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Steven Spielberg poised to take over Halo movie?
Is Steven Spielberg interested in taking over a proposed film adaptation of the Halo video-game franchise?
That's the rumor over on IESB.net, which cites numerous anonymous sources.
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 independent studio with distribution over at Walt Disney Pictures after losing Transformers to Paramount in the separation, it's the perfect combination.
Halo, as we recall, was the project that producer Peter Jackson was once attached to and for which he enlisted newbie South African director Neill Blomkamp before it all went pear-shaped. That collaboration eventually resulted in the upcoming sci-fi action drama District 9, so we have Halo's fall to thank for that.
But IESB says that Spielberg is blown away by Stuart Beattie's (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) take on the script, about which we wrote a while back. That script is independent of Jackson and Blomkamp's effort and is based on the Halo: The Fall of Reach prequel novel; he also came up with several pieces of concept art (and thanks to Latino Review for breaking that story).
For his part, Blomkamp recently told SCI FI Wire he's not interested in Halo anymore.
IESB.net also argues that Spielberg is an avid gamer, something our sister site fidgit disputes.
By Neill at 10:11 AM ON 08/10/09
They need to get Neill Blomkamp to do this film. His test footage was great. I guess he had a chance and somebody didn't like it enough so now we have somebody else working on it. Hopefully this time the movie will actually get made now.
By TheGigaShadow at 12:47 PM ON 08/10/09
They need to get Neill Blomkamp? Need to? You have a lot of faith in a guy who's never directed a feature before. (District 9 doesn't count, it's not out yet). Something tells me that if Spielberg were to do Halo he could handle it.
By ODST at 1:34 PM ON 08/10/09
Oh please NO! He'll will really screw up anything that is good and decent in the Halo universe. I'd rather not see the film made at all than have Spielberg get his hands on it. It will be like Pearl Harbor in space (the movie). ACK!
By Simon Baylor at 2:27 PM ON 08/10/09
If i had my choice of Directors, I would not select Speilberg, I m just convinced that he could do justice to Halo. I would have preferred to see Peter Jackson because he could give the story the epic sweep that it needs to be successful. My second choice would be James Cameron, then Alex Proyas, finally Ridley Scott. beyond that im not sure.
By Igipopp at 2:36 PM ON 08/10/09
What about Verhoeven?
By bishpsring at 2:37 PM ON 08/10/09
Less we all forget Saving Private Ryan. Sure, it would not be original, but to at least have the cinematography of Saving Private Ryan and dont forget Band of Brothers which he helped with as well. Those two were fantastic. I think he could handle it. I think the real issue is dealing with the dialogue and the script. It has to be great. The best directors could never do anything good with the script for DOOM. Sorry. I dont care how talented you are. Get some great script writers with Spielberg and I believe there is potential.
By Simon Baylor at 4:14 PM ON 08/10/09
Verhoeven ? No way in hell ! Not after Starship Troopers.
By Bluesman at 6:15 PM ON 08/10/09
How about Uwe Boll?
By Rudy M Alapag Jr at 9:50 PM ON 08/10/09
how about Dave Filoni? After The Clone Wars?
By Scanner at 11:55 PM ON 08/10/09
If they really want this movie to succeed, regardless of who directs it, they need to time it's release after another Master Chief version of HALO... not HALO WARS 2 or a subsidiary HALO game.
It's the MC and game sub-characters and storyline that made it the huge success... and renewed interest in it via a "HALO 4" game would boost it's sales.
Sure, there are some die hard fans like myself that would go see it almost regardless of who makes it, but if they want to make it big, that's how they might want to go about it.
By BigIzzy at 3:38 AM ON 08/11/09
Uwe Boll? He has never nade a movie that wasnt complete and utter crap. if he gets near a Halo Movie I'm blowing something up. But i'll have to own whatever it is cause i dont wanna go to prison.
By UnRiel at 12:56 PM ON 08/11/09
Not a gamer and haven't read the novels, though (dating myself) my teenage son is/has, but I am a Larry Niven Ringworld fan and I fear that if ever that project finds life, it will be mistakenly be seen as a copy of Halo. It may be a moot concern since the Ringworld project hasn't found much traction yet.
By Flux Cheese at 11:13 PM ON 08/11/09
Spielburg - (minus) Lucas = awesome.. He's only one of the worlds best directors and he loves sci-fi.. He just has to keep his friend Mr. Lucas far far away from this, though I'd still prefer the Pete Jackson version.. Stupid Universal studio's.. Would have been so awesome
By macmikey at 1:38 AM ON 08/12/09
@BigIzzy,
I think Bluesman was kidding. At least, I HOPE so...
By Tekzel at 11:50 AM ON 08/12/09
I think a Halo movie would be awesome, but it has to be handled by a director and writer that is good at character development. To make the movie as a brainless action flick would be a travesty. I think The Fall of Reach could turn out to be an awesome character driven story if done by the right folks.
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Tekzel:
I think a Halo movie would be awesome, but it has to be handled by a director and writer that is good at character ...More »