Guillermo Del Toro has confirmed in an interview with british movie magazine Empire that he has been having talks with Peter Jackson, Bungie and Universal. He states:

“Well, Halo is very much an interesting project because it’s so full of monsters,” he said. “It’s a big temptation. I’m in talks with them [Universal and Bungie Films] and Peter, but it’s not true that it’s on and Hellboy’s off. Hellboy’s on. If everything goes as planned, Hellboy will go.”

He goes on to discuss why he likes Halo, in very brief fashion:

“Most of the time games don’t have an universe or creatures that interest me enough. And this one does. Master Chief [Halo’s mysterious hero] is such an iconic character and it’s very much a sort of a good version of [Hellboy villain] Kroenen.”

My personal opinion is that this man would ruin the movie. Both Hellboy and Mimic were lackluster average films that started with great concepts and ended up as addled rubbish, despite stellar casts. That atrocious Paul W.S. Anderson fan boy fetishism just oozes from him. The sacrifice of storyline and arc development for poorly scripted and poorly executed CGI action-scenes is a trap just waiting for Halo. Del Toro will be right there to give it that final cattle prod of death. Del Toro, please stick to Hellboy 2 and move on.

IGN have published an article concerning the live action evangelion movie adaptation. It focuses on Richard Taylor, head of Weta Workshop, and his thoughts and plans for the movie.

Taylor: “I’ve just been to Japan pursuing this, [...] I think that is the great untold story to the world. It is sublime. It is arguably some of the most beautiful and poignant animation ever created, and a huge percentage of the pop culture world now know it, but only through a live-action feature film will it transcend that and receive the recognition for the art piece that it is.”

Richard Taylor, who views the anime as an exquisite art piece wants this film to be made right – so much so that he himself will guide the production and oversee the entire process.

“Now, actually achieving it as a live-action feature film is extremely difficult to imagine. Technologically, sure, it’s doable. But at an esoteric, universe level, it is an unbelievably impacting and dramatic story concept. [It's got] pseudo-religious overtones, and all these wonderful motifs are woven into it. It’s something that you can generate over 26 hours of animation, but trying to encapsulate that down into a feature film would be a massive challenge. But … with the right director, I think it could be a very beautiful movie. …And that’s my big pursuit at the moment. I’ve put an awful lot of energy into it.”

With a man like this behind the wheel we should all have some confidence. Taylor is dedicated to the cause and he is unlikely to sell out or make unimaginable blunders as this film is a direct representation of his company. But most importantly he is somebody that loves the original anime; this Evangelion film could still be something great.

“We’ll be blessed just to work on it. But it would be an opportunity for us to look at it at a different level if [Weta helped produce the movie].”

Source: IGN: Weta Head hopes to Co-produce Evangelion
Thanks to Chris Davis and ‘The Dit’

Peter Jackson will be making the rounds in the coming weeks as he attempts to promote his new film King Kong. This in turn provides the opportunity to ask him about his views and aims for the Halo film. Dark Horizons has done just that, whilst there’s nothing particularly new it’s always nice to hear Jackson talking about Halo:

“Question: You’re still producing Halo?
Jackson: Yeah.
Question: What attracted you to Halo?
Jackson: I’m a fan of the game.
Question: But video game movies suck.
Jackson: They do.
Question: So what will be different?
Jackson: Hopefully it won’t suck.
Question: But why not direct?
Jackson: I want a break. I want to have the fun but not the hard work. I just want to be part of the creative team but not actually have the pain.
Question: Is there a director?
Jackson: Not yet, no. We’re talking to some people but we’re going to be shooting that next year.”

The full interview, mostly relating to Kong can be found here: Dark Horizons

Rampancy.net has just recently published two articles pertaining to a suposed genuine and leaked Halo script. It bears similar resemblances to the Latino review although the version itself, if reliable, is an earlier version: “While the two scripts might not be exactly the same, and either version might not be the one that ends up being shot, the review and the script itself have convinced me, solely by their content, that at the very least they are working versions of the script for the Halo film,” take this as you will.

