Source Material Divergence Problems - Intentionally Blank Ep. 181

[@rachelmontgomery44]

I miss the days when this episode would have been titled “Halo doesn’t need romance, it has zombies.”

[@georgeevans9044]

That would have been a great title, lol

[@DustbunnyJohnson]

I say we petition this.

[@metalworker5413]

Second Ryan here, you’re welcome for the LEGO minifig! Also, the LEGO Ideas project “Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere” did in fact reach the required 10K supporters! It’s now entirely in LEGO’s hands whether it gets made!

[@cygnusinfinity5126]

Really hoping someone in the company decides to roll with it!

[@MisterSketch4]

I will buy it if they ever actually do it. That would be incredible!

[@portobellomushroom5764]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1156">19:16</a> "Do you wanna hear me tell another story?" Well you're a bestselling author, Brandon.

[@snoogle20]

“Brandon seats” = Lightsong at a concert apparently.

[@wasatchwizard4770]

Exactly

[@grantstratton2239]

​@@wasatchwizard4770Write what you know, I guess

[@wallywalrus2]

"Your real gift is the smile on your friend's smiling face." *Dan immediately hides his face behind the box, preventing Brandon from seeing his friend's face.*

[@EskekB]

As someone who works at The LEGO Group I would suggest Brandon (or someone representing the your company) to approach us with an idea. Even if it is just a limited, small idea. Specifically I would talk about making a LEGO ICONS product in some capacity. If you bring the idea, it can be taken to revision and it is a great way to start the dialogue. Many great things have come from this approach in the past. I must add that I have no sway or influence in the area. I would just love to see a Mistborn or Stormlight set become reality.

[@justinchandler-holtz7206]

Lego Urithiru would be incredible

[@seantroy3172]

What I was thinking haha

[@rafaelbustos9]

It could be as tall as the eifel tower lego

[@p-j-y-d]

The Eifel Tower is shorter than you think. Urithiru is bigger than you could imagine.

[@Brandon-9]

Too incredible. For that we would need a higher than normal ceiling in the rooms...😅

[@robinarmstrong685]

I think a Lego map of Roshar would sell like crazy.

[@dericplummer9272]

Nah I think it would be considered very niche for Lego. It may sell alot but probably nowhere close compared to some of the other IP sets they make.

[@davidbullock3091]

Imagine Urithiru as a Lego set tho 😭

[@jratzburg]

need a screen adaptation first. Then it'll go crazy

[@bolicob]

Minifigs are what sell like crazy

[@p-j-y-d]

Please, take my money!

[@EdgedancerJacob]

I am a long time Hollywood studio employee, and can attest that your understanding of what's "wrong" is correct. That said, it also comes down to the fact that audiences are rarely willing to take risks - people gravitate towards IP and familiar stories/genres, which further incentivizes studios to follow this formula. It's a self fulfilling prophecy, unfortunately. Please, Brandon, NEVER trust the studios with your work. Please!

[@Merecir]

No, people watch stuff that other people they trust liked. The solution: MAKE GOOD CONTENT THAT PEOPLE WANT. Example: Guardians of the Galaxy, totally unknown to the masses, great reviews, massive audience. Example: Joker: Folie à Deux: massive recognition, sequel to a great movie, established franchise, trashed in reviews, zero audience.

[@christianseibold3369]

@@Merecir I don't think Guardians of the Galaxy proves your point - it's marketed as a Marvel movie within the Marvel universe. Marvel is an IP. There's also many examples of great movies that don't get big audiences, which disproves your theory that brand has no effect on audience size or interest.

[@Merecir]

@@christianseibold3369 Bad marvel movies fail as well: The Marvels.

[@andrasbiro3007]

Audiences have been burned too many times, that's why they are picky. Plus there are too many movies, impossible to keep up. Plus TVs are getting so big and high-quality that the movie screen doesn't offer as much benefit anymore. When I was young, you could watch any movie in a genre you liked, and rarely regretted it. Now it's like 1 in 10 worth watching at home for free, and 1 in 100 worth paying for.

