RipTen Videogame Blog » Movie

Can An Angry Birds Movie Be Sexy and Violent? Apparently.

Dave Oshry — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:15:22 +0000

Ok, violent isn’t much of a stretch, but sexy?

This you’ve gotta see to believe:

Somebody call Guy Ritchie, the man’s got a bloody film to make. Literally.

Sony Reportedly in Final Assassin’s Creed Movie Negotiations with Ubisoft

Justin Carter — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 23:30:22 +0000

Video game films don’t have a good reputation, and it’s easy to see why. Most of them have come from fighting games that have little to no story, and the films based on games that do have actual stories are usually pieces of crap. Then, there are the five or so game films currently in development hell that probably have no chance of ever happening.

Ubisoft is hoping that’ll change pretty soon. Variety is reporting that the publisher is very close to making a deal with Sony Pictures to distribute a movie based on their flagship Assassin’s Creed franchise.

Ubisoft plans on being very very close to the development of the film franchise, just to make sure everything’s exactly what fans have come to expect. I’m also guessing they’re willing to sneak up and kill anyone who looks like they could be a problem and drop them in a bale of hay.

Do you think Assassin’s Creed could work as a film franchise? Stay tuned to RipTen as the story unfolds.

MK Legacy Director Gets Green Light On Full Blown Mortal Kombat Film

Dave Oshry — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:55:58 +0000

It was only a matter of time.

First the viral success of his Mortal Kombat movie trailer.

Then the success of his Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series.

Now, Kevin Tancharoen has finally been given a green light by New Line Cinema to bring his gritty interpretation of the Mortal Kombat universe to the big screen.

“It’s really important that we show we can bring our game properties to movies instead of just the other way around,” said Warner home entertainment President Kevin Tsujihara.

New Line president Toby Emmerich said the idea to do the movie came entirely from the work Tancharoen has done:

“The new game and the online shorts prompted us to consider a reboot of a brand we hadn’t been actively thinking about”

The movie will mirror MK Legacy and will offer a more gritty and realistic take on the Mortal Kombat characters which Tancharoen has become known for. (White Raiden?)

Stay tuned to RipTen as this story unfolds and for the infinite hype that follows.

via [The LA Times]

Lionsgate to Make Dead Island Into a Feature Film

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:15:42 +0000

Film Studio Lionsgate announced today that it has optioned film rights to develop Dead Island into a feature film.

The game centers on vacationers whose island paradise becomes a living hell when a zombie outbreak quickly spreads. Dead Island has been making waves in entertainment circles since the release of a critically acclaimed trailer featuring a family fighting off a Zombie attack. The trailer received wide acclaim in and out of the videogame industry ultimately winning an award at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity.

Since release in early September, Dead Island has sold nearly 3 million copies making it one of the the best selling games of the year.

Citing the trailer as inspiration, Lionsgate’s co-COO and Motion Picture Group President Joe Drake has stated the film will focus on human emotion, family ties and non-linear storytelling.

“Like the hundreds of journalists and millions of fans who were so passionate and vocal about the Dead Island trailer, we too were awestruck.” He continued, “This is exactly the type of property we’re looking to adapt at Lionsgate – it’s sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre that we know and love. It also has built in brand recognition around the world, and franchise potential.”

Dead Island is currently in the early development stage with producers attached. Sean Daniel (of The Mummy, Tombstone, and Dazed and Cofused fame) will spearhead production through his Sean Daniel Company.

As long as Uwe Boll is not connected, Lionsgate has great source material and can hopefully make a great Dead Island movie.

New Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters Screenies

Murray Hibble — Fri, 27 May 2011 09:51:01 +0000

Superhero game-conversions would be almost universally reviled if it wasn’t for titles like Transformers: War for Cybertron and Batman: Arkham Asylum (I’ll also throw in a vote for Matrix: The Path of Neo). But for every Batman, we’re given ten Thors. On June 7th (ten days before the movie), Warner Bro’s release their latest movie-game tie-in with Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters.

