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Doom Movie Scriptwriter Dave Callaham Interviewed
rsmith-mac writes "The HomeLAN Federation has posted an interview with Dave Callaham, the scriptwriter for the forthcoming Doom movie. The interview goes over id's influences on the movie and willingness to change the mythology to work with the movie, along with the earlier reported studio shift, and some very light details relating to the characters in the story. If all goes as planned, the Doom movie will start principal production this month in order to hit the theaters in August of 2005."
I dunno...if the whole movie just involves one actor running through a pitch black set with random zombies jumping out from in front and behind (after he just cleared the room behind him), I think the movie will get real old, real fast. Zing!
SIGFAULT
Honestly , i am not a fan of games2movie type of movies ... i prefer games to remain games ... i won't be watching this ... anyone else feel this way ?
This is NOT a sig - billy
Let's see here. What have got:
a) Movie based around a video game whose entire plot was "bad things came from hell, kill them."
b) First time scriptwriter.
c) B-Movie director whose best credits are Romeo Must Die and Exit Wounds, and involvement in such classic stinkers as Species and Speed, changed in to direct at last minute.
d) Will star The Rock and a washed out Bond girl in leading parts.
e) Tossed around between studios.
I think we are looking a three or four Academy awards, at least!
Since Doom's plot (even Doom 3's plot) is very weak and really has no substance, the movie has a potential to make up whatever story they want. Ideally, they'll leave the setting on Mars/in hell and throw in some recognizable artifacts (such as the chaingun or plasma cannon -- maybe the BFG) and put the main character - a marine - in some dirty green uniform; slap UAC on a few walls and signs and you've got yourself a Doom movie! If you REALLY want to stick to the game - add pinky demons, imps, and maybe a death knight or arch vile.
...and that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Its called Aliens.
If they want this movie to not suck, they better consult with James Cameron.
Hell..... if there are going to be making movies based on old shoot-em ups why not pick one that acutally has an interesting story and plot?
In other words, he's just making whatever movie he wants and slapping the Doom name on it? That is probably for the best actually, as trying to make a movie based on a game with 2 paragraphs worth of plot is not a good idea. Still, I think it will be a good idea to set your expectation bar to "low" for this movie.
I read the internet for the articles.
There already was a Duke Nukem movie. It was called "Army of Darkness." Hail to the King, baby...
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
"Which of the hero's family members will be killed? Mother? Father? Both parents? Or will it be a hero-parent who loses his kids?"
His pet rabbit, of course. Didn't you play the games?
So I say to hell (no pun intended) with the Hollywoodization of this project. I want my hellspawned demons pouring out of a science project gone bad (on Mars!). I want (almost) everybody dead, I want my marine so lonely that his animal instincts kick in and he's not afraid to grow a pair and throw himself out in a room blasting imps and hellknights with rocket launchers and machine guns.
I want a movie where our lone marine must save himself before he can worry about anybody else on the planet, and THEN maybe save Earth in the sequal. I would say more, but it all comes down to wanting a movie based on the game, not somebody's idea of a another 'horror' movie that's the same plot, just different characters in another place.
Also The Rock is a good actor, very charismatic. Dont sell him short just because he's a professional wrestler. I guess its the job of those who cant do to criticize, carry on.
You know what? That's a damn fine script idea. You ought to write the screenplay and try and sell it on spec. Just put a different name on it.
I can, however, tell you why Doom and all other licensed properties never get the perfect treatment they deserve.
1. Ego
The film industry has always, and will always, feel that they are artistically superior as a medium to video games. Despite the fact that Doom 3 probably made more in one day than their Chronicles of Riddick made in its entire run, they still view "their" ideas as being better than Carmack's.
When Max Payne - a game with enough built in material for 2 films - hits the screen, you can be assured there will be only a passing resemblance to the game. Ms. Valkyr will probably end up being played by Jessica Simpson, and Payne will most likely be played by Vin Diesel. Also, in an attempt to get a PG-13 rating, Valkyr will become Valka-Cola.
2. The Fans Can Do Better, But They Don't Know The Right People
I'm sure the industry elitists will flame me for this, but the simple fact is that there are probably 20 different scripts for any given conversion that are better than what was actually put on the screen. A dedicated group of fans could have done better with AvP and Street Fighter. They took a classic franchise for geeks and turned it into a teen flick. I'm sure it will be the same with Doom. Remember the Lost in Space update (which I liked)? I can see the Doom movie being something like that, but with zombies instead of spiders.
3. The Game's Audience Is Generally Smarter Than The Movie's Audience
Continuing the "It's not what you know..." situation, Resident Evil will always suck in my mind because they threw away a godsend based on petty Hollywood politics.
You know who was originally signed to write and direct the film? George Romero, the man who all but invented the modern zombie film. Capcom then fired him because his script "wasn't good enough," then turned around and hired the man behind Mortal Kombat.
What Capcom really means is that Romero's script stuck too close to the game, and that would have alienated people who couldn't follow an intelligent plot - otherwise known as 75 percent of the moviegoing public. What they needed was a shallow, plotless movie with lots of EXPLOSIONS and EYE CANDY and HOT CHICKS, not a well-written film that stuck to the source material.