Source: See below. The official story: See below. What we heard: When rumors first surfaced about Peter Jackson directing the Halo movie, many dismissed it as a fantasy cooked up by daydreaming nerds. But when it turned out that the King Kong director had agreed to executive-produce Halo, many...
Source: See below.
The official story: See below. 
What we heard: When rumors first surfaced about Peter Jackson directing the Halo movie, many dismissed it as a fantasy cooked up by daydreaming nerds. But when it turned out that the King Kong director had agreed to executive-produce Halo, many were flabbergasted that such a perfect pairing could actually happen.
It was the Halo-Jackson news that made it hard to throw this week's bit of scuttlebutt straight into the crazy pile. While making preliminary plans for their annual sojourn into the deafening neon inferno that is E3, GameSpot editors spoke with a person who has many contacts within the Los Angeles film industry. The person in question said that the hot game-movie crossover project du jour was Half-Life, Valve Software's groundbreaking shooter.
While news of a Half-Life film would be hot by itself, what the film insider said next was more scorching than a habanero enema. He/she said that Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino had been hounding Valve executives to bring the game to the big screen, and that he was currently in negotiations with the developer. Most film fans were under the impression the director was in preproduction of his long-in-the-making World War II epic, Inglorious Bastards.
Alas, the image of Gordon Freeman smacking headcrabs to the tune of "Stuck in the Middle With You" was shattered by Doug Lombardi, Valve's director of marketing. After joking that Tarantino was in his office playing Counter-Strike: Source, he set the record straight. "As much as we'd love to meet with him, we've never been contacted by Mr. Tarantino nor 'his people,'" said Lombardi. "We've had many conversations with folks in Hollywood, but have no commitments for an HL movie at this time."
Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus.
@ChiefFreeman It would be great to have a first time movie in a first person perspective. This was done in the movie doom, at the end of the film when the main charactor became a super human. This idea could be applied to a theme that could be a great movie, just as the game was and in my view still is. Oh and the best director for this movie (if it became one) would be undoubtably ridley scott! x
@ChiefFreeman, um, you see Gordon Freeman's face countless times. Never in-game, mind you, but we still have a pretty clear image of his face right on the box.
Half Life will never be a movie, just like Halo will never be a movie. They both feature faceless protagonists. How would they overcome that basic theme for both franchises?
But IF (and thats a pretty big if) Tarantino was to direct a Half-Life movie, I don't think it would turn out the way fans would hope for. I love Tarantinos film-making style and some of his movies are the most rememberable flicks I have enjoyed through my 25 years on this planet. But a Half-Life movie? I just don't think it would fit his style.
Well you guys are right. It would be better off to make Half Life 2 as a movie since it involves more key characters. Half Life 1 just has Gordon killing xen aliens throughout the game. G man is the only key character in Half life oh and the Nilahnath. But I think it actually is possible to make a good Half Life movie. We got the two expansions! Opposing force and blue shift. We can add Barney Calhoun and Adrian Shepard in the movie without them interacting. Its basically showing more point of views into a possible film without one single POV of Gordon. i don't think Decay characters should be added. Wasn't even a good expansion.
My Cast... Definitely should be Peter Krause as Gordon, tell me this isn't Gordon right here... http://imstars.aufeminin.com/stars/fan/peter-krause/peter-krause-20080808-445013.jpg If not I say Christian Bail because if you slapped some glasses on him with a Goatie he's definitely Gordan, and it should be an actor who could play a character that doesn't talk alot. If you'd seen the Machinist you'd also know why I say him, although maybe he's already played one too many Heros... Gordan: Christian Bail, Peter Krause, or maybe Hugh Laurie... http://www.porhomme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/christian-bale-terry-richardson-june-2009-gq-mag-1.jpg http://www.mtv.com/news/moviehouse/photos/machinist_the_041007/bale.jpg http://imstars.aufeminin.com/stars/fan/peter-krause/peter-krause-20080808-445013.jpg http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/15586-93369-freecosjpg-468x.jpg Alyx: Shannyn Sossamon http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/15586-93369-alyxcosjpg-468x.jpg G-Man: Christopher Walken, David Bowie, or Gary Oldman... http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/15586-93369-gmancosjpg-468x.jpg http://www.concertlivewire.com/jpegs/interviews/bowie.jpg http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/marcohsnotes/Live%20Action/GaryOldman133-1-4-tucker.jpg Eli Vance: Morgan Freeman http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/15586-93369-vancecosjpg-468x.jpg Barney: Greg Grunburg http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/15586-93369-barneycosjpg-468x.jpg Dr. Breen: Dennis Hopper http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/15586-93369-breencosjpg-468x.jpg Dr. Kleiner: Bill Nighy http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/15586-93369-BillNighyjpg-468x.jpg
Maybe if they make it a two-part movie where the parts cover the stories of the five main characters; Freeman, Shepherd, Calhoun, Cross and Green. That could work.
