OH
MY
GOD

*first post*

Watching it, then will comment.

Second post!

AHHHHH!!!

Third post!
Time to watch now…

needs faster internet..f..sdf.dgDDKGJDG

(Awww here I get for watching before posting, I was first to load this page, I swear. :P)
First reaction: I want movie nooooow!
Wow I have to say it was really great how you released all those small pictures in the previous days. Now it all comes together perfectly. But don’t you give out a lot of the story? Like any other movie trailer out there I guess.. *looks again and laughs even more at baby Gehn*

Guys… seriously… words cannot do this justice. This has got to be the greatest presentation of what Myst could, should and will be in a theatrical form. You have soared high above ANY expectations that we could have ever had for you.

This work, has summed up what the Book of Ti’ana encompassed. Anger, Loyalty, Betrayal, Injustice, Love, Honor, Pride. It has taken the people of D’ni that only existed on paper and breathed life into them. This theatrical trailer not only wets my appetite for a movie, but I’m sure that work of this calibur would attract not only the help of Hollywood, but their utmost blessing and care to turn this into a movie that rivals that of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter franchise combined. This takes fantasy to a whole new level, and it put a very realistic tone into it all.

Adrian, Patrick, and to all who made merely the theatrical trailer possible, I give you my heartfelt thanks and my utmost belief and support for the Book of Ti’ana movie. This will not only be received well, but also become something the likes of which has never been seen before. Myst, D’ni, the Ages and the people are being brought to life and taking from the paper into the form of something beautiful. This has to be my lengthiest post right now, but it deserves it. I have such a flood of emotion and surprise flowing from mind that it puts me to shame to be allowed in your presence. My artwork that I thought of as “concept art” pales in comparison to these storyboards. I am humbled to be around a group of people as proud, wise and mentally sharp as you are.

The Miller brothers are proud, Cyan World is proud, and now the entire Myst fanbase is proud. All that’s left is to make the world proud.

“From an expanse as wide and vast as the night skies, leap into the unknown. It is only in that place of fleeting moments that you will realize what is true and what is real. Gather the knowledge like grains of sand in your hands and let them tumble through your fingers. Let the cosmos ring and the universe echo as the world is brought to life again.”

Congratulations to all of you. This is truly an impressive landmark in the creation of the Myst Movie.

Time for 2 comments:

1) Put this up for download, or something alongside the idea. We need this on YouTube, at the Guild sites, Cyan Worlds needs to promote it, get this to the news. This is IT. This is what needs to be done and the world is ready for it. If the two of you don’t want this done yet, I understand, but the time will have to come

2) If this becomes an actual trailer, make it the last one before the movie comes out. This one gives away almost the entire plot, so it would be like a 3rd or 4th trailer (kinda like how the Dark Knight has done their trailers. Theirs give away an increasing amount as time goes on).

Again, brilliant job, and I’m glad to have been able to be apart of this (for however long I’ve been here).

Thank you so much for all you’ve done. To all who were, are, and will be a part of this.

Well Done!

~Nek’rahm

So you’re saying that we should spread this everywhere but at the same time it should be kept secret because it’s spoilery?
(But with the copyright and stuff, spreading it everywhere might not be the best thing. Links to here will have to do. )

:O

That’s all I can say.

And yes, please youtube or download or something… I want to watch it again and don’t want to wait for a year…

Wow… that was amazing. Now that I have seen that, I’m not surprised Cyan Worlds gave you their blessing.

You’re right, Veovis is kinda eclipsing everyone else… But that is perfectly all right with me!! That was well worth the wait!!!!!

Not quite how I pictured linking panels though.

And on watching the second time, I am glad no squees or reekoos were harmed!! *gigglesnort* After all, there is more than one way to skin a reekoo…

I wish that you had some dialouge from Ti’ana. XD but I suppose you couldn’t find a female voiceactor in time?

eeeeeeeeeee, pardon me while I show ALL MY FRIENDS EVER. Well, all my Myst friends. Eeee.

Wow.

Just, wow.

Years ago, watching over the shoulder of my father as he played Myst, this game unknown to me, I felt an automatic attraction to explore this world of imagination. For the time being, I could only watch my father enter D’ni, and it gave me chills; the noise of that linking book, the ancient feel to these imposable worlds, I could never, and can never, truly explain what draws me to this universe where books link to faraway worlds, other than the chance to explore - to uncover a history lost to time.

Several years later, I dug out my father’s old copy of Myst on a whim, ran it (or rather, forced it to run) on my new computer, and remembered why it was I had felt the need to dig it back out in the first place. The world of Myst had never left my mind, after years of seeming absent.

Upon the discovery that there were in fact books (I was a reading FANATIC at the time), I immediately ran over to the library to find them. Reading them, my imagination ran wild through the corridors of ancient D’ni and The Cleft. Although books are no audio-experience, the sound of linking-books always echoed in my head as I read.

Myst, Riven, Exile, the books of Atrus, Ti’ana and D’ni. What a grand movie these books would make, I thought. But who would ever be able to pull it off?

Watching your animatic tonight, I felt a glimmer of hope in someday seeing the world I spent my childhood in alive on the big screen.

A glimmer…

However, that glimmer sparked into a flame, and a full blaze since, at exactly the three minute and forty-seven second mark of your animatic, when a sound - a sound I haven’t heard in nearly ten years but have never forgotten - rang from my speakers. The sound of a D’ni linking book. It brought shivers to my neck for the remainder of the animatic.

As a independent writer of reviews for independent movies, games, and music, I must say that this is the grandest independent project I have every encountered. I am amazed at the perseverance and the product that you and your partners have pulled off. Truly no words can exactly explain it, but you have re-awoken something within me. I wait breathlessly for what the future brings of your project.

Keep up the fantastic work,
~Alehkhs

*makes incoherent happy Eleri noises*

Gentlemen, congratulations. Myst is in good hands with you.

Just a few of initial comments:

Unequivocal and unrelenting praise is not going to help the movie be the best it could be. Say what’s good, but make sure to say what could be improved, otherwise it looks like blind fanaticism, or worse, brown-nosing.

Note 1: Sexual climax implied in the hand-hold. Having seen RAWA’s comments about how one should avoid obvious consummation of a relationship in any script which wants to be taken seriously by Cyan, I am curious about this inclusion. The book uses Cyan’s apparent preference to have children delivered by stork.

Note 2: Lots of kissing. Seems to be a high percentage of intimate stills compared to the length of the animatic. James Cameron does very well including love stories in most things he does, and I support this for a powerful movie. But in combination with the suggestive hand-hold, I have to wonder where you are coming from.

Note 3: I just read the book of Ti’ana a week ago. Atrus is indifferent and observational up through Anna’s introduction to the Council and beyond to her assignment to his household. He does not know her, though he knows of her. His outburst in her defense before Council seems quite premature.

Note 4: I do not know the official pronunciation of “Veovis” and if you are 100% accurate, that’s how it should be. But I think Vee-o-vis with accent on first syllable sounds far less distinguished than Vee-ahh-vis with accent on second syllable. These people are posh, upper-crust, and the latter pronunciation sound much more hoi-poloi.

Note 5: I think the BoT fails at providing enough motive for Veovis and others to do what they do - the characters are a bit flat. I hope you can bring greater dimension and life to them. The book exactly transcribed would not convince a movie audience. That’s where a love story would come in handy, but don’t do that at the expense of other characterizations. Good characterization will make the love story even more real and important in contrast.

And to anyone worried about giving away the plot. Well, the book kinda does that already.

Awesome! I found it a little hard to tell who was speaking due to the limited voice actors though.

@Ryuu: There is dialog from Ti’ana — she just has a very male-sounding voice…

Note 2: Lots of kissing. Seems to be a high percentage of intimate stills compared to the length of the animatic. James Cameron does very well including love stories in most things he does, and I support this for a powerful movie. But in combination with the suggestive hand-hold, I have to wonder where you are coming from.

I hope that if they stay away from monkies on beaches that Cyan will accept it. Also, it’s just a hand hold. Catherine and Atrus hold hands, damn it. >>;;;

Herohtar: which is why they need a female voice actor to do the darn dialouge XD

I agree with JWPlatt on the sexual stuff, though I am not sure what the big deal is about holding hands. What makes me wonder is the horizontal, face-to-face, unclothed (at least the guy doesn’t seem to have a shirt on) situation that appears just before the clasped hands.

The last sentence in my previous was poorly worded. Read it as: That’s where a love story would come in handy, but don’t do that at the expense of other characterizations. Good characterization will make the love story even more real and important in contrast.
.
And to anyone worried about giving away the plot. Well, the book kinda does that already.
.
Now, to respond:
.
Those aren’t hands swaying in the breeze on a stroll along the beach. Those are hands pressed into the bedsheets in a quintessential PG-13 orgasm. Not that I mind. I’m fine with orgasms onscreen or anywhere. Did you all see “History of Violence?” Heh. James Cameron, who I mentioned earlier, did the same hand-squeeze thing in “Terminator” with Reece and Sarah Connor to beget John. And so does your average soap opera. But there’s nothing like it in the book, and RAWA has stated his preference for the absence of such things, so I think it warrants attention.

Just amazing, this movie is a definite winner! I agree with you two on the emotion of the last few minutes, great stuff!

*makes very annoying high-pitched noise of joy*

YES! YES YES YES!! This is . . . wow . . . words cannot describe how totally awesome this is.

Wonderful! great! WOOHOO!

Thanks for putting that up.It’s just great!

