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Halo Movie Is Still Dead 67

Posted by Zonk from the doesn't-want-to-go-on-the-cart dept.
1up is reporting that despite numerous reports of its death, the Halo movie isn't quite completely cancelled ... yet. As far as Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, and the WETA folks are concerned, things are still just in a holding pattern. "Kamins also shot down both the rumors of a swelling budget and dissatisfaction with Blomkamp. 'The only budget the filmmakers every spoke about was $145 million less the 12.5% rebate that you get from shooting in New Zealand, which would put it at about $128 million,' said [Jackson representative Ken Kamins]. And of the director, Kamins said, 'Everybody is supremely confident in Neall. Part of what excited Peter and Fran was Neill's vision. We're very confident this film will move forward with the creative partners intact, who will take the film to production.'" Update: 10/30 18:58 GMT by Z : It looks like that post was made from outdated sources.
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Halo Movie Is Still Dead More

Halo Movie Is Still Dead

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  • Current release date set to coincide with Duke Nukem Forever.
  • I think I'll go for a walk. I feel happY!

  • Halo was quoted as saying - (Score:4, Funny)

    by Recovering Hater ( 833107 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2007 @11:58AM (#21171833)
    "I'm not dead yet... ... I feel Happy!"
  • He makes such GREAT movies based on video games...
    • Fortunately, Uwe Boll won't have anything to do with this picture. He gets things ruin--made by taking advantage of very significant tax breaks Germany offers to German filmmakers making films in Germany. A lot of places do this -- New Zealand offers something similarly tempting, which is why they're shooting there.

      Since they're already interested in making the picture in New Zealand, there's no reason to involve Boll. Thank heavens.
  • Halo kicks ass, don't get me wrong. I just absolutely HATE seeing a movie of something great, absolutely tank. It's almost embarrasing. Mario Brothers Movie Resident Evil (ok, some people actually like it) etc. etc. As good as Halo is, I think it would be a terrible movie. It would be some odd rehashed Predator type movie, in my imagination at least. Some things just aren't meant for the big screen. Create another sequal and you'll make a ton more money than a movie would!

    • Re:Hope it is Cancelled! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by casualsax3 ( 875131 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2007 @12:09PM (#21172007)
      This one will be different, as there is a *superb* backstory to draw on already, thanks to the efforts of Eric Nylund (and a few others) with the Halo book series. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who enjoys military sci-fi, and anyone who is remotely intrigued about the Covenant and the Forerunners. There's a new one out this week actually - the 5th in the series so far.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by dintech ( 998802 )
        I don't see why your post has been modded redundant because you have a point, there is quite a lot of back story and 'universe' that could be used. However, as fun as the books are I just don't think they are very good. I read 'First Strike' and although he writes action reasonably well, the characters and plot are not very memorable. The standard of those elements was in keeping with a computer game but that doesn't fit very well with books (and film). Not the sign of a classic.

        Maybe it's just that Master

        • Maybe it's just that Master Chief, the main character from Doom and others that have made it into film or books just don't have much personality to begin with. That's because you as a player are required to fill those boots for yourself as you play. In my opinion this doesn't translate very well to the passive passenger seat role you take in watching a movie.

          This is why I would recommend Fall of Reach for movie adaptation. Yes, I love the games, but 'lone soldier fights aliens for 2 hours' just doesn't work on film. FoR has some character development with the Chief, (Yes, it's cheesy, but it's better than nothing) a wider cast of important characters, and plenty of character interaction to build a script on. Plus it would tie into the franchise without completely re-hashing the most widely known parts of it.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Wolfrider ( 856 )
      Hey, Wing Commander was pretty good. [ srsly ]

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by vux984 ( 928602 )
        Hey, Wing Commander was pretty good. [ srsly ]

        I really liked the sonar pings. And also when they pushed the wreckage off the landing strip and instead of floating away, it fell "down".

      • Please tell me you're joking. Even if you are, it's in poor taste. I lost a girlfriend over how bad that film was. [ srsly ]

    • It wouldn't be too bad. Think "epic military movie", with Master chief just someone the grunts talk about. Throw in some humanity-makes-its-last-stand plus a great soundtrack (the music is what makes Halo) and you've got a decent movie. There was a short film circling the net, which had a bit of that vibe and was made by the same director AFAIK.

