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[KarishBHR]

From Aint-it-cool

Hey guys. Love the site. Been a long time reader. Always wanted to be able to contribute something.

I work at Warner-Bros. We recently had a meeting with Ronald Shusett and Daniel Alter over doing the video-game adaptation for this upcoming movie they're producing called 2176. It's an epic space opera that's essentialy a futurisitc retelling of the revolutionary war. WBIE used to be monolith, which developed the ALIEN Vs. PREDATOR games. Shusett co-created the ALIEN franchise and co-wrote the story for AVP.

Anyway, it turns out one of our senior execs here has been trying to ankle and move into film producing and approached Bungie back at E3 about the HALO movie rights. The word from the company was that unless you got the writer and director of the original ALIEN, everyone can go fish. So with the writer/producer of ALIEN sitting in (someone')s office, I guess he who shall remain nameless thought it was his time to strike.

Now the tricky part is, apparently Ridley Scott has seen the materials before. And subsequently passed on doing it. But, with HALO 2 sales having been astronomical, Shusett and Alter's camp has been in-touch with Scott Free about it. What's more, upon reviewing the game, Shusett commented that it reminded him of STARSHIP TROOPERS, which apparently Ridley and him had considered collaborating on 20 plus years ago after ALIEN came out. Funny, considering Shusett's TOTAL RECALL director Paul Verhoeven went on to bastardize Heinlein's classic.

Don't know if Ridley's budged. Or how serious Bungie is about licensing the movie rights. But a HALO movie from the creative team behind ALIEN, and who also toyed with STARSHIP TROOPERS, would seem to be a great fit. What I wonder is if these parties can't come to an accord, why wouldn't Bungie be open to somebody like James Cameron?

You can call me the WB Informant!
OK, back again. My mind is tingling just trying to imagine what a Ridley Scott HALO movie would be like. Think of the atmosphere of, say, the darker parts of LEGEND for the Flood, the claustrophobia of ALIEN during the rescue of Keyes from the Covenant ship and the crazy military action of BLACK HAWK DOWN during the round-up of the crash survivors at the beginning of the first game.
Keep in mind that this is a long way from becoming a reality. In the above email our source says that even Shusett himself is now just warming up to the idea. I think the best thing about this bit of information is Bungie's reluctance to give the film rights to anybody but a master. The last thing I want to see is Uwe Boll's HALO, which would undoubtedly take place modern day, without any mention of either the Flood or the Covenant and starring Ben Affleck as Master Chief and Tara Reid as Cortana.
As for our spy's speculation on James Cameron... no doubt he'd make a hell of a HALO movie, but didn't he kinda already make that movie with ALIENS? You can't deny that HALO borrows very, very heavily from that film... Hell, that's probably a big reason why I like the game so much.
The biggest question for me now is what story would they use? I'd prefer they use the storyline from the first game, where you're just kind of crazily dropped into the action as your ship is being attacked than go for some new introduction to Master Chief and Halo. The second game's storyline just wouldn't fit for a first movie, but I would love to see a GLADIATOR-esque battle on the city streets of Earth from the beginning of the second game.
Anyway, the above is a damn interesting rumor and at least it puts my mind to rest. Bungie knows what a valuable property they have and realize that it'd be better to never have a HALO movie at all than to give the rights over to someone who hasn't proven their worth in a big, big way. What do yo folks think?

 

[mumu]

There you have it. The cliffhanger is gonna be resolved in HALO2 the movie, no HALO3 will be made, ever! XBOX2 doomed.

 

[Lakitu]

 

[Ghost]

I cant see anything but a cheesy crap fest coming from a Halo movie, Chief doesnt talk enough to be a main character so he'd probably have some wise-ass marines or something equally dumb...


The only story i really see as a good movie story would be the original halo novel, the creation of the spartans, all the way up to the fall of reach, theres a lot of inter-personal stuff there that the games dont have. Plus if they didnt do that movie, they'd have no way of explaining wtf chief is.

 

[TeTr1C]

They should tie Halo and Halo 2's stories together, because I don't think Halo 2's story is long enough to be a movie (maybe if they throw in about 45 minutes of gunplay). So they should do both, and after Halo is destroyed, cut to a black screen and say something like "Now: Year 2552" and start Halo 2. It would be nice to have atleast a solid 2 hours. They wouldn't have to show MC's face though.

 

[Grubdog]

There you have it. The cliffhanger is gonna be resolved in HALO2 the movie, no HALO3 will be made, ever! XBOX2 doomed.

Exclusive to UMD!

 

[TheGreenGiant]

that's cool. They can get some cheap asian actor to play MC because they're NEVER going to show that face. Just vo his lines. The movie will also feature sexy alien buttocks and vagina pucker mouth prophets. Rated R.

