Warner Bros. got Bone.

[sk716]

Warner Bros. picked up the film rights for Jeff Smith's Bone.

If it was Fox or Universal, even Sony, I'd be okay with with it, but Warner Bros. making Bone, oh the suckitude.

Warner is still debating whether it should be Live Action or Animation.

Maybe we'll get lucky and Smith will keep WB from ruining everything that is great about Bone.

Anyway, I see it as old school hand drawn 2D Animation.

Thoughts?

[beetlebum]

Tobias just mentioned this in the *passes out* thread.

And this is one of the few instances that I can think of where a lesbian would use the word "bone" in the predicate of her sentence, and have it mean a good thing. ;) :evilsmile: :D

[rick]

Live action could be scary, but Warner animation has an excellent track record, and I don't see why they wouldn't be able to do a good job with Bone.

[Jack Zodiac]

Yeah, if they go the animated route, I'd actually trust WB to do a decent job of it. Well, they could always fuck up the voice acting, but still...

I'm excited about it. I loved Bone. It's easily one of the greatest comics ever written, and it's a fun, classic story for everyone of every age. Yeah, I'll be keepin' an eye on this. I hope it turns out well.

[KevinTBrown]

Live action could be scary, but Warner animation has an excellent track record, and I don't see why they wouldn't be able to do a good job with Bone.

Agreed. Especially if they do animation ala "Beowulf".

[Michael P]

Agreed. Especially if they do animation ala "Beowulf".

Ugh, no. Do it traditional 2D or don't do it at all.

[stealthwise]

What has Warner Animation done lately?

[Joshua Pantalleresco]

Best of luck to Jeff Smith. He's going to need it.

JP

[Jack Zodiac]

What has Warner Animation done lately?

"Justice League: The New Frontier."

[KevinTBrown]

What has Warner Animation done lately?

Last thing I can remember is Polar Express.

And I was thinking more 3D animation, but Jack is right.... ;)

[LtMarvel]

I have no problem with this. Why do some of you?

[Jack Zodiac]

Last thing I can remember is Polar Express.

And I was thinking more 3D animation, but Jack is right.... ;)

I need to start collecting these quotes...

I have no problem with this. Why do some of you?

Because Bone was amazing, and there's a distinct possibility this might suck. I'm remaining cautiously optimistic that they'll do a decent job considering how popular and successful the book's become.

[Floyd The Barber]

Animated might be OK (preferrably old-school 2-d). But good Lord, how in the world would it be possible to even fathom a live-action Bone movie that would suck anything less than donkey-balls?

[Major Comma]

I love my animation old school.
Thats why I liked Sinbad.

[Crowley]

I've never read Bone... but my friend said upon hearing this news "Pixar would have rocked."

[The Xenos]

I hope Smith somehow retained a good deal of creative control. AOL Time Warner seems pretty good at f---ing over creators. Namely every DC comics movie ever made. I'm sorry, but if your studio makes Batman & Robin, I'm going to be suspicious of every comic adaptation you make forever.

Agreed. Especially if they do animation ala "Beowulf".

That wasn't quite regular animation as much animation that attempted to look photo realistic. Such animation would be awful for the wonderfully cartoony art in Bone. People just don't appreciate the animation and art of the cartoon anymore.

Even if they do to CGI, at least have the sense to use Cel Shading (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel-shaded_animation) or some other cartoony rendering like Team Fortress 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Fortress_2).

[Tobias March]

I hope Smith somehow retained a good deal of creative control. AOL Time Warner seems pretty good at f---ing over creators. Namely every DC comics movie ever made. I'm sorry, but if your studio makes Batman & Robin, I'm going to be suspicious of every comic adaptation you make forever.

Indeed, but on the aintitcool talkback I linked to in *passes out* someone mentioned that Jeff Smith had originally intended it as an animated feature. Nickleodeon got the rights, but he pulled the project when he learned they intended to feature Britany Spears songs and the like.

The horror, the horror...

[Jack Zodiac]

Doubleyou Tee Eff, Nickelodeon?

[heystacy]

Indeed, but on the aintitcool talkback I linked to in *passes out* someone mentioned that Jeff Smith had originally intended it as an animated feature. Nickleodeon got the rights, but he pulled the project when he learned they intended to feature Britany Spears songs and the like.

The horror, the horror...

Ok that's wrong on so many levels. I suppose Bone would have been a vehicle for pop acts more than a legitimate story to adapt. :(

[rick]

I will say that Bone would look pretty good in old style 2D, but I think it would really work in the Pixar style even better.

[MacQuarrie]

Re Warner: two words.... "Iron. Giant."

They might not screw it up.

Re Bone: Let's not forget that Jeff Smith comes from animation. He was the Art Director at Character Builders Animation in Ohio for years. They do a lot of subcontracting work for many studios including WB. They worked on Space Jam, Anastasia, Swan Princess and many others. Smith is completely capable of keeping this movie firmly on the right track, in a way that few in comics can do.

