Verbinski and co. trying to trim BioShock movie budget

by Justin McElroy on Jul 1st 2010 1:30PM

Speaking of BioShock, the Gore Verbinski-produced film adaptation of the game is apparently still in the works, despite being halted for budgetary concerns more than a year ago. IGN got word straight from Verbinski: "The problem with BioShock was: R-rated movie, underwater, horror. It's a really expensive R-rated movie. So we're trying to figure out a way working with [director] Juan Carlos [Fresnadillo] to get the budget down and still keep so it's true to the core audience, you know? The thing is it has to be R, a hard R."

So we now know three things: (1) nobody's going to spend a lot of money to make that, (2) it sounds like it would be really awesome if they did and (3) seriously, nobody's going to spend a lot of money to make that.

... But, again -- would be awesome.

Source: IGN

Tags: 2k-games, Bioshock, bioshock-movie, Gore-Verbinski, irrational-games, movie, movies

Reader Comments (29)

*sad face* Maybe it would be better if this just stayed in development purgatory.

Ehh...gotta say I don't have high hopes for this. the focus on Bioshock should be more on the story than a bloody hard R rating. Though I assume it's hard to have a visceral PG-13 golf club murder scene.

Not saying I want a PG-13 Bioshock film. Just saying focus on a good story first.

@(Unverified)
There's ways of implying violence without actually showing it. TDK never showed the Joker slicing dudes cheeks open, or pushing pencils through their heads (and was worse off for it in my opinion), but they got enough of the message across for it to be an effective movie.

@aristokrat

but it *did* show the Joker pushing a pencil through someone's head...

@Kid Icarus
Implied, off-screen.

@aristokrat

They did it so well that it makes you think you saw it, though.

Who cares? I'm sure by the time Hollywood mangles it, it'll be set on Mars in the year 2350, and the little sisters will be robots built to harvest ADAM for The Big Daddy, who is using the ADAM to power a device designed to bring about the end of the galaxy. Commander Andrew Ryan of the USS Neptune's Bounty will command his rag-tag team of S.P.L.I.C.E.R. troops to destroy The Big Daddy and restore galactic democracy.

@greyseal
This sounds like Peter Griffins version of "The King and I."

@aristokrat

Ha ha ha ha -- "Anna Ruuuules... cuz she kicked all the bad guys in their jeeeeeewels."

@greyseal You should really delete this post before any holywood screenwriter sees this...

Seriously, it sounds as a movie adaptation that they would film.

@greyseal

I hope "The Rock" is in it.

The Dark Knight *should* have been R too, but it turned out okay. I'm surprised that he thinks it's a horror film, but I guess that kind of makes sense.

@aristokrat

Um..have you played Bioshock? Mutated humans hopped up on drugs trying to get more drugs by trying to kill little girls that have said drugs spliced into their genes. But wait, there are huge men in diving suits with drills attached to their arms to brutally eviscerate anyone that comes near the little girls. To top it all off there is a mad megalomaniac man running the whole show and thinking that this is the proper way to run a society. Then your some dude that just dropped into the middle of this whole clusterf@ck of crazy with nothing but a wrench. I don't know about you, but I would shit my pants if was put into that situation. Long story short, I think this deserves the horror tag.
/rant

@aristokrat
I've played Bioshock, but I just didn't think of it as a horror game while I was playing through it, like say Silent Hill or old Resident Evils. I thought of it more of an action game with some freaky elements and a gory story, but not a horror game. I think it's impossible for it to be considered horror when the protagonist is a certifiable badass.

@aristokrat

Yeah I see what you mean, but the fact is there are only two routes that this movie can be taking. The over the top plasmid-throwing action route or the slow methodical splicer-just-came-out-of-nowhere-and-made-you-shit-your-pants route. I'm hoping or the latter and just for a movie-going experience I think that would be the better route to take for a Bioschock movie.

Step 1: Trim budget
Step 2: Make crappy Bioshock movie
Step 3: Movie ruins franchise
Step 4: Bioshock 3 scrapped (Reason: Sequel to a sequel that wasn't needed)
Step 5: Bioshock franchise ceases
Step 6: HD remakes of System Shock and System Shock 2 are made
Step 7: System Shock 3 is made, SHODAN returns, balance is returned to the Force

@The Joy of Painting w Bob Ross

Step 8: profit!

..

@The Joy of Painting w Bob Ross

Step 8 is ????

get it right

I don't understand why it *has to be R*. And trimming the budget will just make it a bigger waste of time than it was to begin with.

@Frostfell
Part of the intrigue that is Bioshock involves what happens to people when they lose their sense of humanity. In those circumstances things get quite graphic. The graphic nature of the games is what helps sell that.

Take for example, Event Horizon. It wouldn't have been scary at all had their not been this threat of inhumane violence and graphical imagery.

I'm not saying I love violence, I'm saying the violence that was used in both Bioshock and Event Horizon helped define the true horror that was going on.

@Frostfell
That's what I'm saying. I'd rather they keep the budget and broaden the appeal than trim the budget and go for maximum Gore (ha!).

@Frostfell

Why does it have to be R? Because the game is M, and if you're going to make a movie off of a game you don't want to piss of the fans of the game. So yes, I believe it should very well have an R rating, a "hard R".

Also, you seem to be forgetting that most PG-13 movies suck. Case in point, I Am Legend.

You would think the big Verbinski could have an unlimited budget. Considering his past crap. Why don't they call it 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. That way when they butcher the story the gamers wont care.

This film will fail, like almost every other video game-film failed (PoP was cheesy blockbuster fun that was actually worth seeing, perhaps the one exception) for the following reason:

Video games that imitate cinema (particularly a particular genre), when adapted to film end up looking like parodies of the game's inspiration.

Would I get a production credit if I gave Verbinski $1000 in cash to add to his budget?

Trim down the violence and language a bit, it wouldn't take that much, increase the suspense and horror, and you've got an excellent film that's a far more accessible PG-13.

@LegendaryFluffy
The only GOOD horror movies that are rated PG-13 are...
oh wait, there ARE no good PG-13 horror movies.
And the game was rated M, so why should the movie be PG. M is accessible enough anyway, unless a ten year old tries to buy a ticket....

@LegendaryFluffy
But yeah, theres no reason to make it an R rating...

Is bioshock really horror? It's more political dysphoria mixed with fear.

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BioShock

Verbinski and co. trying to trim BioShock movie budget

Reader Comments (29)

Posted: Jul 1st 2010 1:37PM Evil Dan said

Posted: Jul 1st 2010 1:45PM epicmuffin said

Posted: Jul 1st 2010 1:59PM aristokrat said

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Posted: Jul 1st 2010 2:08PM Grey said

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Posted: Jul 1st 2010 1:58PM The Joy of Painting w Bob Ross said

Posted: Jul 1st 2010 2:21PM Faenix said

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Posted: Jul 1st 2010 2:07PM Frostfell said

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