Developers Griptonite Games also gave us Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions, a title that halted the shocking decline of the Spiderman series with its inventive and well thought out gameplay. The crazy nature of the ring’s powers in the hands of these guys could set it well above the standard offerings of he movie-game genre… the problem I foresee is that Spiderman wasn’t released to a movie’s schedule which may have allowed the developers to express their vision with greater clarity: and with the woeful Iron Man 2 under their belt this may not be a team that can handle working to a deadline.

Enjoy these screenshots and stay tuned to RipTen for more info.

In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil’s might,
Beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!

Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters manifests on June 7th, 2011 on PS3, Xbox 360 and 3DS. Console owners will be able to experience anaglyphic 3D (with glasses) or Stereoscopic 3D (with 3D-enabled monitors)

Help Support This Chinatown Fair Arcade Documentary

Dave Oshry — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:33:54 +0000

This February, the landmark NYC arcade Chinatown Fair shut it’s doors. Luckily, local filmmaker Kurt Vincent had his camera rolling during the last week CTF was in business and has also been documenting the community since the inevitable diaspora.

Check out the trailer, then read on for how you can help support the film’s release:

ARCADE: THE LAST NIGHT AT CHINATOWN FAIR documents the final week of New York City’s last arcade, Chinatown Fair. The film follows the community of spirited gamers as they make their way from Manhattan’s Chinatown to their new home at Next Level in Brooklyn, an arcade started by Chinatown Fair’s former manager Henry Cen.

Here is what Kurt has to say about his film:

ABOUT THE MOVIE

I was initially drawn to Chinatown Fair because it seemed so out of place. It was as if it should not have existed at all. I had read about the arcade in the NY Times and was amazed as soon as I walked through the front door. It was a different world inside, full of energy and warmth. When I discovered the community that surrounded the arcade I knew I wanted to make a documentary that would capture the feeling of being there and share the incredible stories and history I was discovering.

The film will be a portrait of the subculture that occupied a strangely beautiful place that is no more. That’s why we are making this movie– to preserve and share a special time and place unaffected and authentic in a way that you don’t see very often.

We filmed at the arcade during its last week in operation and since then we have interviewed many members of the community and documented the beginning of the new scene at Next Level arcade. We are still exploring the story and have a lot more shooting to do! As we progress the more interesting it becomes.

ABOUT THE ARCADE

Chinatown Fair stood its place at 8 Mott Street for over fifty years. It saw the rise and fall of Chinatown tongs, persisted through numerous wars, financial downturns, and outlasted most of its kind – arcades that have been phased out by Xbox’s and Playstation’s and replaced with corporatized family fun centers like Dave and Buster’s. What Chinatown Fair would be unprepared for was the gentrification of its neighborhood.

The arcade was dim and lived-in like a familiar living room or basement, but also part boxing gym — gritty, unpolished, and utilitarian. It was a place with a singular purpose, to provide an arena for intense and passionate competitive play. The arcade was a training ground for some of the best players of all time. Justin Wong, Eddie Lee, Henry Cen, Arturo Sanchez, Sanford Kelly, Michael Mendoza all grew up playing at CF.

Chinatown Fair was also the rare place tolerant of all types, resulting in a community that was as diverse as New York itself. And in many ways I don’t believe CF could have existed anywhere else. It had to be in New York and had to be in Chinatown. The arcade was the embodiment of its surrounding. Everyone felt welcome and was accepted. Not everyone came soley for the video games. A group of LGBT trekked from the outer reaches of the city to the arcade on a daily basis simply because they felt safe there. The arcade was a dysfunctional harmony of noises and flickering light, and uproarious banter.

THE PLAN

We are raising money on Kickstarter to fund our production and post-production budget which will cover equipment rentals, sound mixing, scoring, graphics, editing, and a litle bit for marketing. We are still filming and as we go along we find new people to interview and new places to shoot. The movie is beginning to form itself.

ARCADE will premiere in early 2012, play at festivals throughout the year, and then tour across the country. Then the movie will be made available for TV, online streaming and download.

