GET THE SCOOP ON THE NEW HALO MOVIE AND MORE
Halo: The Musical - That's right! Hey, why not? They're making a movie!
For the past few weeks there have been whispers on the wind about a Halo movie. Now it would appear that those rumors are true. Variety reports that Microsoft has hired screenwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later and The Beach) to write the screenplay.
Variety also reports that the Halo deal is being brokered by Creative Artists Agency, the Hollywood talent agency that handles both Microsoft Game Studios and Garland. How much do you get for taking on the responsibility of writing a Halo movie? The word is -- a cool million.
 Photo courtesy of Bungie.net Coming soon, to a theater near you ... |
Microsoft has brought in ex-Columbia Pictures president Peter Schlessel to advise them on the deal in hopes of avoiding what is often referred to in the industry as the "Super Mario Bros, The Movie-Effect."
The plan is for Microsoft to develop a script that it can shop around to studios. This is a pretty nontraditional approach for this sort of thing. Typically a production company will license the franchise directly from the game studio, develop a solid merchandising plan, cast some big-name actors, get a bunch of disinterested writers to pop out a script that fits their marketing strategy, shoot the film quickly and ram it all down our throats like we need it in order to live.
We can only hope that Microsoft's cautious approach will help to ensure that Halo survives the adaptation process with its true spirit intact. One thing's for sure -- Microsoft is running a risk of damaging the credibility of their bulletproof franchise by taking this risky and arguably unnecessary leap to film.
So there's no musical but the million-dollar-script deal is for real. And there are other interesting rumors floating around now, too. FilmForce reported in November that Ridley Scott (Alien and Black Hawk Down) may direct, and that Ed Harris (The Abyss and The Hours) and Samuel L. Jackson (Shaft and Pulp Fiction) could portray Capt. Keyes and Sgt. Johnson, respectively. Take a moment to consider that.
Hmmmm ...
Other than that, there's no more news yet. Rest assured, though -- Stuffo will lurk in dark alleys, garbed in bizarre disguises, while roughing up informants until we have more information. But all that aside, the prospect of a feature film looming on the horizon begs the question, "What would a Halo movie be like?"
