Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I just received a press release announcing that Thomas Tull's Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to bring the fantastic video game MASS EFFECT to the big screen. If you're not familiar with this great RPG, check out the trailer for the first game released in 2007:
With the giant success of the first game and even more massive success of the second I was wondering how long it was going to be before we saw this adapted. Looking back at the history of studio video game adaptations there's the possibility this big news will hit, some great directors will be attached and then it just won't happen. Halo (with Neill Blomkamp) and Bioshock (with Gore Verbinski) come to mind.
There's a richness to the video game that will difficult to adapt... I mean, you get to know the characters over some 14-20 hours of play, but I think that can only be helpful if the producers take the project seriously. By hiring Mark Protosevich to write the script I think that's an indication that they're headed in the right direction. The wealth of character and fun plot are all there for the right person to mold into a screenplay.
If you look at Protosevich's filmography you might think I'm crazy for thinking he's a good omen, but his unmade scripts for stuff like THOR and John Carter of Mars script are fantastic, even if sometimes the final products end up with too many cooks in the kitchen (look specifically at I AM LEGEND, which is half brilliant half-watered down crap).
The original story is about a battle-worn soldier who ends up becoming the most important person in the war between a federation of organic beings and the mechanical Geth, an army of machines being controlled by massive, ship-sized God-like beings called Reapers.
My favorite part of the video game was the interaction between Commander Shephard and his crew. Especially the Turian, Garrus, and the Krogan (think Klingon with a reptile face) Wrex. The whole group is diverse and everybody has a great dynamic. My two cents are to focus on those characters within the bigger story of this war threatening to wipe out all non-synthetic life. That's why epic movies like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN work is that we have great, fleshed out friendships and rivalries all playing against the backdrop of these truly jaw-dropping epic scenarios.
Who do you guys like for cast? I know the dude's name is Shephard, but I swear the main guy's default look was modeled after Matthew Fox. Who to direct? I was just chatting with Kraken and he said if Tron Legacy turns out well that he thinks Joseph Kosinski would be ideal and I have to agree. If he shows a talent with directing more than visuals, his eye is very close to the polished sci-fi world from the game.
Thoughts?
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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