[NOEL]

Los Angeles, September 18th, 2001 -- Fireworks Television, a division of CanWest Entertainment, has entered into a licensing agreement with Hasbro, Inc. [NYSE:HAS] for Hasbro's Forgotten Realms property, which is based on the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game by the company's Wizards of the Coast subsidiary.

Under terms of the agreement, Fireworks will develop a live action television series based on the game setting and novels of Forgotten Realms. Wizards of the Coast and the Hasbro Properties Group, the Company's intellectual property development arm, will work with Fireworks to develop story lines for the television series.

"To work with Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro on the development of this unique property with such a large and loyal following is a real opportunity for both our companies. Our production and distribution expertise to develop the TV series coupled with their intense knowledge of the story lines leaves no doubt that Forgotten Realms will be a special series," said Daniel Tibbets, Vice President of Fireworks Television. "Forgotten Realms is a property that's rich with characters and dynamic settings," said Jane Ritson-Parsons, President of the Hasbro Properties Group. "Fireworks Studios has the expertise to develop a series that will capture the fantasy of Forgotten Realms and take the traditional roleplaying game to the next level."

Already a worldwide success with over 150 novels, many of which are featured on the New York Times bestseller's list, and 100 game books available, Forgotten Realms is a magical, medieval world in which wizards, sorcerers, druids and heroes wield their various magic skills on adventures that take them from deserts, forests, mountains, bustling cities and new continents.

Fireworks Entertainment is a subsidiary of CanWest Entertainment, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp., and is one of Canada's largest and fastest growing entertainment companies. Headquartered in Toronto and operating internationally with offices in Los Angeles, London and Dublin, Fireworks develops, produces, acquires and distributes an extensive slate of feature films and television programs throughout the world. The Fireworks library includes the upcoming series Mutant X, set to air this fall, the action/adventure series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda starring Kevin Sorbo, Relic Hunter starring Tia Carrera and A Wrinkle in Time produced in partnership with Miramax Television and set for broadcast on ABC's Wonderful World of Disney in February 2002, as well as the soon to be released feature films Rat Race, starring an ensemble cast of John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg, Rowan Atkinson and Cuba Gooding Jr., and Cletis Tout, starring Tim Allen and Christian Slater. For more information on Fireworks Entertainment, please visit the company's web site at www.watchfireworks.com. (http://www.watchfireworks.com.)

CanWest Global Communications Corp. (NYSE: CWG; TSE: CGS.S and CGS.A;www.canwestglobal.com), is an international media company. CanWest, now Canada's largest publisher of daily newspapers, owns, operates and/or holds substantial interests in newspapers, conventional television, out-of-home advertising, specialty cable channels, and radio networks in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Company's program production and distribution division and interactive media division operate in several countries throughout the world.

Wizards of the Coasta, a subsidiary of Hasbro, is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game (TCG) and tabletop roleplaying game categories. A leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains, the company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of TCGs and produces the world's best-selling Pokémon® and Magic: The Gathering® TCGs. Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's leading fantasy and science-fiction book publishers and is publisher of adventure games such as the classic Dungeons & Dragons game, family card and board games and electronic media products. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London, Beijing and Sydney. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's Web site and electronic retail store at www.wizards.com (http://www.wizards.com)

The Hasbro Properties Group was established in May 1999 to maximize Hasbro's vast intellectual properties in a wide-range of entertainment-based categories, including visual media, licensing, publishing, promotions and location based entertainment.

Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its Playskool, Tonka, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Tiger, and Wizards of the Coast brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.

Pokémon is a registered trademark of Nintendo.
Wizards of the Coast and Magic: The Gathering are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. ©2002 Wizards.


what do all of ya think about thst . m i am hoping for quest/hercules show

[Penumbra]

Personally, I don't care for it as an author because it is so limiting in terms of being creative, given such a standard stock of ideas to work with. I much prefer originality. I am not saying individuals cannot be creative in pursuing role games, but I do believe it curtails imagination if one has a tendency to write and attempt new and fresh ideas. Stagnation leaps to my mind but perhaps that is unfair to those who have been brainwashed.

[FitzChivalry]

Sounds cool, we need some more fantasy on tv, and the Forgotten Realms could be the right settings for that.
The cartoon series D&D of the 80s come to mind, i liked that show.

[Rob B]

Closed and moved to TV/Film

[Cadfael]

Penumbra... to a point I agree with you, it can be argued that writers of 'Forgotten Realms' and 'Dragonlance', etc... books, do not have to hone their world building skills, the job is done for them, and so is the magic system.

But... I personally think WoC books should not be taken too seriously, I read them, I enjoy them... but they are what I consider 'light reading', just something to fill in the time waiting for the next masterpeice. Very few of them are masterworks of fantasy.

But... The Dragonlance Chronicles by Weis and Hickman are brilliant, but these authors were involved in the world building, and thus they do it better. The same is true of RA Salvatore and his 'Dark Elf' books, Salvatore helped to create the 'Forgotten Realms'.

Another thing, that I have mentioned before... is that some of the series have books written by a different author for each book, and there is no consistancy in the flow of the narrative.

[Shehzad]

Dennizm: Have you read any of the books by Ed Greenwood? If I'm not mistaken, he was one of the creators of the Forgotten Realms settings and his books are pretty good. Douglas Niles also has some good ones too.

The others are crap. Period.

[Cadfael]

I have read Niles, I enjoyed his Moonshea and Druidhome trilogies. I have not read Greenwood... what has he done?

For what it is worth, I am reading The Silent Blade by Salvatore at the moment.