Please help us by donating and sharing the project with friends!

As someone who has spent time at Chinatown Fair both with friends and as part of my never ending stream of gaming coverage, I can’t help but support Kurt and his film.

To learn more goto Arcademovie.com

To donate goto Kickstarter.com

There are some pretty awesome incentives if you donate as well:

Pledge $10 or more

A digital copy of the movie and a big thank you with your name in the movie’s credits!

84 BACKERs

Pledge $25 or more

The DVD, which will be made from recycled paper and printed with soy-ink. Plus, all of above.

47 BACKERs

Pledge $30 or more

A Chinatown Fair T-shirt made by my friends at Homage Clothing! Inspired by the arcade token featuring a really cool dragon. The $30 level gets you the shirt, but not the other stuff. If you would like the shirt and everything above (DVD, download, and thank you in credits) check out the $50 level.

18 BACKERs

Pledge $50 or more

A t-shirt made by Homage Clothing inspired by the Chinatown Fair token featuring an awesome dragon. Plus, all of above. Shirt is MADE IN USA. (www.homage.com)

88 BACKERs

Pledge $100 or more

A custom mixtape and ‘zine featuring artwork, photography, and writing contributed by the Chinatown Fair community. The mixtape will be a custom mix featuring music and samples inspired by arcades, video games, and New York City. Plus, all of above.

10 BACKERs

Pledge $250 or more

An awesome ARCADE movie poster (Box Office size)!! Plus, all of above.

1 BACKER

Pledge $500 or more

ARCADE MEGA GIFT BASKET EXPERIENCE!!! + 2 tickets to NYC MOVIE PREMIER: An awesome gift basket filled with toys, handmade coasters, handmade magnets, a Chinatown Fair shirt, a retro USB NES controller, DVD, mixtape, zine, homemade video game cookies, signed poster, soundtrack, PLUS two tickets to the NYC premier (or a showing near you).

2 BACKERs

Pledge $2,500 or more

Executive Producer credit, which will be seen before the movie in the credits, in the end credits, and on the movie poster. Plus, all of above.

1 BACKER

Pledge $5,000 or more

A custom designed Chinatown Fair theme arcade cabinet! You get an authentic arcade cabinet for your home, decorated with artwork inspired by New York’s greatest arcade!! Plus, all of above. (This reward is only available within the United States).

It looks like Kurt may reach his goal very soon, but not without your support!

Tekken Blood Vengeance CGI Movie Announced (Trailer)

Bryce Wilson — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:28:57 +0000

Craving some more Tekken action? Well you will definitely be interested in Blood Vengeance. Namco-Bandai has announced that it is a full CGI movie set in the Tekken universe.

Clocking in at just over a minute in length, this teaser trailer shows off some pretty impressive visuals and has definitely got me interested in how the project turns out.

The movie will be released in theaters this summer in full 3D. Hopefully it will be better than Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within… a bad movie.

Mass Effect Anime – An Amazing Concept or Amazing Mistake?

Justin Carter — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:21:01 +0000

Bioware and EA recently revealed that the Mass Effect franchise would be heading into anime territory with a movie release date set for summer of next year. It being Mass Effect, one of the best game franchises of this generation, you would expect panties to be dropping at said news.

Yet, not so much. The reception to this news thus far has been generally mixed. Some like myself are excited for it, while others, like Marcus Green (@Coolluck on Twitter), don’t think the franchise should venture into anime. Hell, even RipTen’s own Mass Effect Fangirl, Stephanie “Stephiroth” Gutowski isn’t sure what to make of the news. (She did however make that lovely image above)

There are probably some who even think that the franchise should’ve never left the gaming space period. In addition to the trilogy, Mass Effect has three books (with another on the way), a trio of comic book miniseries, and a feature film set to arrive sometime in the distant future. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that Mass Effect is probably one the fastest game franchises to branch out into multiple forms of media. Other franchises like Halo took a few years before they got to being published in their first book, whereas Mass Effect had it pretty much cemented on day one. #JustSayin

However, Mass Effect isn’t the first game to go anime. Both of the core Dead Space games have had animated films released around the time of their respective releases, and the Halo franchise had its own anime hit store shelves last year. But this is, without a doubt, the riskiest thus far.

