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Halo Goes Hollywood
Master Chief will soon be getting his own Hollywood makeover.
Microsoft Corp. has sealed a deal with Universal and 20th Century Fox that will see the studios pay the software giant $5 million for the rights to turn its mega-hit sci-fi videogame Halo into a full-blown blockbuster targeted for a summer 2007 release.
Universal will supervise the film's production and domestic distribution, while Fox will oversee the international release. For its part, Microsoft will receive a hefty 10 percent of the film's U.S. box office receipts, according to trade reports.
Halo, a first-person shoot-'em-up franchise, features the hero Master Chief, who is tasked with saving humanity from a swarm of alien invaders. The game has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide since its debut in 2001 and also spawned a sequel, Halo 2. The film will be based on the first two videogame entries.
Internet rumors have suggested that Microsoft may also launch its Halo 3 in conjunction with the movie. However, reps for both studios and Microsoft declined to comment on that possibility. They also refused to divulge further details about the agreement.
Microsoft has been shopping the Halo movie for several months. But the software giant made some curious moves for its first foray into Hollywood.
First, Microsoft commissioned its own screenwriter, Alex Garland (28 Days Later, The Beach). Then, after receiving a solid draft, the company set about sparking a bidding war last spring by sending its reps from the Creative Artists Agency with copies of the script to all the major studios in town, accompanied by costumed characters from the game. Several studio bosses publicly balked at the strategy, not happy that Microsoft tried to strong-arm them on their own turf by dictating terms of the deal.
But inevitably, the prospect of developing a series of films based on a hugely popular game with a built-in fanboy audience proved irresistible. Ultimately Universal and 20th Century ended up teaming up. Both studios are in need of a hit franchise to rival the likes of Sony's Spider-Man movies and Warner Bros.' Harry Potter series and its rejuvenated DC Comics division, which successfully resurrected the Caped Crusader with Batman Begins and intends to do the same to the Man of Steel with next year's Superman Reborn.
Aside from comic books, adapting videogames into movies has become a hot trend. Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider games have all gotten the big-screen treatment, as have the long forgotten Super Mario Bros. and this year's Alone in the Dark. Currently in the works are adaptations of Duke Nukem and the fantasy game American McGee's Alice.
As for Halo, the studios haven't announced any information on a director or cast.
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