It's common knowledge that video games have had a rough go of things in Hollywood. It's still a young entertainment medium -- comparing them chronologically to film, games have really only reached their "talkie" phase -- but a story is a story, and games really just haven't been adapted very well. That hasn't stopped filmmakers from trying to crack the code though.
There was some promise in "Halo," which Peter Jackson was going to produce and "District 9" helmer Neill Blomkamp was going to direct. Until it fizzled out, that is. The next great hope on the horizon is "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," which hits theaters next May. Both of these games have rich, well-developed stories. "Twilight" producer Wyck Godfrey, who has his hands on adaptations of "Gears of War" and "Dead Space," argues that the big problem with game adaptations thus far is related mostly to the source narratives. Read more...
The prospect of Armageddon is one of the scarier notions facing humanity today — but apparently it's not as scary for movie studios based on an upcoming film from director Len Wiseman.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the "Live Free or Die Hard" helmer is attached to produce and direct an untitled pitch — though the article's headline identifies the film's title as "Nocturne" — for 20th Century Fox. The film's plot centers on a handful of survivors following a wide-scale apocalyptic event and how each of them arrived at their current dilemma. Writers have yet to be hired. Read more...
It's been a little while since we've heard anything about the impending "Gears of War" movie adaptation, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been movement going on behind-the-scenes. In fact, it looks like a new soldier has been recruited into the fold to battle the Locust Horde.
According to /Film, screenwriter Billy Ray has been tapped to work on the script for "Gears of War," which is currently pegged as a Len Wiseman directing vehicle. Ray's work on the screenplay comes hot off the heels of "Wanted" scribe Chris Morgan, the most recent writer attached to the project. Read more...
The war against the Locust Horde is on the not-so-distant horizon according to Chris Morgan, screenwriter for the "Gears of War" game-to-film adaptation. Morgan revealed to MTV News that the movie is now in the budgeting phase. While funds are lining up for the project, casting has yet to begin for the lead role of Marcus Fenix, a disgruntled ex-convict who takes up arms as a member of the human military's crack Delta Squad.
"Normally when I write, I think about the actor I'm writing for, but this one's been difficult," Morgan admitted when asked about casting Fenix in the film. "It is a vital casting choice. It's counter-intuitive really, because it seems like you want to get a big character -- a big tough guy who can play it stoic the whole time -- but in my experience, dealing with macho sorts of movies and dealing with Dom [Vin Diesel's character in "Fast & Furious"] and that kind of stuff, it's harder to play the tough guy than an emotional character who's all over the place." Read more...
Strap on some body armor, rev up your chainsaw gun and get ready to slice and dice some Locust meat -- "Gears of War" is on the way and by all accounts, it's going to be massive.
Screenwriter Chris Morgan recently spoke with MTV News to give a status update on the upcoming video game adaptation, saying that things are moving along fantastically.
"A draft went in and we're talking about it now and we're budgeting it out," Morgan told MTV. "It's looking incredibly good."
The film is currently set up at New Line with "Underworld" helmer Len Wiseman attached to direct. Wiseman already has MTV's endorsement, and if Morgan's script pans out as he intends, fans of the franchise are likely to back the project as well. Read more...
"Gears of War" screenwriter Chris Morgan had some good news for gamers hungry for information about the upcoming live-action adaptation of the hit Microsoft game. In addition to all the details spilled today over on MTV.com, we're happy to report your favorite heavily armed, flesh-mauling bad guys from underneath the planet's surface are not only in good hands, but they're all but assured of appearing on screen.
"I don't think you would want to see a movie of this game without them in it," said Morgan of the likelihood that Corpsers, Seeders and, yes, Berserkers, would wreak on-screen havoc in the much-anticipated video game adaptation.
So what could he tell us about the creatures of the "Gears of War" movie? Read more...
I'll leave it to my esteemed colleagues at MTV's Multiplayer blog to weigh in the potential for "Gears of War" as a movie property. But I certainly can weigh in on Len "I'm more than Kate Beckinsale's husband" Wiseman. If you'd asked me a year ago where Mr. Wiseman ranked in the pantheon of genre filmmakers I'd have put him about on par with Steven Sommers (you know, the guy that made a movie starring Hugh Jackman as a monster hunter interminable). Before last summer Wiseman was the guy who couldn't make me interested in a vampire/werewolf movie starring the aforementioned Beckinsale in skin-tight leather.
BUT then came "Live Free or Die Hard," an actual honest to goodness breath of fresh wacked-out action air. Sure it was silly. Sure it wasn't exactly memorable. But it was entertaining as hell. Len Wiseman, maybe you've got something after all. And now it's on to "Gears of War" for Len. The little I know of the game makes it sound like a cool and attractive template for a kick-ass action flick.
But you guys probably know that stuff better than me. What do you think? Is Len Wiseman the right guy for "Gears of War" or do we have another "Doom" on our hands? What NEEDS to be included in the flick to honor the game? Sound off.
