Rifts® movie option extended one year by Walt Disney Pictures.
For those of you who have been living in isolation these past few years, Palladium Books had signed an option with Walt Disney Pictures to have Jerry Bruckheimer Films develop a LIVE action movie based on the Rifts® role-playing game. That option has recently been extended another year.
Jerry Bruckheimer is one of the most influential film and television producers in the world, with such films as Pirates of the Carribean, National Treasure, Top Gun, and The Rock, and TV powerhouse shows including the CSI franchise, Without a Trace and The Amazing Race, among others. Disney is one of the biggest, best brand names in film, ‘nuff said.
Will there be a Rifts Movie? Only time will tell, but we sure hope so. The renewal of the movie option does not mean a movie will ever be made, but it is promising. We’ll keep you posted.
Hi everyone, Publisher and Game Designer, Kevin Siembieda, here.
All of us at Palladium Books, from me and the staff to our growing number of freelancers, are overflowing with enthusiasm for new product releases in 2007. Ideas are flying left and right and we will be announcing a few things that I think will surprise and please you. Some are silly and fun, some are great, new sourcebooks, others are cool, new games or the return of old favorite games like Robotech®, and some are new formats and approaches to role-playing games. A few are even just . . . I don’t know, wacked out products that we think you’ll enjoy having. More on those when we know they’ll be coming out, although I will tell you that one item will be a limited edition, color print by Mark Evans featuring Dog Boys playing poker (probably available at 8 ½ x 11 and 11 x 14 sizes probably for $10-$20). A few others will debut at the Palladium Open House.
I just hope you aren’t getting frustrated hearing about all these great, new books and products coming, but nothing out yet. We are working on it. I know it seems easy to write a sourcebook, but its not. At least not if you want it to wow your audience and make it worth their wait. I promise that when books start to come out they will flow like water and will be as imaginative, provocative and most of all, as fun as we can make them.
The logjam is my fault. As the president and publisher, there are a number of business issues and day to day stuff that distract me and steal my time away from my job as Chief Game Designer and writer. On top of that, I’ve just been writing slow. I don’t know if I’m a little burned out or a bit emotionally drained or what, but I have been picking up speed and plan to knock one new book out after another, in this order: 1) Rifts® Sourcebook One, Revised and Expanded, 2) Rifts® World Book 30: D-Bees™ of North America, 3) Rifts® Dimension Book 10: Hades, Pits of Hell™ (where the Minion War begins), 4) Rifts® Dimension Book 11: Dyval™, 5) The Rifter® #38, and 6) Robotech®: The Shadow Chronicles®. I want to have ALL of these books out by May, 2007, plus an Open House surprise release and maybe Warpath™: Urban Jungle™ too. And don’t despair, I have a pile of sourcebooks in development for Palladium Fantasy® (just got the revised manuscript for Mysteries of Magic™), Heroes Unlimited™ (Atorian Empire™ among others), Nightbane®, Chaos Earth™ and more! If we don’t come out with new product, Palladium is dead, so it’s not like any of us are just sitting around.
As for Palladium’s future? It’s still a little uncertain and scary. Without new product and continued support from our fans, Palladium could be in trouble fast. But new products will be coming soon and we believe our fans do, indeed, have our back. All of us, honestly believe we will be charging back with a vengeance and (how’s this for enthusiasm . . . or insanity) grow to be bigger and better than ever over the next 3-4 years. Hey, won’t that make for one heck of a 30 Year Anniversary celebration?
Thanks again to the thronging multitude of fans who have stood by us and helped in every way you possibly could. Your efforts have not been in vain. Stay with us and we will continue to give you the bold, fun games and sourcebooks you’ve come to expect from Palladium.
Keep the faith and those imaginations burning bright.
– Kevin Siembieda, January, 2007
Startling revelations, more about Archie 3, robot construction rules, monsters, and the Republicans revealed at last.
35 new D-Bees and 60 favorites collected from past world and sourcebooks, with updates and insight.
The start of the Minion War crossover series.
More news, fun, gaming ideas, source material and fiction.
Robotech® role-playing games return from Palladium Books.
