Just when you thought a film project was in the ground, the video game basis for it goes on and grosses $200 million in one day!
This is exactly what has happened to the much-postponed Halo film. For at least two studios (Fox and Universal), the project was considered money poison, as both of them poured millions into the development of a franchise they would eventually send packing. But now DreamWorks believes they have the answer, and it involves using the novelizations of the games as the basis for the script.
How they’re going to manage to use Expanded Universe material without pissing the fans off is something that is going to be worth watching. Also, how they think they can avoid the money pit aspects the property now has a reputation for is also going to take some skill, as reportedly Universal alone lost something in the neighborhood of $12 million, before deciding to drop out of their partnership with Fox.
The other factor in all of this is Microsoft. The word is they are not going to want any Hollywood production messing up their $8 billion cash cow (something I don’t think could ever happen; the games are a stand-alone entity), so if there’s even the slightest thing about this they’re not comfortable with expect them to step in and cause problems.
So while DreamWorks is now the primary house for the Halo movie, this story is far from over. For a great rundown on the history of this theatrical soap opera thus far, head on over to NY Magazine.
9 comments
They should basically find a way to make Halo Reach into a game. the only problem I'd find is making the ending satisying enough because by the end, it's pure nostalgia and need to get to the events of the first game for the gamers
They are adapting the book: Halo: fall of reach into a movie. Makes sense. Halo:reach the game being adapted would be fucking stupid if they are worried about $$$. That would cost three times as much as getting Halo 1 getting put on the screen. Plus people really want to see Master Chief, not a bunch of loser spartans that can't handle their shit in front of some puny alien horde. If the movie gets made it'll be based on the Halo reach book. .
Halo has a decent story but it sells because of the game play. Nobody buys it for the story so naturally making a movie of it is stupid. Halo as a movie works about as well as Street Fighter. If this gets made it will require a new story. Your average guy doesn't know who or what the fuck Master Chief is not do they care to know. Dreamworks either has a workable angle or they're just so out of touch they don't see what a stupid idea a Halo movie is.
Will all the soldiers have the dreamworks face though?
One eyebrow for business, one eyebrow for partying.
#3, I'm pretty sure "Space Marines vs. an alien horde" is a pretty workable (if cliched) angle for a big-budget sci-fi movie. Also I'm pretty sure a lot of those "average guys" do in fact have a clue who the Master Chief is (at least visually), given the numbers of these games that have been sold and the marketing that's been done for them. Video Games have a huge mainstream audience.
Also @#3: This is probably the silliest thing I have ever read. As Jmacq1 pointed out, the plot alone (Marines v. Aliens) will sell tickets, especially to Average Joe. Plot not-with-standing, the look of the franchise will fill seats. It won't be Kubrick, but it's Halo; it doesn't need to be. In fact, not knowing who Master Chief is will have no bearing on whether or not people will see it. 9/10, movies tend to be about characters no one knows (you know, the ample amount of movies that aren't based off of iconic characters) and they make bank. And to compare the idea of a Halo movie to a film based off of Street Fighter (which didn't have a plot nearly as narratively workable as Halo does) shows that you are the one who is out of touch. Not to mention the fact that you're forgetting the obvious here: Video games like Halo are just action movies you can play, and as such the formulaic and bare-bones plot is perfect fodder for a action film.
The background for this series in the games, novels and audio books has always been ridiculously overrated…almost as if people choose to ignore the fact that there's nothing remotely original in it. That works when you're in a game – the interactive experience is a great one. But as a movie? It'll just be like hundreds of other flicks you've seen. Not that it'll stop it from being a hit…or being made, of course.
I'm a huge fan of the Halo franchise, but I too say that the story isn't really remarkable. It's actually more than a little convoluted — if you boil the story down to the basics it's not hard to follow but the execution in the games is flawed. I think it'll be challenging to create a Halo movie that doesn't feel like a Starship Troopers clone.
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