  • Landfall (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ObiWanStevobi ( 1030352 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2007 @12:11PM (#21172027) Journal
    I don't know, I was pretty impressed with the 2nd and third segments of Landfall [youtube.com]. The only complaint I have is that it doesn't quite capture the feel of the game. Which may, in fact, be good for many people. The film was alot grittier than anything you experience in game. But then again, in the game you are a Spartan not an ODST.

    BTW, since when could an ODST drive like that? If I was in the back of that warthog in game, we would have hit every one of those walls. Or simply stopped in front of each one for 15 seconds figuring out how to get around it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by The-Bus ( 138060 )
      If you're not impressed by Landfall, you might be impressed by Alive in Joburg [google.com], a short film by Neill Blomkamp. Halo movie or not, this is one director whose career I will be following.

    • Stylish, yes; well shot, yes; good vehicle for story, I think not.

      I don't know. Too many people, too many bad guys, no way to build tension. I reckon it'd end up on the "aren't soldiers great people" track, which is hard to swallow when we hear every other week about one or two "bad apples" who've been caught raping, pillaging, torturing and murdering.

      If he manages to make "Platoon in Space", more power to him, but I don't think that's what the market wants right now....

      HAL.

      • no way to build tension
        Well, there is that impending destruction of the galaxy thing going on.

        Hadn't really thought about it until I saw Landfall, but there is a good story angle there. As others pointed out, reliving Master Chiefs exploits may be a bit redundant. In the game you come across groups of soldiers that you never really think about why they got there and what happened before you arrived. During the game, they aren't useful to you. But like is shown in Landfall, they were there making it

  • a cost saving suggestion (Score:5, Funny)

    by rev_sanchez ( 691443 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2007 @12:14PM (#21172093)
    Since video game movies tend to be pretty awful anyway make the Halo move a Uwe Boll [imdb.com] production and get it over with. He'll save a lot of money on the actors, special effects, costumes, sets, and the script by bringing his special brand of incompetence and indifference to the project.

    $145 million for Halo? Boll could trash it for $35 million.

    Whereas Peter Jackson would want CG space ship scenes with the giant ring rendered in glorious detail Boll would settle for spray painting a hula hoop and super gluing Legos to it.

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by simdan ( 207210 )

      Whereas Peter Jackson would want CG space ship scenes with the giant ring rendered in glorious detail
      I believe you have Jackson confused with Lucas.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MenTaLguY ( 5483 )
      Actually, Jackson typically prefers models to CG for scenery. Granted, his model shop makes stuff a bit more quality than spray-painted hula hoops...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sibko ( 1036168 )

      "Men, we have led these dumb bugs out to the middle of no-where to keep them from gettin' their filthy claws on Earth. But, we stumbled onto something they're so hot for, that they're scrambling over each other to get it. Well, I don't care if its God's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine or a giant hula hoop, we're not going to let them have it! What we will let them have is a belly full of lead and a pool of their own blood to drown in! Am I right, Marines?" - Sergeant Avery J. Johnson

      Just thought it was fitting that you mention a giant hula hoop in Uwe Boll's adaptation. :P

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJe6CuVXLE8 [youtube.com]

    • I will bid $1M to make a Halo flick.

    • Boll would settle for spray painting a hula hoop and super gluing Legos to it.
      "I don't care if it's the world's largest Hula Hoop, or God's own Anti-Sonuvabitch Machine..." -Sarge

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by gonzoxl5 ( 88685 )
      legos are too expensive, for this movie it would need to be mega bloks

  • Just as you think you killed them off for good, someone drops a little blood and Guess Who Is BACK!

    Most video games, and I think Halo certainly qualifies, use story telling because being told to kill X of Y because, is a little bit boring after a while. Oh sure sure, Halo got a rich universe, intresting characters, yada yada. Sorry. NO.

