Forest of Targovishte"...dear God you'd nearly gotten an R rating for that alone. You don't know what mike did, but you're inclined to giving him a raise just for avoiding that.
It is odd though, you'd expected the young men who came to see Farrah Fawcett as a seductive vampire, yet the flood of women who came to see Mickey Rourke as Dracula certainly surprised you. Just what is it about a young vampire that seems to fascinate girls?
Critics praised your movie, with Ebert calling it a "Breath of Fresh air on a story already mined for all it's different variations". he gave it two thumbs up, as did many of the other critics, quickly forgetting how they had a field day tearing down Hardcore just because it didn't have the explosive results one would expect. From direction, the acting, even the realistic setting and historically accurate costumes, they could find nothing to criticize, and not enough to praise.
The reception in America was great. The reception overseas though was astronomical! Britain's had a long history of Dracula films, being the bread and butter of their national film industry, so another movie should not have made the impact this one did. But you truly broke new ground here, as apparently for all the different variations of the formula they'd done, no one had ever thought trying to make an origin story of the titular character, making it quite novel for any and all fans of the old Vampire.
Hell, Christopher Lee even gave you an endorsement of the movie, claiming it was one of the most original and interesting versions, and one he would have been honored to have played in if it had been done back in the days. This coming from the man everyone in Britain recognizes as the definitive Count Dracula (as much as Bela Lugosi is in America) gave you quite the bump in ticket sales there.
France, Germany, the Western Block, everyone and all loved the film and gave it high reviews, making you at least three times as much as you did in America. Everyone has some character or story that just clicks with them in this film; If it isn't Vlad's tragic story then it's Carmilla's own Machiavellian schemes. if it isn't Matthew Corvinus dedication to his people and Iron-Willed character then it's John Hunyadi's determination and devotion to Hungary and its people.
Though most Muslim countries did refuse to air the movie. Not that you can't blame them, you're basically showing them as the bad guys who are killed and tortured, and that they deserve to have it happened to them. The Eastern Bloc countries have also forbidden the entry of any foreign "Capitalist Propaganda" in their own words. Figures. Well, it's not like they can stop the flow anyways, some copies are going to pass the Iron Curtain eventually and show them the art of Lucasfilms.
...though you don't know why you feel some dread when you think about it.
Ah, it's probably nothing.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The meeting room at Lucasfilms could be considered to be a bit of a mess at the moment. The same way that one would say water was wet, or the sky was blue, or Universal were pricks. It was a bit of an understatement when folders and papers were strewn around, the chairs seemed to have been made into makeshift beds when they could, and currently two out of the three leaders of the Studio were just trying to make sense of what the reports all said, all the while trying to not have a panic attack.
It was a work in process.
"Mike...what the fuck!" You exclaimed as the news hit you, a look of shock and disbelief on your face. This just...this could not be real!
"I-I don't know either. It just-" Mike choked on his words, the trembling of his hands and the drink on the table telling you how much this was affecting him. Of George there was no sign, Marcia had called and told you he may be staying home today and perhaps tomorrow. Not that you would blame him, this whole situation was unreal. How the fuck did this happen!!
Okay, calm down...take deep breaths...now is not the time to panic, but the time to think.
Go back to the beginning...start from where everything stopped making sense.
From what information you've been able to gather (and there's a lot now considering what happened) Romania, one of the countries from behind the Iron Curtain, is not the best place to live at the moment. As in, it's a shithole where it's main leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, created a totalitarian state which so far has been considered as the most repressive in the Eastern Bloc at the moment. Jesus, you know you're fucking up if you're outdoing the Russians in brutality and oppression.
Secret police (The Securitate) created an ambience of terror and paranoia, being responsible for mass surveillance as well as severe repression and human rights abuses within the country, not to mention their tight control over the media and the press. The economy is in shambles, living conditions are worse (except for Ceaușescu of course), and his attempts at implementing policies for population growth had only led to more orphans and more dead women.
The man is a fucking madman who'd be right up there with Stalin if he'd been born just a bit earlier. Yet, how could you find out about this? Simple...everyone does now, ever since the Romanians finally said enough is enough, took to the streets, started killing members of the Securitate, took over control of the media to spread out their message, and actually managed to get their hands on Ceaușescu, and proceeded to kill him in one of the most gruesome manners that you've ever heard (thank God they didn't show that).
And it may all be because of your movie.
You did mention that there would be a way for contraband to pass the Iron Curtain, you expected it even. Yet you couldn't have predicted the impact that Dracula: Blood Origins would have in the country where Vlad had lived and died on. The story of a defender who fought again and again against invaders, who despite being betrayed, crushed, and defeated so many times yet refused to give up, the rage, anger, spite against those who would dare oppress him and his people...well, it found a fertile ground for its message when shown.
