RSSUniversal, Fox Pull Out of 'Halo' Movie
By Ed Oswald | Published October 20, 2006, 11:54 AM
The movie adaptation of the popular Xbox video game Halo appears to be in trouble as both Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox have apparently pulled out of the project. The move leaves the project without financing and distribution, entertainment publication Variety reported.
Negotiations broke down after the two studios attempted to force Microsoft and the filmmakers to reduce their take on any profits. Also rumored to be behind the decision was the film's ballooning cost, apparently exceeding its $135 million budget.
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh of "Lord of the Rings" trilogy fame had signed on as executive producers for the movie. The film is to be directed by 27-year-old Neill Blomkamp, his first feature film. They all denied to Variety rumors that the film had gone over budget, and said pre-production work continues.
A spokesperson for the executive producers said that the request to reduce profit-taking came right before a $5 million payment to Microsoft and others involved in the movie was due. The studios told Jackson, Walsh and others this had to happen in order for things to go forward.
"They waited until the last minute to have this conversation," spokesperson Ken Kamins told the entertainment paper. "Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungee, respectfully declined."
Kamins also rebuffed concerns about Blomkamp's inexperience, and said Jackson and Wash were "supremely confident" in his abilities. Talks are underway to find new distribution partners.
Whoever thinks Halo was boring and say silly or maybe even ok should really stop lying. Doom 3 was scary, but the plot was ok!, the Quake series and especially Quake 2 was good, but Halo took a gr8 storyline and was made into a game that not only looked good, but the music also was awesome.
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|Neill Blomkamp is a special efefcts and animation dude. I don;t see anything in his CV that suggests he can handle a project ths size. I wouldn't bet $135 million on him to deliver the goods.
The movie would presumably have to tie in with Halo 3, though a glance at IMDB reveals the plot is a retelling of Halo 1: "After they crash-land on an artificial ring-world called "Halo", a marine captain, his surviving marines, and a genetically-and-surgically-enhanced supersoldier called "Master Chief" must find out what the Covenant, the genocidal alien race they are at war with, are looking for on the ring. However, Halo holds more secrets than either side imagined." It is interesting that they chose that plot instead of the Halo 2 plot. Presumably they considered it as daft and convoluted as many gamers did.
I can live without a Halo movie. The game is fine but the movie looks like a money-grabbing exercise.
As for Microsoft making the movie, I don't like the idea - we'd end up with a movie with a paperclip to help us with the plot, and a Halo Movie Service Pack 1 to patch the wooden acting six months later :-)
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|that story could have been developed into really nice sifi. however i think the most of the effort will be spent on visual effects instead of a substance just like DOOM did (which also had a lot of creative potential). thats what holywood of today is best at - take a really nice idea, drive into the ground ( while spending millions on it) and then b**** at slow sales. what a shame
holywood idiots, wake up! it's not the effects that make the movie (and we've seen all the effects you can make already) it's the substance. even now after all the years i like to watch "Aliens" in the 100's time more then resent flicks even though it is inferior as far as visual effects go.
sorry for the rant...
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|Agree wrt effects vs. substantive story. A look at the Mission Impossible franchise proves that; a masterpiece of intrigue converted to a vehicle for superficial 'missions' and explosions. I have to think that the selection of Neil Blomkamp reflects the desire to balance both effects and story. Blomkamp was chosen not only for CGI expertise (many well knowns have that) but also for his Halo sympatico. It's the combo that will make or break this movie.
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|Why wouldn't microsoft just pay for the movie out right? I mean, bill gates probably has that in his sock drawer for crying out loud. It's for a movie that made the xbox at least somewhat successful.
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|No worries, Uwe Boll will pick it up and turn it into crap!:)
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|LOL... Uwu Boll will pick it up and STOMP IT INTO THE DIRT!!