    It really doesn't. It is enough to motivate you to play the game BUT it is the game that is the main attraction. NOT the story. To give you a counter example, The Longest J

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by p0tat03 ( 985078 )

      Agreed with parent. I enjoyed the Halo games, and thought the stories were decent enough that they kept things interesting, with enough style and mystique to draw me into the game. But a standalone story it is not - it certainly isn't very creative, it's basically a mashup of every major sci-fi novel ever written.

      They can invent all the backstory they want, but at the base of it the story is maybe interesting enough to make a glorious Starship Troopers style summer blockbuster, but don't expect even an As

    • Well, what you've clearly stated is a personal opinion, not a general consensus. I've played a lot of 1st person shooters before and most really did not grip me with story (though I really liked Thief), with the exception of Halo. Having read a lot of "pocket" sci-fi, including Ringworld, and numerous epics, I must say I thought the Halo story was extremely well done. In fact, I'd only played the original Halo until recently, but was thoroughly engrossed by the story line (i.e. I read up on the story lines
  • Seriously? I would bet my yearly salary that even if this movie is terrible, it would make back the 128 million it costs to make. Just the name alone and a well thought out opening weekend will make this movie a blockbuster, guaranteed. MS just needs to throw down the money and show the studios that walked away how badly the screwed up...
  • People always expect the movies to be exactly like the game. Which is what bugs me,if the movie followed the exact plot outline to every detail of the game, then there is no point.
    • Playing a game - even in HD - on my soundsystem on my 24" monitor (which doubles as a TV in cases like this) isn't anything like the experience it could be in a theater. Movie theaters have a way of making things come alive that isn't quite there yet in videogames. The whole experience is shot when they won't let me walk in with my cell which has a built in camera, but that's another matter.
  • WHAT?!

    Oh no. Oh dear god, no! Kill it! Kill it now!!!

    Honestly, I couldn't possibly think of a worse movie. With the possible exception of Doom. Doom should have been a huge bright red blinking neon sign warning them away from this path.
    • Sorry, I have to say this somewere....

      I REALLY liked doom...

      I look back on Doom the Movie (TM) with fond memories...

      It was just 2 of us in the theatre... me and my old army bud...

      What fun that movie was!

      Seriously though doom was at least as good as movies like pitch black or the first 2 resident evils.. (Me wants to beat the writer for the 3rd RE movie)

      • I look back on Doom the Movie (TM) with fond memories...
        Did you also feel tempted to stand up and yell "Quick Saving!" every couple of minutes during the FPS scene?

      • Seriously though doom was at least as good as movies like pitch black or the first 2 resident evils.

        My guess is that this is sarcasm. It sounds like you're saying "Well, $SHITTYMOVIE was just as good as $SHITTYMOVIE1 and $SHITTYMOVIE2."
    • I dunno. Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxdvGO1oOF0 [youtube.com] -- the second and third seconds at least - and tell you wouldn't want to watch that.
  • Halo is best told as an interactive story via a screen and controller, not a movie theater. Too many games get completely destroyed when going to the big screen (See: Doom, Alone in the Dark). Rarely do video games made about movies work, so why do we always think the opposite is a good idea? Don't print the Mona Lisa on a postcard and expect to preserve the same artistic quality. And besides, you know in the hands of Peter Jackson this movie will end up being 4 hours long, and we won't even see the Mas
    • This just in, Peter Jackson signed Willem Defoe as the first member of the Halo movie cast. Although not officially confirmed, rumors point to Defoe playing the Prophet of Truth.
  • I've watched the cut scenes in the halo games and they move the story along fine. I mean, we've all seen how well the Final Fantasy movies have done in the US but, Advent Children is probably the best Video Game movie I've seen in my entire life! The Models for M.C. exist and any Halo move that doesn't include him would just be wrong! Like a Doom movie not in space with hell spawned demons...

    • I mean, we've all seen how well the Final Fantasy movies have done in the US but, Advent Children is probably the best Video Game movie I've seen in my entire life!

      Advent children should have been what the final fantasy movies should have been. I really wished they would have. Square pictures might have survived and we might have gotten more films out of it. Likely if they made it 100% fan service like advent children but a bit longer (and with blood.. you don't' get stabbed and not bleed) and they would have been a smash hit. people like bad ass sword fights, lots of explosions and so on. Maybe throw in a bit more back story so non FFVII fans would get the story. I

  • A Halo movie has the potential to be absolutely fantastic. Master Chief and The Arbiter doing a buddy-buddy cop style action sci-fi movie where they kill a billion bad guys -- it can work. No-one's expecting Enemy at the Gates or Schindler's List here.