[stealthwise]

They worked on Space Jam, Anastasia, Swan Princess

Ugh. I was getting excited until you mentioned those ones.

[Phoney Bone]

Re Bone: Let's not forget that Jeff Smith comes from animation. He was the Art Director at Character Builders Animation in Ohio for years. They do a lot of subcontracting work for many studios including WB. They worked on Space Jam, Anastasia, Swan Princess and many others.

They Bebe's kids!



What format is this supposed to take.... theatric, televised or a series of direct-to-home? The latter two seem to service the complete story of the Bone cousins in the Valley the best.

As for the 2-D/3-D debate, I've never been all that excited about any fully computer-animated movie not made by Pixar. Warner, on the other hand, seems to be able to excel with limited cel animation (the DC television series) as well as full cel animation (Iron Giant, the animation segments of Space Jam).

Any live action or live action/animation combination would seem to take away from the charm of Thorn, Granma Ben and the other humans (Bullwinkle & Rocky and Fat Albert for instance). One thing any version of Bone will need to be successful is to (somehow) capture the charm of the comics. Which has me wondering...

Is Brad Bird an exclusive to Disney/Pixar?

[MacQuarrie]

Ugh. I was getting excited until you mentioned those ones.

They only did animation cleanup, not story or design. The point is, Smith knows his way around animation and isn't likely to let them bulldoze him they way they might an artist without his knowledge.

[AndrewCrossett]

I think this would need to be 2D animation. The Bones themselves would be OK in 3D, but not the human characters around them. Realistic human characters just don't look right in 3D animation.

Get Brad Bird to direct it.

[Matt Algren]

Ugh, no. Do it traditional 2D or don't do it at all.Agreed. It should be done like they did Persepolis, keeping the feel of the source material.

I have no problem with this. Why do some of you?Because Bone is more than cute animals with funny voices.

Re Warner: two words.... "Iron. Giant."

They might not screw it up.

Re Bone: Let's not forget that Jeff Smith comes from animation. He was the Art Director at Character Builders Animation in Ohio for years. They do a lot of subcontracting work for many studios including WB. They worked on Space Jam, Anastasia, Swan Princess and many others. Smith is completely capable of keeping this movie firmly on the right track, in a way that few in comics can do.Also keep in mind that Bone was in pre-production Hell at Nickelodeon for YEARS because they wanted to screw it up. I seem to remember there being talk of them wanting the characters break into song. Brittney Spears was mentioned as a possibility.

edit: Source at the boneville.com (http://www.boneville.com/bone/bone-history/#image).
Jeff: Nickelodeon did agree to no songs. In writing. So this pop-song thing was probably the turning point in the whole affair for me; this was about a year-and-a-half in. One day after lunch we sat down … and the executive there turned to me and said, “Okay. We can get $12 million right now if we put a pop song in the movie. So, Jeff - do you see somewhere in the body of the film where we could put a Britney Spears or an N’Sync song?”

AICN: Oh, my god.

Jeff: And I just turned and looked at Vijaya [Smith, Jeff's wife], we looked at each other, and I said, “No.” I mean, that’s not the kind of movie that we were making. I mean, you wouldn’t put a Britney Spears song in the middle of “The Empire Strikes Back” or the middle of “Lord of the Rings”. And because Vijaya had insisted that clause be in the contract, they couldn’t force me. Things went downhill rapidly after that.

Fortunately, Smith stuck to his guns, and I think he'll continue to. He has too much to lose to let them run away with it.

Get Brad Bird to direct it.
Almost a given. Man, can you imagine Jeff Smith and Brad Bird working together.

I'm about to weep from the thought of it.

[Jack Zodiac]

I liked the suggestion of doing it kind of like cel shading animation. I think it'd lend well to Smith's great inks and thick cartoonish lines and do his style justice in animation better than some generic Pixar 3D animation would.

[Matt Algren]

I liked the suggestion of doing it kind of like cel shading animation. I think it'd lend well to Smith's great inks and thick cartoonish lines and do his style justice in animation better than some generic Pixar 3D animation would.
Thanks a lot, Jack. Now I have a half chub.

<========= Hasn't read the last two chapters yet. Waiting for the color versions to come out. Wishes they'd hurry up.

[Jack Zodiac]

When don't you have a chuckle on in your pants though, Matt?

[Matt Algren]

When don't you have a chuckle on in your pants though, Matt?
When I'm thinking of your Dad?

[Jack Zodiac]

Have you seen my dad? (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=212900) I mean, the guy's a pimp.

Also, fitting that a thread about Bone eventually devolved into erection jokes. High five, Matt! :D

[Matt Algren]

Have you seen my dad? (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=212900) I mean, the guy's a pimp.

Also, fitting that a thread about Bone eventually devolved into erection jokes. High five, Matt! :D
Had to be done.

