Not the Glory, the Victory...

I knew making a Warhammer 40,000 movie was going to be a big deal for many people, and a great honour to be trusted with, but it still felt amazing to be at the UK Games Day in September and see firsthand how excited everyone was when they heard about ULTRAMARINES. It was also great to see the response to the announcement of Dan Abnett as writer and, just in case I need to confirm what many of you have guessed, he really has done a cracking job with the script.

Of course now Martyn Pick and I are no longer the only people working on the film. We have an incredible team of artists with us: some of them you will know already for their 40k art, others are new to the universe (and I am willing to predict that some may have a future with Games Workshop - I know a couple of pieces have already made the Licensing Department's 'Cool Wall' back at GW HQ in Nottingham).

With Dan Faucett, Head of Story, we have brought together a fantastic and extraordinary mix of artists with skills and experience from a wide variety of backgrounds - comic books, live-action movies, animated TV series and feature films – each contributing something from their perspective to the enormous job of making ULTRAMARINES an exiting and authentic translation of the 40k universe.

So, in our dimly lit studio near the docks in Cardiff, Wales, the Art and Design team have been are busy working like Servitors (highly-skilled, industrious and much-valued Servitors, of course). The first – and huge - task is that every aspect of the film is very carefully and painstakingly designed, from bolter shell casings to complex buildings, using reference from Games Workshop, Black Library, Forge World, things we photographed at Games Day or our local hobby centres and, of course, real world reference (Praise the Emperor for the internet). On the one hand, having all this reference is great but, for this film, pretty much everything has to be designed from the bottom up and amongst the many challenges are making the transition from tabletop to screen seem natural, and just ensuring things work for film reality. Proportions are the obvious thing but all the details have to be right too. Ever looked at a Space Marine miniature and wondered how it can get out of a 40k harness? How might a 41st millennium holographic viewer work? Every small puzzle solved gets us closer to a finished film. But we can reveal for the first time a few one of the early concept designs over on http://www.ultramarinesthemovie.com. Go and take a look at what we have been up to. We’ll post more artwork again soon.

Film-making, it's not all that glamorous, there isn't all that much glory, but it is all about the victory!

Submitted by Bob Thompson on 21 December 2009 - 4:50pm

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Comments

Which Language(s) are to be used in the movie?

Submitted by Anonymous on 17 February 2010 - 12:56am.

A key visual feature of the movie will be deciding which main language(s) will be used in written signs, computer screens and so on. I notice the ammo boxes have English warnings on them. Games Workshop in their background literature for 40K emphasise that one of the main official languages of the Imperium is a Gothic tongue which in writing looks like Latin to me (as in Rome, not South America!). Space Marines seem to use this "Latin" and Roman numerals on their vehicles, armour etc, whereas the Imperial Guard use English words and Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3...).
If Dan and the rest of the team are concerned to make the film universally enjoyed, they might consider finding a way to make the movie's written language(s) more identifiable to all audiences, whether English speakers or not. (Star Trek doesn't try, its StarFleet seems to use English - but why follow their lead?). Perhaps using a common Gothic script (with additional English plus some world languages e.g Chinese and Spanish if clarity is important) would reflect that Earth in the future will become one unified (if often terrified) society subject to Imperial decree (similar to the Roman Empire). It would certainly add to the atmosphere. Also, I expect you will indicate some "ethnic" features on the actors - sometimes 40K appears a bit Euro-centric. [From Lynch_P, Ireland]

practicality vs reality

Submitted by lordisaiah on 28 February 2010 - 5:37am.

Star Trek's Starfleet would use multiple languages...if appropriately talented actors with the appropriate visas could be had at the required cut-rate expenses. (In the novels, Picard is far more French than the very English Patrick Stewart, Sulu clearly shows his Japanese ancestory, and all those English speaking aliens...thank the universal translator installed in your TV...)

Firefly tried to show the "multiple language/influence" thing, and frankly, your average Tom, Richard, and Sally just didn't get it. I noticed the Chinese references...and was confused until I thought about it. (Although my favorite part about the novelization of Transformers is the fact that Prime first attempts to talk to Sam in Chinese, based purely on the mathematical numbers of humans speaking the language.)

However, as a general principle, you have to make due with what you have, the majority of the casting will be English speaking. They will speak English because the majority of 40k's fans and, in fact, a huge chunk of the SCI-FI fans are English speaking. One can argue back and forth about the "rightness" of this but then again, view it like this.

The simple film truth comes down to this...the Earth was conquered by the Emperor...he might have imposed a "single Imperial language" and did horrible things to any who spoke any other language. Many languages have died under the conquerors boot, (try to find a teenage Native American that is completely fluent in their Native Language without much effort.) As for the "ethnicity" of the cast, many scientist believe that with the free movement of folks from one end of the Earth to the other...the various "races" we have now will blend into a form of commonality...in short a single, "human race", with the blatant ethincity reverting to a recessive trait that occasionally shows up.