[@willowpackerthestoryteller135]

Okay but here me out: 10,000 piece Lego Kredik Shaw.

[@SunRayz3r]

With Vin, Kelsier, Marsh, Lord Ruler, 6 Inquisitors, and the rest of the gang (I’m forgetting all the names).

[@areeweblind]

Secondbrickfast has an amazing version online to see, sure its not to purchase, but its out there.

[@Dendrago0]

When he was talking about Emperor's Soul as an arthouse film, all I could think was Nah nah nah Emperor's Soul as a minimal-crew *stageplay*

[@watson-disambiguation]

Honestly that would work great

[@MisterSketch4]

That could be amazing

[@Chelrack]

"So this Secret Project I wrote during the Imagine Dragon concert"

[@pharaoh9000]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2058">34:18</a> You may not be able to crowd fund a $100M Mistborn film, but you could definitely crowd fund a high-quality animated anthology of short stories and novellas from across the Cosmere. Similar to "The Animatrix (2003)" or "Love Death + Robots"... and even this upcoming "Secret Level" on Amazon Prime is excitingto see. If multiple studios brought their own styles and vibes to their particular piece of a cosmere anthology, I would gleefully give ALL of my money to crowd fund a project like that!

[@king_dot]

Same, I kinda actually like that idea more

[@pharaoh9000]

Can you just imagine each of Hoid's stories being part of the anthology, too?! Wandersail, The Dog and The Dragon? Fleet?!?! Novellas like The Emperor's Soul could be easily adapted and trimmed a bit for an animated anthology. I'm sure there are lots of small but talented studios that would jump at the chance.

[@ammo7]

His point wasn't that he couldn't crowdfund a 100M project, it was that the risk of failure is too great to be playing with people's money on something like that, as opposed to some faceless movie studio's money.

[@christopherclouser340]

That story about the screenplay is exactly what has happened to Marvel since Endgame and Star Wars since Disney bought them. Basically people having a story and using that universe as a vehicle to get it made. Most of them wouldn't get made as independent projects without that branding attached to them.

[@bido573]

You left out the wheel of time,

[@dsquaredgames9286]

"I can imagine those dragons. The active is radioed." So silly!

[@alexwalter1147]

Technically they already have one LEGO product. Technically, the Kelsier Mistborn skin in Fortnite has a LEGO variant for the special mode...

[@erwhatdude]

I met a lego engineer over the summer, and he recognized my there's always another secret shirt. Was a big fan of mistborn

[@p-j-y-d]

There's always another secret.

[@LrnecBuma]

That comfirms default response to meeting lego engineers should be to ask of they are mistborn fans so they constantly hear we want lego

[@tel.obsidion]

​@LrnecBuma I need a Kredik Shaw set.

[@masonandreasen8050]

I would buy the heck out of Stormlight Legos

[@metalworker5413]

The Ideas set just hit 10K, so it’s now entirely in LEGO’s hands whether it gets made!

[@yayafunky]

Agree!! Cosmere Lego sets!

[@justinvandehey7903]

I've always imagined Mistborn as an anime. I don't know how expensive an anime it would be, but definitely not 100 million, even with top tier voice actors.

[@LrnecBuma]

Funny i envision era 1 as Beserk and Samurai Jack but era 2 is more like a mix of batman animated series and legend of kora

[@TheLordofMetroids]

The average cost of an anime episode is about $100k per episode. With the big, high budget, shounen anime costing up to $200k per episode. The US market appears to be significantly more expensive for animation but a lot of that seems to go into voice talent, And frankly I think movie star actors that a lot of animated shows try to grab are far too expensive versus the quality they give when compared to more dedicated voice actors. But a price comparison is Legend Of Vox Machina is extremely cheap for a US produced animation, it's $750k per episode.

