Microsoft And Hollywood – Why The Halo Movie Was Laid To Rest
We’ve seen plenty video game movies since the fad grew popular a while ago. Movies have spawned from games like Doom, Resident Evil, and even Tekken. The problem with a lot of these movies is that they fall below the bar of expectations, and furthermore they rarely often follow the same storyline presented in the games we love. There are plenty of us who have grand ideas about films, as well as choices for the games we would love to see on the silver screen. Halo is one of those very games, and while there was much talk about making the game into a film, we’ve finally learned that the doors have been shut on that project for good.
The whole project has had its ups and downs, and many people have had high hopes to see the game burst into film. After seven long years of discussions, announcements, and delays, the movie has been laid to rest. For some time many of us didn’t know exactly what halted production, but a recent publication by Wired has opened our eyes to what really happened with the entire shebang. The publication comes in the form of a book, entitled, “Generation Xbox: How Video Games Invaded Hollywood.”
In the book, it clearly lays out what happened to sink the Halo film project in the first place. As it turns out, Microsoft is a real stickler of a company, and when they brought the Halo movie idea to Hollywood, they packed with it a large load of baggage. They demanded an unrelenting deal that Hollywood couldn’t support on their end, eventually buckling under the pressure. This caused the idea to break apart.
Another finger was pointed at the film’s would-be director, Neil Blomkamp. He claimed that all parties involved were flinching when it came to his overall style. If you don’t know, Blomkamp is responsible for directing the sci-fi flick District 19. “I told Tom Rothman that I was genetically created to direct Halo,” stated Blomkamp. The big heads involved, however, didn’t share his vision.
All together, the arguments and head-butting threw the Halo film project into the spiraling downfall that eventually had it meeting its end. There have been many cool fan films based off the franchise, and Blomkamp’s footage that was shot for the main film was even used in one of these projects for Halo 3. Based from that, I can see where the idea had some credibility, though the suits didn’t agree. When it comes down to it, the people in Hollywood who want to make these movies aren’t the same type of people who play the games they’re spawned from. In my opinion, Hollywood should keep their noses out of the gaming business, unless they hire the players to direct the films themselves. It’s sad to see the Halo project buried, but maybe it was for the best?