Halo Legends Was met With A Mixed Reception

EA and Funimation representatives have said that the story of the anime would be something entirely new, but at what cost? Will we see perhaps the destruction of the Protheans? The events of our squadmates prior to their appearances? The story of an entirely new character that ties itself into Shepard’s story?

How exactly do you go about telling adventures in a universe that’s entirely sculpted by the decisions of the player, especially one that’s so thick with backstory?

Another friend of mine on Twitter (@Dubinskies) pointed out that Mass Effect, at its heart, is all about choice and consequence. Removing them at this point in the series would be considered a betrayal; even the comic that came with the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2 allowed for some degree of choice, albeit a meager amount in comparison to the games. Furthermore, in our review of The Arrival DLC for Mass Effect 2, Steph Gutowski was furious that the final decision of the game was made for you, forcing canon down your throat in a way entirely ‘alien’ and shocking to many Mass Effect fans who have come to expect to be able to make their own decisions and shape the Mass Effect universe in their image. Will there be some sort of feature that allows you to make your own story choices if you watch the anime on your game console? Only time will tell.

One thing is certain, I remain apprehensive about the whole concept.

What are your thoughts on the Mass Effect anime? Let us know or hit me up on Twitter (@GigawattConduit).

‘Killzone Extraction’ Fan Made Short Brings Killzone 3 to Life

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:25:54 +0000

Killzone 3 is by all accounts a visually stunning game. YouTube user Pwnisher has taken it to the next level with a stunning live action short ‘Killzone: Extraction’. Finally, Killzone in full 1080P HD! (joke)

Killzone Extraction follows a squad of ISA troops as they try to reach the extraction site. It ain’t going to be easy.

Truly a must see for any Killzone fan. Epic doesn’t describe it. Watch and enjoy.

Source: HBG, thanks Kreyg!

Deep Silver Confirms Dead Island Movie Rights Have NOT Been Sold

Dave Oshry — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 00:51:34 +0000

This just in – the apparent buzz around a possible Dead Island movie is just that – buzz. Yesterday we reported on a rumor that The Mummy producer Sean Daniel had already bought the movie rights and was planning on turning the upcoming Zombie Action/RPG into a Hollywood blockbuster. Well, Deep Silver has just released a statement to the press stating that:

LARKSPUR, CA – February 19, 2011 - Since video games publisher Deep Silver revealed the upcoming game Dead Island™ this week, its accompanying promotional trailer has created a tremendous amount of buzz in the internet community and has been hailed a “Must See” throughout.

As a result, Deep Silver has received a massive amount of interest in the film adaptation rights to the Dead Island IP. Contrary to rumors that have been circulating, neither the film rights nor any other licenses have yet been sold by Deep Silver, which is the sole IP holder of the Dead Island brand.

While no decision has been made yet regarding Dead Island’s movie rights, Deep Silver is currently looking through a vast amount of inquiries. Key for the decision is a focus on the quality of the resulting motion picture: “We are looking for quality above all else for a movie based on Dead Island. We want to do it the right way as film realizations of games (or vice versa) usually fail to deliver what the fans were looking for. We will not go down this route with Dead Island. Deep Silver profoundly believes in the quality and value of its Dead Island IP,” says Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Deep Silver’s parent company Koch Media. “We would therefore be honored to work with someone who already has a proven track record with blockbuster movies.”

Is it only a matter of time before someone snatches up the movie rights to Dead Island? Hell, we haven’t even seen the game yet!! Only time will tell.

One thing is certain – Dead Island looks awesome. Check out everything we already know about Dead Island as we reach out for more details on this developing story.

Angry Birds Rio – 45 New Levels Coming This March

Garrett Hartman — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 17:44:24 +0000

I know, movie tie-ins rarely bode well for video games…but this is ANGRY BIRDS dammit.

