PopcornTreeCt

Hmm... I hope they do it right. If it does bad I want it to be like Watchmen... extremely authentic which doesn't jive with the mainstream audience.

We need $100 million dollar art films.

devilshalo

Universal picks 'Bioshock' helmer
Fresnadillo in talks to direct vidgame adaptation
By MICHAEL FLEMING

"28 Weeks Later" helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is in talks to direct "Bioshock," the Universal Pictures adaptation of the Take-Two Interactive videogame.

Gore Verbinski has stepped out of the directing slot, but remains the film's producer through his U-based Blind Wink shingle. John Logan wrote the script.

Verbinski opted out of directing because the studio's budget plan for the film has been revamped to lense abroad in order to take advantage of tax credits and favorable exchange rates. Verbinski couldn't commit to an overseas shoot because he is locked into directing the Paramount animated film "Rango," with the title character voiced by his "Pirates of the Caribbean" cohort Johnny Depp.

Fresnadillo directed the 2001 Spanish thriller "Intacto," and made his Hollywood breakthrough with "28 Weeks Later."

With "Bioshock," Fresnadillo is stepping into one of the highest-profile projects on the Universal roster. Verbinski came attached as director when Universal made a multimillion- dollar against gross percentage acquisition from Take-Two. Verbinski then stepped away from directing his fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" film because he expected to be in production on "Bioshock" last spring in Los Angeles.

But Universal put on the brakes during the pre-production phase because the budget rose to $160 million and the studio needed it to cost less (Daily Variety, April 27). At the time, Universal sources vowed this would not turn into another "Halo"-- U and partner Fox dropped out of that vidgame adaptation, which was to be directed by "District 9" helmer Neill Blomkamp with Peter Jackson producing. But the negotiations with Fresnadillo indicate the studio is determined to make "Bioshock" offshore.

Once it was clear Verbinski wouldn't direct, he and the studio sparked to Fresnadillo, whose deal is contingent upon the thumbs-up from Take-Two, which maintains director approval. Fresnadillo's producing partner, Enrique Lopez Lavigne, is in talks to become a producer.

"Bioshock" takes place in the underwater city of Rapture, where a pilot crash-lands near a secret entrance and becomes involved in a power struggle.

maingon

update:

Giving interviews during the trailer launch for "Rango" the other week, director Gore Verbinski revealed to IGN that the planned adaptation of video game series "Bioshock", which he will produce, is still in the works despite budgetary concerns.

"We're working trying to make it. The problem with BioShock was: R-rated movie, underwater, horror. It's a really expensive R-rated movie. So we're trying to figure out a way working with [director] Juan Carlos [Fresnadillo] to get the budget down and still keep so it's true to the core audience, you know? The thing is it has to be R, a hard R" says an optimistic Verbinski.

The helmer doesn't think the disappointing box-office of video game adaptation "Prince of Persia" will affect its chances "because it's actually a great story... We don't want to dumb it down, we don't want to make it PG-13. We want to keep it really edgy, and it's a huge bill... right now it's really a budget thing and how to keep the integrity and keep it a Hollywood movie."

Solid Snake

good luck to him.

Dr Mabuse

Note to self: the 'Bioshock' movie will suck.

RichC2

Why? Because it's Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, rated R, produced by Gore Verbinski? Or because it won't have an unlimited budget to blow and will have to be somewhat creative in the way it's shot?

I thought Fresnadillo did a good job with 28 Weeks Later considering the est. budget was around $15 - $20m, and I'm one of the 5 people that apparently enjoyed Intacto.

RocShemp

I though Prince of Persia merely underperformed in the US but wasn't a disappointment overall. Did it have a sudden drop in international ticket sales?

mhanlen1

I'm thinking they'll give in, and make it a PG-13 anyway. I've never been impressed with video game adaptations anyway. Out of adaptations in recent memory, the one with the most promise had been Silent Hill. It had great style and atmosphere, but was hard to like and sometimes incomprehensible. Will there ever be a good game to movie adaptation?

