Halo the movie (ETA summer 2007)
Discussion
Alex Garland has writen the script, it should be in production soon
I can't wait :bounce:
Full Telegraph artice below.
The British novelist Alex Garland is earning a £560,000 script writer's fee from the Microsoft founder Bill Gates in an attempt to ensure that the world's richest man attains his next goal - the conquest of Hollywood.
The 34-year-old Londoner has adapted Halo, the software giant's hit video game, into a big-screen science fiction epic.
His script features the hero of Microsoft's Xbox series, Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super-soldier, fighting to save mankind from an alien alliance known as the Covenant.
The pages have already been presented to Universal and Fox in a deal to produce what Microsoft envisages as a money-spinner for Mr Gates, whose Seattle-based empire has made more than £350 million from the game.
Microsoft is reportedly using its commercial muscle to persuade the two studios to spend at least £42 million on the film, with guarantees of extensive consultation on the project.
In an initial bidding war, the sum, which excludes expenses such as salaries for the stars and director, apparently put off Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks, and New Line, which made Lord of the Rings.
At the time, DreamWorks was spending £72 million with Warner Brothers on The Island, which has turned into a flop. The Sony Pictures Group, which includes Columbia and MGM, was excluded from the bidding because of rivalry in the computer games market.
The idea is to synchronise the summer 2007 release of Halo with the issue of a new version of the game, which could coincide with the launch of a new version of Sony's PlayStation.
A worry is that Hollywood currently seems bent on churning out big budget flops such as Sony's £83 million Stealth, an action picture that is being outwitted at the American box office by the tiny nature film March of the Penguins.
This summer, George Lucas and Spielberg, whose respective Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and War of the Worlds made a fortune, are almost alone among well-known directors delivering hits.
In addition, apart from Tomb Raider, video game adaptations have been notorious for dismal box office performances, including the Nintendo-based Super Mario Brothers, starring Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper.
So, in a unique move, Gates employed Garland, himself an addicted games player, to write a script that met with universal approval at Microsoft's Washington State team.
The author, the son of The Daily Telegraph's cartoonist Nicholas Garland, has a knack of producing scripts that appeal to males between 12 and 34, a key audience for Hollywood.
Garland adapted his first novel, The Beach, about the dreams and destructiveness of Western travellers in Thailand, into a £27 million Leonardo di Caprio film that grossed £102 million. He then made the £5 million cult film 28 Days Later with the director Danny Boyle, which grossed £55 million.
Variety, the trade paper, said yesterday that the final deal involved Garland rewriting the script with "notes" from Fox and Universal, before a director is chosen. Staff of Bungie, the Microsoft-owned development studio that created Halo, will act as "creative consultants".
Donna Langely, the Universal production president, said: ''Halo is one of those rare properties where you have a rich world from which to draw as well as a recognised brand."
I can't wait :bounce:
Full Telegraph artice below.
The British novelist Alex Garland is earning a £560,000 script writer's fee from the Microsoft founder Bill Gates in an attempt to ensure that the world's richest man attains his next goal - the conquest of Hollywood.
The 34-year-old Londoner has adapted Halo, the software giant's hit video game, into a big-screen science fiction epic.
His script features the hero of Microsoft's Xbox series, Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super-soldier, fighting to save mankind from an alien alliance known as the Covenant.
The pages have already been presented to Universal and Fox in a deal to produce what Microsoft envisages as a money-spinner for Mr Gates, whose Seattle-based empire has made more than £350 million from the game.
Microsoft is reportedly using its commercial muscle to persuade the two studios to spend at least £42 million on the film, with guarantees of extensive consultation on the project.
In an initial bidding war, the sum, which excludes expenses such as salaries for the stars and director, apparently put off Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks, and New Line, which made Lord of the Rings.
At the time, DreamWorks was spending £72 million with Warner Brothers on The Island, which has turned into a flop. The Sony Pictures Group, which includes Columbia and MGM, was excluded from the bidding because of rivalry in the computer games market.
