The Great Kingdom aims to detail the origins of Dungeons & Dragons and provide a look at the people who created it and the effect it had on them.
You know what’s just as fun as playing Dungeons & Dragons? Watching movies about it. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but that still doesn’t change the fact that the creation of Dungeons & Dragons, its early proliferation and the influence that it’s had on gaming (both tabletop and video) is easily one of the most interesting stories in all of nerdom. Hoping to do their part to spread the lore of how D&D came to be, a group of filmmakers has gone to Kickstarter seeking funds for a documentary that will tell the game’s story.
The film, dubbed The Great Kingdom, is being created by Andrew Pascal, Jim Gavin, Chris Haifley and James Sprattley, veterans filmmakers of the “LA and NY film communities”. It’s the quartet’s hope to produce a film that accurately portrays the story of the game and the “families, both blood and personal bond, affected by [its] success.”
To that end, they’re seeking $50,000 to help finance the post-production work for the film which will include interviews with “folks who were there” as well as the families of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson who co-developed Dungeons & Dragons. While the group admits that isn’t a huge amount for the work that still needs to be done, they claim to have “amazing partners” who “are willing to offer us top-tier talent and facilities for bargain-basement rates.”
That said, it’s a goal that the project looks well on track to reach. While, at this point, there’s still more than $40,000 left to raise, if it keeps to its current rate of fundraising it should comfortably reach the finish line before the 25 days left on its timer counts down. Check it out and, if it interests you, toss it a few dollars. After all, the world certainly isn’t going to be hurt by having another film about tabletop games.
Source: Kickstarter