Also, I liked Mousehunt. It was a goofy screwball popcorn flick.

Solid Snake

Mortal Kombat was a great adaptaton of the game. Fun flick too. Sadly...it's FX hasn't aged well...

Dr Mabuse

'Mousehunt' was fantastic.

BTW... 'Silent Hill 2' is coming in 2011.

Solid Snake

to bad nobody gives a damn about a SH film anymore. If it had Bean as the lead in the original and had a story that was more concistent it could've been much better. I remember the moment I heard Bean was in it I knew he would bring it...until I found out that he wasn't the lead.

RocShemp

In the filmmakers' defense, Sean Bean shouldn't have even been in the movie at all. The reason Sean Bean and Kim Coates are wasted in SH is because the studio had a shit-fit when they saw that the cast was comprised of all women. So they had to rush a subplot about a husband and cast both those actors to make the studio happy. Supposedly all the extraneous exposition ("there was a fire here") was also added because the studio heads felt it needed more dialogue.

I had always hoped they'd use Sean Bean in the sequel as the lead character from the second game. I just don't know how they'd make the whole twist ending work, however.

Gunde

If it's as good as the first one then I give a damn.

Solid Snake

I thought the the visual design was great in some spots and in other really really weak when it went to digital manipulation of the area that didn't look good.

RichC2

SH was hit and miss -- visually, the ending part was absolutely horrible, and tidbits of CG throughout were equally terrible. That said, the city itself and atmosphere/mood of it was spot on. The script, dialog and acting were terrible, the plot also mostly sucked but was redeemed a bit by an eerie last minute or so.

It did some right and some wrong, as an adaptation it captured a decent bit of what made the game good, on the other hand as a movie it's almost a complete failure.

Solid Snake

that's pretty much what I thought.

PopcornTreeCt

So, Bioshock movie, huh?

I don't see why the budget has to be that inflated. They don't actually have to film scenes in a water tank like Titanic.

maingon

Sadly it doesnt look like the movie is going to happen

Verbinski has been attached to - the film adaptations of the acclaimed video game "BioShock" and the classic TV series "The Lone Ranger".

"Bioshock" is a passion project for the helmer, one he told STYD would be perfect for 3D, but admits the whole thing will likely never happen - "I couldn't really get past anybody that would spend the money that it would take to do it and keep an R-rating. Alternately, I wasn't really interested in pursuing a PG-13 version. Because the R rating is inherent. Little Sisters and injections and the whole thing."

He adds "I just wanted to really, really make it a movie where, four days later, you're still shivering and going, 'Jesus Christ!'... It's a movie that has to be really, really scary, but you also have to create a whole underwater world, so the pricetag is high. We just didn't have any takers on an R-rated movie with that pricetag.""

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/194...k-lone-ranger-

Giantrobo

Story Here

From Article...

Terrell

Disappointing, but not surprising. Studios are a hindrance to a lot of good films getting made. Their interference in films, is almost always for the worse. So few directors have the pull to get what they want, even something as simple as a rating. If Gore Verbinski hasn't earned enough cred to get an R rating, there's little hope for the rest of the directors not named Spielberg, Nolan, etc.

Anubis2005X

Not sure they could've made it work without a rather large budget. Sounds like a pretty risky project, can't say I blame them...

RichC2

Originally they wanted around $200m budget w/ Verbinski, then nixed to $80m w/ a director Levine didn't like which is when he said kill it.

To note I think Verbinski or Fresnadillo would have done fine with the material

Raul3

Thanks Ken!

But yeah, too much risk for the studio too. A $200M movie, can easily become a $250 or even more. And Bioshock is loved by many, but not enough for a studio to risk that kind of money.

Rex Power Colt-Robot Man

Just look at the fallout from Final Fantasy: Spirits Within

The Valeyard

Watchmen killed it.