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Most of what you've read until now was written some years back,
and until early 1993 there was not much happening with Elfquest
and animation. Wendy and I had, for the moment, had enough. We'd
decided to pull the wagons in a circle, get back to the business of
telling comic book stories, and let the cosmos roll around to moviemaking
when it felt it was good and ready.
It must have felt good and ready that particular winter/spring, for we
got the news that a major producer was interested in acquiring the
rights to develop Elfquest as an animated film. In the March 1994
issues of the Elfquest titles, the following appeared, written by
Wendy and sent in to Poughkeepsie, as she says, from Lala-land:
Faxed to Warp from Hollywood, March 16, 1994, with the assistance of
Elfquest reader and Century City Marriott aide Hugo Stevenson. The
details as we know them...
The development deal has been signed. The movie will be animated. No
animation studio has yet been chosen (Edward Pressman Film Corporation
is the producer, not the studio). Ed Pressman has produced both Conan
films, Wall Street, Storyville, Talk Radio, Hoffa, The Crow, Judge
Dredd, and a slew of others; he knows fantasy, quality, and the
portrayal of outrage, all very important to a project like Elfquest. A
treatment was requested and provided; it takes elements from "Fire and
Flight" and connects them with "Kings of the Broken Wheel." We wrote
it; we're happy with it, but there's no guarantee that it will be
used. We do, however, have treatment approval over whoever does write
it. In casual conversation (not at all binding), a Christmas 1995
release has been mentioned. The deal includes licensing, so who knows?
Maybe you'll see gummy elves some day. This is first gear; we'll share
more as things get to (but of course) Warp speed.
Oh yeah, one other item: We're reeeeeeaaaaaaaal pleased!
One month later, Wendy moved out to Hollywood, the better to oversee
the development. We found her a very nice house to rent, a block away
from the beach near Santa Monica (which is a beautiful area in which
to live), where she set up her studio and went to work wrestling with
the powers that be on matters creative. We'd had many long
conversations about the pluses and minuses of living the bicoastal
life, and it was a difficult set of options to choose from. But in the
end, there was no escaping the realization that her vision and talent
are so crucial to this project on such an ongoing basis, that she had
to be there.
In September 1994 Wendy sent back another progress report:
Dear Elf-friends,
It's really happening. I'm still pinching myself... but I'm really
here -- in H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D !!!!! -- working on the ELFQUEST movie!
For nearly three months, now, I've been on the west coast taking
meetings, doing lunch and learning how to navigate in LA traffic. Oh,
and working! Working very hard on the storyboards and screenplay. Yes,
that's right. Ed Pressman, producer of the eerie, superb and faithful
"The Crow," probably the most creator-friendly producer in the
industry, considers Richard's and my input on the film crucial.
So far, this has been the most amazing and gratifying part of this
adventure -- the respect that has been accorded our creative
concerns. They get it, folks! They really get what ELFQUEST is about!
It all started with Ed and Annie Pressman's six year old son,
Sammy. He got it. Annie, reading it to him (Sammy reads it to her
now), got it. Then everyone involved got it. It's a family thing. I
won't tell you the director's name, yet, because that deal is still
being closed. You have certainly seen his fanciful, myth-exploring
work (his best is yet to come!). But, boy, does he get it! Because he,
like everyone else on the team Ed has put together, has actually
bothered to read Books 1 through 8! What a concept! Reading!
So how the hell are we doing this, you ask? How are we condensing,
altering, squeezing, and mutilating eight books worth of material into
one 90 minute feature? Breathe easy. We're not. As we said in our
announcement of the movie deal's closure, the screenplay will contain
elements from Book 1, "Fire and Flight," as well as a healthy dollop
of the "Kings of the Broken Wheel" story line. What we're focusing on
(this time, since there's already been talk of a sequel) is the love
triangle between Leetah, Cutter and Rayek and the theme of a family's
tragic separation and triumphant reunion.
