The Weird, Random, and Interesting things that Fit Nowhere Else Thread..

[Raithe]

For that combination of literature and tv, along with the (technical) prior Obsidian involvement gamewise.. (and to give a bit more info than the tv thread normally gets..)
 
The Wertzone - Wheel of Time Gets TV Pilot
 

WHEEL OF TIME gets a TV pilot out of nowhere

 

There was quite a big surprise last night for Wheel of Time fans watching the FXX channel in the United States. Out of nowhere, they were treated to a 30-minute TV "pilot" for a possible TV series based on the books, entitled Winter Dragon. Behold:

The "pilot" was apparently made on almost zero money in just a few days a couple of weeks ago.

"But how?" you may ask, possibly after only a moment's pause to reflect on the gloriously demented decision to cast Billy Zane as Ishamael, the Betrayer of Hope.

Robert Jordan sold the film and TV rights to Wheel of Time back in the mid-2000s to Red Eagle Entertainment, a rights-handling company set up specifically to get the franchise expanded into TV, film comic books and video games. To say they failed spectacularly is an understatement. The Wheel of Time comic book was delayed multiple times and left incomplete. Red Eagle tried to crowdfund a mobile Wheel of Time game but asked for an obscene amount of money and then failed to publicise it anywhere, resulting in an unmitigated disaster. Red Eagle then won back some respect by commissioning Obsidian Entertainment, one of the best video games companies in the business, to work on a single-player RPG. However, they then failed to produce any money to fund the game. They somehow managed to sign a deal with Electronic Arts in which EA agreed to release the game but not fund it, one of the most inexplicably baffling failures of corporate dealing I've ever encountered.

Of course, the real money was in a film/TV adaptation. Red Eagle's initial attempts to produce a film script based on The Eye of the World were not successful, with a few people who managed to read the script declaring it unbelievably awful. With the company running out of money, Red Eagle re-sold the film and TV rights to Universal Pictures in 2008 in return for Red Eagle retaining a production credit.

Those rights were not forever, and on Wednesday 11 February 2015 (that's this Wednesday, people) the rights would have reverted to the Bandersnatch Group, aka the Jordan Estate, overseen by Robert Jordan's widow Harriet McDougal. During the last few months of his life Robert Jordan had become very irritated with Red Eagle's handling of the Wheel of Time project and one of his very last blog posts was spent castigating them. Fan appreciation for Red Eagle's efforts cooled noticeably at that point. At Worldcon this past August, I moderated a Wheel of Time convention panel with Harriet in attendance and she explained that a number of other Hollywood studios were very interested in the property. With Game of Thrones a huge hit, other networks were looking for a fantasy project and as the biggest-selling post-Tolkien epic fantasy series, WoT was clearly the #1 desired property. With less-successful works like Shannara and The Kingkiller Chronicle getting optioned, it's very likely that WoT would be snatched up by another (probably far more competent) company in short order.


This "pilot" appears to have been made specifically to forestall such a move. With this "pilot" made, Red Eagle (Universal's involvement is highly unclear at the moment) may try to argue that they have succeeded in getting the series made and thus can retain the film rights so they can, er, sit on them for a few more years and prevent a series getting made by actually competent personnel. That sound you can hear right now is that of several hundred lawyers reaching for their pencil sharpeners.

Harriet McDougal's response to all of this:

"This morning brought startling news. A “pilot” for a Wheel of Time series, the "pilot" being called Winter Dragon, had appeared at 1:30 in the morning, East Coast time, on FXX TV, a channel somewhere in the 700s (founded to concentrate on comedy, according to the Washington Post).

It was made without my knowledge or cooperation. I never saw the script. No one associated with Bandersnatch Group, the successor-in-interest to James O. Rigney, was aware of this.

Bandersnatch has an existing contract with Universal Pictures that grants television rights to them until this Wednesday, February 11 – at which point these rights revert to Bandersnatch.

I see no mention of Universal in the “pilot”. Nor, I repeat, was Bandersnatch, or Robert Jordan’s estate, informed of this in any way.

I am dumbfounded by this occurrence, and am taking steps to prevent its reoccurrence."

More news as I get it.

Update: The director of the "pilot", Seda James, passed away just a few days ago. Condolences to his friends and family.

Update #2: Red Eagle have commented on the "pilot", confirming that they indeed made it to avoid losing the screen rights. They also confirm that they are pushing ahead with a plan to make a big-budget TV show, apparently because Game of Thrones is a big hit. No further word is given on if a reputable network is interested, or how they may proceed without known producers or writers on board.

 

Edited February 10, 2015 by Raithe

[Guard Dog]

Was it just me or is the plot of a lot of Miami Vice episodes a little hard to follow?

[Gfted1]

How Much [X] Could You Eat Before It Would Kill You?

[Gromnir]

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/01/31/dnt-part-dachshund-part-pit-bull.walb

 

HA! Good Fun!

