“We are currently at the point where we have had a couple drafts of the script and now we are talking to different directors and trying to feel out who would be the best fit for it,”

“It has been a really fascinating process to learn how Hollywood works. […] I just hope that whatever comes out of this is compelling entertainment and is very representative of the ‘Gears of War’ universe.”

Thanks Damien for sending this one in.

“The perception of videogames in Hollywood is changing slowly. Hollywood likes to do what’s proven. They’ve already proved that books work, and plays can work, and recently that comic books can work. But they’ve yet to have a film be as successful as say Spider-Man, that’s based on a videogame. 

[…] While there are more and more videogame movies being made because there are more and more videogames being made, there still hasn’t been that one that has hit it out of the park yet. At the moment, I would say the perception of videogame movies in Hollywood is: they are interested, they’re intrigued, but they’re still not completely sure if it can actually work.”

As for the use of a 300-esque green screen approach,

“[…] That film was shot completely on green screen, which is amazing when you actually see the film. It’s probably how we’re going to do Gears of War.”

[Referring to GOW] It’s a planet and it’s a bubble and it’s a building. It’s an epic sci-fi war and an enormous film. To get it made at all, the only way to make it for a price is to be on a soundstage. But the game also has that look, which is really interesting, so I think it will dovetail really nicely.”

Beattie also hopes that the film will be “extremely collaborative”.

As to our previous story, wherein we reported that the movie could be on hold, we received this very encouraging E-mail,

GEARS OF WAR is not stalled in any way, shape, or form. We are simply in the process of finding the right director. This is always a delicate and difficult task, and with multiple looming strikes, even more so. Be patient, stay tuned, news will come.

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.

IGN have posted an interview with Rod Fergusson, Gears of War producer, revealing a couple of tid-bits about the movie deal:

IGN: Can you tell us much about the movie deal?

Rod Fergusson: There isn’t much to say right now. What people need to take away is that scripts get optioned all the time in Hollywood and that by no means [indicates] that it’s absolutely going to happen that the movie gets created. They take their option and they may decide to do nothing with that option.

IGN: So New Line has optioned the script?

Rod Fergusson: They have, yeah. They have a writer, Stuart Beattie, who wrote ‘Collateral’ and ‘Derailed’, and was a contributing writer to the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies. And so he’s a big name script writer, and he’s already written a treatment.