Do you watch the TV shows 24, The Unit, The Shield, or Sleeper Cell? Well, Warpath™: Urban Jungle™ is like all those and more. You play the elite warriors locked in the secret war that goes on in our city streets, but we never hear about in the media. Spy stuff? Homeland security? You don’t know the half of it, but you will this Summer.
12,000 copies sold and folks are clamoring for more. The Gold Edition is almost gone too, down to the last eight or ten copies.
The second printing of Rifts® Ultimate Edition is fundamentally the same as the first printing, with some minor corrections and tweaks and the two Nokia Ad pages replaced with Kevin Long's awesome double-page spread of the Coalition Army (Skelebots, Dead Boys, Spider Skull Walkers) on the move through the ruins of a city. This is NOT a second edition. If you have the first edition you do NOT need to buy the second printing.
The latest issue of The Rifter® shipped to distributors on Friday. So did books to subscribers. We think you guys and gals will especially like this issue, with official source material for Splicers® and unofficial material that’s very cool, like rules and ideas for HU2: Expanded Mega-Heroes and Rifts®: RCSG and the Devil’s Gate™. So check it out.
Oh, and if you’ve ever thought it would be cool to have The Rifter® delivered right to your door, take a look at the Super-Subscription Offer going on right now. You save money, don’t pay postage (if you live in the US or Canada), and get a free gift! Plus, The Rifter® is quickly becoming a hot collectible with many issues out of print.
The Rifter® is shipped via “Media Mail” which is the US Post Office’s replacement for the old 4th Class Book Rate and is usually very reliable. Heck, we mail thousands of packages via Media Mail. For whatever reason, however, Media Mail may arrive in a few short days or take as long as 14, so please be patient. If you have not received you’re issue of The Rifter® by January 26 (two weeks), please contact us. Thank you.
As always, Palladium’s Christmas Surprise Package/Grab Bag was a big hit and we sold more than 1000 around the world. And to those of you who thanked us for extending the offer, you are very welcome.
Some folks asked how we can do this every year. I don’t think it’s so much how, but why? And that’s easy to answer. Palladium’s fans mean the world to us, and this is our way of saying thank you and Happy Holidays. I grew up poor and know what it’s like to want books and not be able to afford more than a couple. The Grab Bags let you get a bunch o’ stuff you might not otherwise be able to get. I also remember what a kick it was to get autographs from my favorite writers and artists at conventions (heck, we still get autographs from guys like Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Brom, etc.), so it’s our pleasure to sign the books too. For our fans outside the US, the Grab Bags may be the only way they can ever get our signatures, and since Palladium only does a few conventions a year, that’s true even of folks in the USA. (And one reason to come to the 2007 Palladium Open House if you can. It is the largest gathering of Palladium creators anywhere in the world, 40+ this year, including Erick Wujcik, John Zeleznik, Ramon Perez, Scott Johnson, Kevin Siembieda, the Palladium staff and scores of freelance artists and writers. This may be our last Open House so don’t miss it. We might move to a smaller building in 2008, so 2007 may be our last Open House, enjoy it while you can.)
This is it, the last 10 of 40 fans who can expect to see their names become fictional characters in upcoming Palladium sourcebooks. Only Palladium Books would make you part of its RPG Megaverse® in the pages of its books. Congratulations!
Kevin Thorn
Brad Haralson
V. Lee Jones
Gareth Davies
Brandon Church
Jeff Lee
Brian Carter
Cylia Amendolara
Peter Schlott
Adam Middleton
The Heroes of the Megaverse print, by Freddie E. Williams II, is still available for $10 – but your chance for immortality is over.
Copyright 2007 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
This Press Release may be used and portions reprinted with Palladium's permission for the purpose of news and promotion. Rifts®, Megaverse® and Palladium Books® are registered trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. and Kevin Siembieda. Heroes Unlimited, Powers Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural, Tome Grotesque, Beyond Arcanum, Splicers, MercTown, Merc Ops, Dinosaur Swamp, Chaos Earth, NEMA and all other titles and names are trademarks of Palladium Books.