Angry Birds Rio represents a first-of-its-kind game development partnership between Rovio and Twentieth Century Fox. A synergistic cross promotion bringing everyone’s favorite disgruntled birds into the world of the upcoming summer animated blockbuster Rio.

It’s best described in this passage from the Press release:

In ANGRY BIRDS RIO, the original Angry Birds are kidnapped and taken to the magical city of Rio,

where they eventually escape their captors and set out to to save their friends, Blu and Jewel – two rare

macaws and the stars of the upcoming Fox motion picture, RIO. Like the incredibly-popular original

edition, ANGRY BIRDS RIO will feature hours of gameplay, physics-based demolition challenges and

loads of replay value – all with unique twists based on the highly-anticipated film

In a surprising twists there are no pigs or eggs to fight over. But that’s nothing to get angry over – we are talking about 45 new levels of gameplay action plus frequent updates!

Watch the video below:

Source

Ubisoft to Develop “The Smurfs Movie” Game for Wii and DS

Matthew Sims — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:21:48 +0000

That’s right, in the near future we will have a 3D Smurf film on the silver screen, and as so often happens a video game will be developed to coincide with the film. The movie, which I will refer to as Smurfs 3D even though there isn’t an official title yet, focuses on the Smurfs as they tumble from their world straight into Central Park. Of course, the Smurfs will have to contend with the wizard Gargamel and find a way back to their happy village. The game, being released on the Wii and DS, is scheduled to release alongside the movie and will most likely feature more or less the same plot. Don’t expect a new direction or hardened Smurfs here, just more of the same family friendly entertainment.

The press release from Ubisoft is below:

LAFIG BELGIUM AND SONY PICTURES CONSUMER PRODUCTS, INC. SIGN UBISOFT® TO DEVELOP VIDEO GAME FOR “THE SMURFS®” FEATURE FILM

SAN FRANCISCO – January 20, 2011 – In anticipation of the August release of Columbia Pictures’ / Sony Pictures Animation’s 3D family comedy The Smurfs, Ubisoft announced today that it will develop and publish a video game based on the live-action / CG-animation hybrid film. Designed for the Wii™ system from Nintendo and the Nintendo DS™ family of hand-held systems, The Smurfs video game is scheduled to launch with the release of the feature film.

This summer, the Smurfs make their first 3D trip to the big screen in The Smurfs. When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours – in fact, smack dab in the middle of Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

The film is directed by Raja Gosnell. The producer is Jordan Kerner. The screenplay is by J. David Stem & David N. Weiss and Jay Scherick & David Ronn, from a story by J. David Stem & David N. Weiss, based on the characters and works of Peyo.

Commenting on the announcement, Mark Caplan, Vice President, Consumer Products at Sony Pictures Consumer Products, said, “We look forward to continuing our work with Ubisoft in the video game space. The Smurfs video game will provide kids and families around the world with hours of enjoyment.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Lafig Belgium and Sony Pictures on the Smurfs license. Our ongoing partnership with Sony Pictures Consumer Products allows us to create fun and entertaining video games based on some of the most popular family films,” said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. “Ubisoft’s creative team is working hard on crafting the perfect video game experience that will appeal to new and old fans of The Smurfs.”

Feature Length Film Created With GTA IV

Aaron Alexander — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:36:25 +0000

GTAIV Machinima is quite a common commodity on the internet, and rightfully so. The game has an astounding video editor built in, and the amount of crazy moments the game can harbor is second to none. However, feature length films made with GTAIV is far from common, it’s about as rare as the Holy Grail, until now.

A French director by the name of Mathieu Weschler has created a feature length movie entirely in Grand Theft Auto IV. The films name is “Trashmaster”, and as it implies the movie revolves around cleaning garbage and other undesirables.

The “trashmaster” divides his time between collecting garbage and cleaning up other forms of trash fouling up New York City’s streets: dealers, small-time criminals… When the dancers in his favourite strip club are mysteriously killed, the trashmaster finds himself hot on the trail of a particularly twisted serial killer.

