DreamWorks Wants to Make a Halo Movie Not Based on Halo
To answer the obvious question, they want to base it on one of the Halo novels based on the universe of the game, written by such luminaries as… I don’t know. I’ve never paid attention to any of the seven or so Halo novels, because like any right thinking person, novels based on videogames are usually crap at best. Obviously, I haven’t read the novels personally, so maybe they’re brilliant and moving, a Great Gatsby of our times but with Warthogs and sticky grenades, but I’ve also never heard of anyone saying the books were any better the normal cheap-o book tie-in.
So why is Dreamworks doing this? apparently, it’s because the Halo rights are caught in a massive legal clusterfuck between Fox and Universal, who co-owned the rights back when Peter Jackson and/or Neil Blomkamp were rumored to be directing. Specifically, they owned the rights to the games — and if DreamWorks wanted to make a movie based on the game, they’d have to deal with/sort out/pay a large sum to Fox and Universal. Fox and Universal didn’t option the Halo novels, because even they’re not that insane, meaning DreamWorks can skip all legal bullshit by making a movie of one of the books instead.
Result: DreamWorks will make a Halo movie, it will be based on one of the books, it will be shitty, neither fans nor mass audiences will be pleased, and a real Halo movie will be set back at least 5 years, but possibly forever. Fun! (Via FilmDrunk)