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Halo Movie Script in the Works
Alex Garland, the writer of the script for 28 Days Later, has been retained to pen a script for a Halo movie. Voodoo Extreme has the story via Variety, and notes that Microsoft is keeping close creative control over the script writing process.
As long as Uwe Boll isn't involved, it's all good.
[o]_O
Maybe it'll be as good as the Street Fighter or Super Mario Brothers movies!
When will they learn that video games do not have enough plot to transform into a 90 minute movie?
Given what happened with the Doom movie, this one will probably end up being set on Mars with invading demons from hell as the enemy.
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From TFA, with the bolded text added for empthasis:
Microsoft recently completed a million dollar deal to secure the services of Alex Garland, 28 Days Later and The Beach writer, who is now in the process of penning a screenplay for Halo The Movie.
Is this a first for Microsoft, diversifying beyond simple computers to reach the unwashed masses, but moving into making some money off the big screen?
Not that it's a bad thing, I'm not anti-Microsoft in the business sense (well, perhaps anti-Microsoft in the anti-craptacular products sense), but it's interesting.
"There's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all."
- Bob Dylan
I have high hopes, and low expectations for this movie.
I hope it is not as bad as it probably will be.
Pretty Pictures!
Microsoft is keeping close creative control over the script writing process.
Will the movie be compatible with non M$ movie theatres?
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Matt Damon as Master Cheif? I never played Halo very much in the storyline, but they would have to add in some kind of love interest in there. Jennifer Garner
Check out bungie's last 'Weekly What's Update'. This is grade A crap.
Not that I'd want to give them more money, but I'll mostly go see this movie. If it flops I'll feel good walking out of the theatre knowing that they wasted their money, and if it's good, well at least I saw a good movie, right?
dude, that just isnt funny. seriously, what the fuck?
Billions and billions asked,
I heard Uwe Boll was directing Halo the movie and it was going to star the Taco Bell dog and Paulie Shore. IS THIS TRUE?
Well, the statement above does sound like an "interesting" project, but as ever, if you didn't hear it officially from Microsoft or Bungie Studios, you didn't hear it confirmed. This is Microsoft's official line on the existence or non-existence of a Halo movie:
"Halo is one of the most sought after properties and since the November launch of Halo 2, the interest level has exploded. Halo 2 has now sold more than 6.4 million copies worldwide, bringing the entire Halo franchise to a collective 12.8 million units in just three years' time. We have not, however, made any official movie announcements."
Is that ambiguous PR talk for, "We haven't announced nothin'?" Yes! Why yes it is!
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... if the title was "Red Vs. Blue".
"Derp de derp."
The same guy who wrote The Beach and is a big fan of Digitiser?
Ace.
Microsoft is keeping close creative control over the script writing process.
since we all know that microsoft is well known for coming up with ideas on its own and implementing them on its own, this script will be highly original and will feature new actors in very creative and intriguing scenes and scenarios....
laugh, its funny.
From that directory, at least we can guarentee that the ending won't be a Turkey, just a Chicken
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Suttree, a weblog about casual games development
I was bored, calm down and stop taking /. so seriously.
It's not big, but it's clever!
The trailer text:
What is a girl to do?
Older sister is on her way home from Heaven, and little Mistress Chief, Goddess of the Multiverse, has misplaced Sister's favorite piece of jewelry! If you ever saw her sister angry, you'd see why it's not easy being a Goddess!
Coming soon from Bungie Entertainment, HALO!!!
M$ bought Bungie to make a decent game for their system. What movie studio, director and cast are they going to buy for the HALO movie?
I've never heard of "movies" before, so I guess Halo must be the first one ever made! Therefore, it's the best movie ever!
-A Halo Fanboy
I think it's good. They had creative control over Halo 1. Sure it came out late as heck, but it became one the the greatest FPS games made. They know what they want. If Microsoft makes sure it's a good movie, then I have no problem whatsoever.
But then again, I've yet to see a "game movie" that didn't suck...
What Microsoft and Bungie should do is just make the movie themselves. Make the movie a 90 minute cutscene using the Halo 2 engine. It would cost a fraction of the cost and it would be on the same level as all the other movies made from games. While we're at it, Namco should have done this too for Tekken instead of allowing this piece of shit to be made. It shouldn't be that hard. If the Red Vs. Blue guys did it with next to nothing for a budge someone with a serious budget should be able to make some good, right?
-Shawn "If the Name Don't Rhyme It Ain't Mine" Conn
Finally! Now it'll join such brilliant game to movie adaptations as...
