Movieweb have posted a pressing interview with Michael Caine.  Here he once again talks up the brilliant portrayal of The Joker by Heath Ledger,

“I can tell you the biggest secret. The most shocking thing for both you and I, [...] It’s Heath Ledger as the Joker. He is going to surprise a lot of people. He is absolutely terrifying. I’d say that he is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen on screen.”

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The IESB are reporting that Len Wiseman is no longer involved with the Escape from New York remake, which at first glance would imply that he plans to work on GoW. However, through IESB’s contacts, it is now rumored that he is not involved in the video game adaptation either, and, more alarmingly, that New Line Cinema might pull out altogether:

Wiseman is also off the video game adaptation and New Line Cinema will most likely not move forward with the film at all. Our source is saying that the studio has concerns with ballooning budget of the film.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens on this one folks. Thanks for the heads up Philip.

GameDaily have posted up an insightful interview with Cliff Bleszinski, inclined towards the development of the movie. It covers the movie’s story-telling and script writing by Stuart Beattie, R-ratings and the cons of casting wrestlers as the main characters. I’ve extracted the highlights below, for the full article click the link above! Thanks for the heads up John!

BIZ: What’s it like working with Stuart Beattie, the man who helped turn Pirates of the Caribbean into a Hollywood blockbuster?

CliffyB: Stu is amazing to work with because he knows Gears inside and out. He beat the game several times and he was hooked on multiplayer. You go into these Hollywood meetings and expect a certain type of Hollywood people, many of whom I’ve met. [...] He respects the franchise and he’s a fan of it. He also knows how to write a compelling movie and adaptation. [...] I think we have a really great script and now it’s just a matter of getting the right director attached and making sure it becomes a “AAA” blockbuster movie.

[...] The fact that Gears is an M-rated franchise and involves people getting chainsawed in half, it’s got to be a pretty f***ing hardcore movie.

[...] I get a lot of forum posts where Gears fans tell us we need to cast this wrestler as Marcus. I don’t give a f**k if the guy’s buff or six foot five. What matters most is that this guy is charismatic and he can act and is somebody compelling that you want to watch on screen. [...] What matters is charisma because you can’t fake that. [...]

CliffyB: We shared every detail imaginable with Stu on the franchise as far as the story bible and all of the secrets that everybody wants to know about what went down in Gears of War. [...] He knows the underlying themes of the franchise and all of the underlying motivations of each of the characters. That’s fuel for the screenplay that he’s written.

[...] New Line, having done Lord of the Rings, they know how to back a very risky but also a potentially very lucrative franchise and make sure it’s treated with the respect it deserves.

Halo 3 let’s you drive a warthog, but not like this. Here is the Bungie team trying out a real life Warthog. If only they created some of those Covenant vehicles, maybe we’ll get to see some if the movie ever pulls itself into gear.