These days, it seems like every videogame and its Atari 2600 grandmother is getting a movie tie-in. But hey, games are awesome and so are movies, so where’s the problem? Well, see, as it turns out, game movies are not awesome. Not in the slightest. So, is it Game Over for gaming’s star on the Hollywood walk of fame? Not necessarily, says Valve’s Gabe Newell. We just need to change up our approach, is all.
“Where we got into this direction was after Half-Life 1 had shipped. There was a whole bunch of meetings with people from Hollywood. Directors down there wanted to make a Half-Life movie and stuff, so they’d bring in a writer or some talent agency would bring in writers, and they would pitch us on their story. And their stories were just so bad. I mean, brutally, the worst. Not understanding what made the game a good game, or what made the property an interesting thing for people to be a fan of,” he explained to PC Gamer.
“That’s when we started saying ‘Wow, the best thing we could ever do is to just not do this as a movie, or we’d have to make it ourselves.’ And I was like, ‘Make it ourselves? Well that’s impossible.’ But the Team Fortress 2 thing, the Meet The Team shorts, is us trying to explore that.”
And so, on this day, our dream of Jason Statham playing an illogically acrobatic, crowbar-kung-fu master Gordon Freeman – while wearing a phony beard, of course – died a quick death. We’re not sure whether to be happy or incredibly depressed about that, honestly.
“Yes, Mr. Cameron? If you’re not too busy back-stroking in your private water park wave pool filled with half the world’s money, we’ve got someone on the line who might be able to help you scoop up the other half.”
Speaking with MTV Multiplayer, Blizzard EVP of game design Rob Pardo was all for a StarCraft movie – but on one condition: the “right partners” need to come out of the woodwork first.
“We’ve always had an interest in seeing our stuff on film or TV. It’s just tricky to find the right partners. We probably could have made a ['StarCraft'] movie or something on TV years and years ago, but it’s really important to us that we find creative people that are really talented but also really excited about our properties. That’s always been the challenge for us. I think if [James] Cameron came to us tomorrow and said, ‘You want to make a ‘StarCraft’ movie?’ we’d probably sign that,” he explained.
According to Pardo, the stars aligned in just such a way for the Warcraft movie, which is why it’s now more than just a twinkle in Blizzard’s eye.
“That’s why we did the ‘WoW’ movie. We were really excited about being involved with Legendary Pictures, who we thought had a really good track record with these sorts of movies that would make sense for our franchises,” he said, also noting that the Warcraft movie’s still in the “story-development” phase.
Perhaps the writers need someone breathing down their neck, constantly reminding them to CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS WORDS to speed up the process. It definitely helps us, and is totally not irritating to the point that we advise Blizzard to beef up security at BlizzCon to at least make things interesting for us.
Despite being courted by Hollywood directors and writers, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell insists that if a Half-Life movie ever happens, it would be created by Valve instead of outside talent.
"There was a whole bunch of meetings with people from Hollywood," Newell said in an interview with PC Gamer. "Directors down there wanted to make a Half-Life movie and stuff, so they’d bring in a writer or some talent agency would bring in writers, and they would pitch us on their story. And their stories were just so bad. I mean, brutally, the worst."
We've all seen a bad video game movie or two, and Newell didn't want the same fate for the beloved Half-Life brand.In the interview, he continues: "[W]e started saying ‘Wow, the best thing we could ever do is to just not do this as a movie, or we’d have to make it ourselves.’ And I was like, ‘Make it ourselves? Well that’s impossible.’ But the Team Fortress 2 thing, the Meet The Team shorts, is us trying to explore that.”
If you don't remember the Meet the Team shorts, a quick YouTube search can bring you up to speed. I'm happy that Valve isn't content to just sell the Half-Life license to the first Hollywood fat cat that strolls up to its door. Someday, Valve may not just make awesome games…they may make awesome movies, too.
A few months ago, we picked who we'd like to star in the rumored Mass Effect movie. Now we're hearing rumblings of a Hollywood take on Rockstar's western epic Red Dead Redemption. Rumors would place Brad Pitt in the role of John Marsten, but we have our own picks for RDR on the big screen. Take a look.
John Marston – Viggo Mortensen or Sean Bean (take your pick)
Why are movie adaptations of games so terrible? Because the people who made the adapted games weren’t part of the filmmaking process, right? That’s what Gabe Newell says. Here’s what he told PC Gamer about possible Half-Life adaptations:
“Where we got into this direction was after Half-Life 1 had shipped. There was a whole bunch of meetings with people from Hollywood. Directors down there wanted to make a Half-Life movie and stuff, so they’d bring in a writer or some talent agency would bring in writers, and they would pitch us on their story. And their stories were just so bad. I mean, brutally, the worst. Not understanding what made the game a good game, or what made the property an interesting thing for people to be a fan of.
“That’s when we started saying ‘Wow, the best thing we could ever do is to just not do this as a movie, or we’d have to make it ourselves.’ And I was like, ‘Make it ourselves? Well that’s impossible.’ But the Team Fortress 2 thing, the Meet The Team shorts, is us trying to explore that.”