[@TonyRobetson]

that's what i was thinking too! critical role managed to do it pretty successfully, think they could follow that example

[@ravenwilder4099]

Anime is definitely the only way I can see a Stormlight Archive adaptation being made. It just fits so well, right down to the oversized eyes letting you immediately spot eye color.

[@cryptorcd9352]

@@TheLordofMetroids Then getting 10ep cosmere anime would be 100% possible with the kickstarter. Then like with legends of vox machina some big studio might swoop in and fund more seasons

[@daem0nfaust]

"Now, my empire shall have a godking!"

[@laura-leew5668]

My lego stranger things has totally withstood heavy shaking by trains several times a day. It's surprisingly stable even though it doesn't look it! You won't need kraggle though you will feel like you will!

[@Aokitadamitsu]

l love the Emperors Soul its the book that I used to get my wife into your writing!! *evil laugh*

[@droidgotra]

I think the one piece live action is a good example of a passion project (Matt Owens) and having to make changes that work well for the story taking it from manga to live action

[@noaaa7]

The key difference is sincerity, not accuracy. One Piece live action is not accurate to the source material. But it’s extremely sincere, and it’s great!

[@kath4240]

I saw a concert in tulsa with boxes like that right below me and I was so jealous

[@stevenwojtysiak6392]

Concerning ads, I don't know for sure, but I want to say it is far far easier to block ads on google than it ever was on broadcast TV. Some shows even have Fast forward disabled during ads on VOD TV. Yes, one can easily mute the ads and use the time getting drinks, going to the bathroom or whatever, but it's much harder to avoid than installing an ad blocker on the computer.

[@crimsonraen]

Great discussion, Brandon! I'm so glad that you wont settle for garbage with your adaptations! It must be hard watching what they're doing to the WoT show though!

[@beeniejo9911]

I saw Falling in Reverse in August! They were sickkkkk! Lots of pyro lol

[@AnyaBlackk]

Storms, I'd love to see Lego Urithiru!

[@couragecoachsam]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="976">16:16</a> say I’m the only bee in your bonnet Make a little birdhouse in your soul 🎶

[@mrnobody-unowen]

If I ever have a reason to give a gift to Brandon, I have an excellent idea which I’ll keep to myself.

[@RottenRogerDM]

Lost in Adaptation you tube does a series on close the movie matches the book. One of his categories covers this.

[@achor8051]

I honestly think that the answer to this question is animation. Live action adaptations are just not the best medium for fantasy. The special effects don't look as cool as you imagined, and it ends up costing half a billion dollars to make. With the change in perception of animation from just kids to what it is today, you could make fantastic stories for super low budget (comparatively) by hiring fantastic artists and voice actors because you don't need to pay for sets and CGI

[@hunterhatfield7157]

Arguably, those independent multimedia narratives going straight to a platform for their fans are not films to Amazon but indie game development studios on Steam . That's the closest place right now where affordable tools can let ten people spend three years on a labor of love and release it without a huge publisher.

[@kirkwagner461]

The question is: How many views in what space of time? Suberbowl halftime gets 40 million eyeballs for 30 minutes. A popular KZbin may get 40 million views as well, but it takes months.

[@AutarchKade]

I'd love to see Brandon take on the film industry. Start a movie/TV studio that focuses on source material accuracy and starting trends. Gain a reputation among fans of the original works as the name that inspires confidence that an adaptation will be faithful.

[@giggleanthropisticon7061]

My fellow Ryans representing today

[@kryptonianguest1903]

Wow wow wow. Wow.

[@hiruu]

Well, I hope Brandon doesn’t allow them to destroy his material if they come knocking

[@amorvincittomnia]

More and more as I consider movie and tv adaptions of Sanderson's works, I am convinced animation would do the most justice. I'm sad that he is so closed off to animated shows for Stormlight and Mistborn.

