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Halo Film Still On Track

Posted by Zonk on Mon Oct 23, 2006 01:31 PM
from the jackson-got-back dept.
Media Movies Entertainment Games
Eurogamer reports that, despite the decision by Fox and Universal to back out of the movie's production, the film version of Halo will move forward. From the article: "Now Microsoft has released an official statement via the Bungie website which reads: 'We are disappointed that Universal and Fox wanted to significantly renegotiate the financial points of the deal. But the Halo franchise is hugely popular and our goal remains the same - to find a partner that shares our passion and will creatively collaborate with us to best represent the story and spirit of the Halo franchise ... Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and the rest of the creative team are dedicated to ensuring the Halo movie becomes a reality,' the statement continues.
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Related Stories

[+] Peter Jackson Talks the Halo Movie 90 comments
Via Kotaku, an interview on Ain't It Cool News with Peter Jackson talking about the in-conception Halo Movie. From the article: "QUINT: Now, there's no reason on Earth shouldn't easily and faithfully be adapted into a PG-13 movie. However, do you anticipate there being a harder cut considering how gruesome the Flood aspect of the story is? PETER JACKSON: That's interesting... It's something, I must admit, that's not a conversation I've had with anybody yet. It's a conversation that I'm sure will happen. Look, the reality of the budget is that I would imagine the studio are going to be pretty insistent on a PG-13, which, as you say, is certainly not an impossible thing pull off."
[+] Doom on Xbox Live, Jackson Making Halo Game 206 comments
Microsoft is pulling out all the stops in its X06 Keynote today in Barcelona. The announcements are flying fast and furious: Ensemble studios is making a Halo RTS, and Peter Jackson is making a new Halo game (unrelated to Halo 3 or the RTS). The HD-DVD will be $200 in the U.S. with a release aimed at November of this year. They've got a good deal of 360 exclusive content including the next Splinter Cell and GTA IV Episodes, and (initially) Bioshock. Bioshock will also be on Windows, of course. Windows is also the platform on which Microsoft is announcing a new Massively Multiplayer game from Cryptic Studios, a new super-hero MMOG based on Marvel Comics' IP: Marvel Universe Online.
[+] Peter Jackson on the Future of Storytelling 42 comments
Via VoodooExtreme, an article on Team Xbox covering a panel at X06 on the future of storytelling in games. Along with Mr. Jackson, industry veterans Peter Molyneux and Greg Zeschuck weigh in on this issue. The meat of the article is a video of the presentation, which is regrettably in .wmv format. The Escapist has some highlights of the conversation up in their news section. "'I've got to the stage now where I just end up catching something on DVD and I'm more excited about games coming out in the next 2-3 months than films,' said Peter Jackson, director of Lord of The Rings and founder of Wingnut Interactive, an offshoot of his movie studio. 'That created an awareness in me of the shift in entertainment options out there, and if I'm feeling that others are too.'"
[+] Fox And Universal Say Goodbye To Halo Movie 310 comments
Master_of_Tumbleweeds writes "20th Century and Universal Pictures, the two studios that agreed to co-finance the film adaptation of Microsoft's Halo video game, have abruptly pulled out of the project. This leaves executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh without financing or distribution. A ballooning budget (rumored to have been closing in on the $200 Mil mark) and apparent lack of confidence in rookie feature film director Neill Blomkamp are being named the major culprits for Fox and Universal's decision."
[+] Halo Movie Postponed, Street Fighter Movie On 76 comments
FofR writes "Given the previous statements concerning the Halo Movie's stalled progress, it should come as no surprise that the movie is now officially on hold." From the article: "At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first class film to the big screen. We are fully supportive of Director Neill Blomkamp's vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait." You'll be happy to know even if a Jackson-inspired Halo isn't coming our way, at least we can look forward to another Street Fighter movie.
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  • why? (Score:5, Funny)

    by krell (896769) on Monday October 23 2006, @01:35PM (#16549698) Journal
    As time goes on, is there really much difference between watching leading-edge graphics video in demo mode, and a film of the game? Perhaps a "Halo" movie might be interesting if it had a running sarcastic commentary from sillouhette heads of Morgan Webb and Adam Sassler. On second thought, make sure to silhouette more than Morgan's head.
    • Yes, there is a bit of difference. Remember Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within? That basically amounted to a 'leading-edge graphics video in demo mode.'
      • "Yes, there is a bit of difference. Remember Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within? "