The first article entitled “Halo Film Script A Convincing Adaptation” discusses the author’s approach, the implications of such an article and finally specific moments and clippings from the script: “So what I propose to do is periodically post small details from the scripts as discussion-starters; points of comparison where the film diverges (even if only slightly) from the games and the novels, to see how the community feels about them. Who knows– if this script is, in fact, legitimate, and anyone involved in actually making the film sees these discussions, it might serve as food for thought.” Such issues raised include the portrayal of Cortana and the Pillar of Autumn cutscene.

A second article, “Are you talking to me?” goes on to consider new scenes from the script, regarding in particular the opening Halo 1 scene and Master Chief’s killing techniques.

Do not in any way deduce that these articles purport to fact. They should we read as rumor and nothing more at this stage. Also be wary of both game and movie spoilers. With that in mind, here are the links:

Halo Film Script – A Convincing Adaptation
Are you talking to me?

The third part of the journey has been posted. It details the fanciful visit to WETA studios and the resulting stupor after a quick browse. No new specifics or details concerning the Halo movie but it does maintain the slight confidence we must all be feeling now.

Bungie.net

Rumors abound, this name has been floating about consistantly across the internet. Now Harry at Aint it Cool has some more details. In a recent article he mentions that Peter Jackson and Del Toro have been in talks about the Halo movie, for roughly two months now and states, rather unhelpfully: “As of now, I haven’t heard if Guillermo is officially signed yet, but he’s probably pretty darn close.”.

Harry goes on to explain the likely problems with having Del Toro direct the Halo movie. Primarily, Microsoft want to begin the movie’s production as early as March 2007, yet Del Toro wants to remain ‘available’ to oversee the creation of his love child, Hellboy 2.

For those not in the know, Guillermo Del Toro is responsible for the likes of Blade II, Hellboy and Mimic.

This weeks bungie update also pays homage to the ongoing and highly anticipated process of signing a director. Frankie can’t get anything out of those involved but he does say this:“Joe Staten says he can’t say squat [...] I can tell you personally that he looks very happy, smug even, this week.”

Source: Aint it Cool
For More News: More Sources

Following much speculation, bungie.net have announced the latest team members to join them on the live action Halo movie adaptation. The Halo movie has already signed on the producers Mary Parent (Pleasantville, 40 Year Old Virgin) and Scott Stuber (The Skeleton Key); no real surprises or world renowned qualities observable here, although neither have been in the industry for long. They have since teamed up with Peter Schlessel (champion of SWAT, Charlie’s Angels 2 and Spider-man) and Bungie reports “[they have] accomplished unimaginably wonderful things”. One of these things is securing an Executive Producer, a highly respected movie pioneer – Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, King Kong).

This deal also secures the spectacular visual effects team Weta Digital; masters behind Lord of the Rings and Gollum.

Bungie: “From fabricating Covenant weapons to building life-sized Forerunner structures to accomplishing shot after shot of complex live-action/CG integration – simply put, there’s no group of people we’d rather have realize the Halo universe on screen.”

Quoting producers Mary and Scott: “First, let me just say how honored and excited Scott and I are to be involved in this project. As huge fans of the game ourselves we know how high the bar is. We’ve made it our mission to try and involve the absolute very best people one can imagine in every capacity. Having developed a great relationship with Peter and Fran through the extraordinary Kong experience, and seeing first hand just how unique a filmmaking environment they have crafted, we approached them about the possibility of coming aboard to Exec Produce. Not surprisingly, they were already avid fans of the game, and given our existing shorthand, they said yes! To be able to continue our relationship with them – on HALO of all projects – is really a dream come true for us in the biggest possible way.”

See the VIDEO announcement: Game Trailers

Source: Bungie.net