Valve talks Half-Life movie
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Writer Marc Laidlaw says Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, and Paul Verhoeven would make fitting directors for film based on shooter series.
Valve has been pursuing a Half-Life movie for nearly a decade, but the project has not gotten rolling. That has not changed, but Valve writer Marc Laidlaw has opened up on who his dream candidates would be to direct a big-screen adaptation of the sci-fi shooter series.
"If Paul Verhoeven returned to science fiction films, he would do something insane with Half-Life…maybe something objectionably insane, but at least not boring. Peter Jackson has proved himself an amazing purveyor of faithful adaptations. Guillermo del Toro has the horror vibe that I think a lot of people miss out on when thinking about a Half-Life movie," Laidlaw said. "Half-Life is essentially horror after all. The science in it barely passes as hand-waving, but when a headcrab jumps at your head, it’s a precisely engineered jolt."
Verhoeven is most famous for directing Total Recall and Robocop, while Jackson earned his place in film history for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Del Toro directed Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy
Ultimately, Laidlaw said he believes there are numerous directors who could do the Half-Life fiction justice on the silver screen. However, fans may want to temper their excitement for the film, as Laidlaw said "most of them are busy pursuing their own visions."
The Half-Life movie was first revealed in 2003, following Half-Life 2's showing at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Valve is looking to for a project that would extend the elements of the game and broaden the franchise's audience, though no other details are available.
Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs director Quentin Tarantino was reportedly in talks to direct the film, though Valve said this was not the case.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
179 comments
Please make it Paul Verhoeven. That man's a genius. Robocop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct. What more needs to be said?
"Valve has been pursuing a Half-Life movie for nearly a decade" Oh, yeah!? Well, we've been waiting half a decade for a Half-Life 3/Episode 3. With a silent protagonist (even Alyx herself remarks on that) I don't know how they would do a movie, but it might be good nevertheless.
'Brain Dead' or 'Bad Taste' era Peter Jackson would have been good for this, but not anymore.
Perter Jackson wouldn't be practical since he's making 3 Hobbit movies so that rolls him out.
1 Like Valve wants to "broaden the franchise's audience"?
2 or 3 new generations of gamers exist now that were in diapers the last time a HL game came out. Releasing HL3 alone will broaden the audience.
This comment has been deleted
1 Like HAHA i got real exctied too when I saw the Half-life 2 on the homepage... now i'm disappointed.
4 Like *Log onto gamespot and see Valve/Half-Life headline*
"OMG YES THE FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE HAS HAPPENED"
*Look a little closer*
*Soul-crushing disappointment because its about some bullshit movie that will probably never be made"
...HALF-LIFE 3 PLEASE
1 Like There is a lot of deep rich story in Half Life. They should surely make a two or three part movie series to go along with the game, and release one per decade, with major cliffhanger endings.
So many films that come out are junk. If they do make a Half Life movie (which I think is a bad idea) it needs to have artistic merit.
However, here's a better idea: Don't make a movie at all. Make Half Life 3!
3 Like It is not a certainty that by making a movie a lot of the people who see it will also migrate to the game. The fanbase is there and all we are asking for is the release of the next GAME, for which we have been waiting for quite a while now and not for a movie...good or bad, whatever... just spend that money on making the game better and releasing it faster...
the original interview just randomly asked their dream ppl to make a half life movie if they wanted one. gamespot kinda puts this out of context
1 Like Hire del toro and make it like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvgEx1g9dW4
lower budget, rated R, scary with a not too talkative gordon
3 Like I was thinking of a Half Life 3 not another game movie. They haven't even finished the game series yet!
1 Like Actors signed a contract for 2 movies. Exactly 2 because that's as far as Valve goes.
1 Like I've got a better idea: why don't you just get your own asses on directing Half-Life 3?
1 Like This just made me puke rage-induced stomach acid onto my monitor. Fuckin Valve. I thought they were going to talk about Episode 3 a little. I'm going to bed now. Bye. :(
5 Like "Valve is looking to for a project that would extend the elements of the game and broaden the franchise's audience..." - How about you fucking release Episode 3?
4 Like @espviper301 Would you rather a rushed game, or a good one? Valve has made and remade parts of the game, trying to perfect it so that it can live up to the earlier games.
1 Like Duke Nukem Forever wasn't rushed either... 3D Realms made and remade parts of that game to... Longer development times don't always equal "Good game"
@PcGamer4Ever1 @towny_ @espviper301 I'm not too worried about myself, but Gabe on the other hand....
1 Like @espviper301 Pretty sure there was an article somewhere that said valve was working on ep3 but the development lead to half life 3. The same article also said that they restarted completely on a new half life 3 like 3 times.
6 Like A film about the 7 hour war would be amazing. There would be no need to include Gordan because of his absence during that time period, and especially because I'd rather have him stay as the 'silent' protagonist. It would be perfect.
unless they plan on making 2 movies and then never F'ing finishing the story they need to make HL ep3 already.
Before the Great Lord Gaben (GLG for short) gets his and his coworkers Hollywood careers started, they should probably open the Heavenly Gaming Gates (HGG for short) and let us have the mythical Half Life of 3.
The they can audition for Broadway musicals and get their talents noticed by top tier directors.
@DEagle267 Who knows , may be there will be a proper voice actor for Gordon Freeman in Half Life 3 just like Issac Clark in DS 2 and so on .
2 Like Do. Not. Make. A. Half-Life. Movie. Based. On. The. Games.
I will welcome a Half-Life movie based in the universe, but not on the games. Make it about what happened after Gordon stepped into the G-Man's stasis. What happened during his absence. Make something about people trying to escape City 17 after the reactor meltdown. Make something about people in some other "city." There's a lot you can do without risking destroying the almost perfect immersion of the games. Gordon "doesn't talk" because it is expected that the player character "answer." It's written in a way where you COULD respond and the game still works (unless you be trollin'). In effect, you ARE Gordon. Your emotions are transposed into his silence and you, in a very meaningful way (at least to me) become Gordon Freeman. Making a movie with some actor playing Gordon, responding and interacting, would effectively ruin the movie.
@SlowMotionKarma Completely agree. A Half-Life movie within the universe, and not the main events of the game's themselves, would be freakin' awesome. And to do this, I think the guy who directed Children of Men would be a good fit. Like for Children of Men director!!
1 Like you should watch this. i think a small very horror based halflife 1 movie would be amazing if done right. as this fan film does
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Half-Life
- Publisher(s): Sierra Entertainment
- Developer(s): Valve Software
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- ESRB: M
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