Black Templars?

Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2010 - 11:49pm.

I am absolutely in love with Warhammer and I want to be an actor. I am 18 and If you guys ever needed any help, I would jump through hoops to get to you and help out for free, just a chance to be with the great minds behind this would be an honor! And btw, will we be seeing any Black Templar any time soon? They are the coolest! ^__^

Keep it up guys, you are heroes! :D

OMG YES

Submitted by jodmark8 on 11 January 2010 - 6:15am.

Less talk, more action. Get it done men straight up the centre, and while your at it how about some artwork and i dont mean walls and ceilings,show us some ASTARTES.
Oh and i want to be in the movie too.

The Emporer protects

Mark Kinloch

By the Emperor!!!

Submitted by legoman68 on 8 January 2010 - 11:46pm.

Wah hoo!!
when i heard that this movie came out i was elated. I am a SM fanatic. This movie better be awesome! OME (Oh My Emperor) I can't stand still im so freakin exited.(Old News [sorta])

Damn Straight.

Submitted by Lord Jedi on 13 January 2010 - 9:59pm.

here here.

YES!!!!

Submitted by joey_outlaw on 7 January 2010 - 3:29pm.

Looks good, Im so excited!!!! The only thing wrong I see so far with the movie is...........Your not done yet. Im ready to pre order 3 copies
of the movie already

For the Emperor!

Submitted by nextal on 7 January 2010 - 2:42am.

When the news finally broke that they were making a 40k movie, I cried. I laughed. I sang and danced. I was very concerned.

Until you said who you had scripting the movie, and the rest of the great creative team! Still, one thing still gnaws at the back of my mind, filling me with fear and doubt. Will this be 'R' rated? Because, my fellow 40k fans, 40k is not a PG-13 concept. It's dark, bloody, hopeless, and damned disturbing!

Best of luck, and may the Emperor guide you to victory.

MY CONCERN ALSO......... 40 K soft ??? PLEASE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Submitted by Anonymous on 21 June 2010 - 7:55pm.

I have read so much in these forum in the last few days......
Firstly I have to say Iam totally buzzing about the prospect of a 40K film. I don't care much about which chapter or even the enemy. What I do care about is the content and the rating of the film. I see 40K as a violent and unforgiving world. Please do not destroy these dark ideas and aim for a "soft portrayal" of what this world is about. The fact that it is a CGI film means you can push the limits further than you could do with live action film and at a fraction of the costs.

Please make this greater than great....... a loyal and very (very) hopefully fan.

With Mr. Abnett writing, it

Submitted by Bushikaikyuu on 6 January 2010 - 11:49pm.

With Mr. Abnett writing, it would take the intervention of all the ruinous powers themselves to botch the project.

I must play a major role in this movie.

Submitted by Anonymous on 25 December 2009 - 11:31am.

To whom it may concern,

I John Carlos Montemayor must play a major role in your upcoming movie on the imperative reason that it be in the best interests of the Imperium!!! I have a roar that can unnerve the hardest of Soldiers yet I have a charismatic personal that can act as eye candy for the ladies. I am a big fan of Warhammer and my favourite factions are the Space Marines and Imperial Guard. Therefore my preference for role lies there. I implore to your most magnanimous nature in being kind to my needs as I further ask to portray me in rank which is resembles that of my own. Your acceptance will be revered and my efforts be academy award determined...

Yours truly,
Sir John Carlos de Montemayor

A casting contest

Submitted by narylethotep on 7 January 2010 - 9:45am.

Can you imagine a contest/lottery to win a role as a voice actor in a Space Marine movie?

Marvel did a lottery in which two U.S. Active Duty military had their faces revealed as pilots of Tony Stark's military-grade body armour. The Soldier and Airman appeared at the end of #3 in a series of free comics distributed to the military, that showcase the military and Super's working together to help people.

It would be cool if GW did an in-store display for the upcoming movie with stills and stuff, where we could fill out an application. With the electronic catalog hanging on the wall in some retail stores, it would be easy to add a webpage in which would-be Marines could enter their personal information and answer trivia questions in order to access an on-screen script for them to read aloud. The audio file could be recorded and e-mailed to Marketing with the numbered application, or winners could record their voices at a local studio and send the files to post-production for them to be added to a track. It would be easy to add the voice track to some background SM with his lid on, because post wouldn't even have to synch the lips. That would be so cool...

But it would be neater to win a trip to the studio to be digitally rendered with your lid off. Or, more likely as a Space Marine, digitally rended. I would be cool with seeing myself shot, blown-up, fried or disembowled on the jumbotron at GamesDay.