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Halo Movie May Happen After All 234

Posted by timothy from the you-must-care-about-this dept.
spizkapa writes "On the back of the story about the Halo competition, Microsoft are reported to have reached a deal with Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox to make a movie based on Halo and Halo-2. Apparently, Microsoft initially wanted $10 million plus 15% of the box office revenue but the deal was struck when the two studios teamed up and offered $5 million and 10% of initial box office revenue. Apparently, the formal announcement will take a further week after creative issues are agreed between the three parties involved."
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Halo Movie May Happen After All More

Halo Movie May Happen After All

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  • Red Vs.Blue (Score:5, Funny)

    by dextroz ( 808012 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @01:52PM (#12795911)
    They could just rehash the Red Vs Blue videos in high quality and 5.1 and it would be hilarious all over again!

    • Re:Red Vs.Blue (Score:3, Interesting)

      by MsGeek ( 162936 )
      They could do worse than to have the Red vs. Blue guys write the script. There's never been a game-related intentional* comedy before. A Halo movie with humor would be great. Bungie has always been known for throwing inside jokes into their games. A comedic/dramatic Halo movie would rock.

      * Many previous game-related movies have been unintentional laugh riots.

  • I don't know what to say (Score:3, Funny)

    by udderly ( 890305 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @01:53PM (#12795914)
    They are really making a movie out of a video game? I guess that I just don't understand.

    • Re:I don't know what to say (Score:5, Insightful)

      by NoMoreNicksLeft ( 516230 ) <john.oyler@ c o m c a st.net> on Sunday June 12, 2005 @01:56PM (#12795931) Journal
      You mean, you aren't aware that all video game-> movie transitions suck ass? Need I remind everyone of Street Fighter, the movie so bad it killed Raul Julia? Or how about Super Mario Bros. ?

      Or maybe it's the confusion over why Microsoft would deserve anything but a token amount of upfront cash, seeing how they had nothing to do with writing what little story is behind a FPS game.

      • Re:I don't know what to say (Score:5, Interesting)

        by h4rm0ny ( 722443 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:01PM (#12795970) Journal

        So what is so original about this game that a studio needs to pay for the rights rather than do a sci-fi movie from scratch?

        My (very) vague knowledge of the game is that it is set in an ring-like orbital. Maybe they'd get a cheaper deal off Iain M. Banks as he has plenty of these in his Culture novels. That's assuming any sci-fi author is still willing to sell rights after 'I, Robot.' :)
        • Well, with doing a franchise picture, you already have brand recognizability and several million guaranteed audience members.

        • Re:I don't know what to say (Score:5, Interesting)

          by ScrewMaster ( 602015 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:40PM (#12796222)
          Unfortunately, Isaac Asimov died long before anyone thought about making a movie. Presumably, if he were still alive he would have exercised greater creative control, but I guess that's what happens when you deal with an author's estate ... all they care about is that they have some valuable IP to sell. Now, I, Robot was a quality movie in its own right and had it been called "Robot Independence Day" or some such I would have enjoyed it just fine, but they made the mistake of trying to reel in Asimov fans by hyping how it was based on his books. That was really a dumb move, considering that they've pretty much alienated most of them (I certainly won't bother taking in an I, Robot II, that's for sure.)

          But yeah, you're right in that this is all about trying to capitalize on the success of a plot idea in one medium, by hoping it will translate into success in another. Taking on a genuinely new idea is more of a risk than recycling an existing successful one. Well, at least that seems to be the prevailing point of view in the industry. Generally it doesn't work so well, though. For that matter, the video game industry itself has fallen prey to the same kind of innovation-killing thinking that Hollywood has.

          • But yeah, you're right in that this is all about trying to capitalize on the success of a plot idea in one medium, by hoping it will translate into success in another.

            Actually my point was more along the lines of why do they need to pay huge fees to Microsoft for ideas that are common Sci-Fi standards. They don't need to.

            I think the previous poster was right - they are paying solely for brand recognition. I just disagree that this is in any way worth 10% of takings and millions in advance. Instead, t

            • Consider advertising costs. How heavily is this stupid movie going to be promoted on Hotmail, the MSN network, and within Microsoft's Messenger? It's not just brand recognition, it's about engaging the company behind the brand.

