Here it is - the jackpot news of the month! Last month I did one thing besides work on the site and that was play a lil game by the name of Bioshock. It is by far the BEST video game I have ever played in my life and had often questioned why it hadn't already been announced as a feature film. Well, apparently Universal Pictures had the same thought as they've attached the great Gore Verbinski (The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean) to direct the feature film adaptation! Read on for the press release, which also teases a game sequel in 2009! Go get this game NOW!
Universal and Gore Verbinski are going into "Bioshock." Studio has signed a deal to turn last year's hit videogame, which won numerous awards and sold more than 2 million units worldwide, into a film.
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer is attached to direct and produce. "Aviator" scribe John Logan is in talks to pen the screenplay.
"Bioshock" publisher Take-Two Interactive is getting a multimillion-dollar advance against gross points on the pic. It's believed to be the biggest videogame-to-movie deal since 2005, when U and Fox signed onto the since aborted "Halo" pic, for which Microsoft got $5 million against 10%.
Take-Two executive chairman Strauss Zelnick said the "state of the art" deal is structured so that "Bioshock" won't end up in turnaround like "Halo," which is back with Microsoft.
"The reason I structured it the way I did is to make sure it gets made," he emphasized.
"Bioshock" takes place in an underwater city based on the free market principles of Ayn Rand, but things have gone disastrously wrong. Players control a pilot who crash-lands at a secret entrance to the city, called Rapture, and is drawn into a power struggle during which he discovers that his will is not as free as he'd thought.
"I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that's cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential," said Verbinski. "Of all the games I've played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative."
Take-Two has been approached by a number of producers and studios since the game came out in August but waited until it had swept most of the end-of-year industry awards and racked up impressive holiday sales before working with CAA to package the project. Universal got a first look and made a preemptive bid.
Zelnick, who was president of Fox in the early '90s, led the dealmaking for his company, rather than set the project up with a producer.
"One of the things we decided early on is that we didn't want to go through a producer," he commented. "It's terribly important to us to have a meaningful influence on how this project is produced. We didn't want any insulation between us."
Verbinski noted that Rapture's art deco design and visually arresting characters, such as the mechanical Big Daddys who protect genetically mutated girls called Little Sisters, particularly inspired him to see the game as a film.
Though no release date is even being targeted, Verbinski said he plans to start pre-production as soon as Logan's script is finished and approved by all involved.
Helmer has been regularly consulting with Ken Levine, the game's creative director, though it's not yet clear if the game developer will have a formal role in the film.
For Universal, project marks a return to the videogame space after the disastrous "Halo" experience. After more than a year of development, during which Peter Jackson was signed to exec produce and Neil Blomkamp to direct the "Halo" feature, U and Fox shut down the project over cost concerns.
"This deal gives Universal the opportunity to have the immersive, addictive universe of 'Bioshock' interpreted by a filmmaker with unrivaled abilities to convey story, action and large-scale, fantastical visuals," said U co-chairman David Linde.
Take-Two is developing a "Bioshock" sequel that will be released in 2009, almost certainly before the film comes out.
Though numerous videogames have been turned into movies and others are in the works, very few have been commercial or critical successes. Take-Two itself has turned down numerous attempts by Hollywood to option its Rockstar label's hit franchise "Grand Theft Auto." "Bioshock" marks the first movie deal ever for the publisher.
Your right on the money! This is by far the most awesome news I have ever seen. I was excited for Bioshock when it came out on xbox 360. Now I am super excited over this news. This is by far the most wonderful news that I've heard in a long time. I hope to see a good story line and amazing special effects!!! :) Mr. Disgusting. You the man!
I loved the game and it "could" be great movie. What worrys me is the fact that there's no historical precedent for a movie adapted from a video game ever really being any good. Really, not one. Bioshock is a very interesting and very creative story. It doesn't need "any" sprucing up at all. No extra monsters, no aliens or viruses from outer space, no half-ass models performing half-ass martial arts (ala Resident Evil, seriously, it's baffling to me on an epic scale how many people over the age of 8 actually loved those movies), and please, don't try to pass off hot teenage actors as 30+ year-old characters. This can be a good movie.
also, REALLY hope this works out....hope Verbinski does'nt go CGI retarded on this, I can understand in certain situations, but given the era its set in and the setting itself (and the fact that CGI abuse can quickly hurt a movie), the more CGI used would likely look more cheesy and ridiculous.
You can garuntee the CGI in this movie, it's jsut the way it goes. It's tough to take games that take 20-30 hours to complete and cram them into a 90-120 min movie. And yea, how did they screw up Resident Evil so bad? I wish some other company would make a version of the Resident Evil 4 Video Game. That's a sick story line....also would like to see a GTA movie. No plot, just people getting run over and shot for 2 hours.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no FUCKING MOVIE ADAPTAION!!
Bioshock if you HAVEN'T played system shock 2 is the SHIT of 2007 No better game came out in 2007
I was upset with this news until Gore mentioned that he is going for an R rating and said that he wanted to take the little sister killings to the edge. That sounds promising. However, Pirates sucked IMO and there is nothing that this guy has done in his career that makes me think that he is the right guy for this job. This would have been a job for Kubrick. Oh well.
I hated the Ring, and wasnt a big fan of the pirates franchise, although Johnny Depp's role was the highlight of those films to me, this movie bioshock looks more interesting and exciting to me, than those others i just listed...looking forward to this one, although, ive been disappointed in nearly every single game to movie adaptation, didnt like r.evil, or s.hill, or h.of the dead, but this story and idea seems more interesting than those were
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Universal and Gore Verbinski are going into "Bioshock." Studio has signed a deal to turn last year's hit videogame, which won numerous awards and sold more than 2 million units worldwide, into a film.
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