The idea is to synchronise the summer 2007 release of Halo with the issue of a new version of the game, which could coincide with the launch of a new version of Sony's PlayStation.
A worry is that Hollywood currently seems bent on churning out big budget flops such as Sony's £83 million Stealth, an action picture that is being outwitted at the American box office by the tiny nature film March of the Penguins.
This summer, George Lucas and Spielberg, whose respective Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and War of the Worlds made a fortune, are almost alone among well-known directors delivering hits.
In addition, apart from Tomb Raider, video game adaptations have been notorious for dismal box office performances, including the Nintendo-based Super Mario Brothers, starring Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper.
So, in a unique move, Gates employed Garland, himself an addicted games player, to write a script that met with universal approval at Microsoft's Washington State team.
The author, the son of The Daily Telegraph's cartoonist Nicholas Garland, has a knack of producing scripts that appeal to males between 12 and 34, a key audience for Hollywood.
Garland adapted his first novel, The Beach, about the dreams and destructiveness of Western travellers in Thailand, into a £27 million Leonardo di Caprio film that grossed £102 million. He then made the £5 million cult film 28 Days Later with the director Danny Boyle, which grossed £55 million.
Variety, the trade paper, said yesterday that the final deal involved Garland rewriting the script with "notes" from Fox and Universal, before a director is chosen. Staff of Bungie, the Microsoft-owned development studio that created Halo, will act as "creative consultants".
Donna Langely, the Universal production president, said: ''Halo is one of those rare properties where you have a rich world from which to draw as well as a recognised brand."
www.imdb.com/title/tt0464037/
But who will play Master Cheif
The Rock ?????
Jason Statham ????
>> Edited by cotty on Wednesday 24th August 12:53
But who will play Master Cheif
The Rock ?????
Jason Statham ????
>> Edited by cotty on Wednesday 24th August 12:53
cotty said:
<a href="www.imdb.com/title/tt0464037/">www.imdb.com/title/tt0464037/</a>
But who will play Master Cheif
The Rock ?????
Jason Statham ????
>> Edited by cotty on Wednesday 24th August 12:53
I'm more looking forward to this one!
www.imdb.com/title/tt0418819/
(I did actually think the first Tomb Raider movie wasn't too bad!
)
chris watton said:
I'm more looking forward to this one!
www.imdb.com/title/tt0418819/
"The Legendary Filmmaker Brings You His Ultimate Zombie Masterpiece"
Cheerful
The first Tomb Raider film was quite good, I thought, but the 2nd was pants.
My main concern with a Halo film is the same as was faced with Judge Dredd, namely that in the source material you never see the face of the main character.
Since in Dredd they had a "big name" (ie. Stallone) he had to take his helmet off so his face was seen. Likewise, if they get a "big name" to play Master Chief then they will likewise want their face to be seen.
Otherwise, the storyline of the first Halo game played like a Sci-Fi movie anyway so shouldn't be too hard to translate to a film.
I wonder what certificate it will get though? The Flood aren't too pretty after all.
>> Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 24th August 13:21
My main concern with a Halo film is the same as was faced with Judge Dredd, namely that in the source material you never see the face of the main character.
Since in Dredd they had a "big name" (ie. Stallone) he had to take his helmet off so his face was seen. Likewise, if they get a "big name" to play Master Chief then they will likewise want their face to be seen.
Otherwise, the storyline of the first Halo game played like a Sci-Fi movie anyway so shouldn't be too hard to translate to a film.
I wonder what certificate it will get though? The Flood aren't too pretty after all.
>> Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 24th August 13:21
JonRB said:
Otherwise, the storyline of the first Halo game played like a Sci-Fi movie anyway so shouldn't be too hard to translate to a film.
I wonder what certificate it will get though? The Flood aren't too pretty after all.
If it is done properly it should be a 15-anything less and it will be too childish.
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