'Halo' is headed for the big screen

[Gary Floyd 0]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/237...msfthalo25.html

 

By TODD BISHOP

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

 

A Microsoft Corp. product is headed to the big screen for the first time -- but don't worry, moviegoers won't be asked to suffer through two hours of Clippy the virtual Office assistant.

 

The company's "Halo" video-game franchise and its hero, Master Chief, will provide the basis for a major movie under a deal between Microsoft and movie studios Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox.

 

Microsoft confirmed the agreement Wednesday after months of speculation in Hollywood and the video-game world. The company declined to disclose the financial terms, but Daily Variety reported that Microsoft will receive 10 percent of the box-office receipts, including a guaranteed $5 million in advance.

 

Universal Pictures, the lead studio, was attracted to the project by the popularity of "Halo," and the game's underlying plot, said Universal spokesman Paul Pflug.

 

Both "Halo" games have been blockbusters for Microsoft's Xbox console. The second, last year's "Halo 2," brought in more than $125 million in sales on its first day.

 

"Anytime you have an intellectual property with such a great fan base and a back story, you really have a great place to start for a movie," Pflug said. "It allows us to do many things in conjunction with Microsoft."

 

A release date hasn't been set, but there's a "strong possibility" the movie will be out sometime in 2007, Pflug said.

 

Universal will have ultimate creative control of the movie, Pflug said, although Microsoft is expected to work in close consultation with the studio. Representatives of Bungie Studios, the Microsoft unit that makes the "Halo" games, will serve as creative consultants on the film.

 

The idea is "to make sure that the spirit of the movie is in tune with the spirit of the video game," said Carlos de Leon, Microsoft Xbox spokesman

 

Microsoft was able to make the deal despite some bold initial demands that made the major film studios bristle. According to reports in Variety and The New York Times, Microsoft originally sought a more lucrative deal and more say in the production of the movie, among other perks.

 

The company's desire to be intimately involved in the movie underscores the significance of the "Halo" franchise, said Schelley Olhava, video-game analyst research firm IDC.

 

"Microsoft takes a lot of care with the 'Halo' license," Olhava said. "It tells you just how important it is to them."

 

The company also took the unusual step of hiring a writer to draft the script before approaching the studios. It chose Alex Garland, the screenwriter known for such movies as "The Beach" and "28 Days Later."

 

The "Halo" movie's producer will be Peter Schlessel, former Columbia Pictures president.

 

The star of the "Halo" games is Master Chief, a cyborg hero who bravely takes on armies of alien invaders. It should come as no surprise that he will become Microsoft's first movie star. The company, for example, would have had a hard time selling a script based on the much-maligned Clippy virtual assistant formerly featured in its Office product.

 

"Master Chief has captured the imagination of young people just like rock stars or actors have in previous generations," Microsoft spokesman de Leon said. "There is no question that there's an enormous amount of interest around this movie."

 

But Microsoft and Universal may have their work cut out for them. The challenge with movies adapted from video games is that they often feel "like standing in an arcade and watching someone play from over their shoulder," said Brandon Gray, president and publisher of Box Office Mojo, an online movie publication and box-office reporting service.

 

A notable exception has been the "Tomb Raider" movies, he said, but those had the advantage of featuring an iconic character widely recognized even by people who hadn't played the games.

 

The "Halo" movie will be live action, not animated, but Universal declined to give many details beyond that, such as the potential star or cast.

 

In the "Halo" games, Master Chief is hidden behind armor covering his full body and head. It's not yet clear how the film studio will tackle the challenge of translating such a character to the big screen.

 

Even if the movie does spectacularly well, the direct financial return would be a drop in the bucket for Microsoft, which posted almost $40 billion in revenue last year. But the "Halo" game franchise stands to benefit significantly from the exposure that a major movie would bring.

 

"I think it's exclusively a move to boost the brand," said Matt Rosoff, analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft.

 

Microsoft's de Leon declined to say whether the company would aim to issue a new installment in the "Halo" video-game series in conjunction with the movie's release.

[devo 0]

I really wish people would stop bolstering this terrible game franchise.

 

That said, I'll be astounded if this movie isn't awful.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I won't be, since I find the game's plot to be fun. It's nothing more than "invading alien race gets their ass kicked by Mankind," but it's entertaining to say the least. I'm just trying to imagine the Flood on the big-screen, and whether or not they'll incorporate the plot of the Heretic from Halo 2.

[Gary Floyd 0]

Even more Video Game/Movie adaptations coming soon

 

"Tekken" from the director of "Drumline"

http://imdb.com/title/tt0411951/

 

And "Dead or Alive" from the director of "The Transporter"

http://imdb.com/title/tt0398913/

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Even more Video Game/Movie adaptations coming soon

 

"Tekken" from the director of "Drumline"

http://imdb.com/title/tt0411951/

 

And "Dead or Alive" from the director of "The Transporter"

http://imdb.com/title/tt0398913/

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Will they be able to find women with the right...well, Jiggle...to play the parts in the DOA movie?

[razazteca 0]

DOA Credited cast:

Devon Aoki .... Kasumi

Derek Boyer .... Bayman

Sarah Carter .... Helena Douglas

Collin Chou

Steve Howey .... Weatherby

Kane Kosugi .... Ryu Hayabusa

Natassia Malthe .... Ayane

Matthew Marsden .... Maximillian Marsh

Chad McCord .... Chief Detective

Kevin Nash .... Bass

Jaime Pressly .... Tina Armstrong

Eric Roberts

Silvio Simac .... Leon

Holly Valance .... Christie Allen

Brian J. White .... Zack

 

Who else is excited about this?