 

[mrmyth]

Hollywood will find a way to have Will Smith play Sarge. Sam Jackson will end up voicing the Chief. We'll be stuck with Julia Roberts and her obnoxious laugh for Cortana. Keyes will end up being Brad Pitt in old person makeup. Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan will play bumbling Marine sidekicks.


No sale.

 

[Escape Goat]

Hugh Jackman as Master Chief.

Nah, I like Hugh Jackman and don't want him to become like Steven Segall.

 

[FeedMeAStrayCat]

Heh, a Halo movie eh? Just don't make it like the cutscenes in Halo 2.. or have it involve any of the story of Halo 2..


~has only seen roughly 3 hours or so of Halo 2 and it's story/cutscenes~ ~don't consider a valid source~ ~don't listen to his opinion~ ~likes to eat mayo on french fries~


~runs away~

 

[Nerevar]

if anyone from Starship Troopers had anything to do with a Halo movie, I'd drive a cold ice pick through the eye of whichever studio exec that greenlighted this.

 

[The Guivre]

Well, if Keith David weren't already involved with Halo by the fact that he was the Arbiter I'd have voted him for Master Chief. Maybe they'll let him stay as the arbiter's voice for the second movie, the title could be Halo: Total Annihilation.

Ben Affleck or Matt Damon - Master Chief (Would Vin Diesel actually work for that role?)

Will Smith - Sarge (would prefer Sam Jackson)

Liv Tyler (because she's in everything she doesn't belong) - Cortana (would prefer some little known actress whom we don't really recognize)

Dustin Hoffman - Capt. Keyes? might that work?

Assorted Marines: Owen Wilson & Jackie Chan (they're pals!)
David Cross & Michelle Rodriguez (they were in Halo 2... so why not?)

 

[shakezula]

-

 

[Azih]

I already call this movie having the WORST ENDING EVER.

 

[J!ndu]

Well... seems that all comes together.

Very reliable German Scifi- / movie-website SciFiNews.de had a story last week regarding first details on Halo the Movie. They claim that they got first storyboard concepts as well as real informations on the movie. And some facts are really close to what I'm reading now. They are also saying that Ridley Scott is involved in making this movie. The story is based on the first game as well as Halo 2. They also claim that Samuel L. Jackson and Ed Harris are in discussion for Sgt. Johnson and Commander Keyes which would be a great fit in my opinion. No infos on Master Chief yet.

You can see their storyboard pictures on their dedicated microsite:

-> SciFiNews.de Halo the Movie

The site has a really good reputation in Germany. They had some huge exclusives in the past like the first trailer of Star Trek Nemesis (worldwide!) and exklusive first informations on the Riddick movie (including a live chat with Vin Diesel). There is no for me reason why they should have made this up....

They also have some pictures of Germany's Halo 2 launch event in Munich... so it's worth to hit the link

 

[Belfast]

Well, if Keith David weren't already involved with Halo by the fact that he was the Arbiter I'd have voted him for Master Chief. Maybe they'll let him stay as the arbiter's voice for the second movie, the title could be Halo: Total Annihilation.

Ben Affleck or Matt Damon - Master Chief (Would Vin Diesel actually work for that role?)

Will Smith - Sarge (would prefer Sam Jackson)

Liv Tyler (because she's in everything she doesn't belong) - Cortana (would prefer some little known actress whom we don't really recognize)

Dustin Hoffman - Capt. Keyes? might that work?

Assorted Marines: Owen Wilson & Jackie Chan (they're pals!)
David Cross & Michelle Rodriguez (they were in Halo 2... so why not?)

Yeah, I think Vin would work. When he's not being retarded (i.e. XXX) he plays the strong, silent type pretty well (Iron Giant, Riddick, etc.). And I agree that David Cross should remain.

 

[Shogmaster]

SCREW RIDLEY SCOTT GIVE IT TO UWE BOLL!!

Seriously though, I think Bungie telling Warner "unless you got the writer and director of the original ALIEN, everyone can go fish" was just a way of saying no movie please thankyouverymuchanyways.

 

[Lhadatt]

OMFG! HALO MOVIE! AT LEAST THEYRE THINKING ABOUT IT! MAYBE! I MEAN I HEARD IT COME UP IN CONVERSATION IN THE WB COMMISSARY, SO IT'S GOTTA BE A PROJECT YOU KNOW? MAYBE IT'S GOT THAT DUDE WHO HASN'T DONE ANY SCIFI FOR LIKE 20 YEARS, CAUSE THAT'S WHAT BUNGIE WANTS! OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS MIGHT POSSIBLY BE HAPPENING! JUST A RUMOR THOUGH! OMG! GEEKASM! SPOOLGE!

I believe the only reason this was posted to GAF is it contained the words "Halo," "Bungie," and "movie." I wouldn't put any credence toward this until there is an IMDB entry marked "in production."

 

[FeedMeAStrayCat]

Hahaha... Uwe Boll.. such a funny, if strange, name. How is it pronounced? You-bowl? You-ball?