    Problem is Peter Jackson. He is an atrocious director who works with supremely bad editors. A lot of y'all are saying Uwe Boll should just drive the franchise into the ground and be done with it. Peter Jackson is just as capable of doing that. Really I wouldn'

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sibko ( 1036168 )
      Before you go on ranting about the movie or the director, you should get some facts in there. Peter Jackson isn't directing this. Neill Blomkamp is. He already directed a low budget live-action sequence, [Which you can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUcreY0X33k [youtube.com] and I think he might really be able to pull off a Halo movie.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Sciros ( 986030 )
        Well hey I can rant about bad directors all I please ^_^ But ok good thing it's not Jackson that's doing it....

        As long as Chief and Arbiter have several of those Tango & Cash / Showdown in Little Tokyo buddy buddy cop scenes I'll be happy.
        "You're the tag-along!"
        "No, YOU'RE the tag-along!"
        "Oh yeah well I bet you can't shoot those three grunts with just two Carbine shells!"
        "You're on!"
        "By the way you have the biggest dick I've ever seen on a man."
        "Thanks."
        (Ok those last two lines were from Showdown in Lit

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by mcvos ( 645701 )

      Problem is Peter Jackson. He is an atrocious director who works with supremely bad editors.

      He has done some very decent movies. Go and watch Heavenly Creatures [imdb.com]. That movie convinced me he might be able to do Lord of the Rings justice (I was disappointed with the result, though). The real problem is that nowadays he gets a big enough budget to thoroughly ruin any story. Some directors are better on a small budget.

  • absolutely no idea what is was about. There was some guy in armour and a hologram. There were several sorts of aliens but I could never work out which side some of them were on. Most of the synopsis out there read like manga stories, ie, a random selection of words arranged in roughly the same order as a story.

    What was it with MasterChef and the hologram? Did someone kidnap her or something? What was the Flood again?
    • Read the synopsis of the previous two games or try playing them. Jumping into the third game and expecting to know the backstory between Master Chief (the guy in armor) and Cortana (the hologram) or to know the origins of the Flood is a bit silly.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sibko ( 1036168 )

      What was it with MasterChef and the hologram? Did someone kidnap her or something? What was the Flood again?

      When you're making a sequel, you have to learn to balance the story for both new and old players. In the case of Halo 3, Bungie spent more of the game's storytelling furthering the plot that was set up in previous games, than just rehashing and going over said plot all over again.

      An exposition on the nature of the Flood when you are introduced to them would have eaten up time story-wise, as well as development-wise. Clearly Bungie figured that since both Halo 1 and Halo 2 tell you so much about the Floo

  • "The Blood Gulch Chronicles"
    • You may be joking, but having Rooster Teeth in charge of the movie may be a brilliant move. As has been mentioned by many previous posts, any attempt at a serious Halo film is doomed to failure. A comedy could work out quite well though. Many of the inevitable flaws a serious movie would have, like trying to squeeze the plot into a relatively short period of time or failing to conjure up the same feelings a scene did in the game for each individual, different gamer, could be worked around simply because,

      • I could see it now... roll opening credits... two spartans standing on a dystopia battlefield... One is Matt Damon... The other is Christian Bale... first words... "Why are we here?"

  • > 1up is reporting that despite numerous reports of its death, the Halo movie isn't quite completely cancelled

    Ummm, yay?
  • I pretty much hate Halo but I like BSG. I think if the BSG people handled the Halo movie I could watch it. Considering the BSG people are all out of a job at the end of the fourth BSG season, why not give them the movie?
    • I think making it live action would be a mistake. Give it to Pixar. (Well, Pixar if they weren't merged with Disney) I would love to see them take one some more serious content. If anyone could pull it off, they could.
    • Considering the BSG people are all out of a job at the end of the fourth BSG season, why not give them the movie?

      Because you dont "give" movies to people based on the fact that they're unemployed?
  • Not much else to say, really...

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