[Gary Floyd 0]

DOA Credited cast:

Devon Aoki ....  Kasumi

Derek Boyer ....  Bayman

Sarah Carter ....  Helena Douglas

Collin Chou 

Steve Howey ....  Weatherby

Kane Kosugi ....  Ryu Hayabusa

Natassia Malthe ....  Ayane

Matthew Marsden ....  Maximillian Marsh

Chad McCord ....  Chief Detective

Kevin Nash ....  Bass

Jaime Pressly ....  Tina Armstrong

Eric Roberts 

Silvio Simac ....  Leon

Holly Valance ....  Christie Allen

Brian J. White ....  Zack

 

Who else is excited about this?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey, at least Devin Aoki from "Sin City" will be in it.

 

Also, there's going to be a movie version of "Silent Hill". I actually have some hope for it, mostly because it's directed by Christopher Gans ("Brotherhood of the Wolf") And was written by Roger Avery. Avery and Gans are supposidly aiming to make the scariest "video game" movie ever, and it will most likely be a gothic horror film with a few nods to Italian Horror.

[Slayer 0]

A Microsoft Corp. product is headed to the big screen for the first time -- but don't worry, moviegoers won't be asked to suffer through two hours of Clippy the virtual Office assistant

I think this would be a more interesting concept

[Art Sandusky 0]

BUT WHO WILL PLAY CHRISTIE??

 

That will make or break the film for me. I know she'll just be some henchman or some shit, but still.

[Toshiaki Koala 0]

Personally, I would much rather watch Clippy for two hours than I would Halo.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Why so much hate for Halo? Yeah, so the second installment wasn't as good as the first, but all of the big FPS sequels lately have been the same way. (Like Doom 3 and HL2 were..)

[Vyce 0]

Whoa, whoa, whoa - Jamie Pressley, Kevin Nash, AND Eric fucking Roberts in one movie together? Brother, I can't buy my ticket fast enough.

[Justice 0]

Why so much hate for Halo? Yeah, so the second installment wasn't as good as the first, but all of the big FPS sequels lately have been the same way. (Like Doom 3 and HL2 were..)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Zuh? Doom III was much better than Halo 2, and HL 2 was excellent. Halo 2 is fairly weak when it comes down sequels, especially those ones. o.0

 

By the by, a Half-Life movie would be awesome. Gary Oldman would be great as Gordon Freeman.

[Scroby 0]

I think people's main problem with Halo 2 was the fact you couldn't play as Master Cheif through the entire game...that was sorta the whole point of playing Halo, being Master Cheif and kicking the alien's ass, also that Halo 2 was advertised as if the battle was happening on Earth the entire game, and also the fact that Halo 2 just felt like a unfinished game.

 

Now my question is this, say we get Halo 3, will the movie take off that? Say it plays off the ending of Halo 3 and the movie is the final result of the Halo series? Or will the movie be done as if the games never happen and its basically just Halo re-done in movie form?

 

and does anyone honestly believe that Tekken and DOA can be done in movie form? DON'T YOU ALL REMEMBER STREET FIGHTER!?

[razazteca 0]

MORTAL KOMBAT had a good soundtrack.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

My problem with Halo 2 is that I didn't care about playing as the Covenant at all. Whenever I'm playing, I stay away from Covenant weapons because I can't stand them (save for the sword), and when I play campaign I skip over the Covenant levels. I dig the storyline alright, I just don't care for how every Covenant level is exactly the same.

[Renegade 0]

Devon Aoki playing Kasumi? She's too skinny and has no titties. Surely they could have cast another token asian looking lead?

 

Zuh? Doom III was much better than Halo 2...

Is this just for single player or the game itself? Cause Halo 2 is just so much better.

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Brian J. White is going to be in both, I see, as he is the only credited cast member for Tekken.

[JasonX 0]

In the "Halo" games, Master Chief is hidden behind armor covering his full body and head. It's not yet clear how the film studio will tackle the challenge of translating such a character to the big screen

 

Now this is the $64,000 question. How do they cast Master Chief? And do they dare give Master Chief a face behind the featurleless faceplace of his?

 

Casual fans will be pissed as fuck if they don't give Master Chief a face, or at the very least cast a famous person as the voice actor for Master Chief so as to offset the fact that the lead hero's face is hidden behind a featureless metal faceplate for the entire film......

[Justice 0]

Devon Aoki playing Kasumi? She's too skinny and has no titties. Surely they could have cast another token asian looking lead?

 

Zuh? Doom III was much better than Halo 2...

Is this just for single player or the game itself? Cause Halo 2 is just so much better.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

While Doom III's multiplayer might have been a bit anemic from the get go, mods have allowed MUCH bigger games, and just as well Halo 2's multiplayer was simply a rehash of the old game with fewer interesting levels (Plus the controls on getting into vehicles are much, much more finnicky).

 

On a whole, in my opinion, Halo 2 was pretty much failure. It did very little new, and it didn't even succeed at stuff the first game nailed down. Doom III's single-player Experience alone is better than Halo 2, and it's shortcomings in Multiplayer have been fixed pretty much.

 

So yeah, Doom III > Halo 2.

[Scroby 0]

QUOTE

In the "Halo" games, Master Chief is hidden behind armor covering his full body and head. It's not yet clear how the film studio will tackle the challenge of translating such a character to the big screen

 

Now this is the $64,000 question. How do they cast Master Chief? And do they dare give Master Chief a face behind the featurleless faceplace of his?

 

Casual fans will be pissed as fuck if they don't give Master Chief a face, or at the very least cast a famous person as the voice actor for Master Chief so as to offset the fact that the lead hero's face is hidden behind a featureless metal faceplate for the entire film......

 

I suggest they do the Darth Vader thing. Have the guy in the suit and have the guy who does the voice for Master Cheif do the voice of him in the movie, as long as they don't show his face, who cares.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

The Master Chief role has The Rock's name written all over it.