Forums of the Megaverse®

Rifts® Movie Letter Writing Campaign

I had mentioned in a recent Gateway to the Megaverse® Pod Cast that Palladium fans should stop asking me about the Rifts® movie and all write a letter to Jerry Bruckheimer at JB Films telling him how much they want to see the Rifts® Movie and that they hope he makes it soon. That has generated excitement among a lot of people talking about doing just that. However, while they want to send a letter, they don’t know how.

Then I got this email:

Hello Kevin,

Years ago, I worked in film production (and not surpringly, my closest friends are still in Hollywood). A few of them are (or have been) studio executives and I can tell you without an iota of a doubt that fan campaigns are extremely important and they are taken very seriously.

ALL of them want to hear about fan interest. Based on conversations with studio friends over the years, here's what I learned.

1) Email is okay. Physical letters are better.

2) More letters get read than you imagine. You know fan mail is fun to read and it is the same for them.

3) Coordinated campaigns have better results. Sustained campaigns have the best results.

4) "Buzz" is everything.

My suggestion is to write a Letter Campaign Murmur with everything fans will need - names, addresses, emails, etc. Also, include this in the next Rifter. Most people will want to participate, but few will know what to write and many will be intimidated by putting together a letter. You solve this by doing what all activist groups do when sending letters to Congress. You create a short & sweet letter expressing that this is a message from a fan who wants the movie made. Then, the fans download it, sign it and send it. Maybe the Campaign needs a page on the website.

Such a letter would be best with the Rifts Name & Logo as the letterhead so there is an immediate visual continuity when Jerry sees them. Include some white space and encourage people to personalize it with handwritten or typed additional comments.

Remind them that praise, sugar and carrots are their best bets. Not "please don't make a sucky movie" comments! As always, good luck!

Let's do it! A Rifts® Movie
letter writing campaign

This fan is absolutely right.

Do NOT doubt the weight and power YOUR opinions and desires carry in Hollywood. Look at how important “fan power” has become at the San Diego Comic Con. Use your power and influence to help show Jerry Bruckheimer just how excited and interested you really are about seeing a Rifts® movie.

If you want a Rifts® movie, the time to express that opinion is NOW. Below is a template for letters to send to Jerry Bruckheimer. I was going to suggest email or a letter, but the JB Films website is being rebuilt. We looked into it and were told you can not send an email until the site is back up and running sometime late this Summer. That means we have to go with good ol’ “snail mail.” That’s okay, seeing a pile of mail is more impressive anyway!

Do it this month, January 2009 (and into February). The timing is perfect for a number of reasons. If JB Films gets a few hundred – or maybe thousands – of letters in a short time span, it will tell him we want a Rifts® movie! And if anyone can make a great Rifts® movie, it is Jerry Bruckheimer! Let’s give him a nudge.

This can work! Let’s do it!! Have everyone in your gaming group do likewise, and tell your friends.

Here’s a template of what to say:




Fans want a RIFTS® Movie

---- Your return address ----

January, 2009

Jerry Bruckheimer
c/o JB Films
1631 Tenth Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404


Dear Mr. Bruckheimer,

You have expressed an interest in doing a Rifts® Movie for a long time now.

I’m writing to tell you that Rifts fans around the world would LOVE TO SEE a Rifts movie. We have enjoyed playing Rifts for years and can think of nothing better than seeing it brought to life by a producer of your caliber. You understand the sweeping magnitude and power a Rifts® movie should have, and the excitement it can generate among fans and ordinary moviegoers alike.

I just want you to know that I think people would flock to a film like Rifts. And if done well, it could be the epic science fiction/fantasy film that captures the imagination of a new generation the way Star Wars did in the past.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

– your name -

It is as easy as that.

A few more details for the letter to JB Films. Start your letter with the Rifts® headline in bold (or a Rifts® logo) followed by a short letter like the one above. (You can use the one above as it is, if that is easy for you, add to it or write your own.) We encourage you to use your own words or add your own additional thoughts. You can be even more energetic (“Rifts rocks. Please make the movie!”), but make your correspondences polite, positive, encouraging and hopeful, not grumpy, snide or negative.

In letters that you mail, please include your real name and street address so they know you are a REAL PERSON.

Consider this . . .

You have power. A few years ago, thousands of you united to help save Palladium Books from the Crisis of Treachery. That was a Herculean task and you did it! Letting Mr. Bruckheimer know YOU want a Rifts® movie is super-easy by comparison. All you have to do is send a letter to him saying as much. Your cost: A little time and a 42 cent stamp. Let’s make it happen.

I’m sending my letter tomorrow. Seriously. Please don’t let me (and the crew at Palladium) look like goofs because we are the only six people to mail letters.

Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer, Fan Boy & I want to see a Rifts® movie made


© Copyright 2009 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Heroes Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural, Dead Reign, Warpath, Shemarrian Nation, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.

As a professional writer, I suggest the following modification to the letter. It's not a big deal but if JB actually reads one closely, this will sound nicer and have more impact.

