RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Games and Tech Fox, Universal Sign Halo

Heated negotiations between Microsoft and production companies over the film rights for Bungie Studios' Halo series have died down. Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox have aligned to release the anticipated adaptation, expected to arrive into theaters sometime in 2007, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Under the agreement, Universal Pictures receives domestic rights to Halo, with Fox handling international distribution. Compared to the reported $10 million asking price for the Halo script, the current deal supposedly entails a more realistic sale for $5 million.

The upcoming Halo film is based upon a script penned by 28 Days Later scribe Alex Garland. So far, Microsoft has kept quiet about any story details, though it's sure to involve Master Chief blowing up a bunch of Covenant.

An official announcement about the deal is expected soon.

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King Snarf said:
Meh? Meh?!? The first time I played Halo and finally got to the flood stage, I was blown away. I was all like, "Dude!"

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Lor said:
i just hope that they do it cgi style if they use live people it will just look weird. please fox keep it animated!!!!!!

gamers everywhere are in an uproar!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO HALO!!!

cant wait i tell you. ive already beaten all of halo on legendary and almost all of halo2 on legendary, its insane i tell you, insane...

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Captain Sammitch said:
There should be a Half-Life movie.

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Halo movie in flux
Fox, Universal back out of Peter Jackson-produced adaptation of Bungie-developed game phenomenon.
By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Oct 20, 2006 12:17 pm PT

In October 2005, the game industry was stunned when it was announced that Peter Jackson would executive-produce the film version of Halo. Many assumed that having the imprimatur of the writer-producer-director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy would assure that the Xbox shooter adaptation would buck the trend of game-based films being Uwe Boll-quality.

However, some financial concerns were raised in Hollywood when trade magazines reported that the price of the Halo script was $10 million and its budget would be at least $75 million. Adding to the witch's brew of doubts about the project were the hiring of novice director Neil Blomkamp and reports that Microsoft was demanding a hefty cut of the box-office proceeds. The film's original Alex Garland (28 Days Later)-penned script, which received rapturous buzz, was also reportedly rewritten by inexperienced screenwriter D.B. Weiss.

Despite the issues, the box-office allure of the Halo audience--which bought up nearly 15 million copies of Halo and Halo 2--was too much for Hollywood to resist. In June 2005, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios announced they would cofinance Halo, which would be filmed in New Zealand. Effects would be provided by Jackson's Weta Workshop and Weta Digital effects houses, which provided the award-winning visuals for Rings and Universal's own King Kong.

Now, over a year later, it appears that Hollywood is having second thoughts about Halo. An assortment of news outlets, including Variety, report today that both Fox and Universal have decided to back out of the film, which was supposed to hit theaters next summer.

"While rumors had the studios concerned over a budget that was rising above the original projected $135 million price tag, the filmmakers said the double defection came after U[niversal] and Fox played hardball and unsuccessfully tried to get the filmmakers and Microsoft to reduce their profit participation," reported Variety. According to the trade, Halo's proposed budget had exceeded $200 million.

When contacted by GameSpot, a Microsoft rep confirmed that Universal had left the Halo project following a disagreement over financing and that the software giant was "disappointed." However, he could not confirm that Fox had dropped out, insisted the project would continue despite the setback, and underlined the fact that Jackson is still on board.

"The Halo franchise is hugely popular, and our goal remains the same--to find a partner that shares our passion and will creatively collaborate with us to best represent the story and spirit of the Halo franchise," the rep said. "Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and the rest of the creative team are dedicated to ensuring the Halo movie becomes a reality. We are already in discussions with potential partners who recognize the value of the Halo brand and its appeal to consumers worldwide."

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Cowgirl Jack said:
Has anyone seen any of Peter Jackson's non-elf movies?

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Wednesday said:
While investigating, he is aided by a friendly doctor who believes in his psychic abilities and is hindered by a crazed G-Man,

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New studio talk and a new screenwriter named.
by IGN Staff

October 27, 2006 - Despite recent drama surrounding the planned big-screen adaptation of Halo, Microsoft is still determined to make the movie a reality. After Fox and Universal, the two studios that had been co-financing the flick, dropped out earlier this week, Microsoft has begun shopping it around.

According to today's Variety, Microsoft is focusing their partnering efforts on Warner Bros. and Paramount, partially due to complex relational issues with the other major studios. Sony is out because of the PlayStation. Disney is iffy due to Apple's Steve Jobs involvement. And New Line is still working through legal problems related to LOTR with Halo producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. The level of interest that Warners and Paramount have shown in the project is unclear.

As the trade speculates, it would also make sense for Microsoft to go it alone. Money isn't an issue and they could rent distribution services. That's a high risk scenario, but with a better potential payoff. And they might also go after private financing.

While all this wrangling is going on in the background, the film itself is moving ahead. The original script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later) has been rewritten by Ender's Game scribe D.B. Weiss and will reportedly get another rewrite by Josh Olsen, screenwriter on A History of Violence.

We'll have more Halo movie news here on IGN as it develops.

Halo movie indefinitely postponed
Following collapse of studio backing and a proposed third rewrite, work on big-screen adaptation of sci-fi shooter phenomenon is stopped.
By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Oct 31, 2006 9:06 am PT

At the end of September, the Halo movie seemed to be right on track. Its executive producer, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, had been a featured speaker at Microsoft's X06 event in Barcelona, Spain. There, he talked up the multimillion-dollar sci-fi epic, which was being directed by novice Neill Blomkamp from a script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later) and D.B. Weiss.

What a difference a month makes. Earlier this month, Universal and Fox--the two Hollywood studios cofinancing the project along with Microsoft--backed out of the project after failing to renegotiate the profit-sharing scheme for the film. It had been slated for a summer 2008 release.

Despite the setback, Microsoft put on a brave face. "Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and the rest of the creative team are dedicated to ensuring the Halo movie becomes a reality," the company said in a statement on October 20. "We are already in discussions with potential partners who recognize the value of the Halo brand and its appeal to consumers worldwide."

Apparently the aforementioned discussions didn't go so well. This week, WingNut Films, Jackson's production company, announced that the release of Halo has been pushed back indefinitely. "At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans...of bringing a first class film to the big screen," read a statement sent out to numerous media outlets by WingNut.

Jackson and Walsh confirmed that Blomkamp would remain on board, praising him as a "tremendously gifted filmmaker" and calling his work on the project "truly awe-inspiring." However, the WingNut statement gave no date for the Master Chief's big-screen debut. "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," read the statement.

While Blomkamp is sticking with Halo, neither Garland nor Weiss are currently involved with the project. According to the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, the film's script was being rewritten for a third time by Josh Olson, who received a 2006 Academy Award nomination for penning A History of Violence.