“[Steven Spielberg is] currently in active negotiations to develop the feature film adaptation”

The story is hyped up with details of Spielberg’s video game hobbies and suggested fascination of the latest Stuart Beattie “Fall of reach” script, aka a Master Chief back story originally written in 2001 by Erik Nylund. We’re taking this one with a grain of salt. BUT, it is good to see the Halo movie back in the limelight — one day, maybe, it will hit the big screens.

IESB has learned exclusively (believe me this is solid and I’ve confirmed it three times over with studio executives and our close ties to CAA) that one of the biggest producers in Hollywood history is currently in active negotiations to develop the feature film adaptation and no it’s not Jerry Bruckheimer or Peter Jackson. It’s the man behind Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones and Transformers, Mr. Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg is blown away by writer Stuart Beattie’s take on the game in his script entitled HALO THE FALL OF REACH. This coupled with the fact that his Dreamworks umbrella is looking for a big tent pole to help launch their newly independant studio with distribution over at Walt Disney Pictures after losing Transformers to Paramount in the separation, it’s the perfect combination.

In an effort to get the ball rolling again, I just learned that big time G.I. JOE screenwriter STUART BEATTIE has written a spec screenplay called HALO: FALL OF REACH, and it’s based on the best selling novel of the same name by Eric Nylund.

HALO: FALL OF REACH is a labor of love by Beattie in the hopes of finally getting the movie made.

The Premise of the script:

The script is, first and foremost, a character-driven story about a soldier named John who was kidnapped or “conscripted” by the UNSC when he was just six years old, and then brutally trained to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117.

One cool advantage of this first script is that (like the shark in JAWS) you don’t even see the Covenant until halfway through the movie. And because all the creatures are CGI creations, this cuts the budget down dramatically and makes a first Halo movie that much more viable. For Halo fans, it’s like the prequel that provides all the answers to questions they’ve thought about for years. For non Halo fans, it’s an exciting action movie that provides a clear, concise introduction to a world five hundred years in the future with relatable characters and a terrifying alien menace.

I’d seen stories like this before so I was a little reluctant to post the news article, that and it would mean the end of this blog, which isn’t something I look forward to. So I held on with what little hope I had left.

Seems like my hope wasn’t entirely in vain. This week Peter Jackson’s representative, Ken Kamins spoke to Computer and Video games. It first outlines the dastardly ways that Fox and Universal attempted to force the film makers to a less than opportune deal. Most importantly however, he states that everybody is supremely confident in Neill and that production is still underway and that give Halo 3’s $300 million in sales a number of movie studios have renewed interest.

1Up have pasted some pages from the script showing the introduction and intended finale and setup for a sequel. Warning, SPOILERS herein.

This version has since been abandoned, production instead opting for a rewrite by D.B.Weiss.

This deal does however look favourably on the Halo movie process and could initiate the future development. Though, as it stands, we are still not moving anywhere, our ignition is firmly set to off.

The announcement may have been premature
This could suggest the contract details or some other finer points had not been concluded at the time of publication. This would call for a retraction of the statement to conform with a confidentiality clause.
The article was wrong
It’s possible that someone could have screwed up or alternatively messages may have been mixed. Neill Blomkamp’s role may not be as big as director, he could just be running the special effects department. But considering the AICN interview and the words from Blomkamp’s mouth this is highly unlikely.
The site messed up
It’s just a problem with the site — I like this explanation.

Well this is all just speculation; such activities are confusing and in the past have pointed to PR disasters etc. My hunch is that this is nothing but I bring it to your attention anyway just in case.

However, it seems Movies Online has a brief update concerning the status of the script. They categorically state that Alex Garland, the acclaimed British writer, is no longer providing the drafts for the adaptation, but D.B. Weiss is instead on his second. How good is he? What has he written before? Who knows, his IMDB page is blank. Let’s hope he is not a patsy to the whims and wills of the megacorps. And that may be true if he did indeed only complete the game on Easy! 1Up also has a feature here: 1Up and of course the full interview is here GameSetWatch

Some other news you may have come across recently are the rumours that Denzel Washington is to be cast as Master Chief. Originating from Dark Horizons, to quote: “Halo: Latest rumours have Denzel Washington as the favourite for Master Chief.” That is all. This is nothing but rumour and likely entirely unsubstantiated. I’d personally see him as a Sarge. Following this internet flurry there was a quick and brief rebuttal which appeared on AICN stating: “Master Chief will not be removing his helmet at any point during the film. (…) Can you see Denzel Washington signing up for a film where he won’t be seen at any point?”

Peace Out.

“Well, Halo is very much an interesting project because it’s so full of monsters,” he said. “It’s a big temptation. I’m in talks with them [Universal and Bungie Films] and Peter, but it’s not true that it’s on and Hellboy’s off. Hellboy’s on. If everything goes as planned, Hellboy will go.”

He goes on to discuss why he likes Halo, in very brief fashion:

“Most of the time games don’t have an universe or creatures that interest me enough. And this one does. Master Chief [Halo’s mysterious hero] is such an iconic character and it’s very much a sort of a good version of [Hellboy villain] Kroenen.”

My personal opinion is that this man would ruin the movie. Both Hellboy and Mimic were lackluster average films that started with great concepts and ended up as addled rubbish, despite stellar casts. That atrocious Paul W.S. Anderson fan boy fetishism just oozes from him. The sacrifice of storyline and arc development for poorly scripted and poorly executed CGI action-scenes is a trap just waiting for Halo. Del Toro will be right there to give it that final cattle prod of death. Del Toro, please stick to Hellboy 2 and move on.

The first article entitled “Halo Film Script A Convincing Adaptation” discusses the author’s approach, the implications of such an article and finally specific moments and clippings from the script: “So what I propose to do is periodically post small details from the scripts as discussion-starters; points of comparison where the film diverges (even if only slightly) from the games and the novels, to see how the community feels about them. Who knows– if this script is, in fact, legitimate, and anyone involved in actually making the film sees these discussions, it might serve as food for thought.” Such issues raised include the portrayal of Cortana and the Pillar of Autumn cutscene.

A second article, “Are you talking to me?” goes on to consider new scenes from the script, regarding in particular the opening Halo 1 scene and Master Chief’s killing techniques.

Do not in any way deduce that these articles purport to fact. They should we read as rumor and nothing more at this stage. Also be wary of both game and movie spoilers. With that in mind, here are the links:

Halo Film Script — A Convincing Adaptation
Are you talking to me?