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Halo Script Hawked To Studios
Gamespot has the story of Microsoft's crusade to sell the Halo movie script to a studio. They really went all out, apparently, with messengers dressed as Master Chief delivering the scripts to the major studios. From the article: "Whatever studio picks up the project would also have to relinquish 'strict control of development' to Halo developer Bungie Studios, who have written a 'bible' which any director and producer would have to follow. Variety's sources say the purpose of the 'bible' is 'to make sure any changes to the script don't alter the universe established in the first two Halo games that will continue in future sequels,' apparently further confirming Halo 3 is in the works."
Sorry, I missed the bit where we're all under the assumption that Halo 3 might not be happening.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
First: I wish everyone would stop putting bible in quotation marks and, in this case, capitalizing it. It is actually a technical term in this case and is not referring to any scriptures of a particular relgigion. Any writer that develops a TV series creates a bible. If the intent is for a series of movies, or any series where there will be multiple scripts written by different people, a bible is a must. It describes the characters involved, the relationships between the characters, the standing sets, and, if it's a tech script, there will also be a tech guide, or tech bible that explains exactly what the different pieces of equipment can do, what their abilities are, and what the limitations are. When my agent first got the "go-ahead" that I'd be pitching to ST:TNG, within 2-3 days there were 2 Trek bibles on my doorstep as well as a stack of paper that was full of summaries of all previous episodes. One bible was the regular writer's guide (often called the series bible), the other was Okuda and Sternbach's tech bible. Even before I pitched to them, they wanted to be sure I had all the rules about the characters and gadgets right.
So, that having been said, I agree. Having a bible is a good thing. It will keep the, "That didn't work like that in the game," problems to a minimum. On the other hand, if the bible was written by gaming people, it could cause problems for a good writer who knows film and finds him or herself restricted by rules that force awkward or limited character development or create situations that don't play well in a 2 hour movie.
..which you all should also be concerned with.
1. The voice actor for MasterChief in the games voices him.
2. The voice actor for Cortana voices her.
3. Two words, Sergeant Johnson.
Because of his armor, having one actor do MasterChief's movements and another his voice would work, ala Darth Vader.
Since Cortana would probably be computer generated, again, no issue.
And Sergeant Johnson rocks.
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!