        Yes. Everyone had these inhumanly slow and fluid motions, especially of the head. As if each of the characters was suffering a horrible migraine during the whole picture. The "Spider-Man" digital cartoon that aired on MTV a few years ago had this exact same problem, even though the rest of the look was very different,
    • I'd of thought the Hollywood guys would have got the message with Doom's amazing flop. It'd be a heck of a lot simpler for the lot of them to just chuck their money in a bin and set it alight.

      • "I'd of thought the Hollywood guys would have got the message with Doom's amazing flop. It'd be a heck of a lot simpler for the lot of them to just chuck their money in a bin and set it alight."

        They could have literally videotaped someone's Doom session, spent a few minutes inserting here and there the already-available 3d model of The Rock's face (used in Mummy 2), and put this in theatres. Would you have known the difference?
        • I know I would have. The movie is not NEARLY as interesting as watching someones actual game session. (yeah, I tried to watch it again today, and fell asleep.. AGAIN)
          • Let's put it this way: the credits, which is just a Doom-style shooting of all the names of the people who did the film while a NIN song is playing, were more interesting than the song itself.
      • I might pay to see them set $200 million in $100 denominations on fire! How long will it take to burn up 2 million $100 bills?
        • Pluto Nash x 2?
        • No, No, No. They have to do it all at once for dramatic effect.
          Besides if they did it at a rate of one $100 bill a second it would take around 23 days according to my lousy maths skills.

          And watching them do that for 23 days would be almost as boring as watching the extended "director's cut" edition of the Doom movie!
          Although of course, 23 days still wouldn't be long enough for me to recite the entire list of plot holes in the film.
          (with the first hole being the complete lack of an actual plot!)
  • I really hope they can recreate the feel of the game in the movie. We all know video game movies don't usually do well, but they have potential. I liked in Doom when they had the first-person perspective, i thought it was a great touch. I think I would watch the Halo movie (if it indeed does come out) just because of the many nights I've spent getting my butt kicked. With the huge popularity of the Halo series, I do hope it is a good movie.

    But, with the up and down of "Yes it will be made" and "No, w
  • I bet they could get more support if Jackson was the director instead of the producer.

    • Re:Peter? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by BewireNomali (618969) on Monday October 23 2006, @02:00PM (#16549990)
      definitely. in fact this would be open/shut if peter jackson was directing. it's frankly puzzling why they chose the blomkamp guy when he AFAIK has not even directed a distributed feature yet. Not even one. It's tough to sell studios on that much cash and tell them that a guy who technically has never directed a movie before is in charge of what they'll see on-screen. in fact, that is a fool's errand on paper. especially given the mixed success of video game adaptations.

      Much goes on that isn't being disclosed.
      • "in fact, that is a fool's errand on paper. especially given the mixed success of video game adaptations."

        I think the success is going to be more and more mixed the more and more advanced the games get: the difference between a videogame film and the demo mode of the game itself is fast dwindling. Look for a "Halo" movie that, if placed as a long AVI clip in the intro sequence to the Halo 3 game (instead of in the theatres), nobody would really notice anything special.
      • "in fact, that is a fool's errand on paper."

        Not really. He's done a decent bit of animation in TV and film. He's directed one piece, but the reality of Hollywood is it's all about who you know. If Jackson is "vouching" for him that's a great start in many circles and enough that many times you would be able to keep a Fox or a Universal on board.
        • I work in film. I've seen his work. As much as I've heard, much of the conflict revolves around the studios refusing to put this much cash behind this film if he's directing. It only confirms the fact that they feel this to be a risky proposition for a first time director.

          I don't know of an instance where a 200 million dollar film is directed by a first time feature director. I don't think such an instance exists.