* Mario Brothers
* Tomb Raider
* That fighting one with Raul Julia and Kylie Minogue
* Final Fantasy
* Mortal Combat
* Another Tomb Raider, with the same plot devices
And unless someone puts a plot into this one, it'll suck just like they did.
Is it just that producers see dollar signs everywhere in games, so think they can cash in with minimal work, that the people buying the games are stupid enough to flock to a crap movie just because it ties to the games?
I suspect they forget that games require less plot and character development than movies, as the players themselves supply either or both by the way they play. The result is that Tomb Raider was execrable, Final Fantasy (while having a plot) was dull in the extreme and that in general, games make really bad movies.
The best thing that could be hoped is that the movie would be so action packed with whiz-bang effects that it would distract people from the lack of a plot, pacing or character development so typical of game movies.
I'm not overly hopeful of this one. You can tell, can't you?
I found it funny. Mods here seem more interested in modding down than up. I think for the next week I will metamoderate and thumbs down anyone who gave a negative score to anything when they could have been moddin gstuff up.
The trailer text:
What is a girl to do?
Simple. It's a girl who wants you to do her.
Want to know such a girl? Read this HOWTO by Eric S. Raymond.
and before you mod Troll, here's the reason why: Halo's a war story, more or less; and I cannot envision a world where, after the script has been rung through upteenth million committees that it won't be a generic, explosion ridden, war-themed action fest. Really people, how could it possibly make it through production without having every warstory cliche in the book tacked on for good measure? I don't care what the original screenwritter wants, I don't care what the director wants. To maximize profits, The final product will be tailor made for the broadest audience possible. The result will appeal to all and be watchable by none. Oh well, could be worse. Could be Tomb Raider III....
Now I will do something that will quite possibly make me the most hated man alive: defend the Super Mario Brother movie. I've never understood why people revial it so. It wasn't great, but it wasn't a souless rape of my childhood (that what the live action Scooby Doo was for). Watching it, I felt the cast and crew genuinely tried to make a good movie. It didn't have the laziness of a Tomb Raider or the cheapness of Street Fighter. Then again I was a kid when I saw it, and in the target audience. Go back and watch some of the crap you watched as a kid and loved (Thundercats, anyone) and see how well it holds up.
Anyway, that's it for me. Be here next week when I explain why E.T. for the Atari 2600 really wasn't that awful a game. No, really, stop laughing. It's not funny. Certainly not that funny. You can stop laughing now.....
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Alex Garland is a pretty good writer. Not only did he write 28 Days Later, but Danny Boyle's other, underrated movie "The Beach", and the book of the same name that it was based on. I've read said book, and had a tough time putting it down.
I don't know how he would deal with Sci-Fi, but it seems like the movie is in good hands
Look it's a joke about my sig IN MY SIG! LOL!
Considering that Bungie has apparently drawn out an entire century of storyline for the Halo universe, this movie might not be all that bad. They could make it a prequel to the first game, about the start of the war with the Covenant, and the establishment of the Cole Protocol.
At least the set design will be easy - they can just build one room and one hallway and film every scene in the same two areas over and over again.
So how long into Judge Dredd did we get before Sylvester Stallone took off his helmet for the camera?
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
I personally didn't like 28 Days. I never saw The Beach. I don't know this guy enough to trust him to do Halo a service. But that aside, there are a few problems I have with a Halo movie.
First, I do not want to see the Master Chief's face, ever. As far as I'm concerned, they should cast the same guy who did his voice in the games and just have him voice over for some dude in an armor suit and leave the helmet on. C-3PO never had a moving mouth, and he's entirely belivable. For the longest time, I never even realized he never had a moving mouth, because his body was so expressive.
Second, like all the books that were made into movies, there is way too much story to Halo to push into a 2 hour movie. Some will argue with me on this, because you just go around shooting and blowing things up the entire time. But read the books, and then tell me there isn't a story to tell. The books and the games have a serious continuity going, and I cannot possibly see a movie keeping with this trend. There's already been comparisons to the Doom movie, but there wasn't exactly a rich story to back up the game (the books had lots of story, but you can't really say they followed the Doom story line since there wasn't much story to begin with). The only thing that was important was Mars, Demons coming through a gate, and a space marine. And someone STILL managed to screw that one up. So how can anyone expect an honest-to-god GOOD movie from a story that doesn't even fit into three books, two games, and obviously the other games/books that will be made if Bungie expects to conclude the Halo story.
Which brings up another thing: there isn't an ending to Halo right now. How can they end the movie when the Halo story isn't even complete yet?
I don't want to give in yet and say the movie will definitely suck. It could be good in its own right. But it's foolish to expect a gem with so much going against it.