[MacQuarrie]

Yeah, I suppose it did. (http://www.monkeyspit.net/4thwall/051702.php)

[LewisH]

isn't what long time fans of Bone would like to see. However, it seems to do better financially these days than traditional animation. I don't think Bone would look too bad that way. I've always liked the style on Shrek myself and
virtually all the Pixar films as well. Didn't much care for WB's 3d animation films like Space Jam though but the techniques have evolved since then.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with. Or we can go over to AICN and hate it in advance I suppose.

[The Xenos]

What? Space Jam wasn't really 3D. It was a mix of.. a bunch. I'm sure they used some 3D animation, but mainly it was 2D animation with live action.

Iron Giant is an exmaple of 2D animation with 3D mixed in to blend in with the traditional 'flat' animation. The giant was a 3D model, but he lived with traditional 2D characters.

Meanwhile, and this just is my opinion, Shrek is awful. It's fun, but the animation is par to sub par. It's nowhere near Pixar. I even read an interview with, I think, Katzenberg or someome from Dreamworks who said they would sacrifice quality for quantity to compete with Pixar's quality.

Of course even Pixar varies. I think Incredibles is one of the best looking. There was something about the characters in it that just seemed to show CGI animation was getting it. I think Rattatoulie too. They were cartoony, not just models.

Plus look at the end of Rattatoulie. There is a disclaimer that the entire movie was actually animated. They didn't use motion capture like Shrek or most other companies do. That's animation, not CGI characters played by actors. If you look at the history of animation and the art of cartooning, I think you can see the difference.

[AndrewCrossett]

Pixar-style 3D animation is just one of many styles available, and the fact that there have been many successful ones lately doesn't mean that it's the right approach in every instance. There have been plenty of flops, too.

The specific characteristics of "Bone" lead me to think that 2D animation is the best approach. I'm quite sure that trying to do it in 3D would cause the human characters to look too puppet-like and just "off." 2D is the best medium for having "cartoony" characters (the Bones) and realistic characters acting side by side.

It's a mistake to ignore the Old Coolness in the mad rush to embrace the New Hotness. The New Hotness will become the New Staleness soon enough. Already has, IMO, with the cliche-ridden, formulaic majority of 3D films that have come out in the wake of Pixar's initial success.

[Matt Algren]

Pixar-style 3D animation is just one of many styles available, and the fact that there have been many successful ones lately doesn't mean that it's the right approach in every instance. There have been plenty of flops, too.

The specific characteristics of "Bone" lead me to think that 2D animation is the best approach. I'm quite sure that trying to do it in 3D would cause the human characters to look too puppet-like and just "off." 2D is the best medium for having "cartoony" characters (the Bones) and realistic characters acting side by side.

It's a mistake to ignore the Old Coolness in the mad rush to embrace the New Hotness. The New Hotness will become the New Staleness soon enough. Already has, IMO, with the cliche-ridden, formulaic majority of 3D films that have come out in the wake of Pixar's initial success.
New Staleness is the New Hot.

It'd be kind of interesting to see them try to do the Bones in 3d with the rest in 2d. I'm sure it'd be way too distracting.

Maybe the Stick Eaters could be done a la South Park.

[Matt Algren]

Comments from Jeff Smith: (http://www.boneville.com/2008/03/13/bone-to-warner-bros/)

The news broke this week that Vijaya and I sold the film rights for BONE to Warner Bros. You can get the details at Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

The whole thing happened very quickly last Friday night. Warners called and made us a real offer, it was as simple as that. They stated their seriousness to stay true to the books, and after a couple of back and forths, the whole thing was over in an hour and a half. Vijaya and I had a celebratory drink and went to bed. We woke up Saturday morning to find the internet on fire!

There’s a lot of speculation about what the film will look like, but I honestly don’t know yet. I’m partial to 2D, but if something else looks freaking mind-blowing, I’m open to it.

Not much more to say at this point. We’re at the very beginning of the process, and anything can happen.

I have to admit, though, the idea of the Looney Tunes WB shield zooming out at the beginning of a BONE movie would be pretty cool. Fingers crossed!

[AndrewCrossett]

The whole thing happened very quickly last Friday night. Warners called and made us a real offer, it was as simple as that. They stated their seriousness to stay true to the books, and after a couple of back and forths, the whole thing was over in an hour and a half.

An hour and a half?

Of phone calls? With no face-to-face?

I sure hope this was just an initial agreement in principle, and details regarding money, marketing, creative control, etc. will follow. I.E., I am assuming Jeff didn't just award the film rights to his life's work...and a potentially major feature film/series...after 90 minutes of phone calls.

Hopefully that really was Warner Bros. on the phone, and he didn't sign the rights over to a Ukrainian pornography ring.

[The Xenos]

Though a Ukrainian pornography ring version of Bone interests me in all the wrong ways.