          The Jackson co-sign notwithstanding, I'm interested in a couple of things: why Peter isn't dire

        • Re:Peter? (Score:5, Interesting)

          by BewireNomali (618969) on Monday October 23 2006, @03:33PM (#16551386)
          I will explain. Peter Jackson directed several feature films ( I think the exact number is 4; he'd produced twice as many features roughly in the same time span) by the time he was commisioned to do LOTR. He proved himself capable of handling multimillion dollar budgets and incorporating his technical expertise into telling cogent narrative. He also proved himself an excellent manager of resources and was ready to exploit the tax advantages of shooting in New Zealand. So to say that Jackson made it big only through special effects is not accurate. I suspect this is why you posted as AC.

          Your assessment is based on emotion (he's created the most unbelievable 3d work I've ever seen... I can imagine... etc.) and hype; there are a lot of people who are far more qualified to direct a film of this magnitude who have displayed Blomkamp's skillset and more.

          I suspect the following: Blomkamp is a layer to shield Peter Jackson from personal damage to his brand should the film not do well or not be well received. Thus there needs to be significant disparity between relative skillsets. A failure is chalked up to: he's young and inexperienced, but shows promise. A success is win/win for everyone. This is risk mitigation. Jackson will essentially be directing this film. Blomkamp serves a dual role; he will essentially be pimped out on Hollywood projects afterwards; Jackson will be attached to all as exec producer (as will Weta be, of course: he needs to work hard to chip away at ILM's Hollywood monopoly) and collect his cut in addition to working on his own projects, essentially doubling his earning potential with nominal additional work.

          • ILM's Hollywood monopoly? Leafed through an issue of Cinefex lately? There's a heaping double handful of large VFX shops and an army of boutiques doing a booming business, and every large project these days employs multiple shops.
  • Now that Anna Nicole Smith has replaced Paris Hilton as Cortana the project is back on track.

  • Hold on now, he's a friend. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 23 2006, @01:53PM (#16549884)
    =Oh? I didn't realize. He's your pal, is he? Your chum? Do you have any idea what that bastard almost made you do?!
    -Yes... Activate Halo's [financial] defenses, and destroy the [doubters], which is why we brought the [bag of money] to the control center.
    =You mean this? [holds up a sack-o-cash© of fanboy money]
    +A fanboy?! In the core?! That is absolutely unacceptable!
    =Sod off!
    +What impertinence! I shall purge you at once!
    =You sure that's a good idea?
    +How, how... How dare you! I'll-
    =Do what? I have the [money]! You can just float and sputter!
    -Enough! The flood [of disinterest] is spreading. If we activate Halo's [financial] defenses, we can wipe them out.
    =You have no idea how this [bankroll] works, do you? Why the forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill flood, it kills their food. Humans, covenant, [fanboys,] whatever. We're all equally [disposible]. The only way to stop the flood is to starve them to death. And that's exactly what Halo is designed to do; wipe the galaxy clean of all [interest]. You don't believe me? Ask him.
    -Is this true?
    +(pauses) More or less. Technically, this [adaptation's] pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand [theaters]. But, once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of [interest], or at least any [interest] with sufficient [income] to sustain the flood. (pause) But you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you?
    =Left out that little detail, did he?
    +We have followed outbreak containment procedure to the letter. You were with me each step of the way, as we managed this crisis.
    =Chief, I'm picking up movement!
    +Why would you hesitate to do what you have already done?
    =We need to go, right now.
    +Last time, you asked me, if it was my choice, would I do it? Having considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed.
    =There is no choice. We must activate the [bankroll].
    =(whispers in Master Chief's head) Get us out of here!
    +If you are unwilling to help, I will simply find another. Still, I must have the [money]. Give your [fanboys] to me, or I will be forced to take [them] from you.
    -That's not going to happen.
    +So be it. Save his [wallet]. Dispose of the rest.

