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Deadline: Fox finds Hitman 2 director
According to a Deadline report, 20th Century Fox is in talks with "Paintball" director Daniel Benmayor to helm the second Hitman film. Benmayor has worked on some killer commercials, including a few for Sony PlayStation -- you know, before The Butler did it. Set to be written by Kane & Lynch scribe Kyle Ward, the smartly dressed assassin's second cinematic outing has yet to confirm the return of one bald, shiny star. For the sake of consistency, we hope there's an Olyphant in the room when Fox finalizes its discussions. Where else in Hollywood could you find someone to play a glib bump-off professional who regularly dives through the air while shooting a gun? [Via Collider]
Rumor: Gears of War film troubled, scaled back
If you've been impatiently waiting for the complex narrative and endearing characters of Gears of War to be captured in a Hollywood blockbuster, a report by the LA Times is set to disappoint you. Citing "sources" familiar with the matter, it claims director Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard and the Underworld movies) may be abandoning the director's chair in favor of thriller "Nocturne." The production studio is also allegedly looking to make significant cuts to the project. What was planned to be an epic, $100 million endeavor is now said to be shrinking, calling for a rewrite of Chris Morgan's initial work on a Stuart Beattie script. Wiseman hasn't officially bailed yet, though the LA Times posits that it's likely to happen in the future. On the plus side, if Wiseman ditches the project, that could put The Rock back in the running to play Marcus Fenix. Surely we've all forgotten about Doom by now ...
Dead Rising: The Movie puts chainsaws on a wheelchair
Though we still don't have a release date for Dead Rising 2, we have gotten first word of a film (Keiji Inafune's directorial debut) based on the series. The title directly translates to "Death Disease Contamination Dead Rising," which we think you'll agree is a pretty great name for a movie. Bonus: With only its first trailer, this thing is already making us confused and a little headachey. As near as we can tell, it's a movie about four Asian people fighting zombies in a warehouse with both conventional armaments and a weaponized wheelchair. Oh and some parts are in first person. ... We know, right? This old chestnut again?! If you can stand the tedium, the trailer's right after the break. [Update: Also from Andriasang: The film will apparently be coming to the web (as you may have guessed from the productions values) this year, though 360 owners will be able to watch it early.] [Via Andriasang]
Dark Void film adaptation announced
Preemptively cutting off complaints that it strays too far from the source material, Capcom has announced a film adaptation of a game you haven't played yet: Dark Void, next year's promising third-person shooter from Airtight Games. In line with the agreement reached between Capcom, Reliance BIG Entertainment and Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment production company, Dark Void is primed as a "sci-fi action franchise and potential starring vehicle for Pitt." While the parties involved decide whether or not the movie is indeed the Pitt's, someone should probably point out that as far as starring vehicles go, a jetpack is probably the best one. Players will beat Hollywood to the punch and experience it for themselves when Dark Void lands on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 19, 2010 in North America and January 22, 2010 in Europe. Congratulations to Crusty Magic on being the first to comment. You've been emailed a free Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta code. Click here, for more information on this giveaway. Official rules apply.
Comic-Con 2009: James Wan whipping up Castlevania film
James Wan would like to play a game -- and then convert it into a film. Bloody Disgusting reports that the writer and director – who helped construct the "Saw" horror movie factory – will bring Konami's storied Castlevania series to the big screen for producer Paul W.S. Anderson. "I'll be working on the script with a writer to give it a new spin, different to the previous versions," said Wan. "This will have my stamp on it which Konami is very excited about." Though we worry that Wan's stamp will be so large as to obscure all the cool action in the movie, he at least exhibits some familiarity with the franchise's androgynous protagonists. "For once, the human hero is as sexy and dangerous as the vampire villain, and his weapon of choice was what attracted me to the project in the first place – The Vampire Killer Whip." Oh yes, the whip, that's important. No matter how the project turns out (if it even turns up), we at least hope to be in the cinema when it's revealed to general audiences that "Alucard" is really "Dracula" backwards. What a twist! [Image: Bloody Disgusting]
Rumor: Shadow of the Colossus is hitting the big screen
If the Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business Blog is to be believed, Sony's Shadow of the Colossus is coming to the silver screen. The 2005 critical and commercial hit title from developer Team Ico is reportedly slated for a feature film release from producer Kevin Misher and Sony Pictures.Don't get too excited. Justin Marks, the guy responsible for writing Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, is slated to pen the Colossus script but not before finishing up work on the deliciously ironic film Hack/Slash. Its title is presumably based on one-part his writing skill and one-part what he does with licenses under his care, amirite?This isn't the first time Shadow of the Colossus will be seen on the big screen. In 2007, Adam Sandler starred in Reign Over Me, a film about a man who lost his family during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and played the game to ignore the outside world and escape his deep depression.
