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First off, yes, I'm well aware of how slim the chances are of anything like this going anywhere. I still feel like trying it just for the sake of doing it.

My friends (and girlfriend) have all sadly moved away from Warhammer 40k throughout the years, despite how they first got me into it years ago, and sustained me in it long enough to absolutely fall in love with the lore and most all things 40k. The girlfriend still thinks it's by far one of the finest IP's out there, and at least we have that in common (I still want to play/paint a bit, but she doesn't anymore). I haven't seriously touched anything tabletop in years.

Nevertheless, I'm fairly big into fiction in the form of big production games, movies (and their soundtracks), books, etc - a great, great many different IP's. I love a great deal of aspects about a great deal of fiction out there, and yet I keep coming back in my mind to Warhammer 40k as a universe, and it's lore. So I figure, if I'm going to really give up on ever doing anything 40k tabletop related again, I figure I may as well pay homage to the lore I've come to love. I figure I may as well create something that really highlights exactly why I hold 40k in such high regard (yes, to me the lore of 40k is the best thing about it), before I - generally speaking - allow myself to move on from it forever.

As such, I've been seriously toying with an idea for a screenplay for Warhammer40k. I've chosen a screenplay/movie format because in my mind, what I would like to convey would be as much a visual and audible experience as it would be a story-driven one. I have the fundamental summary for the screenplay written out and a wealth of other ideas for it in my mind, all designed to highlight the themes and aspects of 40k that speak to me the most, and have been all-too-often absent in many of the 40k related things I've read/seen.

So I have to ask - as I'm certain an idea like this would be laughable to most - would GW actually ever look over a very serious screenplay submission? Anyone in it? I'm thinking as a backup, would maybe somebody such as Dan Abnett humor someone such as myself if I gave this a go, perhaps even for pointers...? No shot in hell, or maybe?

If GW would accept is kind of a null question.

The only question that matters is if a reputable large studio, with enough money to make a 40k movie would consider it.


On a side note, anyone that works in the movie industry have a good guess as to what a good Warhammer movie would cost to make?

For cost I'm guessing it comes down to if it's CG or real life. I would almost hope for CG, as RL could get cheesy fast.

Considering that the Lord Inquisitor got approved I think we have good prospects for something in the future.

As for cost, that depends entirely on CGI vs Live Action/CGI and who the actors are.


Pure CGI of average caliber and B list actors would probably run 30-50 million. It also depends on if you want any Theatres to run it or if it would be a straight to DVD release.

If you want a *good* movie with talented actors great CG, etc, then it's going to cost at least $50m (US).. and probably closer to $100m.

Getting back to the original question: If you are independently wealthy or have the ears of financial backers then I'd say you have even odds. The reason is that you would be funding production yourself and just need to license the IP. Anything else your chances drop to absolute zero.

Story lines for an existing universe are cheap.. Dirt cheap. The real costs are in the production of the movie itself. CG, actors, locations (if using Real people) etc.

The reason stories are cheap is that they are going to be rewritten several times (unless you are already a screen writer, in which case they might only get rewritten once or twice) prior to going to full production. Oh, yeah, and there are a lot of writers out there doing this because they thought a liberal arts degree would be worth something.

That said, GW has plenty of stories to tell and a decent script writer could knock something out pretty quickly. Which seriously drops the value of whatever your thinking before you've spent two minutes on it.

What they don't have is the stomach to fund a movie themselves; which is essentially what you would be asking them to do. Yes, they worked with the Ultramarine movie people, but I guarantee you they didn't pay for it.

regarding Lord Inquistor: That is exactly what I'm talking about. Costs born by someone else.

clively wrote:If you want a *good* movie with talented actors great CG, etc, then it's going to cost at least $50m (US).. and probably closer to $100m.

Getting back to the original question: If you are independently wealthy or have the ears of financial backers then I'd say you have even odds. The reason is that you would be funding production yourself and just need to license the IP. Anything else your chances drop to absolute zero.

Story lines for an existing universe are cheap.. Dirt cheap. The real costs are in the production of the movie itself. CG, actors, locations (if using Real people) etc.

The reason stories are cheap is that they are going to be rewritten several times (unless you are already a screen writer, in which case they might only get rewritten once or twice) prior to going to full production. Oh, yeah, and there are a lot of writers out there doing this because they thought a liberal arts degree would be worth something.

That said, GW has plenty of stories to tell and a decent script writer could knock something out pretty quickly. Which seriously drops the value of whatever your thinking before you've spent two minutes on it.