Now,to comments:

1) did I see…camels? ah,guys,it’s official that the cleft is actually in New Maxico.Oh well,horses will fix that

2) you know,maybe you can base things on MOUL? (uru).Some of the places in MTBOT were released in uru.Seeing places like ae’gura and the cleft in the uru version will be cool.

3) as I said before,I’m a bit disappointed about the look of the council hall…oh well,it’s your decision.

4) I’ve seen many movies where the characters were supposed to speak in another language.So,here’s a suggestion from what I saw: when the characters are supposed to speak d’ni,but they are speaking english,let them do this weird accent.It works very well,it really shows you that although they are speaking English,they are not really speaking English.

Again,amazing video!

Words fail me. If the movie delivers what you’ve promised in the trailer there will be at least one Myst fan who has absolutely zero complaints. I just… my mind is blown. That was awesome beyond all possible ability of words to describe.

Just a thought: Great concepts, but I think the trailer gives away way too much. It doesn’t leave tension or anything. The first bit was great, and I think that for the final cinematic trailer it would be best to stop there.

But I know you were doing this for Cyan and such.

Face it, with this crowd you’ll have to stop us from trying to design this movie by committee

That great A & P,Just one little thing, at 33 seconds in the beginning you have to pronounce D’Ni.. *DUNNY*

And, Someone in here should get a Job to pass time?

Damn that was awesome! Jeez, you don’t even need actors hahaha….it can be an animated film! WOW!

So, Adrian did nearly all of the voices eh?

For a second I thought Anna was a guy XD

Alright, seriously, I SWEAR I’ve heard that ending music before.

I don’t know where, I know I have though, where did you guys get your music score?

The Stranger: Adrian and Patrick are going with Book!Canon, becuase the New Mexico thing is stupid and doesn’t fit. Really, it is, and I feel that shift was entirely unnecessary on Cyan’s part for multiple reasons, the least of which is the horrible historical inaccuracy. And believe me, I’ve done the research - I actually read a book on the history of New Mexico, and it just would not have worked. Besides which? There’s no volcanic activity in New Mexico. guess where there IS? The Mediterranean. Which means the Middle East.

the New Mexico shift was something done purely for Uru, and therefore I agree with their use of book canon in this case. Books > Uru anyway. Uru was mildly fun, but the books were far, far better (especially BoA and BoT.)

Nek’rahm: The end music was used in the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian trailers. Took me a few minutes to place it too… Which is actually a great reference, since John Howe is on both projects. Yay!!!!!!!!

Yey! Finnally! It looks great. You guys really know how to show the promise this story has to be a great movie. Can’t wait to see what it really looks like when it’s finished.

Remember, I’m still volunteering to be an extra when you need them.

BRAVO!!!!!!BRAVO!!!!!!!! whatever-the-italian-word-for-beautiful-!!!! that was wonderfully done! I have my full confidence that you will do a great job. (not that i had any doubts) i loved it.

oh, and just one question, are you going to have Aitrus visit any of the ages in Uru? that would be cool to see maintainers running around in Gahreesen, and Aitrus taking Anna to Kadish Tolesa.

and Ryuu, think of it this way, there could have been a bunch of tunnels leading out of D’ni, all of them leading all around the world. most of them fell in during the destruction of D’ni, but maybe one of the tunnels was in New Mexico. i don’t know if there aren’t any volcano’s in New Mexico, but i don’t know. that is the way i think it through.

Ryuu: the facts are the facts.It was told that d’ni is in New Maxico.I agree that the middle east sounds better,but it’s just the info cyan worlds gave us.This is how it is.

“and I feel that shift was entirely unnecessary on Cyan’s part for multiple reasons”

Think about it: cyan worlds didn’t just do it for fun.There’s probebly something behind their decision,don’t you think?

“I actually read a book on the history of New Mexico, and it just would not have worked. Besides which? There’s no volcanic activity in New Mexico.”

And that’s why it’s called A VIDEO GAME.Things don’t have to be real.

“Uru was mildly fun, but the books were far, far better (especially BoA and BoT.)”

For you,anyway.

Ryuu,I know what you mean,I didn’t liked MOUL (uru) that much too.But I came to accept what it is.I still don’t agree with a lot of the canon,but there are still some nice things.Think about it…New Maxico…all the wild west thing…sound pretty cool to me.

Congrats on the progress, guys! I know how great it feels to get something done.
Good luck on step two: getting the money. That is arguably the hardest part, but many writers go get it with much less than you guys already have to show for it, and still acquire the funding.
Good luck, boys.

Gentlemen: the day I watch a movie set in “ancient” New Mexico is the day during which I eat a pound of broken glass. I will say no more.

…And seriously, holding hands is a problem? Did I bonk my head and wake up in the 1950’s? Were Elvis’s hip thrusts all for naught?

Wau that looks great

This is just amazing, it’s above all my expectations!

The trailer really emphasises the impact Anna’s coming (and especially her union with Aitrus) had on D’ni.

About the hands… they are just hands in my opinion. I understand that it’s suggestive, and JWPlatt shows that’s easy to picture the rest of the scene, but only adults would do that I think. I don’t think of sex when I see two hands, and especially not as extensively as JWPlatt put it. That may be because I’m not an adult, so I don’t think it’s a problem for younger people.
I like the hands personally, because they symbolise the union between Aitrus and Anna.
If we’re talking about the shot before the hands when they seem to be undressed… Yeah, then you have a point, but if it stays like that, just a shot, it would be quite decent compared to what people see in other movies nowadays.
Nek’rahm, I too recognise the ending music. I think it’s from a movie that isn’t too old. I can’t place it at the moment… It certainly fits.

I’ve just watched it again… my heart pulse quickens each time I watch it! It’s just brilliant! I really like how Veovis and his father and their relationship have been outlined. I just can’t find enough words to describe how awesome this trailer is…

This will certainly appeal to the masses. It has to be.

Thanks for giving us this preview. I truly think you will become the ones to re-introduce Myst to the public and will regenerate the interest in the D’niverse. You have my full support!

Don’t worry about getting the money. I’m sure with what you have it will come in time. There are a lot of floating stories out there in the movie world, but by the looks of it, this is one for the taking. I look forward to the day I see this on the big screen.

“There’s no volcanic activity in New Mexico.”

Are you so sure? because I found one volcano in New Mexico in a quick google search.

“Gentlemen: the day I watch a movie set in “ancient” New Mexico is the day during which I eat a pound of broken glass. I will say no more.”

Why being so negetive? I mean,I looked around for New Mexico history,and it seems there were cowboys,indians,and all sort of things.

At the whole hand-hold thing, we have to realize something. Aitrus and Anna are married, they have a child, they had sex. It happened, deal with it.

Younger kids will see it as an expression of love. Older kids and adults will understand what is behind it. Personally, as long as it isn’t TOO suggestive, I think it will be fine. I mean, there is love in any relationship. Name me ANY movie that had two people in love and have a child in which it didn’t show SOME reference to them actually conceiving the child. It happens, it’s a part of life, as much for D’ni as it is for humanity.

It’s just a concept people have to deal with, that’s all. I doubt Adrian and Patrick will over emphasize it though, it’s probably only barely going to be mentioned.d

By the way, at 4:05 / 4:06 … is that the entrance to the Guild Hall as we see it in Uru?

Overall, I liked most of it. There were a couple rough spots, but many more good spots. I need to watch it again to give specific feedback.
Some general comments though: I don’t believe Cyan would be so Puritanical as to not allow a depiction of a married couple expressing themselves. I believe nobody will have any problem with what’s presented here. Also, the music is from “Requiem for a Dream.” It has been used in quite a few trailers. The Two Towers for one, and Babylon AD, the preview for which is in theaters now. It’s terrific music, unquestionably. BUT, when my friends I saw the latest trailer to use it, one asked if every action movie had to use that music lately. It might be TOO good, and bordering on oversaturated. As to everyone saying this trailer is too long and spoilery–this is not a a trailer. No trailer is over 4 minutes long. This is a DEMO. It’s designed to generate interest and show the tone. This will not be shown in theaters, not even if they get a huge budget and film everything flawlessly. It’s supposed to get industry people interested in the project, so no need to worry about the length or spoilers. Because this isn’t how they’ll advertise the movie to the public.
Finally, have you guys ever considered an animated movie? I know it’s not as ideal, but I wonder if it might be easier to finance? It could still look impressive as an animation, and there might be certain advantages to it. Just a thought.
Specific comments to come later!

Actually Cyan said that D’ni was under New Mexico from the beginning, and the sandy middle-east desert was just a bad guess on Wingrove’s part. D’ni was not moved for Uru, unless you have reasons to believe they are not telling the truth.

It’s not the first thing to be wrong in the books; Kerath’s arch too doesn’t look at all like the one in D’ni and it’s smaller copy in Riven.

Wow. Stunning guys. This really was thought out and put together well. The anticipation for it was well worth everything that went into it.
Just a few things to comment on really:
1) The music went really well with it. Requiem for a dream is such good piece to promote any movie. I remember the LOTR trailer and it but it really is a “Myst” piece and it fits so well with the theme.
2) I agree with the comments about the plot. Perhaps the frames could be more generalised.so as not to give so much away - like more speech for each scene and holding each scene frame for longer.
3) Perhaps the frames could be animatised a bit more. Hard to describe but everything looks kinda “still”. Maybe things could be done to the effects to make it feel like things are in motion.

Overall though, it’s looking great and I can’t wait to see more - if it’s released. Also, I think that when you tackle the whole thing, it should all fit together nicely.