              Jasin Natael

          • You could take a different slant. I know a lot of people (a younger crowd, for sure) that hadn't been exposed to Asimov until this. As far as movies go, it almost certainly drew more people to read his work than Contact. You got to watch a fun action-blockbuster movie with cool visuals, and someone else got exposed to Isaac Asimov's name and hints of his ideas for the first time. And Asimov's estate made some money.

            If it had actually been craptastic (as I'm sure many people here feel) then I could see

            • I'm not sure why so many people bag on 'I, Robot' so much. Yeah, it was stock summer blockbuster fare, but at least it didn't screw up the point Asimov was trying to make with the three laws. Considering how many different stories he wrote concerning that key point, whats so bad about a new story that does the same thing?

              They got the most important thing about the original work right, and that should count for something.
        • It's a Ringworld [wikipedia.org]-- Larry Niven is the inventor. They called it 'Halo' so they wouldn't get sued.
          • Actually I would call it a ringworld derrivative as the Halo device is MUCH smaller than a ring world. It's less than a million miles (possibly less than a million KM) across IIRC, where the ringworld is approximately 2au in diameter.
            Niven's ringworld idea turns out to require help to maintain stability lest any small peterbation grow untill it crashes into the central star.
            On the other hand it's possible to manipulate the central star of a ringworld to creat an unbalanced jet effect and turn the st
        • Well they didn't learn after Starship Troopers did they.
          Of course the Author was deceased in both cases so possibly that would be a factor, assuming banks is still alive.

          Mycroft
      • The movie translation of DOOM3 is going to rock though.

        Imagine, a big star like The Rock playing the hero. You kinda/sorta see him as he walks through corridor after corridor, able to see only a small flashlight-lit area. Then of course there will be times when the screen will go black because he's switching from his flashlight to his gun. Then we see several gun-blast flashes. Then dark. Then the flashlight-lit area again. Sweet.

    • Re:I don't know what to say (Score:5, Funny)

      by screwballicus ( 313964 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:01PM (#12795968)
      In case you aren't aware, some of the

      great [imdb.com]
      masterpieces [imdb.com]
      of the
      modern [imdb.com]
      era [imdb.com]

      are based on video games.
    • I guess I am the only one that thought the Halo storylines sucked ass. Predictible and assinine, and a bit too fluffy for my liking. What the hell is up with all the purple and PINK? Are we fighting the Care Bears?

  • an educated guess (Score:5, Funny)

    by DualG5GUNZ ( 762655 ) * on Sunday June 12, 2005 @01:55PM (#12795927)
    The irony of this movie is that all the graphics work will be done on Macs.

  • Quality Control? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by alvinrod ( 889928 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @01:59PM (#12795953)
    Although Microsoft seems to be pushing to have a say in the creative developement of the movie, I'm wondering how much they'll end up getting. I'd really hate to see a movie with so much promise end up being ruined by a movie company that probably doesn't know anything about the Halo universe.

    The major console makers and game studies should jointly create a studio, or an offshoot of one of the major ones that currently exists that will be responsible for making all game movies. This way the game companies will have a lot more decision making process and control over the content of the movies. Although something like this will never happen, it would prevent any chance of Halo being turned into a romantic comedy by some movie company who's bigwigs wouldn't know their ass from an Xbox.

    • Re:Quality Control? (Score:5, Funny)

      by zr-rifle ( 677585 ) <zedr@@@zedr...com> on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:06PM (#12796000) Homepage
      > Although Microsoft seems to be pushing to have a say in the creative developement of the movie, I'm wondering how much they'll end up getting

      The Covenant will run Linux.

      Rumors are that Jeff Goldblum will have a leading role too...
    • Although Microsoft seems to be pushing to have a say in the creative developement of the movie, I'm wondering how much they'll end up getting. I'd really hate to see a movie with so much promise end up being ruined by a movie company that probably doesn't know anything about the Halo universe.

      From everything I've heard about the Halo "storyline" the only chance we have of a decent movie is to keep Microsoft far away from the project.
      • I'm not quite sure what you're saying, partially because I think you're confusing who wrote the game and who published it. The game is by Bungie Software. Microsoft is that big company in Redmond that builds the X-box. Keeping Microsoft away from the project would probably help keep the game consistent with the original storyline, which apparently you have "heard" about but not experienced.