    -Bungie
    =Fans
    +Microsoft

    -Nis

  • Just when the Master Chief is going to really (Score:3, Funny)

    by XNine (1009883) on Monday October 23 2006, @01:55PM (#16549908)
    kick some Covenant ass, the credits will roll, leaving you with the same feeling that you had at the end of Halo 2.... "W...t....f...?"
    • WTF back at you. The Halo 2 ending was one of the best video game endings I've ever seen! I've never shouted, "Hell! Yeah!" at the tv after finishing a game before.

      It's not like the game was locked in production limbo (Shenmue, Psychonauts) where we aren't sure if we'll see another game. If that were the case then the ending would have sucked, majorly. But this is frakin' Halo. Of *course* we were going to get Halo 3.
  • Any idea who is going to play him?
  • Why don't they just trash the script as-is and set aside the rest of the budget to make a Red vs. Blue [roosterteeth.com] movie?
  • Something important to bear in mind: Halo was the game that defined the Xbox launch and led a lot to it's success. Halo 2 was THE game of the last console generation (fastest selling media in the US, $125 million in 24 hours) .. I have a lot of non-gamer friends that specifically bought X-Boxes and Halo 2 (as well as live subscriptions) just to play online together across the country. Now, if you actually have played the game, or seen the 'making of' DVD, you might change your perspective. They develope
    • "But take into account the original games used to make the adaptation: Super Mario Bros...."

      I bet I'm not the only one here who definitely does NOT consider the Mario franchise to be "garbage".

      "developed the game a lot like an actual Hollywood production, with...."

      Yes, indeed. And, given that they have set the bar so high ALREADY and in a Hollywood-like fashion, is there really anything the movie experience can do other than be like sitting and watching someone else play a videogame on a big screen
      • Granted, that was poorly stated. The Mario Bros. franchise itself isn't 'garbage' .. but turning a 2d (at the time) platformer with a very thin plot into a Hollywood production was, to term it lightly, a stretch.
        • "The Mario Bros. franchise itself isn't 'garbage' .. but turning a 2d (at the time) platformer with a very thin plot into a Hollywood production was, to term it lightly, a stretch."

          I actually think it is less of a stretch to make Mario (back then) into a movie. The game itself was so primitive and abstracted that it was not much of a challenge to make something distinctive (movie-wise) from the game itself. There was no "This movie is too much like a videogame demo" back then. I don't think the "Super Ma
      • The game is fun. The story could be written on a single sheet of toilet paper.
      • The GP is talking about the *story*. I'm sure that you agree that the Mario *story* is garbage. The game itself is pure delicious gold, but the story?

        And I, for one, really enjoy watching someone else play videogames. Especially cinematically awesome games like Halo 2, Resident Evil 4, Psychonauts, Condemned, Indigo Prophecy, etc.
    • Hot babe kidnapped by nasty gang. Boyfriend and his brother kick gang's asses to save her. Really, wasn't too hard to turn Double Dragon into an 80s-style low budget action movie, was it? That would have been dumb but fun. But instead they made it a lame sci-fi/fantasy flick that is just dumb, but not fun.
  • How many video games have spawned great movie adaptations? Tomb Raider, Resident Evil... the problems with these movies are too numerous to mention here, but too often, it seemd like they aimed directly at the 13-17 year old demographic, creating products designed to peddle merchandise, which were often left failing to even attain the level of "enjoyable popcorn movie." I'm not arguing that every movie needs to be at the level of Lawrence of Arabia, Paths of Glory, the Red-White-Blue cycle, or even the orig
    • What movies were these? Even Google turned up nothing.
        • Thanks. Found it! Never heard of it before, but that is not surprising from living in a country where the main idea of French cinema is "we love Jerry Lewis", Girard Depardieu, and Pepe Le Pew.
          • The 3 Colors trilogy is Polish.
            • My mistake, Polish director, but a French film. Sorry, had added this to my Netflix queue recently since I remembering hearing a lot about it a few years ago. But I haven't watched them yet.
  • Why does Microsoft need financial backing from Fox/Universal? Sure they're going to need them for advertising and all the other filmy things they do, but MS must have $150M laying around in petty cash of their own somewhere. Why use Fox/Universal's and let them take the returns on it, or does it come in some sort of package deal from them that isn't negotiable?

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