Screenwriter Ben Ramsey Apologizes for ‘Dragonball Evolution’

[Logan0327]

“Dragonball Evolution” screenwriter Ben Ramsey has apologized to fans for the film. In a letter to Derek Padula, “the world’s first professional Dragon Ball scholar,” Ramsay took responsibility for the film’s poor reception.

“I knew that it would eventually come down to this one day,” he wrote. “‘Dragonball Evolution’ marked a very painful creative point in my life. To have something with my name on it as the writer be so globally reviled is gut wrenching. To receive hate mail from all over the world is heartbreaking. I spent so many years trying to deflect the blame, but at the end of the day it all comes down to the written word on page and I take full responsibility for what was such a disappointment to so many fans. I did the best I could, but at the end of the day, I ‘dropped the dragon ball.'”

“I went into the project chasing after a big payday, not as a fan of the franchise but as a businessman taking on an assignment,” he continued. “I have learned that when you go into a creative endeavor without passion you come out with sub-optimal results, and sometimes flat out garbage. So I’m not blaming anyone for ‘Dragonball’ but myself. As a fanboy of other series, I know what it’s like to have something you love and anticipate be so disappointing.”

“Dragonball Evolution” hit theaters on April 10, 2009, earning just over $9 million during an eight week period. The ill-received film debuted to a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and continues to be reviled by fans.

http://spinoff.comicbookresources.c...n-ramsey-apologizes-for-dragonball-evolution/

 

[TheVileOne]

LOL why is this becoming such a big story?

 

[Kyle]

I don't really buy that as an excuse. If you do your home work, eventually you will probably find one arc that you relate to and believe that you can bring to life. From the sounds of it this guy didn't do any homework, took the characters, and did his own thing with them? This is why writers do research.

Batman vs Superman is one thing. Zach is a fan of the characters. Geoff Johns is a fan of the characters. They both were surprised, as well as I was, that others weren't fans of the same types of graphic novels of those characters that they gravitated towards. But, at least they did their research.

Saying this as someone who knows next to nothing about Dragonball, but as a screenwriter - you do your home work, if it's that far off the mark to which it barely resembles to not resembles at all any of the source material (as I have heard) he didn't even do the ethical required standard research for it.

 

[Warhammer]

Yep. Tons of arcs that could have been adapted. They didn't need to be 100% faithful. Just adapt one of the many arcs and use it as a blue print. It was too easy to mess up.

 

[Symbiotic]

I've actually never seen the film, but he says he was doing it for a payday. Ok. You're gonna take home money no matter what, so why not write something good while you're at it?

 

[dude stannis]

He needs to apologise? Why? He made Blood & Bone the same year, you should all be apologising to him.

 

[Kyle]

He needs to apologise? Why?

I'm actually shocked he is apologizing. That is rare. But, the bottom line stands that when you take something on you take on a responsibility to bare resemblance to the original property. If it's something you don't line up with, don't take it on and ruin it - this is a belief that Tom Hanks once stated in an interview that I hold to be a cardinal rule. And second - if you do take it on, do your research and stay true to some greater story within the source material because you are taking on a responsibility. That's just basic general ethics. As said, I know absolutely nothing about Dragon Ball Z. This is all from an ethical standpoint.

 

[dude stannis]

Ethically he also made Blood & Bone, all is forgiven as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Kyle]

Ethically he also made Blood & Bone, all is forgiven as far as I'm concerned.

That's not "ethics" - ethics definition: moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior. There is no moral principles involved in making another film.

Plus you will be hard pressed to find people who agree because I looked it up, if anything it's a cult film that never even got reviewed.

Not that it matters since bottom line is - all businesses have their ethical principles and with screenwriting it's don't half-butt it and do your research, especially when you're taking on a property that others love.

 

[dude stannis]

Making Blood & Bone gives him the moral higher ground though. Outlaw Vern agrees with me.

 

[Kyle]

I'm pretty sure, or at least hope, you're fooling around now.

But, bottom line is he refused to do a thing that every screenwriter from beginning to advanced knows to do with source material. If you don't know it - learn it, watch it, respect it. I did the same thing he did basically, a top studio I am connected with used to own an animated property - I thought, hell why not sell out? Try my hand at it. I know absolutely nothing about it. I didn't care in the slightest for it. But, the executives really dug my other spec for a different cartoon that I grew up with. Give it a whirl, might mean a paycheck and a big summer movie to boot. I didn't just briefly glance over the material and start writing. I watched, read, and played every single thing that I could get my hands on so that I could carry on a conversation with the most die hard of fans for that series. Because I knew it had a following, fan or not - you have to respect that following. Being a fan of anything, you know that. Needless to say the studio lost the rights shortly beforehand. But, not to blow my own trumpet, is the ethical move to make - if you don't know something even if it's with the dreaded "selling out," learn it - know it and most importantly: respect it.

