For those of you who may not be familiar with the material, don't worry. This is just a list of a bunch of characters from the popular cartoon show. No major plot points will even be discussed, just a basic introduction.
The Planet Thundera has become very unstable, and has reached the point of total destruction. The Thundercats manage to escape, and, under attack by a group of mutants, are unable to reach their destination. Jaga, the oldest Thundercat, crashes their ship on the closest planet, known as Third Earth, with the mutants not far behind. Jaga is killed in the crash. The remaining Thundercats are: Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra, Wilykit, Wilykat, Snarf, and Lion-O, the hereditary lord of the Thundercats, who goes from boyhood to manhood during the trip. When the mutants (SSSlythe, Monkian, Jackalman, and Vultureman) crash land, they encounter an ancient pyramid that happens to be the resting place of Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living. They join forces in their mutual goal to possess the Sword of Omens, which belongs to the young lord Lion-O. Mumm-Ra is a powerful sorcerer, but despite is almost infinite power, he can never seem to beat the Thundercats and get the sword. He enlists the help of a skilled assassin and bounty hunter, Captain Shiner, on certain occasions, but of course he's always beaten, too. The episodes of the show built on this, and introduced an entire world of creatures, some friends and some foes. Later in the series, it is learned that they were not the only Thundercats to make it off of their doomed planet, and three new characters are introduced, though this Dream Film will not be including them (save 'em for the sequel).
For more information, visit this very thorough Thundercats page: here.
The realization of this cartoon into a film has not just been my dream, but that of Shawn's, as well. So I let him cast it and do most of everything on this one, since I'm still trying to finish the Arkham stuff right now. So without further ado, or maybe some ado, I don't know, I present the SCP Dream Film of Thundercats: The Movie.
SPECIAL UPDATE: I've just learned that there's apparently an actual Thundercats movie in pre-production stages. It just goes to show that once we at Salty Cracker Pictures sow the seeds, Hollywood comes into our garden, takes our seeds, and will most likely grow them into a completely different tree. Just remember when it hits theaters that we did it first, and our cast is (most likely) better than theirs.
LION-O: Brendan Fraser
PANTHRO: Wesley Snipes
CHEETARA: Angelina Jolie
TYGRA: Christian Bale
WILYKIT: Kristen Stewart
WILYKAT: Haley Joel Osment
SNARF: Matt Stone (voice)
JAGA: Sir Ian McKellen
MUMM-RA (MUMMY FORM): Robert Englund
MUMM-RA (DEMON FORM): Vin Diesel
SSSLYTHE: Danny DeVito
JACKALMAN: John Leguizamo
MONKIAN: Ron Perlman
VULTUREMAN: Steve Buscemi
CAPTAIN SHINER: Jon Voight
DIRECTOR: Chuck Russell
PRODUCER: Kathleen Kennedy
SCREENPLAY: James V. Hart
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Shawn Unroe & T. Garth Simmons
SPECIAL MAKE-UP EFFECTS: Rick Baker
The director for this was a hard one to choose, because I didn't want someone who would make the movie too serious. Chuck Russell is not the best director in the world, but his films tend to be a little more substantial than your average "popcorn" movies. Thundercats has to be fun and entertaining, the kind of thing the critics would refer to as "Summer Blockbuster" material. It can't get too artsy, or too dramatic. It needs to have dramatic scenes, but to make it work it's gotta be an action movie above all else. No one wants to sit around and watch a 2 hour 'talking movie' involving giant cats. Whether you liked it or not, this needs to be done in a similar way as Planet of the Apes. The characters come first, the action second, the plot third. Because, lets face it, the plot to this isn't gonna win any Best Screenplay Oscars, so make it the best it can be, but make the characters and the action come alive. We need to believe these creatures are as real as any other actor. That's where Rick Baker comes in. Read his credentials and I won't have to say another word.
The writer, by the way, was also hard to choose, because as much as I just said the plot isn't as important, it is.. in a way. It has to be written a certain way, so that we immediately know that this is the world in which the story is set, and don't get stuck on any of the details. Hook and Bram Stoker's Dracula both did that, we didn't sit around and go, "Wait a minute, how can Robin Williams fly? That's not very realistic..." We didn't question the reality of the story because the story was handled as if it were real. That's why I picked James Hart. He's a damn good writer, but his scripts usually deal with fantasy settings and characters.
Pictures: character/cast comparisons, teaser posters, maybe a final poster, and who knows what else, all coming as soon as I can start working on it!
This film required a unique approach to the music. I wanted something that could reflect the music styles of the cartoon, but that sounded, well, good. Not so much like a cartoon theme-song... but, cooler. So I thought of many different composers but none seemed to fit. Then I thought of guitar driven music from films, and I got a cool idea. What if Jonathan Davis of KoRn wrote and "composed" an original score, using the styles and instruments he knows best, because the score to Queen of the Damned was incredible. Not just the songs, but the score itself... the instrumental stuff. And then what if he teamed up with someone else, who's also a diverse musician in the areas of hard rock. Someone like Sully Erna, frontman for Godsmack. The song Godsmack wrote for The Scorpion King was pretty damn cool, so why not. Together, they will do an original musical score, (most likely using members of their bands on it too) and I think that they could use their vocals (which now that I think about it would go together quite well) as part of the atmospheric element of the score.
ORIGINAL SCORE BY: Jonathan Davis & Sully Erna.
It's a standard thing for soundtracks that are just the score to have one real song (usually it's used in the end credits) and that song will be the radio single and the video. Since Zombie has always been a friend of film soundtracks, why not get someone who can really roar to contribute.
ORIGINAL SONG: "Hear the Roar" by Korn & Godsmack, featuring Rob Zombie.
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