Rumor: John Woo's Stranglehold to get the film treatment
We thought we'd seen just about every permutation of Hollywood and the game industry's lascivious intersections: The movie based on the game; the game based on the movie; the game based on the movie based on the game, the game based on the movie based on the graphic novel; the movie sequel to the video game; and the video game sequel to the movie. But what about the movie based on the game, which was a sequel to the movie for which the aforementioned movie based on the game is also a sequel ... to? It's confusing, but it's also Hollywood breaking new ground!According to The Hollywood Reporter, screenwriters Jeremy Passmore and Andre Fabrizio are writing a celluloid adaptation of Stranglehold, Midway's 2007 shooter and sequel to John Woo's classic action film, Hard Boiled. Stranglehold saw players assume the role of inspector "Tequila" Yuen (played on the big screen by Chow-Yun Fat) and generally wage war on treacherous gangs, unstable trolleys, unexpected flocks of doves and especially watermelons. We're awaiting a comment from Midway, but this potential adaptation seems like a great idea, especially with many critics describing the first sequel to Hard Boiled as being just like a movie.[Via /film]
Report: Warner Bros. rebooting Tomb Raider film (sans Megan Fox)
Warner Bros. is preparing to restart Lara Croft's celluloid career, reports ComingSoon.net. The rights to a Tomb Raider film were reportedly included in the deal when Warner acquired approximately 20% of publisher Eidos last year. How this particular franchise reboot -- overseen by producer Dan Lin -- ties in with Eidos' alleged plan to redesign the iconic protagonist (again!) remains to be seen.Chances are she won't be played by Megan Fox, though. According to a rumor making the rounds yesterday, the Transformers star was poised to succeed Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in a third Tomb Raider film. However, according to What They Play, Fox's spokesperson says the actress is "not involved in the movie at all."Sorry, Fox fans; looks like the role of Lara still belongs to Angelina.Source -- Warner Bros. Rebooting Tomb RaiderSource -- Megan Fox is not the new Lara Croft
David Jaffe pleased with Bratner helming God of War film
Having recently confirmed his involvement with God of War's assuredly violent journey to the big (albeit considerably less interactive) screen, film director Brett Ratner is all set to combine his particular track record with the games-to-movie stigma and create the internet's greatest bitchfest. Not everyone's predicting a Greek tragedy, however, with God of War's creator, David Jaffe, earnestly informing us (via video, embedded after the break) that while the adaptation "could be shit," he's nevertheless satisfied with the pedigree of the director, as well as the producer (from Batman Begins!) and the writer, who penned the screenplay for Road to Perdition.Mind you, he also says he liked X-Men 3, so perhaps he's just pulling our leg on the whole thing. That Jaffe is a rascal, we tell you!
We might actually go see the Max Payne movie
Perhaps it's the sight of a former rapper flying awkwardly through the air with guns blazing, or the amusing result of That 70's Show's Jacky pretending to be a real toughian, but we're feeling slightly optimistic about Max Payne's journey from game to film. Sure, it's a journey that's been attempted and failed by many blithering idiots who could barely stand upright, but we're intrigued by this film's gloomy atmosphere and winged, are-they-real-or-hallucinatory demons. Plus, you know, Brett Ratner isn't directing it. See the theatrical trailer after the break. Gallery: Max Payne
Prince of Persia delayed a year (don't worry, we mean the movie)
Alright, that was mean of us. Never fear, for the delightful Prince of Persia we fell in love with at E3 is still set for a Holiday 2008 release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The one headed to movie theaters, however, has been pushed back a year to May 28, 2010, according to ComingSoon.net. Reasons for the delay were not made apparent.In case you haven't been keeping up with the project, have at these pertinent Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time facts: It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina. It's produced by Jerry "more 'splosions" Bruckheimer. It's directed by a man who's having his assistant play the game. It's "not a video game movie." It is a movie based on a video game.
