2000AD the movie

Deliverance

One of the best long running 'comic' books / graphic works in existence in the 80's and 90's that brought and inspired thought and creative thinking into the young minds of a generation fortunate enough to become absorbed into its' hardline dsytopian world.

An introduction to a world based on the best written ideas and philosophies of our time, the bible (the age of judges with a power to instantly judge a crime) that is in the bible somewhere.

Genetics, the danger of creating the perfect human was played out in (the janus project). This became news 15yrs later and films like Gatica came about.

pagan beliefs and culture was played out in the epic (Slaine).

The Matrix as a movie was influnced by the epic story that was Slaine: In 'Slaine' The 'godlike' superior race (cythrall who worshipped a worm god) inspired the idea for the Matrix movie (in my opinion), The cythrall were minions to their god, a worm like creature that farmed humans and lived off human suffering in some way.

In the matrix movie, the 'hunters' in the matrix were a modern mixed design of organic metallic creatures that were a mix of the idea of the percieved threat of AI and modern technology reflected from the original story from 2000ad. In the movie they are practically the same design as the worm god. I think that the worm god was chosen because of it's base nature, representitave of nature at it's most base form. This combines the old idea of base pagan worship combined with modern technology i.e. contemporary fears used with old pagan ideology.

From 2000ad's inception and eventual dislocation from the eagle it has been an imaginative journey into another world based on experimental 'future shocks' and brilliant storytelling and artwork that was second to none.

In fact it brought the 'lowly comic book' artist into the realm of art, ironically this led to the original artists being headhunted with promises of big money into the hollywood realm.

The publication went downhill from this point (once the original artists took the buck), and in my opinion has never been the same since. At the time the publication was brilliant and inspiring. but even though the artists left for the cash (I have never heard from them since), they did do one great thing... They brought the concept of what is art into question, and brought what was once 'comic book' (art) into the realm of respected art.

2000ad is an epic work of art as a collection, I have most issues of their publications

Also it started the first social networking ideal by it's letters to the 'ask tharg' page at the end of every issue where folks communcated by writing the lost art of letter writing to the editor 'the mighty Tharg';).

So there you have it. for those not fortunate to have read and enjoyed this long running publication that I enjoyed for more than two decades then I am sorry for you guys, I don't think that another original long running event will be happening ever again due to the less than imaginative society that we live in today. I think this is due to the hollywood influence that took the best and brightest into the world of money over the world of imagination that they created.

The last half decent representation of a 2000ad script and story was the 'Matrix'. That speaks for itself.

The movie angle on all this is self explanotory, 2000ad is a goldmine of pre-written stories and scripts that are mind blowing, the Matrix is only one of these stories in my view. When my friends brought me to see the movie I announced 'Oh yeah I saw that already' in a comic book that I read and enjoyed a decade ago, they were not impressed. Only an avid reader of this epic work as it happened will appreciate it.

PS This post was inspired by watching the judge dread movie starring Stallone. They tried to sqeeze to much into it as script writers really. The scripts are gold and are brilliant. I think that movies that should be made are:

Strontium dog: a mutant with a power doing the only job that he can (lowly bounty hunter) due to society. His dad turns out to be a politician who spoke out against mutation as a threat.

Rogue trooper: Genetically engineered killing machine with a conscience(Last of his kind and hunted as a Genetically engineered soldier by the political elite that created him, with dead team-mates chipped into his weapons acting as his conscience in their own way. i.e his gun is a killer, his medi pack is a strategical analist) AI intelligence combined with a 'soldier' who is hunted by his creators so they can silence him as a post war genetically produced operative. Rogue is an isolated killing machine that can survive in a chemical war environment so he is percieved as a rogue element in an existing war.

He is the last of his kind due to an ambush from the enemy and a set up from his own creators. He exists and survives as an enemy to the state that created him. Rogue survives and his story is lived out for the reader and viewer. Now if that is not a great script then I will eat my own faeces.


That is just one episode from 2000ad as an epic resource for scriptwriters if they ever have the need to create the next 'Matrix' movie.

The jugde dread movie that they put out tried to incorporate a modicum of the brilliance that exists in the 2000ad archive of script working greatness that exists.

Personally I think that they tried to hard in this movie and tried to put to many of the stories into the movie for the fans: i.e. ABC warriors, Janus, Dredd Genetics, Cursed earth walking, Angel Family, Mean machine, . Good attempt but the 2000ad archive is exceptional and can only be taken piece by piece as individual stories it is a lifetime of stories based on brilliant writing, brilliant ideas, graphics and exceptional talent that originally brought it about.