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|Why Microsoft needs either Universal of 20th Fox to produce a movie since Dreamworks SKG is owned in part by Bill Gates ? Did Spielberg give the cold shoulder to Gates and refused to produce a movie like Halo with/for him and his Microsoft ?
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|I'm a ****ing destroy your face if you keep posting this $hit.
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|well, if they didn't like what microsoft was asking then they should of raised this issue at the begining, why wait until the last minute to question about what MS is asking,
i'm not one for MS, but in this case it seems that MS are getting pinned as the reason why studios have pulled out, the fact that the question was raised at the last minute sugests to me that more meets the eye, perhaps the studios are looking for a reason to pull out, and now they have, blame microsoft, everyone else does,
MS was asking for this right at the begining and the studios said nothing, up until the point they needed to pay MS there 1st installment to get the license rolling, then suddenly all this crap comes up,
i feel that the movie would go over budget, and the studios are worried that the film won't rake in the bucks to pay for the film,
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|As much as I would have liked to have seen what Peter Jackson could have done with the 'Halo' franchise, looks like the insatiable greed of Microsoft strikes again.
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|Halo shouldnt dilute its brand by making a lame movie. Just concentrate on Halo 3 development.
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|another movie destined to be budgeted and produced a'la Mortal Kombat style ...
cheap and straight .....
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|Halo sucks anyways. Plus, the only good game movie adaption was Silent Hill.
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|Thats just cuz you cant play and everyone owns you.
Go play an RPG or somthing more your speed, haha.
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|"Halo sucks anyways"
LOL, Microsofts posterchild game, and it sucks?
You must just be horrible at it.
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|I'll agree, it does suck. There are many, many better FPS games around. And consoles are not the platform for FPS. :P
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|I agree with Tenoq. Being pretty big into Half-Life 1 and 2, Call of Duty, Unreal Tournament (all of them!) and several others... I really think Halo was merely an OKAY FPS. I never could really get into it.
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|agreed that PC is much better at shooters but they are still very playable on console, it just a matter of getting used to. i got used to but it was annoying the hell out of me . Halo IS boring while played on PC - tryed that first and couldn't stop bashing it. but on xbox it was totaly different experience, i got really into it. feels like the gameplay is tailored to suit "from the couch" game syle more then WASD and mouse.
IMO it is probably one of the best shooters made for the box. to each his own i guess. i would really love to see a good halo movie though. good - not like doom
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|I think it's incredibly difficult to make a 'game' adaptation to movie to satisfy everyone. Let's face it, you can't JUST make it for fans, it has to appeal to a wider audience to make it feasible. Appealing to just fans means alienating just about anyone who never played or wasn't a fan of the game, so you have to make compromises to retell the story a little bit so that everyone enjoys. In my opinion (I'm no movie maker), it would be great if each game adaptaton got at least a 2-3 movie or a 4hr movie deal ie: 2 releases at least because it's almost impossible to tell a good game's story in 1 movie.
Of the list DarkZero made, I don't think those are the worst movies - they're disappointing, but they're not horrible. Wanna know horrible? 'Alone in the Dark', 'House of the Dead' and 'Dungeons & Dragons'....but there is hope - though many people didn't like it, Silent Hill wasn't that bad, and I really like Resident Evil.
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|I hope they still go through with the movie. I love the game and wouldn't mind seeing the movie.
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|I agree with you DarkZero63.
Look at Doom,Mario Bros,Mortal Combat and Final Fantasy for examples of insipid moving making.
Good games though.
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|Come on! Mario Bros ruled!! hehe ;)
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|That it did... and if anyone doubts the merits of the Mario Bros. movie - go rent it and watch the movie for camp value.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108255/
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|Good move on the part of fox. No one wants to see another lousy video game movie adaptation.
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|My brother ( a big fan of Halo ) was just saying how he wished that they would make a Halo movie.
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|Yeah, if I have to sit through another Doom-like movie, or Alone in the Dark, I'll tear the skin off of my face and eat it.
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