Hmmm.... peter jackson might do a good job with this. Even Del Toro. I heard that the guy who directed the Avengers movie and Dr. Horribles sing along is in talks about directing it. He just posted it friday on his FB page.
aww, i wanted tarantino! my favourite director+my favourite francise=overflow of happiness. but the movie doesnt have to be gordon just kicking aliens and hitting them with growbar. i want citizen vs combine (like in escape from c17). but i want freeman on it too.
I am struggling to find a way for this to work. All you do is shoot hundreds of aliens and solve a few puzzles. Much like Indiana Jones, but that worked.
grimreaper6921: I agree... They would definitely have to add a second person. It would be boring with just Gordon running around. I just hope they don't mess this movie up. I would rather them take another 10 years on it and make it amazing rather than 2 years from now and an OK movie.
Caliban360: Sorry I just realized that... I'm kinda pissed at that too.. Haha and to think about how much excitement I had... UNTIL I watched the trailer : (
I like your idea MachinaMaker, but I would try starting it up with the company names in the bottom left corner, and at the same time see a few glimpses of the machine in black mesa where this all went wrong, but don't show to much, keep the audience wondering(at least the audience that hasn't played half-life) what is happening. Then this is the way it should go after. This could be virtually from anyone's perspective, show england before all the madness happened like a usual day, use your imagination of how this all went wrong, but have a portal(but no citidal of course) and show citizens running in madness, i would try going from a citizens first perspective(have the camera close to how the camera work was in clover feild) and then have a reaction with the portal and go black. Then go wherever you'd like to after that. Yes, I want this movie made too, and I have the opening thought out. Thanks reply and tell me what you think.
I hope to God he doesn't. I haven't got anything against Tarantino, but this isn't his area of expertise. He's more into the self written, free of constraints, quirky kind of indy like movie that for some reason isn't an indie but a blockbuster cult phenomenon. No, I don't want him to do it because I need to make the movie. I'm trying to work on a solid script, but there's a lot of things to consider. Right now my plan is to more of start it around Half-Life 2 where he's thrown into City 17, trying to piece together what happened at Black Mesa. The first game is way too insubstantial to make into its own movie and would definitely flop and do pretty bad all together. And you can't jump into the second without telling people the background.
I think with Quentin Tarantino at the wheel, this movie should do pretty good. But who knows, there have been other video game movies that have flopped, HORRIBLY!!!
A movie based on half-life 2 would be awesome. It wouldn't necessarily have to follow Gordon. Has anyone else seen the "Escape from City 17" movie on youtube by the PurchaseBrothers? They could have a great storyline following someone else's account of the action with stories of Gordon as their influence and inspiration to keep fighting. I really think they could make a great movie out of this.
making a half-life 2 movie would be great, sure, but let's not forget our elders. if a movie is to be made, it should be half-life 1 first. true it is simple and maybe not the most movie friendly, but it would help explain things better and please remember that there wouldn't be a HL2 without HL. besides, what's wrong with "just a guy running around pwning up the joint" as Napalm_addict said? that's our gordon! btw blokes, these guys are trying a good approach to this problem: http://www.purchasebrothers.com/Purchase-Brothers-v2-hl.html
i cant wait for the half life movie.some chic stole the name.i have a suggestion for the title.Half Life the Gordon Freeman story.samuel L jackson should be eli and kim kardashian should be alyx
that half life movie looks like garbage. How dare they steal a good name and make it look bad!
Caliban360: Your right. I was actually quite annoyed when I found out some other movie had taken the Half-Life name.
There IS a Half Life movie coming out very soon. This year I think. It is one of those festival movies. Check out this site: www.halflifemovie.com
A movie by Tarantino would be great but to be honest I don't think a film can fit the charm of Half Life... or who knows but I just can't see it.
I have seen only one good video game to movie.... and that was silent hill... and it was not great.... especially if you've played the games...For the sake of the game, they shouldn't make a movie out of it... and a Halo movie? yeah, I'd rather sit at home and watch porn...
