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Ms. Answerman: Answerworld




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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4463
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 8:39 pm Reply with quote
Umm... where's the info about the lawsuit? Or was it originally there, but you had to remove it because of sensitive information?
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 9:12 pm Reply with quote
It's a joke. The title of the column is Answerworld. If you read the column regularly, you may notice that we frequently play on new movie titles since the column is posted on Fridays and new movies come out on Friday. Today, Underworld came out. There's a lawsuit from White Wolf suing Sony (producers of Underworld) claiming that they came up with the idea of Vampires vs. Werewolves and that Sony stole it.

-Z
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Laughing Hyena



Joined: 11 Jul 2002
Posts: 136
Location: Oxnard in sunny Cailforina
PostPosted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 10:39 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
There's a lawsuit from White Wolf suing Sony (producers of Underworld) claiming that they came up with the idea of Vampires vs. Werewolves and that Sony stole it.


You need to read more info it, as it has been discussed in detail at White Wolf's own forums by the posters there. WW is not suing Underworld because of it being about Vampires vs. Werewolves. Rather they sued Underworld because it was too similar to Nancy Collins short story "Love of Monsters" (Which I have read and hated it.) and WW's own World of Darkness RPG universe without asking permission. And both WW and Nancy won a settlement off of Sony.

Also Zac, no offense, but you need to actually read the real folklore and White Wolf's RPG books to see the differences. Underworld did in fact stole ideas that were from White Wolf.
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4463
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 10:45 pm Reply with quote
Oh, sorry... unlike certain other lawsuits, I somehow missed hearing about that one.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 12:19 am Reply with quote
"You need to read more info it, as it has been discussed in detail at White Wolf's own forums by the posters there. WW is not suing Underworld because of it being about Vampires vs. Werewolves. Rather they sued Underworld because it was too similar to Nancy Collins short story "Love of Monsters" (Which I have read and hated it.) and WW's own World of Darkness RPG universe without asking permission. And both WW and Nancy won a settlement off of Sony.

Also Zac, no offense, but you need to actually read the real folklore and White Wolf's RPG books to see the differences. Underworld did in fact stole ideas that were from White Wolf."

I boiled it down, bud. I'm VERY familiar with White Wolf's entire line thanks to my long days as a hardcore WW dork back in high school and early college (something I'll always sorta be ashamed of). I also saw that abysmal trash pile of a film today in the theater. The film has VERY little in common with World of Darkness and doesn't feel as though it's set in WOD. White Wolf is simply jealous that they couldn't get their crap together and produce a film (judging by the average writing quality of ANY WW publication, the film would have probably been worse, which is hard to imagine, if the WW dorks had been involved in any way).

I also read the legal documents. They were posted on the web. Also, you couldn't pay me enough to read the toxic crap that must be posted on White Wolf message boards.

Tell me, did you also write a snotty letter to Penny Arcade?

-Z
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Craeyst Raygal



Joined: 30 Apr 2002
Posts: 1383
Location: In the garage, beneath a 1970 MGB GT.
PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 12:23 am Reply with quote
You're pretty right there, Laughing Hyena. As a casual Werewolf: The Apocalypse player (rank 6 Galliard Silver Fang) I noticed similarites right from the first commercial.

A little sad that Sony would swipe the idea when it's such a bloody cheap license. I mean, we aren't talking Battletech or Dungeons and Dragons here.

Speaking of which, where's my freaking BATTLETECH MOVIE!!!!!??? As one of Ohio's top players, I'm still waiting for Kerensky's Exodus on film. And trust me, two things you never want to see across a game board are me and a Marauder II-C (clan spec Omnimech version of the Inner Sphere's classic Marauder 'mech, for you freebirths out there).
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4463
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 2:11 am Reply with quote
I don't know crap about White Wolf, to be perfectly honest, except that "Dudley" from The Royal Tenenbaums (Stephen Lea Sheppard) posts a lot in the White Wolf Usenet group.

I'm not that interested in seeing that Underworld film, but that's more 'because my most anticipated film of the autumn, Lost in Translation with Bill Murray, has just opened, and... meh... movies with Matrix-inspired visuals usually leave me feeling indifferent anyhow. Well, except for Charlie's Angels, but that's bright and colourful.

EDIT: Forgot to say... at least it's nice to see that anime fandom ain't the only fandom out there prone to fits of hyperbolical rip-off claims the moment that fans notice the slightest similarity in an American movie or TV show.

EDIT II: Just to be clear, I wasn't talking about Craeyst Raygal or Laughing Hyena when I mentioned "fits of hyperbolical rip-off claims"... Laughing Hyena was the voice of sanity on message boards I visited everywhere during the nonsense over Outlaw Star and Firefly.
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Laughing Hyena



Joined: 11 Jul 2002
Posts: 136
Location: Oxnard in sunny Cailforina
PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 4:20 pm Reply with quote
Geez, Zac.....clam down.

Nope, I didn't write any letters to Penny Arcade. In fact I saw someone post the link towards the comic (I think Juju and I used to look at the comic long ago) and though it was funny because of the stab towards Anne Rice (who doesn't even let her fans write fanfiction on her novels. I can probably see why because of Slash and Yaoi fanfictions that exist.).

The White Wolf forums are not as bad as you think. Probably because I hang out more in the Werewolf section, but I don't know if that factors in or anything. Alot of the people I've met are really smart and fun to talk to (who also cannot not stand it when another newcomer posts about how he wants a BSD tribebook).

Yeah, I'm into WW's Werewolf stuff and may be getting into Mage sometime. However, I'm never ashamed of being nerdy over things, so I'm still into it. Again, you have read the WW books: But have you actually read the folklore as well? I say this since I'm a big fan of werewolves and have read many books that talk about the folklore.

I was also waiting for reviews of the movie to see if I wanted to see it or not. However, because of reading the reviews, I don't think I'm going to see it since I'm someone who likes story over SFX.
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