How many great movies can this 'comic book' bring about? The list is endless. When will they make a decent movie outside of the attempt of judge dread? Time will tell, the material is their in it's raw format.

in the meantime I have my collection of well thumbed graphical 'comics' and works of art (2000ad) that are still great stories as I read them, despite the well worn edges and faded artwork, (they are well used and not stored in plastic). I am eagerly awaiting an epic movie that is akin to my epic passionate post;)

**** just read over it there that is one epic post, I stand by it though;)

BostonB

A lot of 2000ad was very dry and dark humor. Hollywood really doesn't do dry and dark humor. At least not very often.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2008/may/13/catchofthedaywhyarethere

I don't remember the Matrix like story in 2000AD. Maybe it was in it after I stopped reading it.

Judge Dredd looked decent, sets, props etc. But the acting was brutal. it would have been better a bit darker.

chin_grin

I would really like Hollywood to do a decent job of Rogue Trooper. I used to pick up the "Classic" releases of 2000AD when they came out. They were collected issues of particular characters\stories like Strontium Dog, Mean Machine, etc.

The issue was called "The War Machine" and was the most amazing story and has stuck with me to this day.

http://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Trooper-Machine-Dave-Gibbons/dp/1568620187

Would love to see that frame for frame translated on to the big screen.

Deliverance

BostonB wrote: »

A lot of 2000ad was very dry and dark humor. Hollywood really doesn't do dry and dark humor. At least not very often.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2008/may/13/catchofthedaywhyarethere

I don't remember the Matrix like story in 2000AD. Maybe it was in it after I stopped reading it.

Judge Dredd looked decent, sets, props etc. But the acting was brutal. it would have been better a bit darker.

It is in there:) The Slaine saga where the humans were being farmed by a higher power that they were unaware of (bit like cows in a field unaware of their fate). The humans suffering was fed upon and used as food (humans as batteries 'Matrix') out of suffering due to wars set in place by pawns put in place.

For the cythralls god to feed it needed the suffering. The Matrix did not work for the 'machines' unless it was imperfect i.e. humans had to suffer for it to work. It is loosely based in some ways but largely based on the idea from the Slaine Saga.


Hitler was put in place to create a war (suggested subtely in various stories) it was suggested that he was a pawn to create the suffering by an evil god.

The worm God 'Crom Cruach' in the stories was a large worm that had no soul yet fed on souls, suffering of a human kind that was unaware of it's cattle like status, this was a disturbing foundation for the 2000ad story that was Slaine. The Slaine story drew a lot of research from paganism.

Also the dystopian existance of mege city drew from a lot of Bible infleuences as well. The judges, there is a timeline that is biblical that determines a time in the future where mankind is directly judged. It is called the time of the judges as a final stage over several other stages, it is an uncanny read once you get into it.

Finally like I said earlier the striking point for me, with regards to the Matrix angle is that: in 2000ad the graphical representation of the hunters that burn their way into the hull of the Nebucadnezzar are very like the 'crom cruach' worm god in a lot of ways i.e tentacled creatures. Creatures that were represented in several episodes of 2000ad which I read eagerly and 'religiously' over 2 decades;).

It was great for inspiration and imagination. I think that it really is a goldmine of untapped, incredible scripts if done right. Heres hoping;)

chin_grin

I always thought The Matrix borrowed heavily from The Invisibles?

Deliverance

The film borrowed from a lot of influences i think. I didn't find the film as original as others did due to my own influences. It most likely borrowed from a lot of great graphic novels that most of the general public were and are mostly unaware of I reckon.

Just goes to show the untapped resource put inot the movie that exists if done by the right people. An example of doing it right is the Matrix, an attempt and doing it wrong is 'Judge Dredd'.

BostonB

I don't think those concepts are original to 2000AD. You'd find variations on those themes in lots of stories.

nyarlothothep

So many great films in 2000 ad. way better than Marvel comics. The artwork usually looked like a series of oil paintings, it was in my opinion superior to nearly every comic book out there. The story lines were superb, the humour was just brilliantly timed, one of my favourites is in Cassandra PSI when Satan is surrounded by mounds of dead people with a golden light shining down upon him in judgement and he says "it wasn't me honest."I would like to re-buy the old classic 2000 ad comics which I used to purchase in 1996, but alas they are no longer available, although some of the strips can be found in graphic novels. Missionary Man and Durhman Red were cool. Also I remember a Canon Fodder strip with these gun toting priests who opened a gateway to an alternate evil dimension with negative music. The imagery left quite an impression as they emerged into a greek style courtyard with statues which started to bleed a black oily substance, then one of their cohort transforms into a demon. Stuff like that would be amazing to see in a film, but it would have to be done correctly and as such I don't think they could be aimed at the widest possible audience.