What they don't have is the stomach to fund a movie themselves; which is essentially what you would be asking them to do. Yes, they worked with the Ultramarine movie people, but I guarantee you they didn't pay for it.

regarding Lord Inquistor: That is exactly what I'm talking about. Costs born by someone else.

Exactly the sort of thing I wanted to hear - thank you!

So that makes a lot more sense, and obviously that means that a novel is thusly a lot better for an entry level sort of thing to go by, simply for those reasons, even if the caliber of the screenplay did happen to be a great one; apparently they're a dime a dozen. I can understand this, but I will say that I only posted this because my searching for Warhammer 40k screenplays online didn't really come up with anything at all. I thought few people actually put in the effort to make one. Nevertheless, maybe someday I'll think of a way to convey what I'd like in the form of a novel instead of the much more visual/audible movie I had in mind...(though that would be a miracle)

A specific question or two though - putting aside for the moment trying to get *your own* screenplay turned into a movie, how can one ever encourage a company like GW to make the leap and help fund any screenplay as a film themselves? (I know they couldn't do it alone and would need a partner, thus the word *help*) In fact, who DID fund Ultramarine, anyway? How did that even come about exactly?

PS-...just to be clear, getting a submitted story actually accepted would be much more likely through Black Library, right? It does sound like fun to try.

GW has an entire staff of fiction writers who they turn to when they want something new. If you want to write for GW you should visit Black Library's website and find out what kind of stuff they're looking for (cough war porn cough). Then write that, and submit it. If they like it, they'll offer you a contract and bam, you're a GW writer.

Yeah, seems pretty clear this is the only way to go, heh. It seems like fun.

I am aware of the way Black Library takes entries, as outlined here, actually: http://www.blacklibrary.com/Getting-Started/FAQ-Working-For-Black-Library.html

But has anyone actually done this? Does anyone have any tips? ...or does anyone happen to know if more than, say, 2-3 people's submissions are accepted during each year's entry period, including short stories?

My guess is that they keep everything that gets submitted to review at later dates. They may not want a book about X faction right now but at a later time they may decide it would be worthwhile.

Years could go by before something gets selected.

Emerett wrote:On a side note, anyone that works in the movie industry have a good guess as to what a good Warhammer movie would cost to make?

How long is a piece of string?

There are a ton of factors that go into making a feature film. To say what a feature film will cost is almost impossible.

you would have to do some film budgeting that will fit with the scope of the film, taking cinematography, payroll, travel expenses, catering etc into account.

This budget will have to take into account the director and cinematographers style choices, and what they plan to include in the sequences, shots, Mise en scene, etc.

a good range would be anywhere from a few thousand, to 100 million or more.

For example here are some movies that had low budgets and made a lot of money:

Paranormal Activity (2007) Budget: $15,000, Worldwide Gross: $196,681,656

Saw (2004) Budget: $1,200,000, Worldwide Gross: $103,000,000

Clerks (1994) Budget: $27,000, Worldwide Gross: $3,894,240

Admittedly none of these were action movies.

Here are some action movies:
28 Days Later (2002) Budget: $8,000,000, Worldwide gross: $82,719,885

Mad Max (1979) Budget: $350,000, Worldwide gross: $99,750,000

DeathReaper wrote:

Emerett wrote:On a side note, anyone that works in the movie industry have a good guess as to what a good Warhammer movie would cost to make?

How long is a piece of string?

I feel like any intelligent person would understand the fundamental question I'm asking. Since you obviously don't know what you're talking about and went out of your way to try to prove that you do, I will re ask.

But first. A 40K movie obviously can't be shot in a 28 Days Later, Paranormal Activity, Clerks or Mad Max format (your cute example of cheap movies grossing well), or it would be a cheesy disaster. It would have to be a live action movie, since it seems that most dramatic CGI movies tend to go straight to DVD. Also, since a good majority of the population has no idea what Warhammer is and a Space Marine on a movie poster would be a turn off for more movie goers, it would need some large name actors.

The Return of the King cost about 94 million to make, according to IMDB.

Would a decent 40k movie take that much production to not be a total piece of garbage? Would it take more?

I'd love to see Necroplolis done as a live action feature film myself. When reading the book, I always pictured certain actors as being perfect for some of the characters, such as Derek Jacobi as Lord Chass & Sean Bean as Gilbear...
I wouldn't want to see a movie done with space marines though - too many people would likely write it off as either super cheesy or else just blunder on about how SM's = Storm Troopers and GW just copied X-Y-Z films.
I think to do the IP proper justice, you'd need someone like Pete Jackson who can identify with the material at the helm, otherwise you'd end up with a Micheal Bay'splosion style farce.