[ShadySands]

I've only been in a helicopter a handful of times but if I still lived in NYC I would expect that number to climb pretty quickly

 

Uber for helicopters

[ManifestedISO]

I've only been in a helicopter a handful of times but if I still lived in NYC I would expect that number to climb pretty quickly

 

Uber for helicopters

 

That is tastefully badass. 

[Guard Dog]

Another example of big government run amok http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/02/new-jersey-police-crack-down-on-teens-for-illegal-snow-shoveling/

[Guard Dog]

A bigger example of government run amok; http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/rudy-takala/federal-election-commission-consider-regulating-online-political-speech

 

The left is all for free speech as long as they approve of what you say.

[Valsuelm]

I wonder if the people in the U.S.S.R. referred to it as 'big government run amok'.

[ShadySands]

Another example of big government run amok http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/02/new-jersey-police-crack-down-on-teens-for-illegal-snow-shoveling/

and that's at the local level

Edited February 11, 2015 by ShadySands

[Guard Dog]

 

Another example of big government run amok http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/02/new-jersey-police-crack-down-on-teens-for-illegal-snow-shoveling/

and that's at the local level

 

Yep. Didn't suggest otherwise. The municipal governments can be every bit as intrusive, abusive, and evil as Uncle Sam. Sometimes more so because they get less scrutiny from the press and voters usually

[JadedWolf]

I wonder if the people in the U.S.S.R. referred to it as 'big government run amok'.

 

They probably said something like "Oh, if only Stalin knew about this...", just as before they said "Oh, if only the tsar knew about this..." and as they are saying now "Oh, if only Putin knew about this..."

[Gromnir]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/the-scaliaginsburg-reality-show-a-not-100-percent-sober-friendship/2015/02/13/b8336930-b368-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html

 

it might be a subscription article...

 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/13/politics/ginsburg-scalia-parasailing-sotu-wine/index.html

 

cnn is a bit... less. oh well.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Hurlshort]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/the-scaliaginsburg-reality-show-a-not-100-percent-sober-friendship/2015/02/13/b8336930-b368-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html

 

it might be a subscription article...

 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/13/politics/ginsburg-scalia-parasailing-sotu-wine/index.html

 

cnn is a bit... less. oh well.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

It's nice to see them humanized a bit.  

[Gromnir]

the anecdote about Justice Ginsberg at the home o' the chief justice o' the supreme court o' india were our favorite part.

 

“As we entered his house, all the women were ushered into a separate room, and all the men” remained, Scalia recalled, chuckling.

 

“Ruth did not for a minute head for that room. It was wonderful to watch.”

 

am hopeful that video o' the entire lecture/conversation eventual becomes available.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Guard Dog]

And to think I didn't like her!

[Guard Dog]

Wow! Now this is what I call throwing a torch in the hay barn and walking away: http://news.yahoo.com/outgoing-obama-adviser-john-podesta-s-biggest-regret-of-2014--keeping-america-in-the-dark-about-ufos-234149498.html

[Raithe]

For the groovy views of the sun with that music..

 

http://youtu.be/GSVv40M2aks

[JadedWolf]

Port Lockroy

Assistant,

Antarctica

 

Are you the person we are looking for?

 

Have you got what it takes?

 

Do you recognise yourself here?

 

The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) needs committed individuals (of any nationality, but able to participate in selection and training in the UK) to make up a team of four to spend five months (November–March) running the shop, post office, maintenance and museum operation at Port Lockroy, on the tiny Goudier Island off the Antarctic Peninsula. Port Lockroyis visited each Austral summer by approx.18,000 ship-borne visitors amounting to two ship visits per day. During the short summer period approximately 70,000 items of mail are cancelled. Goudier Island is also home to 2,000 gentoo penguins.Living conditions are comfortable though basic with no mains power, heat or water, and limited communications. Can you demonstrate that you have most or all of the following?

 

•Good physical and medical fitness

•Confidence –can you give a talk without aids to 200 people and represent the UKAHT ‘live’ on TV and radio!

•Retail experience with good customer focus

•Competence and confidence with spreadsheet design and formulae

•Hands on DIY/practical skills –can you use hand tools proficiently?

•Coordination –can you carry a big heavy box over slippery rocks and slushy snow whilst dodging penguins?

•Environmental awareness and practical knowledge of minimum impact living

•Practical knowledge of another language as well as English

 

Do you possess the following attributes?

 

•Ability to get on with it. Can you identify what needs doing and get on and do it without having to be asked,whether it be washing up, sweeping the floor or digging snow?

• Quick learner – can you take an instruction in person or in writing and get on and do it efficiently?

•Awareness of your surroundings/situation

•Initiative –can you think on your feet and act?

•Adaptability to different situations –Are you happy not to shower for up to a month, live in close proximity to three people and 2,000 smelly penguins for five months?

•Sympathy–are you careful with things and people, do you treat things with respect when they are irreplaceable until the following season? As well as being passionate about the Antarctic.

 

You need to be:

 

•Personable–do you value getting on with others? Can you live and work with just three others for five months and be friendly and cooperative throughout?