So grab some popcorn, kick-back and relax, as the movie goes on for a whopping 88 Minutes!

Keep checking RipTen for more news on the Grand Theft Auto series, and follow me on twitter for the latest in gaming news -@iamaaronalex

Source: Rockstar Games

Dead Space Animated Movie “Dead Space Aftermath” To Release Alongside Dead Space 2

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:51:38 +0000

Electronic Arts and Anchor Bay Entertainment today announced that a new Dead Space animated movie, “Dead Space Aftermath” will be available on January 25 to the release alongside Dead Space 2.

From the press release:

Coming from the award-winning game development team and the 2008 animated feature production company, Dead Space Aftermath will feature several internationally renowned animation directors that use their unique and bold visions to explain what happened during the first-responder mission to Aegis VII. The directors will do this through the perspective of four survivors in this fast-paced horrifying thrill ride that stretches the limits of time and space.

In Dead Space Aftermath, the year is 2509 and not only has Earth lost contact with the USG Ishimura and Isaac Clarke, but also the USG O’Bannon, which is the first responder ship sent to rescue them. Four crew members of the O’Bannon have survived, but no one knows what happened to the rest of the crew, what they were doing, or what secrets they may be holding.

Dead Space 2 is scheduled for a Jan. 25, 2011 release for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the PC.

Fan Made Twisted Metal Movie Trailer is Amazing

Dave Oshry — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:42:00 +0000

David Jaffe asked, and the fans delivered. Not only that, but this trailer is so good, I think I’d actually see this film. Bravo Blue Goggles Films for making a game based movie that makes us all scream for ice cream!!

Here’s all the details from the guys and gals at Blue Goggles:

“I want us to make an honest to goodness, low-budget slasher movie and sell it on PSN exclusive.” – David Jaffe (co-creator of Twisted Metal)

Jaffe asked for it so we made it for him, a trailer for a low budget slasher movie starring Sweet Tooth. This was made for fans of the much-beloved franchise and to all the people at Eat Sleep Play working on the new Twisted Metal game. We can’t wait to play it. Happy Halloween!

Writer & Director: Ben Moody
Director of Photography: Steve Birnbaum
Producers: Rachel Campbell & Lisa Marie Kull
Special Make-Up Effects: Andrew De Leon
Grip: Shawn Marchese
Production Designer: Lisa Marchese
PA: David Meyers

STARRING:
Chris King as Needles “Sweet Tooth” Kane
Danielle Evon Ploeger
Carl Guthrie
Robert Perreault
Jon McMahan
Kurtis Wheeler
Ashley Spillers
Nathan O’Hara
Audrey Johnson
Shayla Bagir
Ciara Flynn
Patrick Knisely
Kelly Campbell

Based on characters created by David Jaffe & Scott Campbell

Hey Jaffe!! Throw some of that God of War money at these guys and let them finish the film!!

Uncharted Movie ‘Drake’s Fortune’ Gets a Writer and Director

Garrett Hartman — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:53:37 +0000

Hollywood has been excited about making an Uncharted Movie. What could be better than creating a modern take on the Indiana Jones series? The Uncharted games set a benchmark in creating the perfect summer blockbuster video game experience.

Columbia pictures currently own the rights and have been laying the framwork for a movie adaptation. Fortunately they’ve been doing the right moves in steering the project from the Paul WS Andersons and Uwe Bolls of the world by hiring a quality director in David O. Russell.

Here’s the official press release:

David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter) has been set to write and direct Columbia Pictures’ Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, an action-adventure based upon the bestselling PlayStation 3 game, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures. The film will be produced by Avi Arad, Charles Roven, Ari Arad, and Alex Gartner.

The story follows the adventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake.

Commenting on the announcement, Tolmach said, “David is a tremendous choice to take on this film. He’s equally adept at combining all the classic elements involved in this property: great character development, strong comedy, and amazing action sequences. He has a brilliant vision for this material and we know he will bring his original, unique voice to this adaptation.”

