Bloomkamp is well established within the film community, which is why they talked with him.

Not back in 2006.

Yes actually back in 2006, and they didnt really consider a Halo movie until what 2008? I actually saw his films displayed at my college, as part of an emerging director showcase in 2005 i think. This isnt a battle you have a chance at winning paul.

Basically, MS did not realize that all video game movies are pretty mediocre. They overestimated Halo as a movie franchise and shit in their own cereal when they went to Hollywood for negotiations. Their demands were insane for a video game movie, 15% box office royalties, specific extremely high profile directors/actors, demanding a fast tracked production, etc Columbia Pictures/Sony's Resident Evil movies are the most successful video game movies and MS refused to invite them in on a chance for the Halo movie. Ignoring the leader of the video game movie genre is a pretty stupid idea on MS's part

[quote]Basically, MS did not realize that all video game movies are pretty mediocre. They overestimated Halo as a movie franchise and shit in their own cereal when they went to Hollywood for negotiations. [/quote] Wrong the problem was the demand and the different cultures of both industries not because video game movies are mediocre. Everybody wanted to make the film, they knew it was big but the demands were to high. Microsoft wanted a good film or no film at all, quite frankly im happy Microsoft stopped it even a spokesman said "We don't want it half assed, we want the movie to be the best it can be".

Yeah, but you can't just go in and demand all of these requirements. Of course everyone wants their movie to be good to some degree, but reality has to hit you and say "hey, all of the past video game movies have a very narrow demographic and at best, they are passable action movies (Resident Evil) and nothing else, at worst they ruin the franchise (DOOM)" Not to mention that Halo would have been extremely expensive to make from all aspects. No studio was willing to be bullied by MS and put that much money into a video game movie. A CGI Halo movie (think the actual RE movies like Degeneration/Damnation and the Halo Wars cutscenes) would have been a good option though

My only view is this; A Halo Movie done right would match or even surpass Star Wars as a cultural phenomenon it's already considered by many to be the Star Wars of our generation the only thing missing is the movie. And as long as Microsoft can guarantee it is the best movie they could have possibly made then im happy, if you read the article Microsoft but a massive budget on the table but wanted a hefty chunk of the profits to. I actually trust microsoft to do it right, I remember hearing about microsoft gave 343i a blank check for Halo 4 because they didn't want a crappy game from a new developer and wanted to prove a new studio is not a bad thing. They are taking care of their most prized property they know if the Halo film flops then they can kiss the franchise goodbye and with the fact that the film is still on the table and still possible just means it could be being made now or in a couple of years.

I don't think we'll ever see a Halo movie. The Halo franchise seems to be in decline since a lot of people are complaining about Halo 4's story and the new direction the game is going. If they couldn't make this deal at the peak of Halo's hype, then they won't be able to do it at all. "if you read the article Microsoft but a massive budget on the table but wanted a hefty chunk of the profits to." MS didn't put up the budget, the studios would pay for the budget they put up. And wanting a heft chunk of the profits is not a good thing either. Basically, they wanted the studios to take a big risk, while MS would get a lot of the reward

I think we will see one, fans old and new want one, demand is high for the film. Also I wouldn't listen to people hating on Halo 4 they are a vocal minority, Halo 4 is still a great game the story was great to. People just can't stand it's not bungie and yet those same people hated on Reach. People just want Halo 2 back which was buggy and unbalanced (Ironically they claim that's halo 4's problem).

Well, I hope we see one but who know how long it will take. I don't think MS is solely to blame for things falling apart. I think the article makes that clear, which is why I linked it. Honestly, I just wanted to see how long it would take for someone to come to their defense. I do think MS high demands played a big part in things falling apart though. On other topics discussed in sub-thread: Liked Halo 4's story, one of the best things 343 did with the new game. Personal belief is that a Halo movie done by Blompkamp would have been the most successful (critically acclaimed and monetarily profitable) video game property ever made into a movie. To refine you statement a bit [b]lonepaul2441[/b]: I think Halo is the Star Wars of the video game medium. Meaning, like Star Wars, it had similar effects in shaping people's experience within the medium and medium itself. (Simple statement but you could honestly write a thesis on it. P.S. If anyone has written one, let me know. I would like to read it.) I don't know if you could quite compare the reach of Halo to Star Wars as far as overall effect, but that's just my opinion...and there's my two cents.

[quote]James is here for an exclusive guest blog series that contrasts and compares the most popular movie series in history with the most popular video game in history. Enjoy.[/quote] Try this, just found it and going to read it myself.

I'm not saying anything about the game, but back when discussions for the movie were going on, Halo was THE video game franchise. Now they are just one of many. And compared to the other big franchises, the budget for a Halo movie would be much more than one of a more action and less fantasy based one, like CoD/Uncharted/similar real-world games.

I concur with this point. I think Halo francise was at its zenith in terms of market saturation and influence, which translated into significant leverage for MS, which they overplayed. However, even though leverage from the Halo franchise has somewhat diminished, MS still has other ways to leverage studios. They will continue to grow in market share as a medium for television and film veiwership and will probably play a significant role helping shape the experience. This is an area of leverage they did not have back when they first negotiated the film and why I feel all is not lost. Negotiating for a new Halo film would not be entirely predicated on leverage from the franchise but rely on other things as well.

What are you referencing with "They will continue to grow in market share as a medium for television and film veiwership and will probably play a significant role helping shape the experience. "?

You have a point there, with all these live action video's Microsoft had budgeted and control would really prove a point to Hollywood that they can make a good movie. Forward unto dawn is really the 1st step into a Halo TV series being episodic and putting part of the game at the beginning of each part to advertise the game. Many people where happy to have an hour long live action halo video and many actually enjoyed it by actually managing to make the covenant scary which is actually very hard to do now. Microsoft has increased it's power over hollywood by dipping it's toes into their territory.

Yes. Essentially MS has positioned themselves with the Xbox and other platforms to become a gatekeeper for media. In the end though, it will be interesting to see how much their influence will continue to grow. I think a big part of that is contingent on the success of the new Xbox.