The Romanians embraced Vlad as a long-lost son, his tactics became theirs, his anger invigorated them, for if they truly had nothing at the moment, then there was nothing they would lose if they fought, just like Vlad. Their new movement, "The Sons of the Dragon" (which is what Dracula actually means) controlled near all the country side, as well as all the cities in western Romania, and they were already making plans for an advance on the Eastern part where the remnants of Ceaușescu's followers still retained power, if only by the thinnest threads as the man was really that hateable!
The soviets are already scrambling the tanks to "bring order and security to the people of Romania" (you notice there's no mention of Ceaușescu. Even they could not hide the shit that little bastard did). Yet it seems that's all they can do. For all that Romania is surrounded by Soviet Satellites, most of them are unreliable; Hungary has never forgotten (nor forgiven) the bloody repression of the Revolution of 1956, and there's enough rumblings as to make the troops there nervous. Yugoslavia has never been interested in either the east nor the west, so Russia is not getting help from there. Bulgaria has both Turkey and Greece looking at them so no dice from aid there, and Poland...is peacefully marching for a humanitarian resolution that stops all the violence.
Well, whoever is organizing it has your respect.
It doesn't take away the fact that somehow, someway, it was one of Lucasfilms movies which caused the greatest political crisis in Soviet Sphere since the beginning of the Cold War. Many newspapers are already heading with "The Collapse of Communism" and how the Soviet Union's defeat may just happen within the decade. You're a bit too high-strung what with most of the studios looking at yours in both awe and fear alike, Mike having to calm down most of your new partners in the Entente that you've formed, and making damn sure that no one suspicious is around your families or the studio.
This has been a rollercoaster of emotions. You can only hope this is as far as it will go.
*Bzzzt* "Mr. O'Brian, there's an Agent Brooks from the CIA here to meet you. He says it's important."
Brucey boy, Brucey boy... You hear that? That's the sound of Murphy cackling at the thought of having a challenge. Doubly so when you're the protagonist of a Magoose quest.
In other news, that is a star-studded cast. James Caan, Omar Sharif, Daniel Day-Lewis, blithering mercy!! Also, liberating people from the Soviet Union is always a plus in my books.
So. Any stories we could take historical inspiration from to further flip the bird to the status quo?
*Somewhere in an alternate universe, Russia-quest finds a powder keg exploding in romania, all cause by complete accident, a Rising Star in the USA decides to pull out a Dracula Origin Story.*
Actually, Vlad Tepes has been already considered a hero in his home country since the Romanticism... Since he actually managed to keep his country independent for decades while surrounded by much larger and more powerful countries (including the Ottomans), and because most of the people who impaled, tortured, and brutalized were not his countrymen but the enemies of Wallachia...
I'm pretty sure he's still remember as a hero in Romania to this day, which is helped by the fact that Vlad was really only cruel to the boyars(which is totally justified, imo) and the enemies of Wallachia.
It's also helped by the fact that he wasn't a modern-day figure, and as such, people don't hold him to the standards one would hold Obama or Merkel in the present.
Welp if hellsing manga gets made you bet Alucard would mention here because look just what happen we may have started the collaspe of communism or Soviet Union here
Well, guys while we wait for the next update I have made a small list of people/organizations that I think we should network ASAP... Hopefully, we will be able to do it soonish now that Batman is finished and it doesn´t seem like we have any other 3-month turn on the horizon...
Apple: Besides the obvious OOC reasons we should talk to them and invent on them... Not only because our Brother works here but because they are the guys in the Avant-Garde of Personal Computer development, and with Pixar on its way of developing good CGI effects and movies, we should definitively check on them.
NASA: Seeing how the cultural significance of Star Wars has kickstarted a new wave of interest in Space exploration we should definitively check on them... Besides that, Bruce has an awesome track directing documentaries and the best special effect divisions available, so we may end up with some new and interesting job offers
Shonen Jump: Since we are almost definitively going to buy Sunrise in the next turn (unless the rolls fuck us up), it makes sense to contat the biggest manga magazine around so that we can start producing anime based on their biggest hits.
Hana Barbera: Magoose has just confirmed that with how well we have done with Gundam we could be able to buy them... Besides the valuable IPs, we would get an immense library of classic cartoons that would make our project of a Cartoon Network channel much more viable.
Albert Barillé: the creator of the Once Upon a Time... cartoon franchise, he has just finished his first part of the Franchise Once Upon a Time... Man and while this series' popularity in Europe in those years was immense with pretty much every European public TV buying the emission rights to air it... For some weird reason this franchise didn´t come to the United States until the mid-90s, so we have the chance of getting it for ourselves...
Other Studios: We have lost Toho, but there is nothing that prevents us from contacting other Japanese Studios like Toei and Daiei (no reason why we could not work with both of them IMO) and besides that, there are studios in India, Korea, Hong Kong and Europe that we could get into contact with.
Well, what do you guys think? Would you add someone else?
And then there is all the authors that we should contact to get the adaptation rights... But that kind of deserves its own list.
Welp if hellsing manga gets made you bet Alucard would mention here because look just what happen we may have started the collaspe of communism or Soviet Union here