•Positive –can you enthuse to visitors when it is -5C°and blowing a blizzard as well as cook

supper cheerfully after a long cold day and very little sleep?

•Conscientious–will you be doing your best day in day out for 5 months?

• Meticulous –can you keep accurate records be it penguin eggs, t-shirts, or food stock?

•Prepared to be on call and smiling for all waking hours, seven days a week

•Happy to be confined to a small island with no prospect of climbing the surrounding peaks

 

For more information please read the job description.

 

To apply for the position please send us your completed application form, cover letter and CVby email to jobs@ukaht.org

 

Deadline: 27th February 2015

 

http://www.ukaht.org/downloads/pdfs/Port%20Lockroy%20Job%20Advert%20Jan2015.pdf

[Gromnir]

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/valentines-day-protests

 

"A Japanese group called Kakuhido (roughly translated to mean the Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women Find Unattractive) has promised to protest against Valentine’s Day and the “oppressive chocolate capitalists.” In this picture from 2012, a member wears a shirt that says, “Sex is Pointless.”"

 

our favorite picture from the link is o' the japanese group.  we go to japan almost once per year, but we never o' heard o' the group (no surprise there) and we suspect it is a joke.  even so, humor rarely translates well, and it is possible that these guys is serious.  regardless o' whether or not the humor is intended, we find 'em to be funny.

 

also, am always disappointed to see that for many groups, protests require burning stuff.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

[JadedWolf]

http://all-that-is-interesting.com/valentines-day-protests

 

"A Japanese group called Kakuhido (roughly translated to mean the Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women Find Unattractive) has promised to protest against Valentine’s Day and the “oppressive chocolate capitalists.” In this picture from 2012, a member wears a shirt that says, “Sex is Pointless.”"

 

our favorite picture from the link is o' the japanese group.  we go to japan almost once per year, but we never o' heard o' the group (no surprise there) and we suspect it is a joke.  even so, humor rarely translates well, and it is possible that these guys is serious.  regardless o' whether or not the humor is intended, we find 'em to be funny.

 

also, am always disappointed to see that for many groups, protests require burning stuff.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

From another article:

 

"Waters, one of only around 10 marchers, added: “The name of our organisation is a parody but it does have a serious message.”"

 

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/public-smooching-is-terrorism-anti-valentines-day-protesters-take-to-streets/story-fnet09p2-1227220553646

 

So the name is a joke, but they really are opposed to Valentine's Day and White Day.

 

From the same article:

 

"Kakuhido was founded in 2006 by Katsuhiro Furusawa, who began reading the Communist Manifesto after being dumped by his girlfriend and decided that being unpopular with the opposite sex was a class issue."

 

Heh.

[Calax]

... Oklahoma just banned AP History from High School

 

For being unpatriotic

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/oklahoma-legislative-committee-questions-legality-of-advanced-placement-courses-in/article_2b257556-b62c-5a92-862e-8e9821a29bbc.html

[Gromnir]

... Oklahoma just banned AP History from High School

 

For being unpatriotic

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/oklahoma-legislative-committee-questions-legality-of-advanced-placement-courses-in/article_2b257556-b62c-5a92-862e-8e9821a29bbc.html

you do realize that the article you linked doesn't say what you claim, yes?

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Valsuelm]

... Oklahoma just banned AP History from High School

 

For being unpatriotic

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/oklahoma-legislative-committee-questions-legality-of-advanced-placement-courses-in/article_2b257556-b62c-5a92-862e-8e9821a29bbc.html

 

They didn't exactly ban it. Yet.

 

While some will cry foul that some crazy politicians are attempting to dumb the kids down, this is a much more complex of an issue than that.

 

As the article states, the potential banning of state funds for AP classes is tied to the state's backlash against Common Core. What the article doesn't state, and that most people who are on the front lines of the common core fight know, is that the College Board (the private company that is behind the AP exams) now has as it's President a certain David Coleman, who is often considered the chief architect of Common Core. He has stated his intention of overhauling the AP curriculum to coincide with the common core. In fact, some of that curriculum has been overhauled already (including AP U.S. History). There are a great many out there who have serious issues with the overhauls to the AP curriculum, which many are characterizing as revisionist history (in the case of US AP History) and dumbing down the curriculum (in all AP cases (and this dumbing down is also central to much of the outrage directed at common core)).

 

Note that if a school elects to not teach an AP class (due to lack of state funding for it or any other reason) as outlined by the College Board, in no way does that necessarily mean that kids aren't going to be able to learn advanced courses. There are other alternatives to the AP curriculum and it's exams, and unless they changed the rules since I took mine (which is possible) one can take an AP exam even if one hasn't taken an AP course.

 

As I said though, this is a complex issue. There's much more to it even than what I've already written.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Valsuelm

[Malcador]

http://www.thelocal.de/20150217/germans-troops-tote-broomsticks-at-nato-war-games

 

Paperwork **** up most likely, but is funny to read considering Germany's arms industry.