[@niteglys]

The spec script story is exactly what happened to Reboot: Guardian's Code. The writer had their own story in mind so bought a popular IP and made something that had nothing to do with the original

[@greenlavalamp]

Game of Thrones came up with source divergence, but not what happened when the show had to come up with their own story once the source was exhausted-- pretty good example of what can happen when a show has to - necessarily - take up the story.

[@fenix-legends21]

Thats so frickin cool!!

[@mjkcomposer]

You know what. Shadows for silence could easily be adapted with a shoestring budget. Even a good indie filmmaker could probably put that together

[@QazwerDave]

I love the Halo show !

[@stillbuyvhs]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1674">27:54</a> The formula goes back to the late silent era. Films based on well-known stories were successful, so they started making more films based on well-known stories. And that's fine; the films exist to please an audience, not to please the writer.

[@p-j-y-d]

Food heist is back!

[@ahnnabautch5747]

A great idea that I've heard others mention is adapting Mistborn or Stormlight into a animated series with the same style as Arcane

[@sherizaahd]

Back when I worked in the office I had a bunch of Star Wars ships hung from the ceiling. I now have them up in my home office.

[@ThreeDPeruna]

I love my Lego Flatiron building!

[@uselesspocketwatch]

There's a rumor that Halo went even the other way with the adaptation: that the show was a reworked version of a Mass Effect script.

[@keepperspective]

I would LOVE a bloom house Sanderson movie

[@Fabulist]

I think the movie version of self-publishing is already here with Unreal 5. The thing is so good already that I’m sure someone could recreate Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or anything else pretty faithfully. And there’s nothing stopping someone from adapting their favorite book or short story. You would run into copyright issues for anything recent, so don’t make Mistborn, but technically you *can* make Mistborn using Unreal. Going back to a previous podcast where Brandon was annoyed by John Carter of Mars not being a good adaptation, someone could make Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars and be absolutely faithful to the book. That book is in the public domain, so anyone can adapt it, and Unreal is definitely up to the task. At that point all you need is time, because an ordinary PC is more than powerful enough to make the movie.

[@Fabulist]

A fantasy film made over a year ago in Unreal, and the newest version of the program is vastly improved: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKHbk2avpLiIna8 Others: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6qQpoCFmKyfjdk kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHaTnoOnrpmkbqM kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnWbZJhnlJdqgtU Recreating an Iron Man shot: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKqmmZearrmlj5o Recreating the elevator blood from The Shining: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4GQmpd-gd6XhLM

[@finchharper4647]

I see you Dan, Hang in there.

[@mikep4957]

I don't think I've ever been so angry and frustrated with a show like the Halo series. It was just a complete abomination. It was like a some studio exec saw a bunch of Halo toys on the floor, and decided to have AI write a story with the toys. There was so many things wrong with it, I quit after the 2nd or 3rd episode, whichever had the master chief NUDE scene lmao

[@dandinkler6315]

They need a canticle LEGO set with hovercraft you can put together and make a flying city.

[@ravenwilder4099]

You CAN get a big-budget, fantasy/sci-fi epic made from a spec script ... if you're James Cameron or Christopher Nolan or someone like that, with a track record of mega-successful hits behind you. Anyone else, yeah, they're out of luck.

[@rmsgrey]

I know historically there has also been a practice of studios taking spec scripts and looking for an IP to slap on them - the Will Smith I, Robot was an example.

[@violentfrog_]

wow didn't expect a Donald Farmer mention for Shark Exorcist lol

[@charliebencivengo5380]

I'm curious - what if the route to eventually getting film/tv Cosmere adaptations is to actually get a double or triple A video game made first? This is totally out of my ass and I could have no clue what I'm talking about, but I'm just thinking of an IP like the Witcher, which started as a game and eventually gained enough acclaim to warrent a Netflix adaptation (which, to be fair, fell into many of the same traps they discussed in this video. . . ) Obviously the circumstances for the Witcher were very different, and given that triple A games cost the same or even more than a hollywood production nowadays, it may be a hard sell. But I feel like Mistborn - given to the right studio - could be made for a fairly modest budget and still come out great. And given Brandon's love of video games, and the way these stories inherently lend themselves to be very gamey. . . it seems like it could be a valid first step. Especially because a passionate game studio would likely be more willing to stay true to the source material, which in turn, could be the signal for Hollywood that Brandon's stuff doesn't need to be tampered with.