I’m sure your parents would be proud.

Concerning whether or not to use New Mexico or the Middle East, it’s really up to Cyan and what they’ll agree to for the movie.

On that note, there are several volcanoes in and bordering New Mexico (see USGS “New Mexico Volcanoes and Volcanics” : http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/NewMexico/framework.html)

As far as camels go, camels first appeared in New Mexico (officially) as early as 1857, where a line of 25 camels were led by Edward Fitzgerald Beale during his exploration of the Southwestern United States, in fact, he wrote of his encounters with the Native Americans in the area, and how they responded to seeing camels for the first time (see Edward Fitzgerald Beale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Fitzgerald_Beale)

On JWPlatt’s suggestion to do more than simply acknowledge the fine product of hard work that this animatic has become (as “Unequivocal and unrelenting praise… looks like blind fanaticism, or worse, brown-nosing,”), here are some critical thoughts on the animatic:

1) Where some find fault with the “sexual” connotations of the held-hands, I feel that romantic, and even sexual interactions can be tastefully done, and I trust that the Mysteriacs are not planning on creating a smut piece. On that note, as long as the relationship is well-developed and not simply a “you sure are mighty pretty, and here we are all alone… baby-makin’ ” type scene, I believe that there should not be an issue. Do not sacrifice character for emotion, but rather incorporate emotion in character.

2) I agree that the novel itself does seem to lack development in the area of Veovis, and I am happy that the animatic appears to go into more depth concerning his motivation and actions. As long as the sometimes rash actions of the novel are more filled-out in the film, I don’t believe that it will be an issue.

3) Again, a hollowness permeates in the novel concerning the Aitrus’s thoughts surrounding Anna. The trailer seems to develop the conflict between Aitrus and the council as they debate what should be done with the surface-dweller. As long as character is developed, and Aitrus is not simply looking for a fight, this could be very powerful.

4) As a small and final note concerning the “revealing” nature of this animatic, I agree that while it does give away a good portion of the plot, it would be an outstanding theatrical-trailer shown just before release of the final feature.

In the end, and in respect to the Mysteriacs, it is hard to find many complaints within this fine demonstration of devotion and perseverance. Even as I watched the animatic over and over in an effort to develop these few small complaints, I continue to be in awe of the raw power that emits from the images and speech. Shivers still spread through my body. Great job guys, I have full faith in your future efforts.

~Alehkhs

All I can say is….wow!

Well Tomahna, this was done about 4 years ago XD

And it was just a rough idea. I’m sure that they’d use real people for the next trailer.

I just finished a looong day at work. I get home and 4 minutes later all of this long day disappears. Great work guys. Ti’ana’s voice makes me wonder, how could she live in the desert and affortd “the juice”?

Comments on the comments:
1. They aren’t trying to make the book a movie, they are making a movie based on the book; there are going to be differences, get used to it.

2. It takes place in the middle east beacause that is where the book is set. I would imagine if they were doing a movie based on Uru, it would be based in New Mexico.

3. About the trailer giving away too much: it was designed for Cyan, not Joe Nobody. Pretty much everyone that is going to see this animatic already knows the whole story anyway.

4. The ending music: I don’t care where it came from, that was awesome! ::chills::

Great work! I look forward to the first real trailer, with you know…real people and female voices

Technically speaking, that was superbly well-crafted. One complaint: I really hope the dialogue in the final draft of the screenplay is less stilted. I know the D’ni are an elitist race, but it’ll be difficult for anyone to listen to all those “shalls” and non-contractions. I know, part of it is the delivery by a non-thespian, and part of it is that the animatic is so many years old. I’m just hoping/assuming that both of your dialogue-writing chops have developed since then, as I’d hate for that to spoil such an ambitious, creative project. There are plently of books out there on writing realistic dialogue - not that yours is bad, it just sounds like it needs some definite polishing if that’s what we’ll be hearing in the final product.

My $.02…

Heh, “No squees or reekoos were harmed during this production”. That line HAS to stay in the credits somewhere :).

Wow, looking good. I’m excited to see things coming along and I can’t wait for more of the same. Though I have to agree with JWPlatt–Cyan wants to keep stuff associated with them family-friendly so don’t push the suggestive content. But, looking good. And I coulda sworn that music was from the Two Towers trailer, not Prince Caspian…

You guys (commenters) need to give the “hand holding” thing a rest. Hand holding IS family friendly. It’s THE most tasteful way to convey a particular action/emotion. Frankly, if you’re a parent and you don’t think your kid can handle seeing clasped hands, you’re doing your job wrong. It would be a shame to make Adrian and Patrick gun-shy to do anything risky or edgy. When you’re making creative choices, you can’t be focused on how people will react–you have to think about what’s best for the movie.

I can just feel the potential oozing off the animatic.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Uru, it’s that potential will only meet you half-way… So I’ll keep my eyes open and my enthusiasm tempered, at least until the script is done and they begin the long hard search for funds.

As far as Turjan’s music, yeah I can totally see that.

But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that making a score for a film is about 9 times harder than it looks or sounds, and requires weeks and weeks of non-stop dedication, attention, and pure sweating it out… No ‘waiting’ for the muse to strike when there’s a deadline.

Not to discourage anyone of course. Let’s just all keep in mind that we can all imagine contributing whatever talents we have; the problem is, not many people think about the cost in pure grunt-work.

Wow! Straight off the plane after a 9 hour flight from England and 10 days with no computer or internet, I log on and find this very, very cool trailer. What a treat! Thank you for this glimpse of your vision. I’m looking forward to more.

Ok, look folks. Many of you do not see the issue. That is not a hand-hold, even though that’s how I initially described it. If you look at the animatic, it is two clasped hands pressed into soft bedsheets. There can be only one reason for that shot. I appreciate sexuality in films. Sexuality is not my concern here, no matter how blatent or how obscure. My concern is about Cyan giving a green light to a Myst Movie. And my concern comes from this quote, directly from RAWA himself:
.
RAWA wrote (about the scuttled miniseries):
“But I will give a hint for anyone planning to submit an outline to develop the Myst stories for another medium: The words “Atrus and Catherine consummate their relationship” do not belong anywhere in the Book of Atrus. Believe me, that one hint alone will save us all a great deal of time. ”
http://forums.drcsite.org/viewtopic.php?p=29883#29883
.
I realize RAWA is speaking of different characters from a different book, but it does represent Cyan’s views and values. As a fan of Cyan, of Myst, of Uru, I felt I should not let this pass unchallenged. Because I want to see a movie. If Cyan says okay to an onscreen cosummation or conception of Gehn as the animatic scenes suggest, that’s great. I’d love to see it. I think it’s much more realistic to include sexuality, and I’d rather it be there. But the best word I have to go on about what is acceptable to Cyan, is RAWA’s word.

Oh, and Patrick and Adrian, I sent you guys an e-mail today concerning the theatrical trailer shown here.

I know you probably have a lot of e-mails right not at your mystmovie.com e-mail, but the question is of a moderate level of importance.

It’s just a question that I’m hoping for a response from. Not to bother you, and I don’t want you to rush, but if you see an e-mail from me, please don’t mark it as spam.

JW, I think your getting all worked up about nothing. I think that if they film that scene (if it’s still in the script) and Cyan doesn’t like it, they can cut it. The scene won’t make or break the film and we are far, far from a final cut.

Very far

We haven’t even gotten to Hollywood yet. Chill

Wow Nek’rahm
Your review at the top couldn’t have been said better. That’s all I gotta say.

As for the desert, I don’t care where it’s shot, just as long as it can be dressed up to look a bit similar to Uru’s desert (which won’t take much work, right?).

And where was that music from? I agree I swear I’ve heard it before.

@AndyBlooShoes

A lot of the music was from Hans Zimmer’s “King Arthur” soundtrack (Not that great a movie, but nice music), and the Action-y theme near the end was Requiem of a Dream - The Two Towers edition. (Peter Jackson actually commisioned a “more exciting” version of the Requiem theme for the Two Towers trailer, and it’s been used in action/fantasy movies ever since.) Not sure about the rest, though.

I’d personally have been more impressed if more time was spent on the voice acting than the visuals. Yet the animatic was made to impress Cyan, and I think focusing on making the storyboards was a wise step towards that goal.

Completely mindblowingly awesome. I LOVE the angle you guys have taken on the story. It feels massively epic!! Well done

Oh, ok! Thank you. I actually saw that earlier after reading your comment.

JWPlatt, it seems you’re getting worked up about nothing. Holding hands is always fine, and I think you’re forgetting that Cyan viewed this animatic IMMEDIATELY when they found out about P&A. It was in their DVD they sent them. And so obviously, they must have approved it. (Well, who knows? But I still think they would. I always wanted a little more romance. I mean the book just totally went from “Yes, I’ll marry you” to “15 years later, Ti’ana was in labor”.) It’s not like the whole movie here will be based on heir romance, and I believe THAT was what RAWA was trying to avoid. Too much time on it.

Oh somehow my name is always changing! I’m really AndyBlooShoes.

And as to the music, I think something Lord of the Rings-esque with Middle-East influences would fit the part perfectley, a style which Turjan has pulled off quite well in his sample. That kind of tone and voice adds to the culture and mystery of the D’ni, as well as the surface-dweller aspect. I’ve always thought of D’ni music to be almost Middle-Eastern anyway, but I’m sure whatever you choose it’ll be epic.

