Shadow of the Colossus To Become a Movie 72
Sockatume writes "SCE's critically acclaimed Shadow of the Colossus is set to become a feature film. The cult boss-rush game will be adapted by Justin Marks, who also wrote the recent Chun-Li movie. A friend of the writer reports that the studio hopes to turn it into an LotR-style fantasy blockbuster, expanding upon the side characters in the original game's minimalistic and solitary storyline. This won't be the game's first trip to Hollywood, however. 2007's Reign Over Me featured characters playing the game, at the suggestion of editor Jeremy Roush."
There IS no story. (Score:5, Insightful)
It was a great game, but there wasn't much of a story. You were trying to save your girl, and to do so you were given the task to slay eight mighty beasts. I don't think there was another person in the whole game.
It had it's ending, which was good, but the game was basically about exploring the world to see how empty it was, then the sudden thrill of the fight with a beast.
It would be nearly unfilmable, without major changes (other characters, stuff in the middle, etc). I guess you could intersperse backstory (the love story part) during the "boring" sequences (searching for the monsters) as first person narration.
But that would change the character. It would no longer be one guy against nothing, realizing that he was killing these giant amazing creatures that usually meant no harm to him. You'd lose the "why am I continuing to do this, it's horrible" part.
Good luck, you're going to need it.
With any luck, this will be cancelled during production. If not, I fear another Mario Brothers movie, only less popular.
Re:wrong direction. (Score:2, Insightful)
Why does this have to happen? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why do they keep making video game movies? Silent Hill has been the only one that was even half-way decent. Why hasn't the public learned to just stay away from these movies?
Oh no (Score:3, Insightful)
The game is essentially about a boy and his horse, and the insurmountable challenges they face together. Think about that Viggo Mortensen film Hidalgo, but place it in a more lush, green world, and a whole lot less talking.
This really has me worried, I loved Shadow of the Colossus, the game was great because every boss was a whole level in itself. Whether you were climbing them or riding them or whatever, it was awesome. I don't know how a movie could capture this.
The game does not fit into the Lord of the Rings style blockbuster. It has just a few, quiet characters, a mysterious central castle, and lots of worlds to explore with just your horse. About the only thing that's similar is you could film SotC in New Zealand like LotR and there's bows and arrows.
Better this... (Score:3, Insightful)
On the other hand, take a game with an amazing, wonderfully thought-out story like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or even the Half-Life series, and a movie would just _ruin_ it. You couldn't tell the same intricate stories in an hour and a half. You'd be stepping on the toes of the pre-existing canon. You'd end up with a story much worse, much sloppier, and more kiddie/general-audience than the one from the game.
The fact of the matter is that Games can be their own story-telling medium, and they have just as much 'artistic' validity as a book and just as much visual appeal as a movie.
If they're going to make a movie from a video game, let it be from one whose story they won't ruin.
Re:There IS no story. (Score:1, Insightful)
There is a story. The back story is not explained directly but is revealed mostly through objects and actions in the cut scenes. The player must ask questions about scenes and piece together the story. In the opening, the priest following the boy explain that there is a rumor that people can be brought back from the dead in the land boy has taken the girl but that trespassing there is forbidden. The forced questions like how did the girl die, how did the boy get the sword, what is the link between the sword and the spirit and the 16 colossi, does the boy know why he is being used, why are the spirit and the priest at odds with each other, and what are their motivations are never directly answered. The answers given by the characters in what little dialog there is may be lies. The game takes a simple story and makes it more interesting by not giving everything away. The ending leaves more questions.