[@MobBossBobRoss]

Witcher didn't start out as a game, it started as a book series. A movie is still going to get more attention than a video game and is infinitely easier. There's a reason Brandon isn't even entertaining the idea of his own video game.

[@robbybevard8034]

Games at that level are even *more* expensive and take even more years to make than a film.

[@chadb2840]

Wait, is Dan a Struts fan? That's so cool!

[@The_Frustrated_Optimist]

You're dead-on, Brandon, with your take on bad adaptations. New stuff usually doesn't succeed so the winning strategy is to use popular stuff as a facade for whatever they want to make. It's why we have bad adaptations and pointless identity-swaps of legacy IPs and characters. If they make new stories and characters, they will probably fail, but those known properties will get people's money. I think this can only last so long, though. The internet means word of mouth is *fast*, so they can't be getting as much of those early buy-ins as they would have years ago.

[@creedoflies]

I loved The Emperor's Soul, but I dont remember there being any time magic lol

[@cadebuckley9551]

I think this is what happened with Johnson and the last Jedi. He had a good idea for a story, but he had to “fill in” for a totally different story, and it just wasn’t Star Wars.

[@matityaloran9157]

Fair

[@shaananmiller2099]

Nice! But what about the weekly update?

[@joshhickeysmoviereviews]

Right?! I think they're too busy with fulfillling orders

[@15kilam]

They’re probably recording a new one because of the issue with the radiant mugs

[@derekgleue3679]

Scrolled here first thing to make this comment

[@zacharyjones4232]

Here’s your weekly update: don’t drink heated liquids out of the radiant order cups

[@loudjosh9311]

A movie or tv show would probably bring instant Lego recognition.

[@ZatoichiBattousai]

Lego of Kredik Shaw!

[@ericwaite5179]

I would DIIIEEEE for Lego Cosmere

[@Thelastcritic]

I know I'm late to this video, but that's what happened to Dresden. Supernatural was a huge success and they tried to make Dresden into Supernatural

[@jacobi2393]

I think they're being too generous to the screenwriters. But it depends on the story I guess; it's one thing to add some of your own flair and another entirely to just alter the point of the story. I suppose im grouchy because i e heard one too many screensriters dispatage their source material

[@sandkiller]

Oh no!! There's a typo on the Thumbnail :D

[@tylerthorstrom4100]

I think the problem is that the studios are publicly traded. They can’t afford to scale back or take risks because they have to try to maintain quarterly stock growth.

[@LrnecBuma]

Dan is correct shampain has been used in some band songs 😂

[@Amanda_D]

Making a movie adaptation of one of your smaller works first sounds like a good idea to me. lol Show them how it's done and make them regret not risking it sooner.

[@davidarmstrong3302]

Dragonsteel could partner with Brickmania (which does military sets) or BrickerBuilds who produce unofficial sets with actual LEGO parts

[@m.j.p.h.h]

Honestly the discussion of creativity sounds a lot like what happens in corporate America, particularly technology in corporate America. Those at the top make a lot of decisions that undermine the choices of those at the bottom who are more familiar with the end goals and how to accomplish them, i.e. a creative endeavor, but they end up being hampered by poor decision making from top executives that want X to happen by X date.

[@rafaelbustos9]

I'll definitely buy a cosmere lego

[@PaulZurheide]

What edition of Well of Ascension is he signing?

[@BobbieBins]

There were some changes to Last of us i liked and some i didn't. Mostly the changes to Bill and the complete removal of his interactions with Joel and Ellie, which were some of my favorite parts of the game. It was a nice short story, but it also just felt completely irrelevant to what was happening in the show. I loved the random couple they meet.