Amalgam

Started in the 70's, not the 80's.

I always thought Halo Jones would have become a film franchise by now. Superb at the time.

Early Rogue Trooper too, though I found it paled as it got on. Dreadful wind up of the franchise.

2000AD was the only material that I purchased that caused my parents to go ballistic, early issues were really quite dodgy, dark, dark dark.. how it got on the comic shelf is a sign of them flying under the radar, different times.

Mickeroo

Would have thought Dark City and Terminator were the biggest influences on The Matrix although I see where you're coming from with the Slaine Comparison to some extent.

There's a new Judge Dredd movie in the works with Karl Urban n the title role afaik.



Always wanted a Rogue Trooper movie myself......

Mother Duck

Mickeroo wrote: »

There's a new Judge Dredd movie in the works with Karl Urban n the title role afaik.

Needs more chin.

Captain Chaos

Helmet seems too big imo. Nice body work on the MP9, hope thats not the new Lawgiver.

filthymcnasty

Amalgam wrote: »

2000AD was the only material that I purchased that caused my parents to go ballistic, early issues were really quite dodgy, dark, dark dark.. how it got on the comic shelf is a sign of them flying under the radar, different times.

hehe
I remember an old Dredd story where the judges were overthrown by Judge Cal - the parallels with fascism were fantastic even though Cal was a psycho dictator,(kept his enemies suspended in giant glass jars of formaldehyde ), Mega City 1 ran efficently for the first time- full employment, trains etc running on time. Fcuking brilliant story-telling.
I was about 13 or so and my oul lad picked up the comic and was like' wtf are you reading son?!!, but he seemed to like it to

anyway would love to see a movie with Johnny Alpha in there somewhere , maybe blowing off Rob Schneiders head.

old hippy

I'd say Slaine was influenced by the Conan the Barbarian stories, Beowulf and HP Lovecraft.

My favourite story was probably Grant Morrison's Zenith, also influenced by Lovecraft....

Amalgam

A film could possibly be rustled up from Sam Slade, Robo Hunter. Strontium Dog too, he had a few characters around him that deflected from his rather grim personality.

old hippy

Amalgam wrote: »

A film could possibly be rustled up from Sam Slade, Robo Hunter. Strontium Dog too, he had a few characters around him that deflected from his rather grim personality.

IMHO, Slade went to the dogs in the 90s when they rebooted him. And so did SD; like Slade he'd been killed off and brought back. Still, I did like when SD teamed up with JD; even if the storyline was yet another excuse to visit armageddon on Mega City One.

Skerries

I strongly feel that a Rogue Trooper film could work in Hollywood, but i don't think it should be wrapped up in the first film but left open
Zenith definitely would work as it was a self contained story with an ending
I remember reading that someone actually made a play out of Halo Jones at the time
I think i collected 2000ad at its height in the 80's and early 90's but i don't know if there have been any iconic characters created since to rival that time

sensibleken

I just got a crate of old 2000ADs and am in full agreement that there is some epic stuff there for monies. however the characters are much deeper than a lot of the ghastly super heros and it is very difficult to get 30 years of solid chacter development into a short movie.

Look at the Judge dredd travesty. Dredd is not a hero, he's a facist, a satire. His character has developed from super cop, to nazi storm trooper to daithless preacher and now human (well mutant) rights activist. The real star of the strip is Mega city 1 itself, hopefully that will be captured in the new Dredd movie.

Sláine would be good but there is a Cú Chulainn movie in the making so you couldnt make something which is basically the same thing.

ABC warriors Kronicals of Khaos would be a great antidote to Transformers 'big robots' movie.

Nemisis the warlock would be something nobody has seen before. There is an ocean of stuff that the British movie industry could make buckets out of. Just dont hand it to holywood

Cantona's Collars

Sensibleken-you brought back some memories there with that post.I had loads of 2000ADS going back years that were given away without my knowledge,wasn't a happy bunny when I found out,they were worth a fortune.

While I'd love a raft of 2000AD inspired movies,I'm terrified a complete balls would be made of them ala Stallone's Judge Dredd.(still a bit of a guilty pleasure though for some strange reason)

Sticky_Fingers

zerks wrote: »

I'm terrified a complete balls would be made of them ala Stallone's Judge Dredd.(still a bit of a guilty pleasure though for some strange reason)

I too think of Sly "I am the LaouWWW" Stallone's version is a bit of a guilty pleasure, it is a truly terrible film but I did enjoy the sound track while Mean Machine and the ABC Warrior did look the business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJuws-GFlqY