        I personally think it's a great storyline and turns a game with already fun gameplay into an awesome experience.
    • So much promise? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

      Has ANY movie based on a video game been close to good? The only one I can think of is MAYBE Mortal Kombat.

      • Re:Quality Control? (Score:3, Informative)

        by mikael ( 484 )
        There was a slashdot article (lost in the depths of time) which announced that Hollywood movie makers/cartoon story writers had derived the ten crucial elements of a hit movie. These included the hero, the hero's mentor, his nemesis, his woman of desire, his sidekicks, the quest, the first failure/turning back, the final fight, the victory and the happy ending.

        Top Gun, Superman, Star Wars are examples of such movies.

        Many of the video games don't really have these elements, so even with the best special ef
      • Let me see...

        Double Dragon - Lamest kung fu.

        Mario Brothers - Where's the shrooms?

        Street Fighter - Jean Claude Van Dammit

        Mortal Kombat II - No comment.

    • because that whole "game designers know most about the game universe and can thus create greate movies" concept worked so greate for wing commander or final fantasy?
    • a movie with so much promise

      Someone needs to watch the Mario Brothers movie... Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, etc.

      I wish I hadn't.
    • "Although Microsoft seems to be pushing to have a say in the creative developement of the movie, I'm wondering how much they'll end up getting. I'd really hate to see a movie with so much promise end up being ruined by a movie company that probably doesn't know anything about the Halo universe."

      Wait... you think the movie studio is going to have a better idea than the company who made millions on it?

    • Re:Quality Control? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Spy Hunter ( 317220 ) *
      Well, at least the script they're starting with is completely approved by Bungie. Here's what Frankie (of bungie.net "weekly what's update" fame) has to say about it:

      Moviegoers ask,
      Have you read the Halo movie script?

      I've read an early draft of the script, and it rules. I heart Alex Garland's stuff anyway, from The Tesseract to 28 Days Later. Garland also wrote the script for an upcoming Sci-Fi flick, Sunshine, which you can read more about here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448134/ [imdb.com]

      Best thing a

      • As apposed to him saying:
        I've read the script and saying "Man-o-man it sucks donkey balls!"?
        Let's face it, video game movies will always stink. The naritive story that is there for the game usually does not work out well for a movie- and to make up for that, they pump up the SFX.
  • They already had like 5 bajillion hours of cut scenes in Halo 2.

    Take out the game play in between, and you've got a movie that's longer than most of the ones coming out lately.

  • Box office revenue vs profit (Score:5, Informative)

    by magarity ( 164372 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:03PM (#12795980)
    plus 15% of the box office revenue

    Notice Microsoft is smart enough to not want a cut of total profits. The history of movies is littered with the broken remains of writers who sold their movie rights for a percentage of the profits only to find that movies make no profits. It's called "Hollywood accounting". If you ever have, or ever know someone who is getting a movie deal, make sure the contract is for a cut of the box office take and not the profits.
  • Staring 'Chiefing' Master Chief?

    Hey, it could work.

  • At long last last...? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheCamper ( 827137 ) <SporkMasterSpork@@@gmail...com> on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:07PM (#12796006) Homepage
    I'm not a big Halo fan myself (fps don't belong on consoles, but that's a flame for another day) but it's kind of refreshing that the movie industry is whoring itself out to the gaming industry for once, instead of the other way around. I'm sick of crappy games being put out by every single movie, just as an extra boost for cash.

    Of course, movies have been made before based on games, but Hollywood merely buys the name, and makes a craptastical movie having nothing to do with the actual game (see Resident Evil, Alone in the Dark, soon to be Doom 3) in hopes that the popularity of the name will bring revenue. Hopefully this time a gaming franchise will be saved from this fate due to Bungie's insistance on Hollywood following the Halo Bible.

    • Re:At long last last...? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ruiner13 ( 527499 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @03:06PM (#12796397) Homepage
      "fps don't belong on consoles"

      I dunno, if they are done right they can be killer. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark on the N64 come to mind. These games absolutely rocked.

      • We played a lot of Goldeneye, but oddly quite a bit less of Perfect Dark.

        I think one of the best things about Goldeneye, and this goes directly against dozens of other movie licenses, is the Bond universe. When you kill someone else and the music goes "Duh-dah, DUHHHN-DAAAAHN!"... that's priceless.

