Giantrobo

Kevin Grevioux who plays "Raze"(a Lycan) co wrote Underworld with a prop guy named Len Wiseman and another guy Danny McBride.


Does anyone know how Hollywood avoids stuff like this? I mean don't they have some lawyers or a database to check out "story ideas" before green lighting them? Or does Hollywood just take a gamble and figure the worst that could happen is that they might have to settle out of court or add a name to the credits?

NitroJMS

So much of this vampire mythology is common knowledge, I can't believe White Wolf thinks they actually have a case. Between Blade (70's-90's), Buffy (90's) and Anne Rice's (70's-90's) universes, most of this stuff has been pretty commonplace in recent vampire mythology and fiction. There's got to be dozens of other obscure vampire and werewolf stories that share similar ideas with Underworld and Vampire: The Masquerade.

thephantom

Actually DRG, I am very familiar with the Worlds of Darkness I find many of White Wolfs bullets to be pretty good. There is a more to alot of that stuff than people who are unfamiliar would realize.

For instance, #56 could be a big bullet in WW's favor. It's specifically states SOME vampires, not all. In pretty much every vampire story or movie I've ever read/seen/heard, they either all move fast or none of them do. In Vampire: The Masquerade, only certain bloodlines and elders have that ability. If it works the same way in Underworld, I'd say that's a bit fishy.

Also, with #86, yes Dracula could be decribed as aristocratic, but he doesn't rule over all the vampires in a city. The Ventrue are the politicians of the vampires, the other 11 or so clans(bloodlines) could generally care less. The Brujah(warriors), for example, have little interest in ruling and from the trailer, I'd say the main character screams Brujah. Of course without having seen the movie I don't know if the rulers in Underworld are from the same clan, but again, if they are that's a bit fishy.

And with the weapons, vampires/werewolves can shoot each other all day, but not kill each other unless they use weapons they are weak to(silver bullets, fire, etc). Their teeth and claws can always kill though. A common trick in the game is to use mundane weapons to weaken your opponent, then move in for the kill. And yet again, depending on how it's done in movie this could stupid or really important.

Overall, I think alot of that stuff is just to point out the similarities. There's lots of legends and lore out there on vampires and werewolves, anyone creating new fiction can pretty much pick and choose what you want to use. The real issue isn't going to be with the similarites, it's with the differences. Without seeing the movie I can't say what they are, but so far I've yet to see any differences.


I agree, but like I said in the paragraph above, it's about the differences, not the similarities. Everything you've named has it's own spin, it's own way of saying "this is how things work", even though most of them step on each others toes here and there.

The real question is what kind of spin does Underworld have to separate it from what White Wolf has done.

chanster

I find it hard to believe that the term "abodimination" could be used in favor of the lawsuit. It is a common term used by multiple movies to describe a character that is a product of two enemies. Just because it is used as a proper noun does not make it infringing.