Doc_Brown on 10/1/2005 at 22:49

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Disclaimer: There is no confirmed Thief movie in the works. This discussion is hypothetical. So no complaining about thinking this thread was, in any way, claiming such. I'd have put such a warning in the title, but it's long enough as it is.

Suppose, for a minute, someone was actually making Thief into a theatrical film. Whether or not you think such a move is a wise one is irrelevent to this particular discussion. The question at hand is what form in which to realize it, visually. Animation, CG or traditional, is the closest to what we're used to, but at the same time suffers a slight stigma in the eyes of the general movie-going public. Live action, meanwhile, entails a much larger project in regards to cinematography, set design, costumes, et al. Of these options, there doesn't seem to be an ideal solution.

But what if a sort of middle ground were used? I've recently come across these images from the upcoming film (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=19085) A Scanner Darkly, and what struck me about them is the visual kinship to Thief's cutscenes. The technique, first used in Waking Life, essentially overlays live action film with animation. If a Thief film were done in such a manner, it would not only be very similar to the established style of the trilogy, but also reach a broader audience than an animated film and allow certain shortcuts in the live action side of production. At least as far as my own opinion is concerned, I feel this visual look would be the ideal solution for a Thief movie.

So, I cast it to you. Granted, the debate of live action/animated/CG has been raised before, but I thought it worth revisiting considering the rise of this new method. What do you all think of it? Does it have any merit, or are we better off returning to the original debate?

WhiteFantom on 11/1/2005 at 03:34

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I would prefer an animated Thief movie, but ONLY if done by Rustmonkey. Nothing else comes anywhere near that look and feel, so if not that, then live action.

--Jennifer

Doc_Brown on 11/1/2005 at 03:47

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Let me stress, I'm referring to the Waking Life technique, not the Waking Life look. If a Thief movie were made with the latter, I'd personally take a bat to the culprit. So in case anyone's confused don't go thinking that's what I was suggesting.

That said, however, I was unaware that RustMonkey had made a proposal for A Scanner Darkly, and I thank you for that. It gives hope to the notion that those talented folk might actually be making efforts to enter the world of feature length productions.

godismygoldfish on 11/1/2005 at 04:44

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Just wait about a month, an announcement is going to be made on this topic that'll blow you away... :sly:

Tortus on 11/1/2005 at 06:24

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I would much prefer live action, as long as it wasn't pumped with CGI effects. I would love to see a talented director bring The City to life. Some of my favourite movies are the ones that really put you in them with their magnificent production values/sets/art direction/costumes/cinematography etc: Blade Runner, Batman, Sleepy Hollow, Escape from New York, Dracula, Interview With a Vampire and Collateral were all very immersive movies to me. I can't think of any better idea than a Thief done with the same reverence as the filmmakers applied to those.