The game, developed by the acclaimed team at Naughty Dog, was one of Sony Computer Entertainment’s best-selling and most critically acclaimed games for the PS3. Named IGN’s Best Action Game and Best PS3 Game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sold one million copies in the first 10 weeks of its release at the end of 2007 on its way to moving more than 2.6 (confirm) million copies and spawning a sequel. That sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, was a major commercial and critical success, winning Game of the Year honors from several influential critics, being named the most critically acclaimed game of the year by Metacritic, and selling more than 3.8 million copies worldwide. Both games are among the all-time best-selling games for the platform.

The project will be overseen at Columbia Pictures by Tolmach and Jonathan Kadin.

Russell could be an excellent choice. He is known for his fantastic visual eye and great character work. Uncharted: Drake’s fortune has the potential to turn into a successfull film adaptation and a terrific Hollywood Blockbuster.

MYST Movie Could See The Light of Day

Garrett Hartman — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:47:14 +0000

Remember Myst, the atmospheric PC puzzle adventure game series best known for it’s stunning visuals? Of course you do. Well, according to Deadline, the Myst series has been optioned for “live action treatment”. And it doesn’t seem like too much of a longshot with Donnie Darko producer Hunt Lowry and Chronicles of Narnia’s Mark Johnson teaming up with the Mysteria Film Group. The Mysteria Film group aquired the rights last year and are currently seeking a screenwriter.

With the project still in the early stages it’s hard to tell how likely it is for the Movie to be made. However, Myst was not the type of series with a defined set of characters as the focus was more of the atmosphere, mythology and feeling of discovery – characteristics which could make for an interesting movie.

Source

Bobby Kotick Wants to Sell You Cut-scenes

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:17:30 +0000

Once again, Bobby Kotick is speaking his mind and pissing people off.

The issue with Mr. Kotick is always money. This time he has stated that he would like to charge customers to watch in-game cut scenes featured in Activision’s games. These scenes, already in your purchased copy of that year’s Call of Duty/Guitar Hero, would be able to be download or seen in theaters.

Kotick goes on to say how confident and successful these slapped together “film’s would be. “If we were to go to an audience and say ‘We have this great hour and a half of linear video that we’d like to make available to you at a $20 or $30 price point’ you’d have the biggest opening weekend of any film ever.”

“Within the next five years, you are likely to see us do that. It might be in a partnership with somebody or alone, but there will be a time where we’ll capitalize on the relationship we have with our audience; deliver them something that is really extraordinary and let them consume it directly through us instead of theatrical distribution. If we were to deliver a film digitally this way, I’d say an extremely high percentage would then go to the theater and watch it again.”

I am aware of the costs for a high quality cinematic in a game. The problem at hand is these scenes bridge together the gameplay. How can you take those cut scenes out of context and charge for them? Especially when many cut scenes aren’t very good, let alone film quality. Activision would have to make more scenes to piece together missing content when translated from game to film, which will cost more money. Also, when was the last time you paid “$20-30” to watch a movie, even in 3D?

Explain what you think about this below.

Fan-Made Half-Life Movie Teaser

Sam Naylor — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:05:59 +0000

Could this be what we might see in a Half-Life movie? One Valve fan has put together a teaser for a Half-Life based movie, and by golly it’s a hum-dinger.

The trailer is simply a teaser for a longer trailer, not an actual film that is going to be released, so don’t get your hopes up too much. The creator notes that this longer trailer “will be a lot longer, packed with more contents and telling a little bit about the story.”

The video is below. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Via RPS

Oblivion Movie Trademark Filed

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:38:57 +0000

Looks like an Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion motion picture could be in the works. ZeniMax has filed a trademark to create a movie based on Bethesda Softwork’s highly popular role-playing video game.

This trademark is for “motion picture film production and entertainment services”. All indications are that any work on creating an Oblivion Film is in the early development stages and it could take time.

This could be exciting news as the medeval fantasy world created in Oblivion is quite vivid and could make for an interesting setting.

No word on whether Uwe Boll has been contacted.

Source