House of the Dead wasn't that bad, actually.


~runs away~

 

[J!ndu]

Here are some pics from scifinews.de showing those storyboards I mentioned...

and finally...

The other pics...

And by the way, Uwe Boll is a German so you pronounce it differently...

 

[Willco]

Uh, unless Dan O'Bannon and H.R. Giger are involved, this is not really the creative team behind Alien.

 

[mosaic]

They're going to mess it up so bad... hell, may as well just get Cap'n Crunch and the Grimace to write and direct.

Dave Chappel as the Prophet of Truth.

 

[Alf-Life]

There you have it. The cliffhanger is gonna be resolved in HALO2 the movie, no HALO3 will be made, ever! XBOX2 doomed.

lol, but...
Jees! I swear, that was *not* a cliffhanger! Go watch Alias to see how the masters handle cliffhangers.

Anyway, I'd prefer they tackle the Fall of Reach, perhaps. I definately don't want to see them doing Halo 2's "story"... the opening cinematic itself is eerily reminiscant of the worst bits of the Star Wars prequels...

 

[Miburou]

Hahaha... Uwe Boll.. such a funny, if strange, name. How is it pronounced? You-bowl? You-ball?

House of the Dead wasn't that bad, actually.


~runs away~

He's German, so you're not even close.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

I've played both games and still don't know what people see in the story (I do however see the appeal of Master Chief, though I think it's loosely related to him being a clone of Doom's Space Marine). Then again, I'm not a big sci-fi person. Perhaps a movie could present the story in a fashion that even I would find entertaining.

 

[DarienA]

Ben Affleck or Matt Damon - Master Chief (Would Vin Diesel actually work for that role?)

Ben Affleck?!?!?! Only if we never got to see his face...

 

[mrmyth]

Dave Chappel as the Prophet of Truth.

:::lands on Earth at the head of a huge fleet:::
I'M BACK BITCHES!!!



Hmmm.....I just might go see that movie.

 

[Alf-Life]

I've played both games and still don't know what people see in the story (I do however see the appeal of Master Chief, though I think it's loosely related to him being a clone of Doom's Space Marine). Then again, I'm not a big sci-fi person. Perhaps a movie could present the story in a fashion that even I would find entertaining.

The mystery and intrigue of the first was what got me... so many questions, especially once you started digging deeper and replaying the game.
Who are the Covenant and why do they want to destroy humans instead of assimilating them into their covenant? Why are the Rings so important to them? What happened to the Forerunners? What did 343 Guilty Spark mean by? Did Cortana go rampant when you left her in the Halo system for 12 (or was it 24?) hours, she seemed mad and a different colour? When Cortana told Foehammer that the engines sustained more damage "than we thought" was it a deliberate attempt to mislead her, since it implies they sustained damage during the crash-landing, when it was Cortana making us(MC) go around and blow up the fusion reactors, and we just listened and believed.
Halo 1 also had some cool twists... we're first told by Sarge that the Covies believe it's a weapon. We then meet the Flood. We then realise it's not a cudgel (you barbarian) but a rather drastic device to kill the Flood's food.

Etc etc etc. There're a lot more of these, and sadly, Halo 2 destroys a lot of the mystery of the Covenant, as well as supplying the obvious answers that everyone hoped would end up being more elaborate... yes, the Forerunners did blow themselves up to stop the Flood from feeding.

Granted, Halo 2 brought a few new questions; the Ark and Gravemind namely, but messed up quite a lot too.

It is, to quote Edge, "pulp sci-fi trash" though.


Edit: Yeah, they need to get a no-name actor who's the right build and then not show his face. That was the problem with Judge Dredd... you can't spend millions on Stallone and not show people you hired him.

 

[Tunesmith]

:lol :lol

 

[ChrisReid]

Surely they can't get much out of Halo1.. wasn't the plot basically a mishmash of complete Aliens ripoffs cobbled together just to string the gameplay along (which was a good plot in the VG since everyone wants to be in the movie aliens).

They made a 340 page novel out of the events in Halo 1..

 

[DopeyFish]

this has a chance to be the best game to movie translation ever. Let's hope this is damn good, does very well and starts a trend where hollywood will start taking game story translation and production more seriously.

 

[Willco]

this has a chance to be the best game to movie translation ever.

Uh, no.

 

[Flynn]

Electric Boogaloo.

It had to be said.

 

[DopeyFish]

Uh, no.

I'm glad you see movies like Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider as pinnacles of game to movie releases.

 

[Willco]

I'm glad you see movies like Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider as pinnacles of game to movie releases.

I never said that either.

 

[MetatronM]

Uh, no.

Well, it's not like it would be much of a feat.

It doesn't have to be any good in order to be the best game to movie transition ever.

I wonder if tickets will be half-priced, since Halo 2 should be a pretty good half movie.