Steven Spielberg Set To Bring Halo To The Big-Screen?


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HALO, the wildly popular video games that follow Master Chief, a cybernetically-enhanced human super-soldier, and his artificial intelligence (AI) companion, Cortana as they aide future humanity in battling the Covenant, a theocratic alliance of alien races, may be coming to the big screen much sooner than we expected.

IESB has learned exclusively (believe me this is solid and I've confirmed it three times over with studio executives and our close ties to CAA) that one of the biggest producers in Hollywood history is currently in active negotiations to develop the feature film adaptation and no it's not Jerry Bruckheimer or Peter Jackson. It's the man behind Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones and Transformers, Mr. Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg is blown away by writer Stuart Beattie's take on the game in his script entitled HALO THE FALL OF REACH. This coupled with the fact that his Dreamworks umbrella is looking for a big tent pole to help launch their newly independant studio with distribution over at Walt Disney Pictures after losing Transformers to Paramount in the separation, it's the perfect combination.

Also, Spielberg is a huge gaming fan. His prodigal star Shia LaBeouf has been quoted talking about Spielberg being stuck on the 15th level of BioShock recently,

"I get there and stick my head in to ask if he's ready-and this is classic Spielberg-he says, ?Nope, Shia. I'm trapped!' " LaBeouf then starts playing both parts-concerned prot?g? and faraway mentor:

"You're trapped? Steven, what are you talking about?"

"I'm trapped back here. Follow my voice."

"Where are you?"

"Over here... Here... Here!"

LaBeouf kept following the calls until he got to the director's office. And there was the master himself: shoes off, socks on, dressed in shooting gear, but sitting behind a computer, stuck on the fifteenth level of a first-person shooter called BioShock.

"This is like months to get to this level, and he can't get past this one little mysterious spider god, and he's losing his mind. He's like, ?I can't do it, Shia! I can't do it.' "t;

Word is CAA, who rep both Spielberg and Beattie, is pushing these negotiations heavily.

HALO belongs to Microsoft and they own all rights to a feature film and happen to have a great relationship with the producer who even unveiled their lastest gaming technology Project Natal at the E3 Expo earlier this year. It doesn't hurt to have Bill Gates as a good friend so I hear.

Stuart Beattie, the writer behind the new concept that Spielberg loves, was quite busy during the 2007 writer's strike when he wrote the script on spec based on the storyline from Eric Nylund's prequel novel to HALO, THE FALL OF REACH. Beattie is also hot off the summer hit G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA which he co-wrote with director Stephen Sommers and others. During the promotional tour for that film, he told Scifi.com that the HALO story is, "an amazing story about this child that no one cares about and who cares for no one else, who kind of ends up saving all of humanity."

Back on April Fools Day of 2008, Latino Review broke the news of the new Beattie script and had a write up on what it was all abThe script is, first and foremost, a character-driven story about a soldier named John who was kidnapped or "conscripted" by the UNSC when he was just six years old, and then brutally trained to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117.

The script then takes us through the horrific first contact with the Covenant hordes on the doomed colony world of Harvest, and then climaxes with the spectacular fall of the UNSC forward base on Reach, during which every other Spartan is slaughtered.

The script also gives detailed outlines for the second movie, HALO: RISE OF THE FLOOD, which takes place entirely on the Halo ringworld, and the third and final movie, HALO: BATTLE FOR EARTH, which roughly follows the events of Halo 3, the game.

One cool advantage of this first script is that (like the shark in JAWS) you don't even see the Covenant until halfway through the movie. And because all the creatures are CGI creations, this cuts the budget down dramatically and makes a first Halo movie that much more viable. For Halo fans, it's like the prequel that provides all the answers to questions they've thought about for years. For non Halo fans, it's an exciting action movie that provides a clear, concise introduction to a world five hundred years in the future with relatable characters and a terrifying alien menace.e.

The site also posted 5 pieces of concept art that Beattie came up with to illustrate his vision for the franchise.

Recently, sites have been reporting that the HALO project is completely dead after it halted under the guidance of Peter Jackson and director Neil Blomkamp with 20th Century Fox distributing.

But with Spielberg now in active negotiations, this **** is about to get real!

With Spielberg possibly in the producer's chair (if God willing these negotiations work out), who would be his first choice to direct HALO? Sound off in our comments section below!

Stay tuned to the IESB for future HALO news!

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I thought Neill Blomkamp was going to direct the Halo movie. :huh:

He was, along with Peter Jackson, but then Fox and Universal wouldn't agree to Microsoft's terms so it got dropped. District 9 is the movie that spawned from Jackson and Blomkamp because they couldn't make Halo, and Blomkamp says he'd have a hard time coming back to Halo, since he spent 6 months of his life on it only to see it get canned.

Not sure I want to see it if Jackson and Blomkamp aren't in on it - the Halo shorts they created were absolutely fantastic.

I'm going to go ahead and take this with a grain of salt for the time being anyways.

-Spenser

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Actually the "can't agree to MS terms" was a smokescreen to save face. The truth is that the studios wouldn't sign off on Neil as a director since had never directed anything except a weak, derivative short film before then. They thought they were getting Peter as the director, not a nobody.