Nice work guys. Here are my thoughts:

1) Don’t listen to anyone complaining about hand-holding. They’re probably thirteen-year-old fundamentalists. People have sex. Get used to it. Sexual intimacy is a wonderful, beautiful thing and nothing to be ashamed of, hide, or censor. Aitrus and Ti’ana love each other. I can’t BELIEVE anyone, Cyan included, would get all riled up about a shot of clasped hands. It isn’t pornography.

2) The animatic definitely conveyed a sense of your passion for the story, which I think is all it was meant to do. I’m refraining from judging it from an artistic perspective, assuming instead that the production/creative value will be considerably raised once actual production begins (with actors, real sound equipment/cameras, and an original score). That being said, the only thing I’m worried about is the dialogue, but I’m assuming that you’ve both polished your writing skills in the years since the animatic was created.

3) To the fans: don’t be afraid to constructively criticize. All the praise in the world, while good for the ego, doesn’t help a creative project one bit. These guys are still in pre-production. There’s still plenty of time for polishing. Don’t worry about hurting anybody’s feelings. Constructive criticism is given for one reason: not to put anyone down, but in an attempt to help out of respect and admiration both of the project and its creators.

Guys,if this movie goes up with a expansive production and all: we are all set up.If Cyan Worlds can survive until than,they can make MOUL a best seller,and whatnot.There will be so much new myst fans…

Patrick,Adrian.Please don’t go on cheap production.We all want this movie to be huge.Better than LOTR or HP or whatnot.This could be a HUGE comeback for myst.

I’m hoping more that they write the Book of Marrim, over Uru coming back. Cause if Ti’ana goes over well, Atrus and D’ni will be wanted. This means that we should get the next two books and a LOT more content History wise.

I want them to do both!

But really,if I have to choose,it’s MOUL.Brings more money,if more players will come.

Beside,people who see this movie will probebly care more for d’ni,good story and ages,not atrus.

MMOs are “the hot stuff” today.Think about what will happen if “the other hot stuff”,instead of elves,goblins,wars and upgrading levels will be interesting story,d’ni,puzzles and ages?

WOW.Just…WOW.

I would certainly look forward to that day every day of my life leading up to it!

And YES for Book of Marrim - it all fits in so perfectly! If Cyan just focuses on writing Book of Marrim now, that is. Gametap still has the rights for two more years (if they do not give them up first) and this movie should be out in 1-2 years. Then, once they have the rights back, they’ll use the money from the movie and the book to make their OWN Uru!

Anyone who says you guys have been wasting your time in 2004 clearly hasn’t seeen this animatic.

I thought the trailer was a good start, but it really needs to be tightened up. Right now it makes the movie look like a courtroom drama dressed up as a fantasy flick. Not the sort of thing that’s going to grab the non-Myst fan and make him or her sit up and take notice. There’s too much arguing back and forth and not enough action and spectacle. As a fan, I’m thrilled they’re apparently sticking so closely to the book, but I think a stronger sense of sweep and grandure would better serve the project.

I saw the trailer animatic yesterday - terrific work! It’s quite a payoff after reading through the blog posts detailing all the work going into it.
…
Regarding the request to see more action: I’m sure the final trailer will insert more scenes during the voice-over than these static images of people talking.

Keep in mind they were working with what they had FOUR years ago. They have likely continued and nearly completed the script, they’ve edited the script intensively, and they’re working hard to bring this to Hollywood.

Don’t you think it’s going to be a “tad” more impressive nowadays?

This is very
very
cool.
.
I love it.
.
No more words right now. Just… amazing work!!

Just got an e-mail from the duo.

They’ll be putting up, later tonight, a list of all the music scores that were cut and used in here, as well as the people who have copyright ownership of said musical scores.

Yay

If nobody minds, I’m uploading it to youtube.

“If nobody minds, I’m uploading it to youtube.”
_
I think Nek’rahm is also in the process of doing so.

Erm, I’m waiting to see if Cyan Worlds is okay with it first, cause I don’t wanna get sued.

I’d suggest sending a letter to legal, since I haven’t gotten a reply.

Actually, Cyan isn’t an issue. The animatic belongs to Mysteria Film Group and has been released publicly with the support of Cyan Worlds. Any copyright issues regarding the animatic on youtube would be from the music contained within it. As we mentioned in our email to Nek, we cannot actively encourage the publishing of the video on youtube, but we certainly cannot stop fans from doing so.

Oh…. okay.

Welp, either way, my upload has already commenced. So far, waited 20 minutes for it to upload.

storyboards look fine. that animatic was WAY too exposition heavy, with not enough drama cues.

Keep at em. I think Pat and Adrian have their hearts in the right place.

It’s up on YouTube now.

Account is: BookofTiana
Video: Myst - The Book of Ti’ana Animatic Trailer

That was AWESOME!! I’m so excited!

It’s up now.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=589qsjSlomE

Now there are two.
Oh well

Oh well

Spread the love I guess :S

Absolutely wonderful! Really got me excited and choked up. Adrian & Patrick, you have done well. Even awesome.

Patrick was pretty against me posting this comment because he thought it may be seen as too defensive, but I’m doing it anyway. I don’t really think I’m defending so much as clarifying so…Patrick forgive me…
_
First off, thank you All for your comments. We really appreciate all of your thoughts (praise and criticism). It’s always nice to have feedback.
_
I think there are a few misconceptions about what the purpose of this animatic was. Let me clarify- The animatic was simply a previsualization tool for our internal use only that, because of Cyan’s near folding, ended up becoming our primary pitch piece to them. Our original intent was to present a fully-produced, live action, studio quality trailer for their review. This animatic was built to shed light on the problem areas of the trailer script (of which there were many). One of our great struggles was attempting to imagine the seminal scenes and one or two lines from those scenes that would be significant enough to include in the trailer when we had no developed script at the time. Personally, I think the animatic served its purpose quite well. We saw a lot of things that needed work, but after multiple conversations with Cyan, it was determined that continuing to develop a trailer was a waste of time. We had planned to revise the script for the trailer, and by association the animatic, but that was abandoned when pursuit of the feature film went into full swing. The animatic was a first-pass at our concepts.
_
I tend to agree with the idea that it lacks the scope that a Myst film deserves. There is one major reason for this: Big shots cost big money. When you’re working with an environment that doesn’t exist, you have to create the entire thing through practical sets, CGI, matte paintings, etc. All of these things cost a great deal of money (even when you have artists working on the cheap). The animatic was a rough representation of what we planned to shoot. This meant being realistic about what was achievable on our budget and would still allow us to maintain the level of quality in our visual effects we were intent on. Necessarily, we were forced to compromise and determine which shots were absolutely essential.
_
Another limitation with the animatic was that no set-design or concept art had yet been completed. This made it difficult for our artist, Phil, to render exactly what we planned to have in our shots. That being said, we also determined that is was wise to stay somewhat tight in our framing to maintain a “reasonable” budget. The more you see, the more you have to build. These are just the facts. We were already looking at a $300,000 budget for the trailer. We needed to be as conservative as possible while still giving a clear picture of our tonal vision and thematic focuses.
_
In short, rest assured that this animatic is not by any means the end-all-be-all of our ideas, vision or intentions for the feature film. It is merely a rough glimpse into something far larger and far more epic in scope.

Saw messages attacking this trailer saying it wouldn’t impress Hollywood.

Can you guess whether or not they actually watch the site regularly?

WOW Looking good so far!! I am looking forward to seeing more!

Herm, might be me, but I’m beginning to understand some arguments about the content.

I love it, plain and simple, but there are parts that do seem over/undersaturated and boring at times. My brother even went so far as to say that the entire animatic bored him. I thought he was off his rocker but I can understand it coming from someone who’s never read the Myst books.

To put it simply, I can’t wait to see how you guys pull another “trailer” together to show the public, not just the already-fans and casual gamers.

P.S. I think this might hit 100 comments O-o

The music has indeed gotten quite popular ever since it’s original debut! I heard it playing earlier, but I think it fits Myst the best.

okay… listen, i love what your trying to do. i really, really do. but if that’s the best you could do…
shots were fine, and the acting was forgivable, considering the obvious limitations you were working with. but… and this is a big one…
but: you simply just gave away too much… cut it down to 2 minutes, and keep the best of what you got, there really is gold here, just needs to be refined… a lot.

Not bad at all.

Some points from skimming the comments:

Mystriven: pronouncing D’ni “dunny” will make the movie unshowable in Australia, or anywhere people know that “dunny” is an ancient word for lavatory. Yeesha says “duh-NEE” and that is the more logical pronunciation from the Romanised spelling. (I’m ignoring Esher because I still think he was an impostor.)

Various people: the hand-holding issue is a storm in a teacup. As someone pointed out, Cyan have already seen the animatic and okayed the production on that basis. It’s hardly likely that Adrian and Patrick will do anything that they know might put the mockers on that. I think those of us who are still Uru fans are so used to tiptoeing around outside the door that says “CYAN/GAMETAP SEKRIT DISKUSSIONS KEEP OWT” that we’ve perhaps become overly sensitive to what we imagine their feelings to be.

Ryuu Tenshi and others: I don’t see what’s so bad about it being in New Mexico. I’ve seen photographs of extinct volcanoes in NM, so I’m not sure of the validity of claiming that there’s no volcanic activity there. But whether it’s in New Mexico, the Middle East, or under a slag heap near Doncaster, it will be where the writers decide to put it, and that decision will be taken with input from Cyan. If we then choose to go all hoity-toity and not watch the movie because we think they have got their story wrong, that really is our problem. Well, I say ours. It won’t be mine.

Nek’rahm: perhaps your perception of parts of it as “boring” is in part a function of how many times you’ve watched it. Seriously, it is what it is. I had to watch the first bit several times due to the vagaries of my video player on here, and yes, it’s drawings with recycled music and one guy doing all the voices. Even so, it carries enough of the power and passion behind both the original story and this project to give an idea of what they can achieve given the resources they need.

Oo, my turn to weigh in!:-)

Okay, first off? Wow. Knowing the story behind this animatic (even particular frames in this animatic) has made it ten times more meaningful. And besides that aspect of things, you guys really pulled off something cool here! I think it accomplished your goal of demonstrating the tone your going for quite effectively. In fact, seeing the story brought to life with art, music and dialogue like this is enough to give chills to any fan!

Now can I give my thoughts on a subject that nobody’s really touched yet? It’s been on my mind for the past few days, and please don’t worry or nothin’, I’m still supporting this project.

It just really seems… like this is a movie about Veovis. THIS WORRIES ME. A lot. Becaussssse,

As much as I *love* Veovis as a villain and I agree wholeheartedly about the direction you’ve decided to go with his character, fleshing him out and playing up the subtext (particularly in regard to his attraction to Anna), if he ends up eclipsing Aitrus as the protagonist, people (and I mean the sorts of people who will suddenly be flooding the fandom after the release of this movie) will end up hating Aitrus and wishing Anna had chosen Veovis!

We’ve all seen this happen before, I’m sure.

While Veovis is an awesome character, Aitrus and Ti’ana have always been my favorites in this story. For me the highlights of the book (and I realise not all these scenes will be in the movie, which is perfectly fine) are:
(1) Aitrus rescues Veovis.
(2) Aitrus and Anna visit Veovis on K’veer.
(3) Aitrus and Ti’ana dance in the rain on Gemadet.
(4) Veovis traps Aitrus, and Ti’ana rescues him.
(5) Veovis’ death scene.
(6) The last time Aitrus and Ti’ana see each other, before Aitrus sacrifices himself.

I think it would be a terrible shame if the focus of the movie shifted too dramatically from the noble couple at the center of this story.

Woot! Way to go guys! Awesome job!

I agree with Nek’rahm…

The stories from the Myst Universe are a little hard to grasp if you’re not already into them. I’m glad that the animatic is just a small glimpse into a much larger picture.

I agree with some of the folks that were talking about the love story element…yeah, babies come from the stork in the Myst Universe because let’s face it, the Myst Universe is about intellect, NOT about sex. (And I’m very happy about that in this day and age.) I know that sex sells and all, but well, it’s just not “Myst”.

My hope for the film is that it opens our universe up to folks who haven’t experienced it before. For a lot of people (unaware of any type of Myst Lore), I think the film will be a kind of “Myst Universe 101″ type of thing, really educating people about how fascinating the Myst Universe really is. So I think people eventually need to see a trailer that not only highlights story elements, but also inspire them to see the film by just blowing their minds with how visually stunning and complex BoT is. I mean just the scene where Anna goes from Irrat to the City by boat is just mind blowing on the page, so I can only imagine what it would look like on celluloid and there are tons and tons of great visual scenes similar to it in BoT. Here’s one more, looking into the well on Gemedet and seeing “Shorah” shine on the water.

These are the types of things I think would put backsides in the seats, because I want very much for not just us, the die-hard fans, to enjoy the film, but being the idealist I am, I would love nothing more than for the rest of the world to be inspired to take their first steps into a world that is just as intellectually rich as it is fun to play the computer games or read the books.

But then again, that’s just me of course.

All that being said guys, the animatic is wonderful, it warms my heart to see you guys have gotten this far. Keep on truckin’ fellas. You’re doing great!

Well, I’ll leave it to P&A to figure this out for us. Let them do the thinking, I’ll just be a grunt

BTW: Toilet - The Book of Poo

_^^

*runs from snakes*

“yes, it’s drawings with recycled music and one guy doing all the voices. Even so, it carries enough of the power and passion behind both the original story and this project to give an idea of what they can achieve given the resources they need.”
_
Thank you, Zander. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head regarding the purpose of the whole thing. It’s like Ryan Davis said, this was concieved as a demo piece, not a true trailer in the traditional sense of the word. We know it gives away the majority of the story. That was intentional. This would never be used as marketing material.
_
The reality is that the animatic is moot at this point. I understand that this is all very new to the fans and you’re all very eager to help us ensure that it is as good as it can be (and thank you for that), but this animatic was created as a part of this effort that is no longer necessary. We are no longer previsualizing a trailer to pitch to Cyan as the pitch has already been made. There are endless improvements we could make to the animatic, but there is simply no reason at this point. In truth, If we were to make the animatic today it would be a completely different piece. “It is what it is”.
_
Artoveli, don’t worry. We’ve not neglected Anna and Aitrus. They are still very much at the center of the story. Just as we’ve worked very hard on fleshing out Veovis, we’ve done the same for Aitrus and Anna. We’re just particularly interested in Veovis because he really is the very embodiment of the trajectory of the D’ni culture near its ultimate demise.

Congratulations Adrian, you posted the 100th comment.

I rock!

Aww man, I missed it.

Curse you Adrian. *throws muffins*

I just noticed I posted the 99th post.

Man, that’s just NOT cool ><

Ok, your animatic has been picked apart, and I made a fan video with it!! Yay me!! It’s up on youtube, and I will apoligize for the large chunks of “dramatic darkness” and the bad cuts. I’m not a filmaker, Patrick and Adrian are!!!! Can’t wait for more!!

On the NM/ME debate: How did you figure in Tadjinar to NM??

“I agree with some of the folks that were talking about the love story element…yeah, babies come from the stork in the Myst Universe because let’s face it, the Myst Universe is about intellect, NOT about sex. (And I’m very happy about that in this day and age.) I know that sex sells and all, but well, it’s just not “Myst”.”
I think that what we’re really dealing with is the balance between moving the story forward and moving the characters forward. Focus too much on the story and the characters doesn’t get any depth, focus too much on the characters and the story grows pale. You can’t have one without the other. (Pretty obvious, I know.) I guess that what I’m really reacting on is that you said Myst is about intellect and I can’t disagree more with it. Yes, some people are clever but they still have and act on their feelings. Myst to me is the story of a family and the people they meet. Now it happens that the story brought Anna and Aitrus together and if that culminates in a *gasp* sex scene then I’m fine with it. They are married. The only thing that really debates having a sex scene is if it takes up too much time from the story since we already know they’re in love, on the other hand it can bring a new level of intimacy and tenderness to their relationship.
…aaand I think I just helped you all make a way too big deal out of this thing.

Most impressive, captivating. Adrian, I hope you at least realize the great exposure you two received from the Tribune. Absolutely great! I bet your old man feels left out! Even better. Tim

One of my dreams is coming into reality ! thanks guys Continue this movie project !

Mm…I like it. I’ve always dreamed of there being a Myst movie, and I think this project kicks ass. I am quite impressed by the animatic, and I look forward to the final product. ^_^

Yay! Thanks for allaying my fears Adrian, I am a happy fan once more.

I’ve noticed, after reading them both again, that the books of Ti’ana and Atrus describe a cleft and a great shaft different from the ones seen in End of Ages and Uru . Perhaps there are two? One in the Middle East and one in New Mexico, with a great shaft leading a bit downward and to the east/west, to D’ni under the very center of the map?

I posted the 111th comment!

No; they are the same cleft and shaft, and they are both in New Mexico.

Ok. That’s what I thought. It would still make sense if people spoke English around that time, especially if they were surveying the land. And maybe the areas changed over time as the dagger fell into the volcano and Yeesha inhabited the Cleft.

Er, there’s no way the tunnel could lead from NM to ME, or even half-way between both (I’m only mentioning this because it’s been posited a couple of times), because Anna walked there!

Walked to D’ni, that is.

Without provisions.

Some nice job done here i applaud with respect.

Straight to the points:

1) Volcano issue….. http://www.nmnaturalhistory.org/sci_volcanoes.html and look at the front cover of the advertised DVD on your left this is the cleft area !!

2) hand holding issue to represent that they were making love is not a problem at all infact it should be there to emphasize the romantic relation and love between anna and atrus as long as the final movie doesnt have to carry a “warning: this film contains content for adults only” tag on the cover.

3) Adrian you have a big audience and fan population in the middle east they just dont know where to go….myst was one of the most games played on 3do in Saudia Arabia and Kuwait when 3do and ps were first introduced. They will watch your movie too.

Adrian i do respect your words when you say, “In short, rest assured that this animatic is not by any means the end-all-be-all of our ideas, vision or intentions for the feature film. It is merely a rough glimpse into something far larger and far more epic in scope.”

5) music issue…… the music is fine but lacking the myst sense
specially the part from 240 secs. it feels like knights on horses fighting for freedom in some legend tale.

plz listen more to MYST 1 ingame music listen to exile and riven music to feel the difference try to listen to each and every instrument track playing and
blending to represent the mystery and descriptive features of each place and situation.

maybe the music used in the games especially for myst 1 was less professional it was more like midi instruments but it truly described each age in such a way that myst needs. Please be careful the soundtrack for myst is very sensetive dont loose the mood!!!

6) more details.. d’ni were not living in caves, mud houses, nor unevenly brick walls!!!
they changed these caves into an underground breath taking architecturally sculpted city and this was not resembled by the animatic.
concentrate a bit more on the scenerary details so that the movie does not turn into a blah blah, face close up, fictional social issue movie!!!!

Nek’rahm,
“My brother even went so far as to say that the entire animatic bored him. I thought he was off his rocker but I can understand it coming from someone who’s never read the Myst books.”

exactly what i was talking about in a previous post dont just go for the current MYST fans target everyone!!
Even who has never came across a banner that says MYST should be sucked into it.
in the sametime, satisfying for the most fanatics of myst.

sorry if i came down so hard but i really respect your peice of artwork i enjoyed it the effort and synchronization is very obvious. I was very enthusiazed by it “because i love myst” and waiting for something to pull me back into that world.

Having trouble watching/streaming, but from what I saw it was neat. nice to see the progress.

/me realizes he hasn’t breathed in over three minutes…. that was truly an incredible piece of work. Thank you.

Go to Youtube; it’s there.

I have just stumbled onto this wonderful place from seeing it on Just Adventure’s site. I watched the wonderful animatic, the DVD pitch to Cyan, read Rand’s encouraging forward and several of the postings on the various journal entries (that Michael Nelson thing was weird). I have been a fan of the Myst series since they first came out and I am very excited to see that talented, credible folks like Patrick and Adrian are moving forward with the movie project. Keep up the good work, keep the faith and persevere and your Myst cinematic “world” will become a reality.

I’ve been reading on and off about the project, though I’m EXTREMELY interested in the project. I finally got around to seeing this and I literally screamed “THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT MOVIE!!!” with my arms out thrust, garnering a strange look from my mother who has so far played Myst and Riven with pleasure. I have a question to ask, though. You said Adrian was doing all the voices? Has he had any experience with the computer game “The Movies”? His voice is incredibly familiar.

Hi Erin,

Yay, a new person! Welcome!
_
To answer your question, I actually had never heard of “The Movies” until I looked it up in reaction to your post. It sounds like an interesting game. I’m assuming you’ve played it. Is it worth the time? From what I can gather, you thought my voice sounded like one from that game? Interesting
_
Glad you liked the animatic. Post more often.

Well the way the game works is you have a whole bunch of pre-made scenes you can put together with characters you create to make a story. You can add peoples’ recorded voices to the game and the actors automatically lipsynch, and your voice sounded so incredibly like the guy I had voice Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the movie I… never finished… I was incredibly into the game until about a year ago when the publisher Activision more or less abandoned the online community due to poor sales due to no advertising. I was always more of a voice actress than a director, but hearing your voice made me smile, even if it is a case of mistaken identity. This animatic made me pull out The Book of Ti’ana again. When I stumbled upon this project, I actually cried because I was so happy.

I enjoyed this clip. I look forward to the live trailer.

“I like it a lot”

WOW!!!
I was floored. It’s been awhile since I last read the book but it was like reading it again. Great job. Unlike some I looked at this video the way I’ve seen story boards for movies done. Only this was better because it was animated with voice over and music. To see a movie of the Myst books would indeed be a thrill. Good luck with this project.

I think I would pay the project to play Anna…

Oh.
My.
WORD.
*jaw drop*
May your project be blessed, because you have GOT it.

*scrapes jaw off the ground*

Cool trailer. You obviously put a LOT of work into it.

But aren’t you worried about the fact that you spoiled the whole story?

I guess it just goes to show how dedicated to finishing the project you are.

Good work!

Chris, rest assured that this is by no means the whole story. It is a lot more revealing than a trailer for the marketing of the film for a general audience would be, but this was geared toward Cyan specifically. Glad you liked it. We’re lightyears beyond it now.

OMG! I loved it! I have never played the game. A few years back I read the books and fell in love with them. The person who I borrowed the books from was my brother in law and he really wanted them to make a movie from the books. He died a 2 years ago. suicide =(
But i was afraid that there was never going to be any movies from that wonderfull trilogy. After seeing this though, it blew my mind away! And it gave me some hope that there is going to be a movie. And this one was my favorite book!!!!! I dont want to die without seeing it! The trailer was amazing. The beginning of it was a wee bit boreing, but not that bad! It got great by the middle to end!!!!! I cant wait until their is a movie…I hope they do a good job on it too. Not llike on the book Eragon and how they killed the movie >=/

Im extremely excited!!!!!! =D

Oooh I really can’t wait for this movie! I could see Ewan Mcgregor being cast as Aitrus, because his hairstyle and everything from Star Wars reminded me of Atrus’s. Hope you guys can get some great actors and can’t wait until this is released!

I only hope that it won’t be like hoolywood-made film. I’d be glad to feel climate of book on film. I’m counting on you and I hope to see done movie in my country (I’m from Poland).

and the film is out tomorrow you say…?
I can’t wait, I just can’t wait!

I cannot wait! The book was so full of action I couldn’t believe it! I have never read a book that kept me reading till the early mornings (without falling asleep). Seeing it on the screen would be awesome. It would make a great movie. Although the book made me want to have a linking book of my own!

I don’t think i could be any happier with what was presented. This is awesome.

As far as the New Mexico/Middle East debate goes, I think it’s a huge mistake. While it would be okay either way, I think there is honestly no need to make clear where the story takes place.

I strongly respect both the novel, and Uru, and wish that the two - which are both part of the Myst canon even though there is some contradiction between them - could in some way be reconciled or blended with each other.

Think about it, “Tadjinar”? Where is that exactly? It was intentionally, deliberately unclear. Aside from the camels, which appear briefly and serve no important plot function (and thus don’t have any compelling reason to even be in the film unless you just happen to like camels), there is no clear indication of where on Earth the story takes place, other than that it is in a desert somewhere.

I actually would prefer it if you sidestepped the New Mexico-Middle East debate entirely and made the location ambiguous, a vast, empty, almost featureless desert, giving the impression that it could be anywhere. This would probably be acceptable to everyone, and by making the desert scenes as desolate as possible, it would only make Tiana/Anna’s wonderment at the richness and activity of the D’ni city all the more compelling. Aside from enhancing aesthetic contrast with the rest of the film underground, it fits Tiana’s emotional sense of loss and emptiness and isolation after the loss of her father. We want to understand, visually, why Ti’ana would be in such a desperate condition that she would venture alone into the very place that killed her father. Locations in film are often best designed to reflect the tone of the narrative and characters.

This is one short, early segment in a much larger story, and it’s all about Ti’ana and her father and how Ti’ana ended up in D’ni. The camels are superfluous. The natives are superfluous. This is about a father and daughter, geologists, and a sinkhole leading to D’ni, discovered in the middle of the desert.

The way I see it, there are basically two locations here - the interior of the cleft, and the sinkhole in the middle of the desert. The cleft is fairly claustrophobic and enclosed, albeit pleasant, and the desert nearly endlessly wide open. I like the idea of seeing two people walking, two tiny figures, in the middle of a vast expanse of sand and blowing dust. Show that directly after a scene with close-ups and cramped spaces inside the Cleft for maximum dramatic effect. The smallness of the figures, especially if viewed somewhat from above, would suggest their vulnerability to the viewer on a subconscious level.

But I’m just describing how I might do this if I had a shot at it.

As for this promo, it’s great, but as others have said, you need to evoke a certain amount of the grandeur of D’ni. There may need to be some jaw-dropping moments visually, in order to grab the attention of a studio and obtain funding. You’ve got to make it clear why this is an epic movie, and not just something on TV.

Keep in mind that some of the Myst aesthetic is already established, and it is (quite frankly) brilliant. You have connections to John Howe, and that’s great, but please get him, or whatever art direction staff you have, to work off the established “look” of D’ni, the cleft, etc, and extend, expand and enhance them, rather than try to reinvent them completely.

Also, I really like Turjan, and think he’s fantastic, but have you thought about hiring Robyn Miller to do some of the score? I contacted him recently and told him about your project, and he seemed rather intrigued. I was surprised to find out that he didn’t even know about the Myst Movie project until I mentioned it to him. Nobody had bothered to tell him.

After all, he pretty much set the standard for Myst sound design, and getting him onboard as part of your music team wouldn’t be a bad idea. He is, obviously, very talented (He did the music for “Myst” and “Riven” for crying out loud!) and he wouldn’t be as expensive to hire as some of the more mainstream movie-score composers. I’m not saying anything bad about Turjan, mind you - I love Turjan’s work - but can you imagine both Turjan and Robyn collaborating on this movie’s soundtrack? It could be awesome - and if you do get your $90 million budget (or even a fraction of that) you could easily afford to hire him.

Also, as regards your building of the D’ni city sets, I know you want to do that, and I agree that it would be a wonderful idea, but be prepared to scale back your ambitions if the studios aren’t prepared to give you $90 million. I would much rather you get this film made at a compromised budget of $30 - $45 million, than not made at all. Aim high, and then start paring back your ambitions if you can’t get any of the studios to bite the first time. I’ve mentioned James Cameron and Darren Aronofsky as two directors whose pitches failed when they demanded large budgets, but made it through once they cut back and offered to get the film done cheaper. Cameron, actually, only got “Aliens” off the ground after he explained how the script could be shot for $19 million, rather than the $35 million that the studio experts thought it would cost. The same happened with his current photoreal CG project “Avatar” - which had been pitched immediately after Titanic as a $250 million film, rejected, then repitched successfully more recently when he explained that with modern CG tech, the same movie could now be made for $140 million.
Again, Darren Aronofsky failed to get “The Fountain” made until he trimmed and recast it, reducing budget from $80 million to about $45 million.

If you’re obsessing over “Well, we can’t do this more cheaply, we don’t want it to look like a fanfilm” - I have to point out, for instance, that “Pan’s Labyrinth” was done for somewhere between $15 and $20 million, and it certainly didn’t look like a “fanfilm”.

I suggested that if you could not afford to build all that much of the city in full-scale form, only small segments extended by bluescreen, that there is an alternative to standard CGI extensions.

Now, I have absolutely nothing against CGI, I love its flexibility and how many imaginative things can be done with it. After all, the graphics in all the Myst games are CGI, and in many places, they felt to us (the fans) like real worlds. The problem isn’t CGI, I think - that’s not what bothers directors - it’s bad CGI, cheap CGI, CGI not done well enough to look real.

I suggested building large swaths of the city in highly detailed scale miniature, in segments, then scanning all of it to convert it into a finely detailed textured 3d mesh.

The technique of 3d scanning has been growing in popularity lately as a way to capture real-world detail into a digital form, and the technology is improving constantly.

Models have an inherent reality and messiness to them which feels real, even if the scale of them is not always convincing, they at least are believable as physical objects. Creating a really good miniature of the city, scanning it, and 3d tracking it into the background of shots, to fit the perspective and camera moves, can offer digital extensions that have a level of texture and detail to them which don’t often appear in CG without a huge amount of care by the 3d artists.

Just a thought.

As for the hand-holding, I have no problem with it. There’s nothing wrong with a little sexuality in this as long as it is done tastefully. Obviously I don’t want you to go overboard on sex or violence here, but to use it where it logically belongs in the story of the novel.

I think the Fall of D’ni is a massive event and you should do something spectacular with it. There are so many moments punctuating the story, from the rescue of Veovis onward, which present opportunities for excitement, suspense, or spectacle.

Take advantage of them but don’t let them overwhelm the essential drama of this story. Find the right balance between the epic and the intimate. Try to find a cast of really good actors. Not the really big “stars” who will cost an arm and a leg to hire, but really good actors, the people you believe fit the roles best and add the most value to the quality of the film and its performances.

I’ve noted that when a film is a success, its cast members, even the fairly obscure ones, have a way of becoming famous afterwards. The cast of the LOTR movies were not all that famous before the films were released, but of course now they are.

Again, think Johnny Depp before “Pirates of the Caribbean”, Christian Bale before “Batman Begins,” etc. People with acting talent, people who are respected and have a good track record but who aren’t yet at the status of huge-salary megastars.

That’s more or less how I’d go about casting if I were doing this, selecting the best actors I can find to fit the roles without the casting choices driving the cost of the project into the stratosphere. I imagine that’s what you’re planning to do in any case.

Other than that, not sure what to say, other than this: I believe that the future of the entire Myst franchise and its fanbase may largely hinge on how well you make this movie. If you succeed, we may see a rebirth of Uru, the book of Marrim, etc, and much more of the Myst saga for years to come. If not, then the D’ni fandom is faced with a slow decline and gradual death.

We all hope that you will do this story justice - and from what we’ve seen thus far, I’m inclined to believe that you will.

Oh, and if you do get the budget to build large areas of the D’ni city as sets, could you open it up to the public as a tourist attraction instead of dismantling it when the film is done? Please? We would love to explore a “real” D’ni!

— Matthew Hornbostel

the games were breathtaking in their beauty, so complex and intricate. the books….were fantastic. i read them in my pre/early teens. they were so well written, everything about the books was perfect, from covers and binding to paper and font selection, all of which contribute to a great read. they made me cry. they moved me and sparked my imagination like no other during that time in my life, and i have retained my deep fascination with them through the years. i cannot believe that The Book of Ti’Ana is finally going to be a movie. it was my favorite of the books, and the first one i read. i am overjoyed and impatient for it’s debut. good luck!

As a child, I was always mesmerized by the Myst games and when I was exposed to the book trilogy, I was seriously moved by the story in ways few other books could achieve (and I read A LOT). Those three books are still, ten years later, on my fireplace mantel beside my Shakespeare and Jane Austen novels.

Watching this trailer, I am so impressed with how the story’s heart and soul has been translated to the screen. I am so happy to hear this project is in the works! Good luck to you and I look forward to hearing more great things about this!!

Wow, just amazing… I’ve been a reader all my life, and when I was 8-9 I read the Book of Atrus. My grandmother sent it to me, and since then, I’ve been hooked on the games and novels. So much so that in my screen-name I use everywhere, I use Veovis right alongside the name of Muad’dib. Both characters were great, and I would even go so far to say that Myst is begining to be comparable to Dune. This movie would definitely help, it looks amazing. If this is the early, years-old concept art, this could easily become one of my favourite movies of all time. I think that if enough time is spent fleshing out the characters while still getting the story across, this will be a huge success. I want to write more, but I’m afraid it would be brown-nosing to say any more of what I think.

On the topic of New Mexico vs. Middle East: I don’t care. Either one will work just fine. Camels have existed in both places, and aren’t integral to the story anyway. Since Uru is a good source for visuals, it will work just fine in New Mexico, and that way set design would be a bit more straightforward. But on the other hand, the name of the city and the name of Anna’s father’s employer, IIRC, sound more Middle Eastern. Yet, as counter to that, not much of the Middle East needed exploring- New Mexico did. We could go on for awhile, and either way would be fine by me, but were I to choose the location, I would go with New Mexico.

I enjoy acting, and I’m sure there are a number of Myst fans who do as well, so could we possibly have a mailing list set up so that anyone who wants to try out can sign up when they see this project and then be emailed when auditions occur? Unless you already have the cast lined up or almost so, but I’d pay to be even an extra in this movie.

I just wrote a rather large post, but it seems to not be showing up at all…

Oh well… The most important part of it was, I think, that we would appreciate a mailing list that we could sign up for now, and then, even if we don’t check this site again, we could get an email letting us know when the tryouts are.

As for the pronunciation of Veovis, since I have used his name as my screen name for quite awhile now, I might as well give input. I personally pronounce it… oh, how do I spell this out? Veh (V and Eh?)-o-vis, with emphasis on the first syllable. I think it sounds more distinctly D’ni. They were elitist, and that pronunciation seems more in line with that idea.

As a first-time poster, your words went into a filter and were waiting to be approved by one of us. Thanks for visiting!

(Please do not believe I am attacking you. It is just my nature. The more I like ideas, the more I cut them to pieces.)
“Camels have existed in both places, and aren’t integral to the story anyway.”
They have? At the right time period? They might not be integral, but the scene with the bedouins is really cool.

“But on the other hand, the name of the city and the name of Anna’s father’s employer, IIRC, sound more Middle Eastern.”
But that could be explained as artistic lisence by (oh what’s-his-name), since he put it in the Middle East.

“Yet, as counter to that, not much of the Middle East needed exploring- New Mexico did.”
Not at all. First, Anna+family worked on surveying, which is employed in heavily explored areas. Second, the Middle East housed lots of unexplored areas, especially for large empires (what is known for one small tribe is often overlooked by foreign occupiers) like the Ottomans.

“I enjoy acting, and I’m sure there are a number of Myst fans who do as well, so could we possibly have a mailing list set up so that anyone who wants to try out can sign up when they see this project and then be emailed when auditions occur? Unless you already have the cast lined up or almost so, but I’d pay to be even an extra in this movie.”
That way, the mysteriacs can get money and actors.

Sorry to be late to the party, but I only just discovered this particular page. It’s been a while since I was on this site.

I am absolutely stunned. The book was heavy (in terms of the story line), but to see it visualized…..wow! If this gets made, it will easily blow all other game-based movies out of the water. But then, as it’s based on a book, it technically isn’t a game-based movie, is it? Heck, who cares? Just imagine what this could look like now that LOTR has been done. Kudos!

Imagine…..the city as it appears in Uru, only better (notably, not ruined), on the big screen!!!

“Imagine…..the city as it appears in Uru, only better (notably, not ruined), on the big screen!!!”
Also bigger, filled with D’ni, more detailed, etc. (and in the process of being ruined! fun!)

Looks… Ok. Of course this is a conceptual trailer, but still.

By the way, can they really call it “Book of Ti’ana” now?

Hello, penguindude515
Remember, this is just a trailer for a trailer that won’t even be used for the public anyway (if I understand them right). It is more for industry people to encourage them to join the project.

Well, “Book of Ti’ana” just sounds cool.

I am beyond excited. Thank you thank you thank you!!! This could be the greatest story ever created, and now it will be brought to life!!!

One note: D’ni is pronounced ‘Daw-nee’ as atrus said it in the beginning of Riven. In the trailer you pronounced it ‘D-nee’.

I agree with what Matthew Hornboste wrote. The aesthetics in the games are already brilliant. Too much change will be extremely disappointing for this movie’s greatest fan base.

Also, D’ni is a language that has been created and perhaps you have thought of this already, but in case you haven’t, it would do so much for the movie to have D’ni writing throughout.

Also, my biggest request, again agreeing with Matthew: HIRE ROBYN MILLER. If you could do one thing right, it would be to have him write the music. He already did a WONDERFUL job and there are set themes that change and repeat throughout the series, but to deviate from them would change the atmosphere and be extremely disappointing. The soundtracks to the games really create the atmosphere. Particularly the Riven and Exile III soundtracks. They are superb.

Can’t wait to be able to afford a donation!! Keep up the good work!!

