D&D: Wrath of the Dragon God Interview

To learn more about Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God before its release on DVD next week, we fired off a dozen questions to the movie’s co-writers, Robert Kimmel and Brian Rudnick. Our questions and their answers to follow:

GB: For those who aren’t familiar with Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, can you give us a brief description of the movie’s storyline, setting, and characters?

Robert and Brian: The story is about Damodar returning as one of the undead to seek his revenge on Ismir. His plan is to release Falazure, the God of Undead Dragons, from his millennia long imprisonment inside a mountain. In return Falazure will fulfill Damodar¹s dream of vengeance. A party of five adventurers sets out from Ismir to stop Damodar¹s scheme.

GB: Does the sequel tie in with the original Dungeons & Dragons movie or is the storyline completely different?

Robert and Brian: This movie takes place one hundred years after the events in the first D&D. It¹s was originally conceived as a sequel but during the development process a decision was made to have this movie be more of a stand alone adventure, similar to a module in the world of D&D. We kept some of elements from the first few drafts, like Damodar and setting it in Ismir, but cut most of the other tethers to the first movie.

GB: How did you become involved with writing the storyline for the movie and what previous movie work have you done?

Robert and Brian: We had done some work for Silver and the Producer of D&D knew that Brian was a big fan of Fantasy and had experience as a game player. The Producer asked us how we would treat a sequel to the first movie. He must have liked our ideas because we were subsequently hired to write the screenplay.

GB: Tell us about your personal experience with the Dungeons & Dragons game. Have you played or DMed a lot of campaigns in the past? How about D&D computer or console games?

Brian: I started playing D&D in my early teens. At that time my appetite for anything related to Sci-fi or Fantasy was insatiable. I read everything — Donaldson, Herbert, Brooks, Asimov, Howard — you name it, I read it. Over the next few years I spent a lot of time in basements, drinking Mountain Dew, eating Chee-tohs and adventuring through places like the Demonweb Pits (died), Tomb of Horrors (died), and DMing my own campaigns. I kind of left D&D during my college years, but have recently picked it up again. I am now in a game with Cindi Rice, the Entertainment Agent for Wizards of the Coast (we worked together very closely on this project). In between I kept abreast of things by playing RPGs on the computer. Diablo II, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur¹s Gate are my favorites.

GB: Why was the decision made to release the movie directly to DVD? Would you have liked to see it hit the theaters first?

Robert and Brian: Writers are not involved in distribution decisions.

GB: Briefly detail each of the main characters and the roles they play within the movie.

Robert and Brian: The main characters are Damodar, who returns as a Corpse Creature, Berek, a human fighter and Melora, a Mage who is studying to become a Mystic Theurge. The supporting Characters are Dorian, a cleric of Obad-Hai, Ormaline the Elf Wizard, Nim the Rogue, and Lux the Barbarian.

GB: Tell us about some of the more memorable locations the movie will feature. Will we be seeing both overland and dungeon scenes?

Robert and Brian: The entire movie was shot in Lithuania, which is a perfect location for a fantasy adventure. The story takes us from castles and cobblestone streets, through dark forests populated by the undead, to below ground in Malek¹s Vault, a dungeon beset with traps.

GB: What notable creatures from the Dungeons & Dragons universe will be making their appearance in Wrath of the Dragon God?

Robert and Brian: There¹s a Lich, a White Dragon, some Specters, a Magmin and of course, Falazure, the undead Dragon God.

GB: How much involvement did Wizards of the Coast have with Wrath of the Dragon God?

Robert and Brian: Wizards was very involved. They got on board in the middle of story development and provided invaluable guidance concerning rules and fan expectations. While in production they were available as a resource when it came to things like wardrobe, weapons, creature behavior — things relating to game consistency. And during post-production the creative team from Wizards gave comprehensive comments on each cut and helped conceive the numerous special features on the DVD. They were great. Working with the people from Wizards was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole experience.

GB: How about Gary Gygax or David Arneson? Were either of the original Dungeons & Dragons creators involved with the movie at any level?

Robert and Brian: Sometime during post-production we started feeling good about the movie and someone floated the idea of screening it for Gary Gygax. A crew was sent to his home in Wisconsin in the hope that he would like the film and give an interview for the special feature section of the DVD. I can¹t tell you how great it was when Gary said he loved the movie. Everyone involved in the production, from the very beginning, treated the source material with respect and reverence. To have that effort recognized and appreciated by the one of the creators of D&D was, for all of us, one of the most satisfying moments of the entire experience.

GB: Are you happy with all of the content that ended up in the movie? Is there anything you would have liked to make it into the movie that couldn’t be due to time or money constraints?

Robert and Brian: I don¹t think there’s ever been a writer who was one hundred percent satisfied with all of the content that ends up on the screen. It¹s just not going to happen. There¹s always something that¹s cut due to time, money, or artistic difference with everyone from the director to the production designer. It¹s the nature of the beast. We didn¹t have the time or money of The Lord of the Rings so we knew early on there was a good chance that not everything we¹d written was going to be put on screen. The production was going to have to be fluid and deviation from the script was inevitable. So, placing your expectations within that context, we are both happy with what finally ended up on screen.

GB: Are there any plans to do a third Dungeons & Dragons movie? Or does this depend on the success of the second?

Robert and Brian: The response to Wrath of the Dragon God has, so far, been very positive so we¹re hoping this translates into another movie. There have been some discussions but, at this moment there¹s nothing concrete in the works.

Thanks for answering our questions, guys! If you’re looking forward to seeing the movie as much as we are, check out our contest page for a chance to win one of three copies of the DVD!