        Since then, EA has proven (as if it needed proving) that a license alone is not nearly enough to make a great game. But the *right* license can make a great game into a classic... it's a shame that Goldeneye i
    • You do know they made a version for the PC right? With a downloadable demo and everything. It's not just for consoles.
      • Too bad it was one of the worst PC ports in history. Not "Turok: Dinosaur Hunter PC" bad, but still, it required a monster of a system to run considering the graphics, and required the use of a completely different executable (Halo: Custom Edition) to run custom maps. And the netcode is pretty terrible.

        They didn't include co-op either, but that's understandble considering Bungie couldn't even figure it out for Halo 2.

        • Not having a console myself, I've only played the PC version, and found it fun (bought it recently for $20. Seemed fine for that price). What was different about it from the console version that made it a crappy port, aside from the multiplayer aspect?
        • Theres actually a good reason they didn't get co-op over network. They couldn't get the Xbox to coordinate all the NPC data between two boxes without massive lag and desynchs. Theres a heck of alot more going on in the campaign maps then multiplayer. Especially the AI.

  • Let's just hope... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Spoing ( 152917 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:09PM (#12796018) Homepage
    ...it's as good as Wing Commander. [leaps into flame-proof bunker]

  • Good Negotiating Tactics (Score:5, Informative)

    by MBraynard ( 653724 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:16PM (#12796066) Journal
    It's always wise to begin the negotiations by asking for too much that the other side can back away from than risk asking for too little. This was one of the more worthwhile lessons from one of the tasks in the Apprentice Season 3.

    This movie is by no means a guaruanteed success. Let's take a look at the last few video game movies (Ignoring Pokemon):

    • Resident Evil - Gross: $40m (Domestic), Costs: $53m.
    • Resident Evil: Apocolypse - Gross: 51m (Domestic), Costs: $70m.
    • Super Mario Brothers - Gross: $21m (Domestic), Costs: $48m.
    • Mortal Kombat - Gross: $70m (Domestic) 52m (Overseas), Costs: $?m.
    • Mortal Kombat 2- Gross: $36m (Domestic) 15m (Overseas), Costs: $?m.
    • Tomb Raider: $131m (Domestic) $143m (Overseas), Costs: $115m (Production only, not marketing).
    • House of the Dead - Gross: $10m (Domestic) 4m (Overseas), Costs: $22m.
    • Double Dragon - Gross: $2m (Domestic), Costs: $?m.
    • Final Fantasy - Gross: $32m (Domestic) 53m (Overseas), Costs: $137m.
    • Street Fighter - Gross: $33m (Domestic) $66m (Overseas), Costs: $35m (production only, no marketing).
    • Wing Commander - Gross: $12m (Domestic), Costs: $30m (marketing not included).

    Ok, I'm sure I missed. But the one that Halo most resembles in terms of popularity and a big budget is Final Fantasy. I really enjoyed that film, and I'm unsure why it did so poorly. But from MS's point of view, they have nothing at risk financially (maybe a lousy movie - and that didn't hurt the popularity of Mario's games). Expect to see trailers for Halo3 at the start of the HAlo Movie.

    • Are you sure those numbers are accurate, or telling the whole story? The movie versions of Resident Evil and Mortal Kombat would never have received sequels if the first ones were not decently profitable.
    • I'd almost forgotten about Tomb Raider, myself. Besides the fact that it focussed a bit much on the boobage of "Lara" (which, to be fair was in line with the game), it wasn't an overly bad movie. Not a bad one surely, but better than I had expected.

      Final Fantasy... it wasn't really much different than one might expect from other sci-fi CGI/anime style movies. It also wasn't "Final Fantasy." It had a few gamelike elements such as the Shinra-style soldiers amd "Cid", but frankly lacked a lot of the common f

  • Tomb raider and Resident Evil (Score:3, Funny)

    by zymano ( 581466 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:24PM (#12796115)
    Should have won oscars.

    I predict Halo will be bigger than Star Wars.

  • Halo Bible? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by thundar2000 ( 459149 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:42PM (#12796235)

    Um, isn't the Halo Bible just:

    Shoot Aliens, Open Door, Repeat.

