Merrick here...

IESB is reporting that Steven Spielberg has taken a serious shine to Stuart Beattie's spec adaptation of Eric Nylund's HALO novel THE FALL OF REACH (available HERE). Seems efforts are underway to package the project as a full-scale movie thing.

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.

...says IESB HERE.

You can find more information about Beattie's FALL OF REACH efforts by starting HERE, then backtracking to previous posts which feature Latino Review's fine coverage of the project.

I saw DISTRICT 9 last night and my first reaction was that it would reignite interest in a HALO movie. At the time, I was imagining a film by Neill Blomkamp (director of DISTRICT 9), who was to direct a Peter Jackson-produced HALO adaptation before it spun into oblivion a few years back. When I said this, I was unaware that Spielberg, Beattie, and CAA were headed down this particular (unrelated) road.

Although, if Spileberg's gonna be producing & not directing a potential FALL OF REACH...and if D9 is a success...perhaps Neill could still factor into the HALO equation? In case you don't recall (or missed it completely when it started making the rounds), here's the proof-of-concept reel Blomkamp put together for his HALO interpretation: