Screen Rant » halo

‘Halo Legends’ Animated Feature Coming in 2010

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:37:58 +0000

The Halo franchise is going the Animatrix route by releasing a series of anime short films in a collected anthology entitled Halo Legends. The collection will feature seven stories told across eight episodes, all serving to expand the mythology of the Halo universe, much in the same way that the recently-released Halo 3: ODST sought to do.

For those of you still waiting on your live-action Halo movie, it seems as though you’ll have to make due with Legends for now, so, if “universe expansion films” like The Animatrix or Batman: Gotham Knight haven’t turned you off completely to this sort of thing, check out these highlights from the Halo Legends official press release:

Go deeper into the Halo universe than
ever before with Halo Legends, an all-new, CG and traditional anime
PG-13 experience that presents enthralling new stories from one of the
world’s most popular video game franchises. Produced by 343
Industries, a part of Microsoft Game Studios, the exciting
tales-beyond-the-games will be distributed February 9, 2010 by Warner
Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ for
$29.98 (SRP) and $34.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc
DVD for $19.98 (SRP) due date for all versions is January 5, 2010.
The chapters will also be available On Demand and Digital Download.

The individual episodes fall within Halo’s 26th Century mythology as
the battle between humanity and aliens rages on in an attempt to
protect Earth and mankind’s expansive number of space colonies. The
dramatic, action-packed stories feature characters and locales
familiar to Halo fans, and episodes range in length between 10 and 17
minutes – resulting in nearly two hours of animated adventures.

Halo Legends -- 2 Disc Special Edition version will have several hours
of incredible bonus features, including:

The Making of Halo Legends – An introduction to Halo Legends followed
by a making-of segment for each episode.

Halo: Gaming Evolved – Explaining the Halo phenomenon from its
inception as an Xbox video game to a present day entertainment
franchise.

Audio Commentary with directors Frank O’Connor and Joseph Chou

Widescreen (1.78:1)

Halo Legends Blu-Ray versions will be loaded with bonus materials,
including all the great extras from the 2-disc Special Edition as well
as Halo: The Story so Far, an overview of the Halo universe up until
the end of Halo 3.

Much like previous universe-expanding anime features, each “episode” of Halo Legends will be helmed by a famous anime director, and all of the episodes will produced (and written) by 343 Industries, a division of Microsoft Game Studios (the creators of Halo). The “animetion” studios involved with the project are all pretty famous, respectively responsible for such notable anime series such as Ghost In The Shell, Full Metal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Dragonball Z, Patlabor, Macross Plus, Vampire Hunter D, and of course, The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight.

Check out a trailer for Halo Legends:

Right now, I’m kind of split on these “universe expansion” anime films; I loved The Animatrix but only felt so-so about Batman: Gotham Knight. Personally speaking, the actual storyline behind Halo has always taken a back seat (as in waaaayyyyy back) to the run-and-gun excitement and multiplayer mayhem of the games, but I know, for example, that there is a whole genre of fan-fiction dedicated to expanding and exploring this particular sci-fi universe, so I guess that devotion warrants something like Halo Legends being released. I’ll definitely be checking it out.

What about you -- does Halo Legends sound interesting (especially to those of you who aren’t already fans of the game)?

As stated, Halo Legends will be available on February 9, 2010.

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Awesome New Halo Video Brings Excitement For Movie

Rob Keyes — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:29:46 +0000

The last we heard on the Halo feature film project was from a few weeks back when rumors popped up online that Steven Spielberg would be involved with the adaptation of the record-breaking successful Microsoft/Bungee video game franchise, Halo.

At the time, it was reported that Spielberg may produce the film but Microsoft came out and clarified that the film was still on hold in order for them to focus on their upcoming installments for the Halo video game franchise: Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.

With ODST coming out in the coming weeks, that means more marketing and more awesome videos for the franchise. On that note, we have an awesome new one to show you as well a look-back on the 7-minute short made by District 9 director, Neill Blomkamp, for Halo 3.

For those not familiar with the next installment into the Halo franchise, Halo 3: ODST is a standalone expansion to 2007’s Halo 3. This time around though, instead of playing Master Chief or his Elite friend, the Arbiter, you are merely one of the human UNSC soldiers known as Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs) during the events prior to Halo 3.

Here is the awesome live-action trailer for Halo 3: ODST which again, reminds us of what we could have seen or still will see with a film adaptation:

Halo 3: ODST

Awesome, right? It’s powerful and it definitely works as a great recruitment video.

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Halo Movie May Get Big Name Producer [Updated]

Bruce Simmons — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:00:05 +0000

[UPDATE: Microsoft has declared (publicly at least) that Halo is still on hold. See bottom of the post for details.]

Back in October of 2008, we talked about Halo gamers anticipating a movie made based on their favorite game.

We also noted that Stuart Beattie wrote a spec script for Halo because he was frustrated by the lack of progress on the project. (A spec script is a kind of pro bono task that someone writes but hasn’t been hired to do it. A speculative type job)

Beattie (G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra) wrote the script as a character driven story based on a 6-year old boy who is kidnapped and trained by the USNC to become a Spartan Warrior. It’s a prequel and based on the 2001 novel, Halo: The Fall of Reach.

I’ve read that book and it’s an awesome read.

So even though Beattie put together the script, no one has been really biting. Studios have been leery of dropping money on a franchise that looks like it has promise but might not pan out.

Now, the good news, exclusively from IESB, is that Steven Spielberg is in negotiations to produce the video game-based project.

Spielberg happens to be a huge gaming fan and has recently found himself stuck in the 15th level of BioShock.

Robert at IESB added that Spielberg has a great relationship with the owner of the film rights, Microsoft. Not to mention he’s buddies with Bill Gates.

Halo is a video game by Bungie and published by Microsoft. There have been three versions of the game, five novels, two graphic novels and various spin-off games and other products.

To me, this is completely awesome news. But I must temper everyone’s enthusiasm. Even though everything seems like puzzle pieces that will all fit together perfectly, Spielberg is in negotiations. This isn’t a given… yet.

If all goes well, then we benefit totally. This is great news…

UPDATE: …Or is it? Video game website Kotaku got in touch with Microsoft recently, and the company that Gates built confirmed that Halo is still on hold. Here’s the quote:

We’re glad there’s still a lot of enthusiasm in the entertainment industry surrounding the idea of a Halo movie. That said, the Halo feature film remains on hold as we focus on projects like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.

Microsoft wouldn’t elaborate any more than that, so maybe they are trying to bring on a big name producer like Spielberg to get the ball rolling, maybe not. Time will tell for certain.

Source: IESB, Images: Latino Review, HaloTheMovie.org

Update source: Kotaku

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District 9 Has Big Presence At Comic-Con

Rob Keyes — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:17:52 +0000

A select few people and some who were lucky enough to win tickets had a chance to screen the film, District 9 on Thursday night. I was not one of them.

District 9 has been something I’ve been following closely for a while now, since tidbits of information about it started appearing online about the movie whose creative team was originally supposed to bring us the Halo film adaptation of the super-successful video game franchise.

As the second segment of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s panel (the first segment being a panel on Legion), we were introduced to the amazing Peter Jackson who is making his first ever appearance at Comic-Con.

The first thing he did when coming out on stage was start a lengthy discussion to update us on the status on The Hobbit and to explain in detail where they are in the process, that they have no announcements and why, and to end the rampant rumors and speculation online. He said in about two months once the script and budget have been sorted out, they will be able to start making offers to actors.

Joining Peter Jackson on stage were writer/director Neill Blomkamp and lead actor Sharlto Copley. It’s important to note that this is Sharlto’s first time in a feature film lead actor role. From everything we’ve seen, he’s done an incredible job. Expect a bright future for this actor.

Without wasting any time, once the panel members were introduced, they went moved straight into showing the crowd seven minutes of never-before-seen footage (to those who hadn’t seen the special screening the night before, that is…).

It started, but the trailer for Legion from the first half of the Sony presentation came up instead, and they quickly stopped it. The crowd laughed and cheered and the director played it off saying that’s all the footage they had. As they queued up the correct reel to show us, they took the time to talk to Jackson about the canceled Halo project.

Panel Members: Peter Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Niell Blomkamp [Click to Enlarge]

After a few minutes, we were ready for another try and we watched the seven minutes of footage. In short, it was incredible. It included many scenes we didn’t expect and knew nothing about and it looked beautiful. It makes absolutely no sense that this movie was made on a $30 million budget because it is loaded with insanely realistic and awesome special effects.

After the footage played, the host began the discussion by asking director Blomkamp what made him decide to do this film in the pseudo-doc style that he did. He responded:

“I think the main reason for wanting to do that is because I really like the idea of science fiction that feels real and because I like sci-fi so much and I knew I wanted to make a science fiction film.

I wanted to see it in a way that felt as realistic and grounded as possible. So, in order to do that I thought using some sort of real life footage, whether it’s news footage or handheld documentary filmmaking or security cameras – as much real stuff that we associate as the real real media world and not film-making would help ground it and make it feel real.”

Other questions involved the insect design of the aliens which was inspired by the idea that these aliens are drones who are lost, as they have lost their queen of sorts. Because of the nature of that, they ended up with the insect design which I think works perfectly as something nontraditional, realistic and more believable.

As for the budget, Peter Jackson explains that with a large studio budget you lose your freedom of creativity. With an inflated budget, you are restricted and forced to play it safe for a specific demographic. But with a low budget, you’re gearing it to those who truly care and others who join in the fun are a bonus and we get somethign unique.

The panel was great and Jackson, Copley and Blomkamp all spoke incredibly well. From what I’ve seen myself and from the unbelievably amazing reviews coming from the special screening Thursday night, this film is an must-see!

District 9 opens August 14, 2009 and you all need to see it.

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BioShock Movie On Hold – What’s Verbinski To Do?

Bruce Simmons — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 03:56:42 +0000

Video games Like BioShock and Halo just don’t get any breaks sometimes.

These video game-based movies either make it to the big screen and we all wish they had a bigger budget or they drift in planning limbo even though there’s a rabid fanbase waiting patiently. But sometimes the fanbase just isn’t enough to inspire the studios.

Production Halted, Processes Reviewed

In this case, BioShock was on the path to being made into what many would consider to be a quality effort. Universal had acquired the rights in a multi-million dollar deal banked against gross points with the game maker and director Gore Verbinski (The Ring, Pirates Of The Caribbean series) was set to helm the job. It definitely looked promising… until Friday, April 24th, when Universal Pictures saw the estimated price tag and pulled the funding plug on pre-production of the project. They let staff from the project go while they work with Verbinski to try and figure out how to approach the project from a more frugal perspective.

As it stood, the live-action version of BioShock was looking to cost $160 million and I’m thinking that Universal doesn’t have the faith that the movie at that cost is a financially sound maneuver. Oddly, this judgment call is being compared to Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood. That project went through similar production cost hurdles but is now on track after finding cost cuts to allow the filming to recommence.

One idea to save bucks on the BioShock production was to move the shoot location from the Los Angeles, CA area to London. Though initially this doesn’t seem cheaper, the tax incentives (cuts) for shooting in London are significant enough to make it a viable idea. Too bad for L.A. and California.

Does This Become Another Halo Project?

Regardless, Verbinski and Universal need to figure out how to cut corners and sources say this is not going to become another Halo. They claim that they do intend to make a movie of the bestselling Take-Two Interactive video game.

If you recall, Universal and Fox (There goes that word again) had backed out of the Halo project due to cost concerns. We wrote about a spec script and conecept art for Halo that Stuart Beattie (Gears of War, G.I. Joe) had put together, but that came about from his own frustration with any lack of development on the project.

So What Will Gore Verbinski Do Now?

I have to wonder if Verbinski turning down the next Pirates of The Caribbean 4 movie hurt his options to jump back on that project? As far as I can tell, I haven’t seen or heard of a new director being attached to the project yet. Maybe he can hop back on board? Or will there now be time for the Heavy Metal movie remake of the 1981 hit that Verbinksi is noted being attached to?

Another project that Verbinski is reported to be producing is a remake of the 2006 movie, The Host (Korean title: Gwoemul) with commercial director Fredrik Bond (Nike, Adidas) and written (Wouldn’t that be rewritten?) by Mark Poirier (Smart People). The who? The Host is a film that did very well in S. Korean theaters. It is about a giant squid like creature who kidnaps (For lack of a better term) a little girl and her family bands together to rescue her. Hey, it did a record breaking theatrical run in S. Korea. Don’t ask me. It’s a family pulling-together theme.

Verbinski is also attached to another project that is about the fantasy role-playing world, and oddly, it’s based on a Wall Street Journal article. (Hmm. I better start writing better articles if that’s the case!)

The WSJ article is about a man who spends as many as 20 hours a day on his computer as he leads a fantasy life via his avatar that is a successful, musclebound entrepreneur. In reality, he is a diabetic, chain-smoking 53-year-old. When they said 20 hours a day, I thought for a fleeting moment they were talking about an entertainment editorial writer.

After All Is Said And Done

Despite the potential marketability of video games, the potential profit margin keeps studios hesitant. I get it, yet the fans of the franchises can get pretty hopeful when they hear news of movies and then get let down as the reality of the business sets in, well, it sucks for us.

As far as Gore Verbinski goes, it looks like no matter the outcome here, he’s got plenty on his plate to keep him going.

Let’s hope they keep to the intent, and get this project back on track. I don’t see how they won’t with Universal having dropping a chunk of change on the rights already.

Source: Variety (via Filmonic)

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Is There Any Progress On The Halo: Fall Of Reach Movie?

Bruce Simmons — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:00:10 +0000

Screen Rant readers have asked, and we have answered! Well, you didn’t specifically ask about the Halo movie, but we know you were curious.

We haven’t written much about development on the video game-based movie because there hasn’t been much concrete news, but here’s a “bring you up to speed” update on what’s going on with it.

For the non-gamers, Halo is a video game by Bungie and published by Microsoft – calling it “popular” would be an understatement. There have been three versions of the game, five novels, two graphic novels and various spin-off games and other products. I’ve been a Doom player and more recently, I’ve been a Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising addict. Seems to be a theme with me. Maybe I should try Halo!

Halo gamers are in anticipation of a rumored movie of their favorite game. But will it merit the anticipation that’s been created by the possibility or will it be another movie like Doom? Doom was just “OK.” I didn’t dislike Doom… it had the requisite amount of bloodshed and I’m a Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson fan, so I was OK with it.

But what about the movie, Halo? Or more precisely: Halo: The Fall of Reach?

LatinoReview broke the news back in April of this year that screenwriter Stuart Beattie (Gears of War, G.I. Joe) had written a spec screenplay for Halo. He did this because he was frustrated with the lack of progress on the project. It’s been pitched or rumored previously, but no studio has bitten.

The term “spec screenplay,” is a screenplay that has been written for no money and is a speculative effort.

The script he put together is based on a character driven story focused on Master Chief 117. It covers from the time of his being kidnapped at the age of 6 and being trained by the USNC to become one of the elite: A Spartan Warrior. Basically, it’s a prequel to the first game.

Beattie’s spec script is based on the 2001 novel, Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund, which I had happened to have read some time back. It was a good read, but a depressing ending for me.

Beattie is a big Halo fan, and the effort he put forth was a fan’s labor of love. This could be a very good thing for the fans of Halo indeed, to have someone write a script who really knows the background of a franchise.

Other info I’ve come across is that Peter Jackson (The Hobbit, The Hobbit 2, The Lord of the Rings trilogy) is slated (or hoped) to be the executive producer.

There’s a projected release date of 2009, but no studio is biting. Even with an existing spec script floating around.

OK, enough about the hopes and dreams. If on-again, off-again movie hopes were getting stagnant, Beattie is making sure the potential for the film continues to build. To do that, he’s had concept artist Kasra Farahani (Wolf Man, Hancock, Spiderman 3) draft up some concept images to complement his spec script and they look pretty dang neat.

These are mere screen shots of parts of some of the images and you can get a gander of all the other images in their full sized resolution over at LatinoReview.

Big super big thanks to LatinoReview for scoring these totally cool pics.

So what does everyone think? Will this finally get off the ground, or will it continue to just plod along as a pipe dream waiting to happen?

Sources: Wikipedia, IMDB, Latino Review: (link 1)(link 2)(link 3), First image source: HaloTheMovie.org

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Halo 3 Video Showcase Movie’s Potential

Heath McKnight — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:45:38 +0000

I found a new Halo 3 video ad, apparently leaked, that’s live action and pretty cool, even if you’re not a Halo video game nut:

Now some background on the Halo movie’s development:

When it was announced in 2005 that Universal and Fox would be bringing the live action Halo movie to a theatre near you, and that Bungie, makers of the game had developed the script with writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later…), the fans were pumped.

When Peter Jackson came aboard to executive produce, the fans went nuts, as did movie fans across the world. But when Neill Blokamp, who has no feature films to his credit, was hired to direct, everyone said, “Huh?”

Soon enough, the budget was deemed too high and Universal and Fox backed out, and effectively, the movie was tainted. The biggest blame, I’ve heard, was the hiring of the director.

But since then, there have been official Halo 3 videos released, directed by Blokamp, that are showing what the movie’s potential could be. In my opinion, the movie will be killer!

Back in April, at the NAB 2007 conference in Las Vegas (NAB puts on this show for video and digital cinema product makers and more related to film, video and television), the team behind the hot new digital cinema camera RED showcased a short film directed by Jackson himself, with Blokamp co-directing. It was a great little World War I short that had aerial dog fights and crazy ground action. You can watch part of it here.

I believe Jackson did the short for two reasons: one, he wanted to see what the newest camera arrivals to the digital cinema scene were capable of, and two, he wanted to show studios that Blokamp can handle an action film like Halo.

Well, I firmly believe that Blokamp can do so, based on the short with Jackson, and all the great Halo 3 videos that he’s directed so far.

Source: Ain’t It Cool News

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