I’d like to point something out, Mr. Gabe. The Prince of Persia movie’s story was written by Jordan Mechner, who also wrote three Prince of Persia games. And it was still terrible. You’re on the right track, though, because it’s all about who makes it. And so, yes, you should produce the Half-Life movie when and if it happens, but you should only do that so you can put it in the most capable hands available. And by that, I mean you should have Frank Darabont do it. Let that simmer for a minute.
See, the problem is not simply that Hollywood has been making the movies. No, the problem is that Hollywood then turns them over to people like Andrzej Bartkowiak. Good filmmakers make good movies, Gabe. All you have to do to ensure the Half-Life movie doesn’t suck is to make sure good filmmakers are making it. That’s all.
Quick, what’s the best movie of the last decade? This is really easy, bros. The answer:
Since we all agree that, at the very least, that this movie is an instant classic (shut the f**k up, Ross Lincoln) and that Brad Pitt totally owns as an Old West badass, we can also all agree, then, that the Pittster would make a good John Marston in the Red Dead Redemption movie.
The word coming down the grapevine via a secret source is that the man has been given right of first refusal to play John Marston. Which is great, as we already established. Yeah, this is rumor and speculation, but I’m going to assume it’s true because I’d like it to be true. But we’ll have to wait and see, because we don’t actually know anything about the alleged movie or if it will ever actually happen.
For more information please check out: Facebook – www.facebook.com To watch the movie see the below cinema’s showing: WEST END RELEASE 5th February 2010 Apollo Cinema Piccadilly Circus (one evening show) 5th February 2010 London Release Showcase – Newham Showcase – Reading HTV Area Release 5th February 2010 Showcase – Bristol Reel – Plymouth Midlands Area Release 5th February 2010 Showcase – Dudley Granada Area Release 5th February 2010 Plaza – Crosby Showcase – Manchester Tyne Tees Area Release 5th February 2010 Reel – Hull Scottish Area Release 5th February 2010 Showcase – Paisley 23rd February 2010 Ritz – Belper (3days-digital) Northern Ireland 5th February 2010 Movie House(Dublin Road) – Belfast Movie House(York Gate) – Belfast Southern Ireland 5th February 2010 VUE – Dublin
Click Here to Watch the Dead Rising 2 Case Zero E3 2010 Debut Trailer: www.youtube.com Zombrex Dead Rising Sun Live Action Movie Trailer [HD] Developer: Blue Castle Games Release: 8/1//2010 Genre: Action Platform: PS3/X360/PC Publisher: Capcom Written and directed by Keiji Inafune, Capcom’s global head of research and development, Zombrex Dead Rising Sun follows two brothers as they try to escape the zombie outbreak that has hit Japan. Exploring the darker side of human nature and filmed entirely on location in Japan, Zombrex Dead Rising Sun, both pays homage to the zombie movies of the 1960s and ’70s and provides links with the videogame world of Dead Rising. Follow Machinima on Twitter! Machinima twitter.com Inside Gaming twitter.com Machinima Respawn twitter.com Machinima Entertainment, Technology, Culture twitter.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: www.youtube.com TAGS: Zombrex Dead Rising 2 Live Action Movie Trailer [HD] machinima video game videogame xbox360 xbox playstation ps3 playstation3 blue castle games capcom epic zombie survival horror mall 2010 microsoft conference windows live pc yt:quality=high Video Rating: 2 / 5
Angry Birds? That's right. The iPhone and iPad smash hit may be coming to the silver screen. Rovio Mobile, the Finnish developer behind Angry Birds, says that it has had talks with Hollywood studios in regards to expanding its bird simulator beyond games. Rovio is banking on Angry Birds becoming an entertainment brand.
The game's cinematic trailer (see below) has been viewed on YouTube over five million times. I can't understand why. What attraction do people have to these characters? They remind me of Mad Balls…feathered Mad Balls. Maybe all five million of these people clicked the video in hopes of it being a walkthrough video that could help them solve a level they've been stuck on for hours. Or maybe people like feathered Mad Balls that don't talk, don't have legs or wings, and battle green pig heads.
In a recent interview with Fangoria, prolific horror film producer Don Carmody gave an update on the sequel to the 2006 film adaptation of Silent Hill. Things are going less than awesome, as Carmody explained production is “a little stalled now because of [writer/director] Roger Avary’s [legal problems], so a little unsure yet.” Carmody is referring to Avary’s one-year prison sentence, which he received after being charged with vehicular manslaughter following a fatal 2008 car accident.
Carmody went on to explain, “the original plan was Roger writing and polishing the screenplay, and when he had finished his thing, we’d begin full-blown preproduction. I’m not sure what’s going on with that. We know we want to make Silent Hill 2 and have a basic outline for it. We’ll have to see.” According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department website, Avary has been released from prison — whether or not he’s in the screenwriting mood remains to be seen.
Silent Hill 2 movie production currently stuck in limbo originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Silent Hill 2 movie production currently stuck in limbo originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.