[@kazoo_go_bbbrrrrrrrrrrr]

Anybody know what Brandon seats are?

[@VirtulentLP]

A lego (tower significant to the SA) would be sick

[@Noctua07]

Does this mean that you don't have a possibility to make The Emperor's Soul into a movie again? :( I honestly think that would be such a good shortfilm and realistically could be done with a relatively low budget. It is such a nice and good story.

[@robbybevard8034]

Rights revert after a few years if nothing is done with it, he probably has it back by now.

[@sanjaanamsan2522]

See u next week

[@mobama5782]

I just hope to god Brandon realizes that his books need to be animated. LoTR type movies happen once in a life time. Animation gives so much more freedom and magic almost always looks better

[@BirdMorphingOne]

Sanderson should consider reaching out to an artist like Eve to do an animated music video of Emperor's Soul. I could see them really working well with the material. I bet that could be a stunning adaptation

[@lusalma5404]

Have you listened to Sabaton?

[@LV99guy]

They're historical!

[@epigreviews5405]

Sabaton is a great band

[@ericF-17]

"fancy water"

[@irvingfaverman7419]

Gosh how I would love an Emperor's Soul movie by A24, a mix between Ex Machina and Saw

[@mikeshaffer4912]

Another amazing drum duet is called A Conversation With Two Stools by Chester Thompson and Phil Collins. Check it out!

[@grahampentony8740]

I believe not all views hold the same value. For example, 200 million people viewing the same ad simultaneously is far more impactful than 200 million people casually viewing different ads over an extended period. Just my opinion. 😊

[@finchharper4647]

Brandon should do Legos of his book covers.

[@johncherrington9650]

LEGO building livestream/video???

[@dalefurniss3724]

Wind and truth hype

[@KevinHurney-u9t]

Signing all those pages has to be torture…

[@jaysemitchells497]

$10,000,000 BLUMHOUSE Threnody Horror film, please Brandon i'm salivating just thinking about it omg. Maybe even a Silence short-film adaptation!? please

[@Thebeggerknight]

Can yall have a talk about this but from the perspective of MTG.

[@dispencer17]

My dream is that Brandon Sanderson teams up with Henry Cavill to make a production company for his works. Having a big Hollywood name could really help calm the fears of executive producers, and Henry is the only Hollywood person I know who has given real reverence to Fantasy Source material.

[@devonwilliams9576]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1551">25:51</a> okay, about Chief supposedly never taking his helmet off.... he does, just not in combat (which makes sense). Since he's only in combat in the games, he never takes the helmet off in the games. He certainly take it off tho. He takes off the whole suit. Just not in combat. You get that in the books all the time. Now, the show had him take it off in combat too, so its still not very defensible in that regard, but the Halo Dude Bros who were so up in arms about him taking his helmet off saying he _never_ does that are factually incorrect

[@erenbecomesdovecrying6016]

Lmao the statement that Lego avoids sets with war is the least true thing anyone has ever said.

[@metalworker5413]

Yeah, the exact rules are pretty specifically worded. The language is about “modern warfare” so knights/sci-fi war are fine. Also, a project does have pass LEGO Ideas censors to even get to the stage where it can be voted on. So they didn’t have immediate issues with the Cosmere.

[@aguy3129]

@metalworker5413 they SPECIFICALLY hate call of duty!

[@tirneldragonslayer]

As a longtime Lego fan, this is absolutely true. That’s been the historical position of the company, but at this point it really just comes down to selectively avoiding IRL military toys that aren’t connected to a popular IP (such as Marvel, DC, or Indiana Jones). Pretty much every in-house Lego theme with any semblance of story to it that isn’t City or Friends has some battle or combat element to it.

[@mycointhetrees]

Stormlight Bionicles on the wayyyyy!

[@Avid_Reader]

HEIST is misspelled...