Halo movie post-pwned by Microsoft and Jackson

If MS is so confident in their franchise they should cover the entire cost of the movie... it would only consume a week's worth of profits and they would control everything like they wanted. Instead, their ridiculous terms are placing all the financial risk on the studios...to which Universal and Fox gave them a big f*ck you.

@1

Dude your an fool. Shut up. Thats business.

They will be waiting for the release of Halo 3. There will be a huge spotlight on that release. Once all these other studios see how well it is doing they will all scramble to Microsoft's feet..

They lost their funding, so of course they had to stop pre-production! I don't think that either Jackson or Microsoft ever wanted to deficit finance this thing, although you can be sure that they've had to eat some costs due to the U./Fox pullout.

This is the way the business works. The movie will happen once they've got some finance partners on board.

Why doesn't Jackson just direct it himself?

I have full confidence in Neill. I've seen most of his previous work, including those sci-fi shorts, and they were amazing. They use contemporary themes and problems (immigration, crime, etc.) with futuristic and otherwise odd twists, but still create a sense of reality. If they changed directors, I would be very disappointed.

I think the reason why Microsoft doesn't want to "self-fund" this movie is because they arent 100% sure the it will be a hit.

I mean did you all forget when sqaure-enix self-funded there movie ? It almost cost them there company . Now I know microsoft is a 10 times bigger than sqaure-enix but money loss is still money loss if the movie doesnt do well....

Thats gotta make Neill feel like shit.

Fox and Universal did not back out because Neil Blomkamp was inexperienced, but those greedy bastards couldn`t agree on which of them (Fox and Universal) should get more money out of it.

Well from the stuff i read it seemed like ALL financial risk was on FOx/universal, so i dont fault them for pulling out of the production, it was a win win only for MS. If they had faith in their property they would of put up at least 20% of the budget or something like that.
and why does it have to be some huge 200+ million dollar budget? I'm sure they could make a smaller more intimate halo movie at half or even a quarter that price and still make a decent return on it.

It doesnt need to be superman or anything.

and urban, the reason FF spirits within failed is because to most fans, it had nothing to do with FF or very little and should of showcased characters people knew. Now Advent children on the otherhand was a damn good movie and did very well for the company.

They should see if Sony Pictures would like to finance it.

I doubt they will make the movie at all

The article that Joystiq cites is an article in Cinematical. This article says that the announcement was jointly made between Jackson's agent and Microsoft, but the linked article for this statement is an article on Variety discussing the pullout of Universal and Fox from the Halo production. Something doesn't add up.

I love the look of Neil Blomkamp's filmwork, but wouldn't that qualify him best as a Director of Photography? I'm not saying that Neil wouldn't do the Director's seat justice, because we don't know that, and that's where the slight controversy lies.

Back to the more important matters, I wonder how Microsoft will be able to get the movie out in theaters. This is what's important about film conglomorates: not that they have the money to support the film production, but that they have the strings to get the movie into as many theaters around the country as possible. Microsoft has the money, but if they take the Halo movie into their own hands, I don't doubt they have the funds, but can they get this into theaters, not being a movie distributer?

JJ the only thing that connects Final Fantasy games are chocobos and the name "Cid" but yeah I understand your point , even you can see ever snice that flop game companies aren't to keen on funding there own movies.

Which was the point I was trying to make.I have no dout that the halo movie could be great but there always a chance it wont. Which is why I understand fox and universals feelings.

with all of what microsoft is demanding im not surprised. The budget is insane and on top of that microsoft is asking for a huge cut of the profits

Maybe if they turned it into a trilogy, people would see it as more of a big-time production rather than just a one time ordeal. ex: matrix, lotr, pirates of the carribean, and star wars

You cannot just self-fund a movie just because you have the money. There are things like Actor unions and worker unions to deal with. Square funded a computer generated movie, which is a different animal then a live action movie. Plus, you need a distributor. Even Lucas (who self-funded his movies) needed that. It’s much more complicated then “oh, here…take $200 million and make a movie”. And Jackson probably doesn’t want to direct because he knows that he’s not the right director for this type of movie. That’s what makes a good producer, somebody who knows his limits and can get the right people for the job.

Anyway you put this, it all comes down to the fact that Microsoft wanted a big chunk of the profits and the studios don’t know about giving that much money to an untested director.

@The Intangible Fact

...LOL; read the comments dipsh!t, you're the one who looks like a fool, fool.

Am I the only one who thinks a Halo movie would be boring as hell? The captivating storyline wasn't exactly the draw to the game.

Jerm I don't know if you comment was to me but if it was Not once in my comments did i suggest that microsoft should self-fund the movie.Matter fact I was giving them a reason why they wouldnt do such a thing.

Also the first final fantasy movie cost a boat load to make out of sqaure own pocket(about $137 million ) so this wasnt just some movie they were putting together they had very high hopes.

Movie studios have enough experience to know what will/won't do well at the box office so when they pull out something isn't right. Halo fans need to think rationally, a movie just wouldn't be a massive draw to people outside of XBox gamers. Once the initial rush of Halo fans flocking to see the movie was over with who else would bother? Game to movie adaptations have never been big box office bankers and this one is no different. If MS were that confident then they'd back the film 100% themselves, it's not like they haven't got the money. They should cut the budget right down and make a kick-ass animated film, i'd buy into that.

it has nothing to do with money. microsoft has enough money in their "pens and staplers" budget to pay for the movie. it's nothing at all to do with that.

it's their arrogance.

making a movie is more than just a dollar sign. it's industry contacts. if microsoft/universal/fox are all in a pissing match (because of microsoft's arrogance), no worthwhile third party movie contractor will risk their relationship with universal or fox by joining up with microsoft on the movie. and, since microsoft doesn't own a studio, they can't get it done by themselves with a bunch of software geeks.

no contractors. no movie.

hollywood is a bitchy, narcissistic, take-my-ball-and-go-home, back-stabbing kinda place.

m3mnoch.

Regardless of arrogance the whole idea just hasn't got the mass box office appeal needed. It's a labour of love for the developers and fans of the game, no-one else is remotely bothered.

I guess Peter knows when to pull out! lol :)

#24 - "the whole idea just hasn't got the mass box office appeal needed"


Really? because I'm trying to figure that if Halo2 can sell 2M copies in the first day, then you would assume the same fans would see it in the first weekend. Since people don't go to the movies alone you are looking at about 3M expected. At $8 a ticket that leaves you with $24M in the first weekend just from those fans. with a little marketing to the masses and the snowball effect of big sales numbers I'm sure you could compete in the top 20 opening weekends of all time. I don't know about you maximus but it sounds like your just partial to gladiator movies.

Everyone has been quick to state that the movie is canceled. I would like to iterate:

While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait.

http://halomovie.trivialbeing.net/

My guess is that they are waiting on Guillermo Del Toro to direct it.

The story sucks, it's all about the easy to pick up deathmatch and the cool costume. It's not very good movie material, it just has a huge audience waiting to spend their bucks.

"Really? because I'm trying to figure that if Halo2 can sell 2M copies in the first day, then you would assume the same fans would see it in the first weekend. Since people don't go to the movies alone you are looking at about 3M expected. At $8 a ticket that leaves you with $24M in the first weekend just from those fans. with a little marketing to the masses and the snowball effect of big sales numbers I'm sure you could compete in the top 20 opening weekends of all time. I don't know about you maximus but it sounds like your just partial to gladiator movies."

I'm sure Nintendo thought the same about Super Mario Brothers and Capcom thought the same about the Resident Evil movie, both franchises that sold multi-millionsb of units. Get with reality, game sales have never equated to movie ticket sales.. why should Halo be any different? It's a run of the mill sci-fi story married to a brilliant game.

Nearly every XBox owner bought Halo because for a long time is was the only outstanding game on the machine. Out of your figure of 2m people you need to remove all those that aren't big movie goers, those that were disappointed with Halo2, those that went along with the hype and bought the game plus a lot of people who think a Halo movie just won't work. Top 20 openings of all time? Are you saying that with a straight face? If so you must be wearing MasterChiefs helmet!

If this movie were to be made it would be the biggest bust since Howard the Duck. The halo story is terrible the only reason why people buy this game is for the multiplayer and the lack of games on xbox. This would make a horrible movie.

@people talking about final fantasy movies:

Remember, final fantasy games are not *supposed* to have sequels, which is why the movie wasn't a continuation of any story. Of course, this was before X-2.

And Advent Children sucked.

I should remind you that larry and andy wachoski were fairly inexperienced film makers before the matrix.

(they made on movie about lesbians and the mob called bound before they made the matrix).

So...if jackson and microsoft feel confident about neil, you should too.

@people talking about Halo's lack of a story:

Just because the game does not show much of the story does not mean it isn't there. Bungie knows that people play its games to play a game not to watch 40hrs of cinematics but that does not mean the Halo universe does not have its fair share of good story. the first, third, and fourth novels, the ones by Eric Nylund are fantastic and really show the franchises promise.

You mayt hink it sucked rockin but it did well enough for Square to think it was worth the investment and it was lauded by fans quite a bit so they must of hit the nail on the head to most.

Also i feel most thought the original FF movie was too...sci fi for whatever reason. Personally i liked the movie, but i'm just one person. Not millions.

The halo movie has a large chance of being hit or miss. THe story is rather generic so its a toss up really.

Couple of points:

1) Movies are produced independently (away from the major studios) all the time, and then the theatrical and other distribution rights sold to the major studios. This is what George Lucas did with the Star Wars prequels, and Mel Gibson with Passion of the Christ. But on a much smaller budget scale, Napoleon Dynamite is another example.

2) Microsoft has no experience in producing a movie. True. That's why they could hire a production company to make it. (Perhaps Jackson's own company, hmmm...?) They already hired a noted professional screenwriter (who co-wrote 28 Days Later) to write the first draft of the screenplay.

3) The $200 million budget is ridiculous. They could make this for less than $70 million.

So, theoretically, Microsoft could self-finance a Halo movie for $70 million, hire a production company to make it, and then sell the distribution rights to a studio (like Fox or Universal).

Why won't they do this? I think one of the posters before me summed it up best: Arrogance. Microsoft thinks the Halo IP is hotshit, and that Hollywood should bow to their extravagent (in terms of budget) and financial whims. They want/expect the major studios to take all the risk, and to consider it a "privilege" that they are working with the Halo IP, while Microsoft reaps most of the profit.

A final thing:

Just because Halo (or any other video game) made a lot of money doesn't necessarily translate into an equivalent audience number for a movie version. Because, you have to remember, a video game typically sells for about 4 or 5 times the cost of the average movie ticket price (about $50 verses about $9).

For example, let's say a game grosses $20 million in sales. Divide that number by 5 to get the rough equivalent of what that figure translates into as movie ticket sales. This figure assumes, of course, that the same number of people who purchased the game also purchase tickets for the movie.

So, really, a Halo movie would have to appeal to people outside of those who played the game -- exponentially so the more it costs to make the movie.

Imagine this: Halo movie takes off. MS gets money. HD-DVD Flops, Blu-Ray takes off. Halo on Blu-Ray. Sony gets a cut

"29. "Really? because I'm trying to figure that if Halo2 can sell 2M copies in the first day, then you would assume the same fans would see it in the first weekend. Since people don't go to the movies alone you are looking at about 3M expected. At $8 a ticket that leaves you with $24M in the first weekend just from those fans. with a little marketing to the masses and the snowball effect of big sales numbers I'm sure you could compete in the top 20 opening weekends of all time. I don't know about you maximus but it sounds like your just partial to gladiator movies."

I'm sure Nintendo thought the same about Super Mario Brothers and Capcom thought the same about the Resident Evil movie, both franchises that sold multi-millionsb of units. Get with reality, game sales have never equated to movie ticket sales.. why should Halo be any different? It's a run of the mill sci-fi story married to a brilliant game.

Nearly every XBox owner bought Halo because for a long time is was the only outstanding game on the machine. Out of your figure of 2m people you need to remove all those that aren't big movie goers, those that were disappointed with Halo2, those that went along with the hype and bought the game plus a lot of people who think a Halo movie just won't work. Top 20 openings of all time? Are you saying that with a straight face? If so you must be wearing MasterChiefs helmet!

Posted at 1:22PM on Oct 31st 2006 by maximus "

The sales figures and earnings for Resident Evil-

Opening weekend- Resident Evil, based on the video game, debuted in second place with $17.7 million. It, too, did better than expected. Mitch Horwits, president of Constantin Film, which produced the movie, told Bloomberg News Monday: "This picture actually does deliver for a change on what the gaming community is really interested in."

Second weekend-
5. Resident Evil, Screen Gems, $6,705,076

So it drops to number 5.

The film gained $40,119,709 domestically and $102,441,078 worldwide.

That's certainly no flop.

And let's not forget, that this was an awful movie, truly terrible.

If the movie is made well, it will do well, if it's awful it's still in with a chance.
It doesn't need an overly complicated story-line to do well, some of the most critically acclaimed, most stylish and most successful films of the past 5 years have been extremely simple movies.

Consoles are much bigger today than when the Mario movie came out, it's not just kids that use them anymore, it's a good three solid generations and more besides, this has an effect on sales figures and how well things do.

30. If this movie were to be made it would be the biggest bust since Howard the Duck. The halo story is terrible the only reason why people buy this game is for the multiplayer and the lack of games on xbox. This would make a horrible movie.

Posted at 1:27PM on Oct 31st 2006 by BMWM3P 0 stars


BMW... I know you're a troll... but you anger me, in any case.

Have you ever played Halo? Have you ever tried to follow/understand the story? So maybe you don't like the game and the way the story was presented. Fine. I can understand that. A thrilling first-person shooter experiance isn't for everybody. But the story behind the series is actually very good. I hate that you troll here about how halo sucks just because it's the platform's defining title. What 'defining title' does your precious Playstation have that makes it so much hotshit? Final Fantasy? Metal Gear Solid? Do you assume these titles have better stories/universe (which is an opinion, btw), because you can get them on your precious playstation?

I'm not saying that the playstion didn't have great games or that it did nothing for the industry or gaming, but you some others here has a bias that's beyond explaination.

In any case, I'm sick of people coming here and talking off topic so they can take a stab at their least favorite company/console. I'm also sick of people with a constant atittude of 'my opinion is fact' bullshit. Make you opinions as such... OPINIONS. Stop making 'facts' out of fanboy nonsense.

On topic of the movie, I think it could be great. The books really do add a level of detail and immersion to the story you rarely see in video game properties, and that'd be great to see translated into a movie (when done right, of course).

I also think many of you under-estimate the power of the Halo brand here in america, much as people underestimate the sony brand in japan (and abroad).
Halo was (one of) the first gaming IP's (besides sports titles, I guess)here in America to really take off with the non-geeks. It's HUGE in american colleges, as well as with other demographics. The point is, now college frat boys (sadly) know what a lan is because of halo, and have accepted a bit of that 'geek' demographic so that they can play the game(s) they love.

So it can appeal to the sci-fi crowd. It can appeal to the gaming crowd. I can appeal to the action crowd.
If they make it 'Independence Day-esque' enough (only meaning that it hit alot of these points pretty well, and was huge with the 'masses'), then they really could have a hit.

Please don't come here and spout notions that it's the worst idea for a movie since Battlefield Earth. It really has much more potential than that.