You have expressed an interest in doing a Rifts Movie for a long time now.

I’m writing to tell you that Rifts fans around the world would LOVE TO SEE a Rifts movie. I have been a fan of the RPG for XX years. I and many others can think of nothing better than seeing it brought to life by a producer of your caliber. You understand the sweeping magnitude and power a Rifts movie should have, and the excitement it can generate among fans and ordinary moviegoers alike.

People would flock to a film like Rifts. And if done well, it could be the epic science fiction/fantasy film that captures the imagination of a new generation the way Star Wars did in the past.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

If only I thought of that

Seriously, it's good to have the templet.

Just some suggested talking points:

How long you've played Rifts.
Rough approximation to the books you own (It subtly indicates what you're willing to spend ).
A movie or other project of his that you've enjoyed.
What you like best about Rifts.

This personalizes the letter, and gives them an idea of what to build on.

For those on Facebook, I have created a Facebook Group for this effort:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44155817850

How about those Rifts Novels that where written, are not most movies base on books.

Being totally down with this, I wrote a letter to Bruckheimer in support of this a number of months back. ... Recently it was returned to me along with a letter stating that the letter was intentionally unread and treated as though I were pitching a script myself. What the fudge

Rifter6 wrote:

Dead Boy wrote:Being totally down with this, I wrote a letter to Bruckheimer in support of this a number of months back. ... Recently it was returned to me along with a letter stating that the letter was intentionally unread and treated as though I were pitching a script myself. What the fudge

I'm writing a letter myself.... I wonder what was in yours.. how many pages... it obviously doesn't matter what the content was since they didn't even get that far!, but how did you begin, how long was it?, any ideas on what would have "tipped them off" that it was more then fan mail?

-Rifter6

It was a single page, with the suggested header "Fans want a RIFTS movie" in large italics. And then I went into how I had every confidence in Bruckheimer's film-making abilities and so forth. It was basically a kiss-up letter.

How about making a Anime or Computer Animed movie for Rifts it would be a start.

I have to agree. If KS himself can find a director who would be interested (I suggest GenCon being the place to look up a potential director), there'd be a much better chance of things hitting the fast track.

Think of it like this: we, the fans, are the lowest level of interaction to major motion picture folks. While we might support them, we are not "on their level" socially, or in the industry. A known director would have a whole lot more voice for JB to hear, as well as a lot more pull with actors/actresses and other assorted movie-making companies. It takes someone higher in the industry to catch the attention of these production companies, so this would be our best bet, IMHO.

But what do I know?

Thanks Wayne and Kev,

I definitely will submit a letter again! The movie will be a generator of video games and even toys! YEah!

G

I don't think you understand what they were saying. None of these production companies want to hear advice like "make this movie and you'll make money from merchandising" unless you also say "I have money to help pay for this movie." or "I have direct contact with foreign markets for this film".

We need to reroute this letter writing campaign to target directors instead of JB Films.

i could deal with a cgi movie like the space marine movie.

If you go on you tube and search rifts movie you will find all sorts of cgi's spider walker etc labeled as animation test for the rifts movie. some are pretty good.

A script is the key thing to getting produced. (I asked someone with multiple TIFF pieces and had a lot to do with the show (keys to the vip). a short promo video(doesnt need to be pro but get the point across is good.)

The fact that there was studio interest he said is an awesome foot in the door.

We all want to see the movie right?

What about all getting together and launching a prebuy for the dvd?
If they have a list of all of us willing to pay for the dvd before production begins hell id pay for it then to help with production.

Another thought is get a kick a$$ video game then attack the film with a larger fan base.
The suggestion of having bethesda studios do the game was a good one. And having watched the behind the scenes on the collectors edition the chalenge of rifts as a game would be a challenge they would tackle and want to give a groundbreaking game for.

It's an interesting idea... but why leave it in Jerry's court? It's your Intellectual Property. If he's not moving on it, talk to other studios. Need some names, pick up a few CGW magazines and make some phone calls.

I still think it'd be cool to see both a movie and a video game, mmo. RIFT mmo is already out there though, so that's an issue... I still would like to suggest you talk to the folks behind Entropia Universe. Instead of selling items in game like most of the planets on that thing are doing already, you could sell ebooks and real world books, then focus the planet on free activity to make the best darn mmo out there. the platform they are using is still in the beginning phases. Over the next several years, it's going to grow, especially once the planet Micheal Jackson goes live.

http://www.planetmichael.com/

http://www.mindark.com/

http://www.entropiaplatform.com/

A RIFTS MMO already exists? I sicnerely hope you're not talking about that unholy perversion that came to the N-Gage. That's not an MMO, by a longshot.

The fact remains, JB has picked up the rights for another block of years and nobody outside of his company, or Palladium, has heard squat about anything. The new writer is a dead end, Palladium can't comment, and JB is hiding any potential work (if there has been any) better than Blackbeard's treasure, so it's time we start emailing and writing letters to these directors to get their attention. With a director pushing, JB would probably sit up and pay more attention to the project.