    (and)

    Halo really is just Ringworld meets Starship Troopers meets Doom - not very original, I'm pretty sure it will make a stinky movie.

    Back to the game...

  • They would be much better off... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Razzak ( 253908 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @02:42PM (#12796237)
    If they used the Marathon storyline as opposed to the Halo storyline. For those who don't know, Marathon, Marathon: Durandal, and the final Marathon were all for mac before MS bought Bungie. The first two had the best storylines ever, and were written by a different company than the 3rd and the Halo series. I really hope the first two are used for the storyline, as they are far superior in enough ambiguity to make it interesting (think: Bladerunner) and the best AI character development I've ever seen.

    http://marathon.bungie.org/story/ [bungie.org]
    • It really is a shame that MS bought Bungie; they made some great games.

      Remember Oni? That's really the only game of their's I played, and I loved it. The graphics were a bit sub-par (played on PC, don't know if it was available on mac) but the gameplay and control felt so organic - and 3rd person mixed close-combat and firearm use actually worked! It had a good story with multiple endings, to top it off, and the in-game animation was pretty good.

      They were planning to make a sequel, and add multiplayer fun
      • They were planning to make a sequel, and add multiplayer functionality, I heard. And then MS bought them.

        It gets worse! Oni was in development with multiplayer from the beginning (i played that and it rocked. a lot.) but when Microsoft bought Bungie, while both Halo, and Oni were in development. MS made Bungie rush Oni so they could get on with Halo.

        Part of the "Microsoft buys Bungie" deal was that ownership of Oni (and the Myth series which also rocked) would go to GoD Games, so Microsoft had no incent
  • ...they'll lean heavily on Eric Nylund's novelizations, which are pretty good. You need additional backstory and characterization to make a decent script out of Halo, and these books provide it.

  • I bet this will get 3 standing ovations at Cannes (Score:5, Funny)

    by carcosa30 ( 235579 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @03:29PM (#12796534)
    Just the other day, I overheard a number of noted French art-film directors and aficionados at La Petite Couchon, a Cannes sidewalk bistro, enthusing about how excited they were about the prospect of a Halo movie. They were also excited about a possible Halo II movie, and were practically beside themselves with joy at the idea of the angst, dystopianism and emotional involvement of the Master Chief being brought to the silver screen.
  • Oh come on, we all know they just want to make a movie so they can make a game out of it! Those bastards! ... what, why is everyone staring at me?
  • I'm just alarmed to hear that innocent Hollywood Execs have been hanging around with these Redmond types. Moral corruption is a terrible thing.

  • Plot spoiler.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by ProppaT ( 557551 ) on Sunday June 12, 2005 @05:39PM (#12797488) Homepage
    Master Chief realizes that Master Chief isn't a rank in the marines. The end.

    • Re:Plot spoiler.... (Score:2, Informative)

      by Matrix5353 ( 826484 )
      And right after that, you realize that the Master Chief wasn't a marine. He was a NCO, a petty officer. Master chief is the highest rank an enlisted man can reach in the Navy, and it's an important position of leadership. Next time, you might want to do your research, which you can here. [military-quotes.com]
      • Master chief is the highest rank an enlisted man can reach in the Navy, and it's an important position of leadership.

        Exactly, leadership... we all know senior enlisted don't generally do any real work, which makes the game even less believable. Also, WOs are generally considered the highest ranks of enlistment..

        Good luck on making board though, you've obviously got the overinflated sense of importance part down pat.
      • It's also a rank in the Coast Guard. However the point is moot, because after they invent 7-foot-tall genetically-engineered cybernetic supersoldiers in energy-shielded battle suits made of technology left behind by a long-lost ancient alien civilization, I imagine they will get their own rank. (Q: What rank do you give a Spartan? A: Whichever one he wants.)
  • My bet goes for Uwe Boll.
  • A movie based on Halo. What a dumb idea. Another one based on Halo 2? HAHAHAHA.

    Sorry to upset the fanboys but, it's just an FPS. It's a good FPS, it's right up there with the Quake series, but c'mon, a MOVIE? TWO MOVIES?

  • FPM (Score:2)

    by mwvdlee ( 775178 )
    A movie made of a First-Person-Shooter game... well, atleast they don't have to pay anybody to play the lead character!

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