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I see. I still have faith in Neill Blomkamp. I'm going to see District 9 as soon as it's out in a theatre near me. I thought his Halo shorts were amazing. In any case, I'll end up seeing the Halo movie regardless of who directs it. Okay, maybe not regardless because I wouldn't see it if Uwe Boll directed it.

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Actually the "can't agree to MS terms" was a smokescreen to save face. The truth is that the studios wouldn't sign off on Neil as a director since had never directed anything except a weak, derivative short film before then. They thought they were getting Peter as the director, not a nobody.

I heard it was a bigger slice of the profit, the budget, director were never a problem. Who knows, could be either but I doubt the director with PJ behind him scuppered the movie. Studio knew it was a massive IP, Microsoft are clueless movie wise, they tried to take advantage of that, Microsoft told them to stick it.

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I doubt it'll be Shia, or not at least when the story jumps to when he's Master Chief PO, as he's described as a 7 foot tall beast, not a 6 foot scrawny kid ;)

Besides, Shia can't really play a 6 year old boy :laugh:

I'm about half way through Fall of Reach the book at the moment, and I'm loving it. I'd love to see this being made into a movie. Then again, any Halo fan who really wants to know the storyline should read the book anyway :p There's a fair amount of inner monologue from John, which I'm not entirely sure can be translated to screen.

Also, meet Kelly:

megan-fox-comic.jpg

:rofl:

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Wouldn't it suck to know who plays Master Chief? Seriously, he's the only faceless video game character I can think of right now. I'd hate to associate a face with him.

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I don't think he's right for the role either. Personally, I think someone the likes of Mark Walberg, or Sam Worthington would be a good fit.

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Meet Master Chief:

shia-labeouf-plastic-surgery.jpg

Now that I've destroyed the movie for you...

Moving on to other delightful movie news..............

nooooooooooooooooooooooooo............ the agony!

please, i need to be someone like Bruce Willis. someone with action in their blood.

and PLEASE don't say Steven Segal :p altough, master cheif seldom talks, and he always wears his suit..so...

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Actually the "can't agree to MS terms" was a smokescreen to save face. The truth is that the studios wouldn't sign off on Neil as a director since had never directed anything except a weak, derivative short film before then. They thought they were getting Peter as the director, not a nobody.

Got a source for that? Jackson would've been the producer, behind Blomkamp all the way. That wasn't the reason. As far as I'm aware, the studios wanted more rights and leeway with the Halo IP and Microsoft wouldn't give that up, along with not being able to come up with an agreeable price.

-Spenser

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The legendary director may help bring the famed Halo franchise to the big-screen, designed for blockbuster summer success.

The on-off again relationship Hollywood has endured with Microsoft/Bungie's Halo franchise has become nearly as legendary as the games themselves, as previous attempts to bring the space saga to the big-screen has attracted some of the biggest and most influential names in cinematic history, only to have these efforts dashed at the last moment. But now it seems a new campaign (no pun intended) to transform the saga of Master Chief into movie royalty is on once more, this time handled by none other than Steven Spielberg himself.

The last attempt to bring Bungie's popular space saga to the big-screen, which was to include the likes of Academy Award-winning Peter Jackson and director Neil Blomkap (their work transformed into the upcoming District 9 film), with major special-effect work from the famed Weta Studio (Lord of the Rings). Jackson and Spielberg are close friends, with plans to co-direct the upcoming big-screen TinTin films. The Halo license itself is set for action in an upcoming collection of anime-inspired films, collectively titled Halo Legacy, due next year on DVD and Blu-ray discs.

Stuart Beattie (the recent GI-Joe: Rise of Cobra) would be handling screenwriting duties, based largely on Eric Nyland's prequel novel to HALO, THE FALL OF REACH. Beattie describes the potential film as "an amazing story about this child that no one cares about and who cares for no one else, who kind of ends up saving all of humanity."

Reports have the director looking for mega-project to spearhead a new distribution deal between Dreamworks and Walt Disney Pictures in the wake of losing the Transformers license to Paramount Pictures. Convincing Disney to bet on big-buget videogame adaptations shouldn't be a problem, as the studio is fully behind the upcoming Prince of Persia (potential) summer franchise that's set to launch next year.

Spielberg is a confirmed lifelong meta-geek, having declared his love for all-things enshrined in the universe, having declared his love for the videogame industry in both gushing praise and even a few additions (Medal of Honor, Boom Blox) of his own. He's also famous for brining extremely troubled films to fruition, such as the Peter Pan-sequel HOOK and Stanley Kubrick's vision for A.I. Time will tell if he can do the same for Master Chief, but given his massive success in helping revive the Transformers franchise, nothing seems impossible for the man behind E.T., Indiana Jones, Jaws, and Jurassic Park.

Thanks to IESB.com for the report!

http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=4740

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Halo is ok. I just want the Gears film to be made. I mean comeon! The Locust killin' business is a-boomin'. LOL.

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Stuart Beattie (the recent GI-Joe: Rise of Cobra) would be handling screenwriting duties, based largely on Eric Nyland's prequel novel to HALO, THE FALL OF REACH. Beattie describes the potential film as "an amazing story about this child that no one cares about and who cares for no one else, who kind of ends up saving all of humanity."

:cry:

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