A shot of Tony Stark sitting in a chair watching what is presumably a home movie. Picture via Marvel.

The full 5 minute Iron Man 2 Comic-con footage has leaked online. In it we see the full court room scene, our first look at War Machine, Whiplash’s electro-whips, Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow and much more. It matches perfectly the descriptions we’ve read about from SDCC.

This is our first look at Iron Man 2 footage,

IESB are reporting that Steven Spielberg may be taking up the Halo movie gig, a couple years after his Tintin pal Peter Jackson dropped the project. There’s no conclusive proof and the rumor sources are “studio executives” and “close ties to CAA”; what do the rumors say?

“[Steven Spielberg is] currently in active negotiations to develop the feature film adaptation”

The story is hyped up with details of Spielberg’s video game hobbies and suggested fascination of the latest Stuart Beattie “Fall of reach” script, aka a Master Chief back story originally written in 2001 by Erik Nylund. We’re taking this one with a grain of salt. BUT, it is good to see the Halo movie back in the limelight – one day, maybe, it will hit the big screens.

IESB has learned exclusively (believe me this is solid and I’ve confirmed it three times over with studio executives and our close ties to CAA) that one of the biggest producers in Hollywood history is currently in active negotiations to develop the feature film adaptation and no it’s not Jerry Bruckheimer or Peter Jackson. It’s the man behind Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones and Transformers, Mr. Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg is blown away by writer Stuart Beattie’s take on the game in his script entitled HALO THE FALL OF REACH. This coupled with the fact that his Dreamworks umbrella is looking for a big tent pole to help launch their newly independant studio with distribution over at Walt Disney Pictures after losing Transformers to Paramount in the separation, it’s the perfect combination.

Gary Whitta (screenwriter [Futurama episodes, Book of Eli, Live action Akira], author and game designer) has revealed that over the past two years he has been fervently working, in secret, on the World of Warcraft movie adaptation. However, since Raimi has come on board, the film’s direction has changed and Whitta is no longer involved. Whitta explains,

I had actually been working on this for the past two years. Had to keep it under wraps at the time but it doesn’t really matter now.

I worked very closely with Legendary and Blizzard to come up with a screenplay that distilled the sprawling Warcraft mythology into a narrative that was easily accessible to the non-player, and everyone was really pleased with the results – I personally thought my last draft of the script in particular was really kick-ass and did a good job of introducing the Warcraft world to non-players while also satisfying hardcore players who knew every nook and cranny of the universe. When Sam expressed interest in the property, however, he had his own pretty specific vision of what he wanted to do story-wise so that’s the version they’re now pursuing. I’m no longer involved but I wish them all the best with it; so far as I’m concerned Raimi is the best possible director for this.

Thanks Márton Gazdig.

Just as I cast my doubts on the production of the Gears of War movie, it rears its head at this year’s SDCC with a panel featuring Len Wiseman (director) and Chris Morgan (writer, Wanted). Production is still in the earliest stages, but more importantly—it is still in production. How early? No concept art, casting or production stills yet. Wiseman and Morgan did however offer up their thoughts on the adaptation.

Casting

The first questions concerned casting, in particular the (entirely unsubstantiated) rumors that wrestlers would be cast as main characters. Wiseman said that casting strong men wouldn’t be his choice, instead, “I’m looking for an actor for the role and then [I'll] put him into shape”, adding “I’m always thinking who could play the best Marcus. You want to get hooked into the character [first] and then all the amazing spectacle.”

As for the casting of Maria, Len Wiseman wants his wife Kate Beckinsale to play the badass female role, “If I can convince [Kate Beckinsale] — and I think I have a shot — I’d love to see that.”

Plot

Emergence day will play a big role in the movie’s plot, but the films are unlikely to closely follow the games. Whilst promising to follow the Gears history closely, he made no guarantees about “appeasing gamers”. Rod Ferguson, the game’s executive producer, explained:

“You can be too tied to what is the game. We’re so oriented at grabbing the gaming audience, we don’t leave behind what shouldn’t be in the movie. We’re about making the best movie possible, not about making Gears of War the game into a movie… previous movies haven’t been willing to let go. We had only three pages [of notes for Wiseman]. ‘Please don’t kill Marcus.’

To summarize, the studios have been asked to:

“make the best movie possible that fits your medium.”

Changes may include female COGs.

Wiseman and Morgan add:

“The tone of the characters and how they interact with each other [lends to] the overall experience of the movie. Look at Aliens in terms of the dark environment, but then how much fun you have with the characters.”

“Even though the world is literally at an end, they still joke. They have real emotion and compassion.”

Before Wiseman concludes,

“There’s so much opinion out there about what this movie should be and shouldn’t be, it falls on a very small group of people… and I’m one of those people. Are you going to respect the game? Of course I am. It is a different experience from watching a movie, but it’s my job of translating it into the best cinematic story [possible].”

Thanks Bill!

Chris Metzen, Blizzard’s VP of Creative Development, has spoken with GameSpy about the latest WOW Movie developments – mainly Sam Raimi as director of the big screen adaptation. He discusses Raimi’s dedication to creating faithful adaptations (he didn’t have full creative control in Spider-man 3) and his excitement at seeing familiar places and characters brought to the big screen.

GameSpy: You’ve just made the big announcement that Sam Raimi will be directing the Warcraft movie. You’re co-producing, so what are your thoughts on the announcement?

Chris Metzen: We’re all very, very excited about the announcement. We waited a long time to announce a director. We’ve been with Legendary for a number of years and we’ve jammed a lot of ideas, and we’ve waited for the right personalities, the right chemistry to come together. We’re really, really stoked that it finally has. It’s pretty surreal that we’ve finally made the announcement. It’s finally like, “It’s on, it’s official, here we go.” We’re just stoked to get it going and see this thing starting to take shape.

GameSpy: Was Sam Raimi one of the originally targeted directors?

Chris Metzen: We talked about a lot of different people, and certainly his name was one of the first we had talked about. We’re all huge “Spider-Man” fans, and all of his horror content, like “Army of Darkness” is one of my personal favorites. Sam’s one of those guys who came out swinging with “Spider-Man,” in terms of handling the licensed product and all the geeky fanfare. The passion of fandom, he really translated that into something that everyone could love, and had a lot of heart. And those were really important components for us, in terms of translating a license, in building a cinematic experience that speaks to the license, but really sings to everybody. That was really, really important to us, so he was the perfect partner.

[...]

GameSpy: The fan base is relying on you to ensure that the movie stays true to Warcraft. Are you prepared to say that it will be?

Chris Metzen: Absolutely! Absolutely.

GameSpy: What most excites you about co-producing the movie?

Chris Metzen: The thing that would excite me most is just that it translates boldly. That it feels like a fan experience, and that a couple years from now, you sit down in a theater and you’re like, “They did it. They got it. That feels genuine.” It may not be about your Level 12 Night Elf Hunter, specifically, but all the familiarity — the locales, the places, the characters, the storylines — it all feels contiguous and one-to-one with your expectations. That’s my great hope.