You will recognize almost every incident in the movie as inspired by
(or in some cases literally adapted) from the books. But the order of
events has been shuffled in surprising ways. We've even included "what
ifs" such as, what if Picknose went with the elves on their desert
journey to Sorrow's End? Indeed, there will be plenty of humor, songs
and fun, but the overall tone will be dark, intense and probably
PG-13. Just how it's going to be animated we'll tell you later. You
ain't seen nuthin' yet! What's most important for you to know is that
I'm out here to be this film's passionate advocate. It's going to look
like ELFQUEST and feel like ELFQUEST because my hand is in it -- up to
the elbow!
Which brings me to Warp and what's been going on back east since I
left on Hollywood Quest. Apart from the fact that I miss everyone in
the office very much (when I write about painful separation in the
screenplay, it's from the heart. 'Nuff said.), I continue to be amazed
by and proud of the quality of work that's being produced on a monthly
basis by all our new, young artists and writers. If Richard had not
made the move to expand Warp and oversee the creation of an entire
line of ELFQUEST comics when he did, the elves would've all but
vanished from public awareness for the two or more years I'd be
working on the film. These days you've got to have a presence on the
stands every month or you don't exist. Now wouldn't that be ironic?
Spend multi-millions of dollars to produce an epic animated feature
based on -- what? "Duh, what's an ELF QUEST? I never see it in the
comics shops!" So, even though I've kept my hand in as the writer of
Shards, no one appreciates more than I that high quality
ELFQUEST comics are coming out regularly, every month, without me as
Warp's one and only "pen." If you appreciate this too, please continue
to send your encouragement to our hard-working editorial and creative
staff. They care very much.
Since then, the treatment and storyboards have undergone several
revisions, all of which have strengthened the story that will appear
in the film. It's a great deal more mythic than either of us could
have imagined when we began writing and drawing the adventures of the
elves, or even when Wendy moved out to California to begin work in
earnest.
Of course, as we learn things, I'll tack them to the end of this
ongoing journal of "Elfquest - The Movie" (almost certainly not its
final name). Everything that I can tell you, I already have, so please
don't ask who's doing voices (they've not yet been chosen), or when
the release date is (none has yet been set), or which studio is doing
the animation (none chosen yet). Moviemaking is still, after all the
years we've been waiting, a slow process if you want the end result
done right, and we've learned a great deal of patience since
1981. When I have information, or permission to show off some of the
storyboard art, or start letting bits and pieces of the story out, you
readers of this very page will be among the first in the world to
know.
Recent updates!
From the mouth of Richard Pini, taken in part from the Elfquest FAQ.
- August 27, 1994
- On the movie plot: According to an unimpeachable source, the
movie will be 'Book 1 with a third act.' Further, deponent sayeth not -
for now.
- April 3, 1995
- The treatment for the film has undergone a number of rewrites
since my last posting on the subject. It now includes scenes and
information not seen before in the comics, as well as material taken
from Book 1, Book 9 and scattered bits here and there. It has become
incredibly mythic, something not even the comics conveyed to this
extent.
- May 12, 1995
- A limited number of storyboards have become available on Elfquest.Com.
More will likely make their appearances in the near future.
- October 7, 1995
- Due to various constraints regarding releasing the specifics of the
movie, etc, we can't say much more right now other than it is still
happening, and that we're going to try to have more updates soon.
- March 3, 1997
- Okay, we said we'd try to have more updates soon. Unfortunately,
there are still no updates we can give. Really. We promise.
Trust us, when we have something we can say about the movie, we'll let you
know, in major ways. Trust us. You won't miss it.
- February 8, 1998
- Wolfmill has acquired the rights to the Elfquest animated
movie! The press release
is available.
- March 11, 1999
- We've released a new press release with
some more details about what's currently going on with the movie.
- February 20, 2000
- Read the new Wendy Words in which Elfmom prepares Leetah for the 2000 American Film Market.
- May 10, 2002
- In the latest installment of Quest to the Silver Screen the Elfquest animated film project suffers a setback. However, like the Wolfriders themselves sometimes, it may be down, but never out!
See you at the movies!
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