 

[Reek]

I don't really buy that as an excuse. If you do your home work, eventually you will probably find one arc that you relate to and believe that you can bring to life. From the sounds of it this guy didn't do any homework, took the characters, and did his own thing with them? This is why writers do research.

Batman vs Superman is one thing. Zach is a fan of the characters. Geoff Johns is a fan of the characters. They both were surprised, as well as I was, that others weren't fans of the same types of graphic novels of those characters that they gravitated towards. But, at least they did their research.

Saying this as someone who knows next to nothing about Dragonball, but as a screenwriter - you do your home work, if it's that far off the mark to which it barely resembles to not resembles at all any of the source material (as I have heard) he didn't even do the ethical required standard research for it.

"Kyle brings up BvS in a Dragonball Thread"

[YT]idoYCVLh2qI[/YT]

Is there no escaping it?

 

[dude stannis]

http://outlawvern.com/2009/08/16/blood-and-bone/

 

[Kyle]

"Kyle brings up BvS in a Dragonball Thread"

[YT]idoYCVLh2qI[/YT]

Is there no escaping it?

I brought it up because I am pretty sure that's what he was referring to. I might be wrong but with everyone wanting to get in on the conversation and the impeccable timing of it - it sounds too fishy that the apology was issued right now and includes:

"As a fanboy of other series, I know what it’s like to have something you love and anticipate be so disappointing."

Which is basically the social media message that most of those who didn't like BvS leave behind. Almost copy and pasted.

At least Snyder and Johns did their research enough to divide fans and have those who liked it be able to point to source material, however controversial that source material might be as reference. Here, as said, I don't know anything about Dragon Ball Z but what I heard from a friend who is a fan and what I heard when it came out was the guy only basically used the names and some terms while throwing everything else out the window.

As said, the timing comes off way to impeccable too me that part of me even questions the validity of his statements or if he saw that the iron was hot.

 

[Reek]

i just want the BvS everything to go away

 

[Kyle]

i just want the BvS everything to go away

With you there. Only mentioned it because, as said, to me it comes off as someone seeing that the iron is hot with the atmosphere among fandoms the way it is and that this would make news and draw attention back to his name thanks to that atmosphere. It's basically why now when this controversy is everywhere and not in the past. As said, the timing's impeccable.

 

[dude stannis]

i just want the BvS everything to go away

And more Isaiah Bone everything to happen.

 

[Reek]

With you there. Only mentioned it because, as said, to me it comes off as someone seeing that the iron is hot with the atmosphere among fandoms the way it is and that this would make news and draw attention back to his name thanks to that atmosphere. It's basically why now when this controversy is everywhere and not in the past. As said, the timing's impeccable.

It is awkward as s*** timing... Why not when the Battle of Gods movie came out? Or R of F? Or the DBSuper series?

 

[Kyle]

It is awkward as s*** timing... Why not when the Battle of Gods movie came out? Or R of F? Or the DBSuper series?

From what he posted about selling out before, I find it hard to believe the timing is a coincidence. It reeks of someone who wants to try to get back into the spotlight any way that he can and sees this as the perfect opportunity to strike because he knows (and was right) that with the atmosphere as it is people would pay attention to him again. That's why, as said, I see it less as an apology and more of a "I can use this to get noticed..."

 

[sweetre15]

Even though he's being apologetic (likely due to the fact that he didn't stand his ground), I remember hearing that the first draft he did for Dragonball was a combination of the "Search for the Dragonball" arc and the "Piccolo" arc but then the studio wanted him to cut out all the talking animals and make the movie a coming of age story and as time went on the studio wanted him to take more and more elements of the show out of it.

[YT]NZKD5r_5GQ0[/YT]

 

[Duke]

Now, if only we could get an apology for the horrid G.I.JOE & Transformers films.

 

[Slade W]

Dragonball Z has the potential to be a great success in live-action. Hopefully someday someone will make it happen.

 

[Boy Scout]

I've actually never seen the film, but he says he was doing it for a payday. Ok. You're gonna take home money no matter what, so why not write something good while you're at it?

If you knew you'd get an A+ no matter what you put in your essays, would you bother doing research on the assigned topic?

 

[Kyle]

If you knew you'd get an A+ no matter what you put in your essays, would you bother doing research on the assigned topic?

Anyone with ethics would, that's a large part of the point. You can steal money left behind in a wallet you find in a store, or you can hand it over to the lost and found. Just because you can get away with something, doesn't give you the right to.

 

[Neno_Kos]

I dont accept this apology. But good for him. When you frick up something you should take some responsibility like a adult would.

Still pretty disgraceful that you are paid to do something and you dont even research original material to write a script or academic paper or anything else for example.