It looks like Universal and Fox Studios have reached an agreement with Microsoft on the development of a Halo film.
Let’s just get this out of the way right now… this movie will make money. Why? Because little video gaming morons (like myself) still believe that just because a video game is any good that it can be a good movie. Therefore, they think that just because Halo is a fantastic video game… it MUST make a great movie right? Man we’re gullible.
Anyway, on the lighterside of the news it looks like Microsoft got put in their place a little bit. Apparently Microsoft thought they could just ask for whatever they wanted and studios would jump. They didn’t jump… at least not according to this little tid bit brought to us by the good folks over at M&C:
The deal was reportedly a major step down for Microsoft from its initial demands for a $10 million upfront fee and 15 percent of the studio`s first-dollar box-office gross receipts, the New York Times reported Friday. The company had also sought a large amount of creative control, insisting on approval over the cast and director and a budget reaching at least $75 million, not including the fees for the actors and director.
The deal with Universal and Fox would award Microsoft no more than $5 million for the film rights and only 10 percent of the first-dollar box-office gross receipts, the Times said. Universal would oversee production and get domestic distribution rights, while Fox would get the foreign rights and have a say in production.
The reality is that everyone who was willing to plop down $50 (or more) for the game will be more than willing to plop down $10 to the the movie adaptation… and it will suck.
Why am I saying it will suck? Because there are 3 unchangeable rules in the universe:
1) Politicians will lie
2) Jennifer Garner is hot
3) Video game movies suck
I’m pretty sure I can form a religion on these “3 Commandments”. Who wants to join?
