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Originally Posted by Prowler
I'm honestly surprised this might be the first ever Sonic movie. You'd think they'd have made a Sonic movie at some point in the 90s just like Mario, SF and MK got movies. Although maybe because the trend back then was for video game adaptations to be in live action the trigger was never pulled on Sonic since... you know. Unless they'd combine live action with animation like Space jam did.
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Sega did pitch an animated Sonic movie in the 90s but it never went far. Then of course there's the awful pitch by the more awful Ken Penders.
Don't know who Ken Penders is? Just in case your not a big Sonic fan or somehow managed to avoid all his controversy, heres' the short version: Basically he was a hack writer for the Archie Sonic comics that latter sued Archie and Sega for the copyright of all the characters and concepts he created for the book...and some how won. Want to know why Knuckles can't wear his hat from the Sonic OVA? It's because Ken owns the concept of that idea even though the OVA was made years before he put it into the comics. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. There's more to it, but that's enough for now.
Back to "his" movie. It all started when Ben Hurst, head writer for the SatAm Sonic the Hedgehog series, tried contacting Sega with the possibility of creating a finale for the series. Here's what he had to say:
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Originally Posted by Ben Hurst
I did consult with DiC to see if there was a way to generate some enthusiasm for a feature film to be the "Third Season" of SatAM. I was given the name of a SEGA executive and had a most pleasant conversation. She had to go to a meeting, but said she would like to talk to me more about the idea. The next day, I got a call from Ken Penders, who had been alerted by his contact in their office that I was interested in getting a Sonic movie going. I generously offered to include him in the effort and told him my strategy. Get SEGA to become invested in the idea by hiring us to interview their creative game designers, execs, etc and see if we could develop a story line that would fulfill the third season - and simultaneously give them creative ideas to develop new games. A win-win, situation.
Then, I called SEGA back, but I was shocked when the exec "lit" into me, telling me, "People pay US to develop Sonic product, we don't pay them!" Then she hung up on me. Obviously, Penders had related my strategy to them in a less-than-flattering way. Thanks for the knife, Ken. So, I gave up. Later, I was informed by friendly fans that Penders had written in his message board or some such place that "Ben Hurst doesn't know how movies are made in Hollywood." (Hey Ken, read "Adventures in Screenwriting" by William Goldman and get some humility) Then he dropped hints that HE would be the writer for a big Sonic Feature Film. That was three years ago. So, if you're reading between the lines, you can see I don't hold out much hope for seeing the third season of SatAM - or being the one who does it if it happens. And that makes me sad. Because if it were to happen, those 13 episodes would sizzle.
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Here's that awful pitch Ken made, a pitch Ken was so proud of that he back-stabbed Ben Hurst over it. I have to remind you all because I myself sometimes have trouble believing all the horrible and crazy things about that man: This. Is. Real.