So basically, I think you'd probably be looking into a major multi-million dollar production when all is said and done if you ever wanted to try a live action 40k film and do it justice.



Basically, I think GW will sign-off on a feature film project around the same time that the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup!

Experiment 626 wrote:I'd love to see Necroplolis done as a live action feature film myself. When reading the book, I always pictured certain actors as being perfect for some of the characters, such as Derek Jacobi as Lord Chass & Sean Bean as Gilbear...
I wouldn't want to see a movie done with space marines though - too many people would likely write it off as either super cheesy or else just blunder on about how SM's = Storm Troopers and GW just copied X-Y-Z films.
I think to do the IP proper justice, you'd need someone like Pete Jackson who can identify with the material at the helm, otherwise you'd end up with a Micheal Bay'splosion style farce.

So basically, I think you'd probably be looking into a major multi-million dollar production when all is said and done if you ever wanted to try a live action 40k film and do it justice.



Basically, I think GW will sign-off on a feature film project around the same time that the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup!

Wouldn't that be awesome if someone made Peter Jackson aware of 40k? Heh - that is a great idea sir.

Netsurfer733 wrote:
Wouldn't that be awesome if someone made Peter Jackson aware of 40k? Heh - that is a great idea sir.

I don't know if this is a serious statement or not.

You are aware that quite a few of GW's staff actually are on friendly terms with Peter Jackson yes? And that he was at the Studio quite a bit when they were working on the Lord of the Rings game?

Peter Jackson is very much aware of 40k.

Kanluwen wrote:

Netsurfer733 wrote:
Wouldn't that be awesome if someone made Peter Jackson aware of 40k? Heh - that is a great idea sir.

I don't know if this is a serious statement or not.

You are aware that quite a few of GW's staff actually are on friendly terms with Peter Jackson yes? And that he was at the Studio quite a bit when they were working on the Lord of the Rings game?

Peter Jackson is very much aware of 40k.

Someone needs to give him a copy of Helsreach STAT!

Kanluwen wrote:

Netsurfer733 wrote:
Wouldn't that be awesome if someone made Peter Jackson aware of 40k? Heh - that is a great idea sir.

I don't know if this is a serious statement or not.

You are aware that quite a few of GW's staff actually are on friendly terms with Peter Jackson yes? And that he was at the Studio quite a bit when they were working on the Lord of the Rings game?

Peter Jackson is very much aware of 40k.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

I wouldn't be surprised if Peter Jackson has kicked the idea of a 40k movie around, he just hasn't had the time to move ahead with it due to working on Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit(and that legal snaffu a couple of years ago)

After all is said and done, the movie could have a price tag of about 55-60 Million. That is what Red Tails (2012) cost, and I feel a proper 40K movie would be about the same scope so it should have a similar budget.

Netsurfer733 wrote: A specific question or two though - putting aside for the moment trying to get *your own* screenplay turned into a movie, how can one ever encourage a company like GW to make the leap and help fund any screenplay as a film themselves? (I know they couldn't do it alone and would need a partner, thus the word *help*) In fact, who DID fund Ultramarine, anyway? How did that even come about exactly?

PS-...just to be clear, getting a submitted story actually accepted would be much more likely through Black Library, right? It does sound like fun to try.

You'll never get GW to fund a movie. They'd want to sell or contract out their IP, at a profit, to a film production company. That company would then fund then movie, and depending on the IP agreement, a share of the profits may go to GW.

So, you'd need to go to a movie production company and convince them of the value of GW's IP, rather than going to GW and asking them to make a movie.

Peter Jackson thing aside for the moment, how exactly did Ultramarine get funded and made??

It got funded by the company which bought the rights to do it.

It didn't do so great; and said company has seemingly gone under.

It was funded entirely by Codex Pictures. GW basically sold them the IP for a share of the profits.

It made money for both parties(not a lot mind you) but the cash was all fronted by Codex Pictures.


Thats basically how you make a movie about existing IP, you buy the rights to it for a % of the profits/bulk payment.

This is how it works because GW doesn't have the cash to pay for a movie of any caliber. Their bottom line profit is actually quite small. Its their gross that is big, but they are a high income/high expense company(largely because of their brick and mortar stores which drain their reserves)

That really is a damn shame. You think things like their new paints and resin will tend to send them more towards high incomine/small expense?