“One note: D’ni is pronounced ‘Daw-nee’ as atrus said it in the beginning of Riven. In the trailer you pronounced it ‘D-nee’.”
Isn’t Atrus’ pronunciation, especially in Myst/Riven considered the wrong way to pronounce it?
“Also, D’ni is a language that has been created and perhaps you have thought of this already, but in case you haven’t, it would do so much for the movie to have D’ni writing throughout.”
D’ni writing definitely, although I don’t know what to do if there is an important letter that would be easier to read in English. D’ni spoken should be English, though. Subtitles = just please no.

Gloa, seeing as though Atrus is Rand Miller, and Rand Miller made the game, wouldn’t whatever he said be the right way to pronounce it?

Note that I /do/ pronounce it like they did in the trailer.

Maybe there is a right way to pronounce it and he said it wrong. I just figured, as penguindude said, since that’s the way Rand Miller pronounced it, it must be right.

And I agree Gloa that letters and the like should be english. subtitles would be tacky. I just meant if there was writing in the background throughout the movie, like on riven when you walk into the temple and there’s writing on the wall. Putting D’ni in the background would add so much interest for fans and make it that much more exciting to watch, especially for those who like to translate D’ni.

“Gloa, seeing as though Atrus is Rand Miller, and Rand Miller made the game, wouldn’t whatever he said be the right way to pronounce it?”
Atrus was also raised by his human grandmother in the surface cleft, so he could have an accented D’ni.

“Maybe there is a right way to pronounce it and he said it wrong.”
I think they slightly changed the “correct” pronunciation, so it would sound more foreign and less like the Australian word for toilet.

“And I agree Gloa that letters and the like should be english. subtitles would be tacky. I just meant if there was writing in the background throughout the movie, like on riven when you walk into the temple and there’s writing on the wall. Putting D’ni in the background would add so much interest for fans and make it that much more exciting to watch, especially for those who like to translate D’ni.”
Well, the letters depends on whether or not we are supposed to read them. For example, if there is a scene where someone reads a letter and then silently walks away, putting the letter on the desk so we can see, it should definitely be in English. However, if all the letters are just spoken about and seen through the corner of the eye, then D’ni is fine.

Hmm. Quite close to the book. But even speaking as a lifelong Myst fan (fan as in fanatic, who owns EVERY game, the novels, the coffee table Riven book, and more), I actually thought the Myst books were awful. The writing was bad, the characterization was poor, and even the world building — which should have been a primary attraction — felt dull. The books seemed churned out rather than the labor of love they needed to be (rather like the Halo novels, actually — is there a pattern?). I wonder of how much of the book is the work of the professional writer hired to get the story on paper. I’ve noticed that kind of dry writing a lot in “franchise” novels, where someone writes a book based on someone else’ idea. If the story isn’t completely the writer’s own, he often has trouble fully realizing it. The core concept was good, it was just the execution which was bad. Really it comes down to the books failing to make me care about the characters.

I’m willing to give this movie the benefit of the doubt, since I think the story could work if told in a new medium. But I do wonder what it was about this trailer that made Cyan take notice. It really doesn’t look that special. Maybe they were just so tired of everyone taking insane liberties with the story that they were ready to throw their support behind anyone who stayed true to it. Who knows?

Anyway, best of luck, and I hope the end result succeeds in realizing the potential inherent in the Myst stories.

Don’t worry, I also thought the books were horrible. However, the plot and characters were very good. It is just bad writing and characterization.

A movie adaption could overcome these obstacles. Since it will be written and imagined somewhat anew, it maintains the plot and story, but gets a new writing. Also, a movie allows for more visuals, sounds, etc, which are very good mediums for the Mystlike feel.

I think that the trailer caught Cyan’s attention because the Mysteriacs had a plan and process to back it, and because they picked out key themes of the story well.

Holy crap that was amazing.

Though I have to critique part of the script in the trailer:
“Anything that we may need or we desire… All we must do is imagine a place where it exists, and write it in one of these books, and it becomes real”

It doesn’t become real /= It creates a link between this world and a world somewhere in this universe, another universe, or even another time, where it exists.

Point taken, Chase. Not to worry, we fully understand that concept. We are honoring that particular belief with our script. That line does not exist in the feature length script at all, but when it was written for the trailer, the idea was that Aitrus was speaking more figuratively. It really was a question of conciseness for the purposes of the trailer. It’s difficult to sum up the complexities of the concept of The Art in such a short amount of time. The animatic is already slow and cumbersome as it is, we didn’t want to weigh it down with a lengthy piece of exposition. Welcome to the site and the family. Thanks for your feedback and your kind review.

Oh My GOODNESS!!!!!!!
I’ve been hoping for a Myst movie for years, and after reading the books, I had hoped even more for movies of them! ^oo^ There’s so much potential here and I can’t wait to see it! I just wish I could be in it. I love performing on stage, and if there’s ever any movie to be even an extra in, it’s this one. ^oo^ If you guys need actors or an extra writer (working on my English major), let me know!

I can’t believe I finally found this trailer. On the other hand, I have been away from this site too long….

Really beautiful trailer - a bit lengthy, but then, it wasn’t intended for us. Um, as far as the music goes, having played Uru enough times, I always felt Tim Larkin really got the mood down, and would (probably) be the best choice. But Robyn Miller (and even Jack Wall!) could also pull this off. I’ll trust your final decision.

(I can’t help but wonder what this trailer would’ve sounded like if you’d used Larkin’s music, though….)

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooh boy. The cinematics looks so good I can’t wait to be seated in a theater, no popcorn so I don’t miss a thing, eyes riveted on the giant screen looking at the marvels of D’ni, the cleft, and the Great Shaft. You guys took on your shoulders a huge, most challenging task. I wish you all the best, and most of all I wish loads of fun. Any names in mind for the characters? Say, Brad Dourif as Veovis?

Great movie series have been made from great stories - Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Marvel and DC comics heroes too many to name - and in turn CD/DVD games have been made from the movies… but has a Movie ever been made from the Game?
The Games, The Books, and lastly the Movies?
MYST was a unique and original journey and this movie may prove to be the launch and revival of a new breed of MYST fans - and with the permission of CYAN the producers will, as ever, be doing it ‘their way’.
… and to hell with the ‘norm’.
Peter Jackson was from a little country, one man with a dream, who made a movie about a story told long ago - that movie broke into a 3 part epic saga - imagine what The Book of Ti’ana can do with already so many thousands of dreamers from around the world.
Myst brought back imagination to the thinking gamer - there are a few who could not fathom the MYST games - they all asked the same questions within minutes of launching the game; Who do you have to kill? What weapons can you get? Do I need to read all this? - all I hear was the unsaid words; ‘I have no patience, no imagination of my own, tell me what to do.’ …They will never understand until they see the movie and the answers are given to them on a platter.

On the other hand, if Monty Python’s Eric Idle can make a stage play (Spamalot) from a movie (Monty Python and the Holy Grail) - instead of the other way around, I suppose anything’s possible.

And yes, I agree: too much of our culture has been dumbed-down. From Larry the Cable Guy (whose name isn’t Larry, and he doesn’t install cable) to Joe the Plumber (also neither), you have to wonder. (puts away soapbox) Anyways, I hope this movie can put some smarts back in the entertainment business.

I feel so late in the game with this….but I was reading through the comments, and I have to say, I personally do not have a problem with the holding hands or suggestion of intimacy. I actually think it would really help to accentuate Aitrus and Anna’s love for each other by having a scene like that. I really love the shot of Aitrus over Anna just before the holding hands shot. Very beautiful.

Also, concerning the New Mexico/Middle Eastern debate…does it really matter? I doesn’t have to specifically state where the desert is, since it doesn’t in the book. It could just be some desert somewhere.

That was awesome. If this movie ever makes it out you can be sure I’ll buy it. The book was really good.

“Also, concerning the New Mexico/Middle Eastern debate…does it really matter? I doesn’t have to specifically state where the desert is, since it doesn’t in the book. It could just be some desert somewhere.”
In a movie, though, you have to show more details. Unless they’ve taken out Anna’s visit to Tadjinar (or if in New Mexico, whatever city), they’ll have to represent the city as some civilization.

Unless they’ve taken out Anna’s visit to Tadjinar (or if in New Mexico, whatever city), they’ll have to represent the city as some civilization.
_
In the present script, Anna does visit a city with her father.

RE: Tadjinar,
Will the scene with Anna and her father pondering the huge stone circle (from the great shaft excavation) be in the movie? i loved that entire “its water thats done that,” “no its a sieve job” debate from the book.

hopefully the moie carries more visual appeal than the games in regards to the shafts (URU / M5) i was thoroughly depressed with the way they failed to live up to my imagination. The books described them with such detail that seems to have been tossed aside by the game for what i imagine to be technical reasons. and i spent months wandering around D’ni looking for excavation equipment for the shafts

It’s hard to say what will ultimately be in this film (see most recent post)…I can, however, say with certainty that the “stone circle” will be in the film. It’s the “lure” that brings Anna into D’ni to begin with.

Heh. Adrian and I were just discussing your comment - and how we both felt the same let down with the renderings of the shaft in URU and Myst V. It was just so … small.
_
And there wasn’t a MAN Takraf in sight!

On the other hand, keep in mind that Anna’s discovery takes place 200+ years before Uru or Myst V. Things tend to deteriorate over time….

OMG! I just watched the trailer…. You have to get this movie done! I have been waiting for this movie for years and was starting to think that other movie makers were trying to rip spotlight from your saga. I cant wait to see some actual footage, I imagine it to be like nothing anyone has seen.before. Hurry you must Hurry!