Well, I think that it should only feature Barney Calhoun and Adrian Shepherd, I mean they can talk; Gordon Freeman should never speak a word, I mean, that's part of his charm, right??? Anyway, if they do make a HL movie it would have to be made by Tarantino. That guy rocks.
the only way to do a half-life movie is to do it as a maxi-series on hbo, cenemax or showtime networks covering half-life, blue shift and opposing forces. i figure 31 to 54 90 minute episodes should tell the story of what happened at black mesa. as far as who is to play who, i would suggest the following; Dr. Gordon Freeman........Guy Pearce Barney Calhoun............Josh Hartnett Adrian Shephard...........Vin Diesel Directed by...............Tony or Riddley Scott the rest of the cast is up for grabs, but if half-life was done this way it could tell the whole story of what happened at black mesa. they could even have it where the 3 main characters meet at the end. as for half-life 2 well that is another movie or maxi-series altogether, but we would have to see how the first maxi-series did in the ratings.
Even if they made a HL movie we all know it would be crap yet we would all go and see it belive me I know
great plot the games are amazing but it would just be to hard of game to make into a movie and do it right
They'll probaly be half-life movie because it was a successful game and most successful games resident evil, tomb raider for example are nostly made into films.+
half-Life IS a movie. a twenty hour long one, staring the player. It's only the most cinematic game ever made...
Half-Life was a phenomenal game. However, a crossover to a movie would not work, unless they had a genius making it, perhaps someone like George Lucas, to add enough substance to make it a movie. As a game, half life can get very monotonus. it is incredibly boring to watch someone else play it, as it lacks substance. the interaction makes up for that. most of half life is this empty interaction, with the exception of a few key scenes, such as the scene when the accident happens, or G-Man's speech at the end. If these were in a movie, they would probably only take up about 5 minutes. This lack of substance is the only thing holding a half life movie at an idle dream. Perhaps a movie which covers the three stories of half life. Split throughout the movie could be the accounts of Gordon Freeman, Adrian Shepherd, and Barney Calhoun. However, they might have to TALK!
solidsnake is right the game is played out as a movie so u would be watchin wat u just did except from da third-pirson
Saw a nice vid... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxU7YfkGZKA Sweet the way it was done! :)
i checked the Studio Producer mentioned in the end of the preview, and it did not come up as an actual movie studio. If any of you have heard of "BUMP STUDIOS", try to investigate.
in case anyone is wondering, development, or at least a "teaser trailer" has been started for a Half-Life Movie, here's a link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxU7YfkGZKA The Trailer was made without in-game footage, so i cant find out whether its a hoax or not. I'm going to e-mail the guy in the credit screen at the end, Just in-case. I haven't been able to find any other info on it, so it still remains a mystery.
A half life movie? Nah. Half life + CG just wouldn't work. They'd have to render it in real time in the cinema using an upgraded source engine :P
I have a script for a HL 1 movie all worked out: GORDON: Silence -BANG- GORDON: Silence -SCREECH- -BANG- GORDON: Deep Silence *Roll Credits*
i think if there's to be a Half-Life movie it shouldn't be about the original HL game or HL2, but about what happened in-between the games. it'd be fun to watch and the whole Gordon-Freeman-didn't-speak thing wouldn't be ruined by the movie =3
I like a lot of what Tarantino has done, but I think it would have been a huge mismatch. Tarantino has always been driven by what HE writes, not source material and the kind of strict conventions he'd be forced to deal with in a game movie. As for Uwe Boll, his next few projects are set actually. There was an interesting article written by Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka on SA dotcom where he actually visited the set of Boll's latest trainwreck, and he reported boll's next c**pfest is some weird scriptless, lightingless "concept piece". Frankly, I think that big projects like an MGS movie and Half Life have money behind them, not just "wow I think people would like to see a Bloodrayne movie, lets do it CHEAP". Don't be fooled, it doesn't have to be a big-name director for these movies... I'd prefer a really solid writing-directing team than all the money going to a single factor.
I think that tarantino would do wonders for a movie. He could make Gordon never say a word and never show his face, even though his face isn't a secret. I think that Tarantinos style of jumping through time would be perfect with a half life storyline... but thats just me?
Woulda been good but the fact is, they woulda had to add a second person, like the security officer or w/e to go along with him througout the whole movie
It'd be sweet, but they'd have to Combine (hehe) HL1 and HL2 to be able to have a suitable film. They couldnt do the first one thats just a guy running around pwning up the joint (although I'd be willing to watch it) if he doesnt have any other major character interaction. It'd have to start at the beginninng of HL2 and slowly tell the back story of HL1 thru flash backs and dialogue. Oh, and Johnny Depp as Gordon Freeman.
Writer Marc Laidlaw says Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, and Paul Verhoeven would make fitting directors for film based on shooter series.
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