Here we go again folks. If you thought the first time around was not enough, wait till you get a load of this: it looks like we are getting closer and closer to a Halo movie actually becoming a reality. According to the New York Magazine movie blog Venture, Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks Picture are planning on reviving the Halo Movie project that was halted back in late 2006. And why not? Halo: Reach grossed $200 million on its opening day last month, which makes it 2010’s best-selling game. How will Dreamworks make a Halo Movie without having to deal with Fox and Universal? Simple, use the novels from the Halo Universe.
“Despite Spielberg’s status as Hollywood’s top producer and his ability to attract the best original scripts, DreamWorks has been focusing on using novelizations of the video game—the literary equivalent of Purina Puppy Chow. It seems strange for Hollywood’s most successful filmmaker to rely on such lowbrow source material, but it’s actually a shrewd way to dodge the knotty legal issues and bitter recriminations surrounding Halo’s development at Universal and Fox.”
Maybe lowbrow, but it will prevent Fox and Universal from suing DreamWorks for capitalizing on their development, where they have spent millions of dollars booking and paying directors like Peter Jackson to jumpstart the movie to begin with. Even though no screenwriter has been inked in yet, it is a good reminder that we do have Stuart Beattie out there probably eagerly awaiting a call—he did do a spec script adaption of the novel Halo: The Fall of Reach back when the writers strike was happening in 2007. Hey Spielberg, I am throwing you a bone here!
“And that residual anger over the wasted money is the big reason why DreamWorks is so explicitly saying its project is based on the books: By citing “different” source material, it preemptively neutralizes any attempt by Universal lawyers to demand that the new studio reimburse its $12 million in development costs. Oh, you were doing a movie on that Halo? Yeah, we’re doing something else entirely. More literary. Another helpful side effect of using the books is that it appeases Microsoft, which authorizes them all; it shows them that DreamWorks takes the canon seriously (even if the process ends with a completely original script). Snider, who declined to comment for this story, is now CEO of DreamWorks, and knows from her days ushering Halo through Universal the importance of keeping Microsoft happy.”
Keep Microsoft happy huh? How about make a Halo trilogy based on the Reach story? To be honest, I am sick of Master Chief or John-117. I am done with his side of the story and want to see more of the characters of Noble Team on the big screen instead. Vulture did point out plenty of reasons why Microsoft does not want a Halo movie. If you were Microsoft, would you want someone to mess around with your $2 billion brand? I know I wouldn’t, but if there is someone out there that could ease their headache, it’s Steven Spielberg. Or so they hope at least. We will see how this story unfolds.
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