Why A Grocery Store Produce Section Was Pivotal To The Making Of Dungeons & Dragons

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Why does this feel like it could be a D&D campaign?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes things happen in real life that are so random and exciting that it makes you feel like you’ve rolled the dice during a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and let the game (and your wild friends) decide what crazy things happens next. Well, this seemed to be the case for the creative team behind Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves as they were putting the pieces together to create the fantasy movie too. This is because the movie’s producer Jeremy Latcham revealed that a grocery store’s produce section and a run-in with the co-director Jonathan Goldstein played quite a role in getting this well-reviewed D&D movie made. 

Latcham started this fun story by telling CinemaBlend that before he even met John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein when they were getting ready for Spider-Man: Homecoming he had read their script called Bus Drivers, and loved their work. He explained that they “nailed” the tone of Peter Parker’s story and the foundation of the Marvel movie was laid through their screenplay. Then when the producer left Marvel, he got a call from the two writers/directors, and they said they would like him to produce D&D. He was super interested in the project, and then, by happenstance, he got a call from Hasbro and eOne as well as Paramount to talk about the same movie. 

After getting calls from “all three angles,” as Latcham put it, and getting excited about the prospect of the D&D movie, the producer then ran into Jonathan Goldstein at a grocery store of all places. And while standing in Vons they spoke about getting the ball rolling with this movie that ultimately ended up on the 2023 movie schedule. The producer recalled the story, saying:

" Jonathan Goldstein and I ran into each other in a Vons in Hollywood, in the produce section. [The director] sent me a picture of it the other day, he was like ‘three years ago in this produce section, I ran into you and told you you should make this movie. Can you believe it?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, we were both buying apples.’ "

He continued his funny, yet fateful, story about this run-in at the grocery store, explaining the conversation he had with Goldstein about the D&D script: 

" He was like: ‘Hey, I want you to read the script.’ And I said: ‘I've actually already read it.’ And he said ‘How?’ And I said ‘Well, they slipped it to me,’ and He's like, ‘Oh, okay, well, we should really talk about this.’ "

Well, they did more than talk about it, they made a whole dang movie. Latham went on to talk about how happy he was that the trio got to work together again on this fantasy film, explaining: 

" It was weird how it all came together in a produce section of Vons. But I'm so thankful that it did because they're like family. We have so much fun together. You spend a lot of time together when you make a movie with somebody, you have to really like them, or else it’s going to be miserable. We just get along and have fun and laugh and make it better all the time. "

Just by watching the movie you can sense that passion and fun Latcham talked about. From details like Jarnathan the bird to the incredible ensemble they brought together for this movie, they really pulled off something great, and fans have been loving it. 

The producer ended by saying he really loved working with the directors, and he explained that it had been a “great three years working with them.” Well, it's also been great for us, because this movie is such a fun time, and it’s pretty wild that we have a Vons produce section and some apples to partially thank for it.