prince of persia
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Prince of Persia heads to Morocco for film shoot
The transition between video game and film is typically no different than one of those trap-laden corridors Ubisoft's princely protagonist dashes through on a regular basis. Though we yearn to say otherwise, Disney's Prince of Persia: Sands of Time film hasn't shown to be particularly adept at running the gauntlet. Coupling mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer's involvement with director Mike Newell's promise (of having his assistant play through the game) leads us to believe that the crew has fallen into the very first pit and succumbed to one of those spinning blade thingies.Still, we'd best give them a chance to finish shooting in Morocco this June, which Variety notes will have a positive effect on the North African film business. Scenes for the Jeffrey Nachmanoff- and Jordan Mechner-written project will also be filmed at the UK's Pinewood Shepperton studios. Cross your fingers and hope for something more than a literal explosion of bullet-time sword fights, churlish chariot chases and liberal lingering on Farah's faucets.
New Prince of Persia to appear in fiscal year '08
The folks at Ubisoft, who brought us Assassin's Creed, are apparently hard at work, developing the next title in the Prince of Persia franchise. While we're certain the prince we know has ended his story arc, a new prince will probably emerge in the next title slated for a surprising release date of fiscal year '08 (anywhere from this April to March of '09). While that may seem vague, it's pretty interesting to know absolutely nothing about a game then get wind of its impending release within, roughly, one year. No word on which development house is in charge, or anything else. We'll keep you posted as details emerge from, yes, the sands of time. Oivey.
New Prince of Persia is official for fiscal 08
Alright readers, are you sitting down? You should probably sit down, because we have some shocking news. Okay, everyone ready? Good. Ubisoft has confirmed the existence of a new Prince of Persia. We know, right? We never saw it coming either. Not in a million years. And yet, it's true. The game was mentioned in an Ubisoft financial release alongside other games planned for their fiscal 2008, which begins this April. No further details were unveiled, even a vague release window. For instance, we don't know if the game will tie into the upcoming film expected in 2009 or if it will be part of the rumored prequel trilogy. Maybe our dreams of Altair making a guest appearance will come true (historical accuracy be damned!).[Via Joystiq]
Ubisoft confirms new Prince of Persia in fiscal '08
What? A giant video game publisher is looking to continue developing their highly successful series at the same time a major Hollywood producer is working on a film based on the same property? It's almost too much to believe but buried amidst their latest financial release – which also bore news of a further Haze delay – Ubisoft made a small mention of a new Prince of Persia game being released in their 2008-2009 fiscal year, which begins in April.Other releases mentioned in the same terse bulleted list include the aforementioned Haze, EndWar, a Shaun White snowboarding game, and the recently announced Tom Clancy's Air Combat game, as well as new releases from popular franchises like Splinter Cell (Conviction), Brothers in Arms (Earned in Blood and Hell's Highway), Far Cry (uh, 2), Anno, and Prince of Persia. No more info, like which studio is developing the game, which quarter they expect it to be released, or whether or not it's part of a rumored prequel trilogy, but we'll put a question into the good folks at Ubisoft.
Prince of Persia creator talks film adaptation, pitching project
If you're curious to know how Prince of Persia became a film, series creator and movie screenwriter Jordan Mechner spoke with GameDaily to talk about how he went about pitching the idea to Disney, who told him he needed a producer like Jerry Bruckheimer, and then how he took that to mean "pitch to Jerry Bruckheimer" and subsequently won him over. Mechner described writing the screenplay as a 21-month process (three months for first draft, 18 months of revisions), "not counting the 15 years of preparation before that," he said.Said Mechner about changes from the game's plot, "If I'd tried to adapt the game's storyline beat for beat into a screenplay, we would have wound up with a 'B'-level survival-horror movie about a warrior prince who spends most of his time fighting off ravaging, zombie-like sand creatures -- basically, Resident Evil in the desert." Did he just call the Resident Evil films B-level? Oh snap!
Bruckheimer might change Prince of Persia time period
Jerry Bruckheimer spilled a little bit to Collider.com about the upcoming Prince of Persia film that he hopes to start filming in June. Though it seems to still be in the pretty early stages, Bruckheimer says he sees a lot of possibilities for the franchise. One of the things still in flux, he says, is exactly what time period the film will be set in. Though he says it's not going to be in modern day, he won't rule anything else out.So, let's recap what we know so far: Director Mike Newell isn't playing the game and isn't making a 'videogame movie.' Meanwhile, the movie could be set in any period since the beginning of time. Does anybody else smell a hit? And why do hits smell like diapers?[Via Shacknews]
NBC's 'Life' investigates Prince of Persia
Writers -- the unsung heroes of television detective work! Sprinkling logic crumbs throughout the investigation and frequently bending reality to ensure those pesky crooks get captured, the behind-the-scenes scribes are the ones doing the real dirty work. Witness the investigative team of NBC "Life" being given a bona fide boon in the improbable decision of a drug dealer to hide incriminating files inside his console, which we're helpfully informed is "just a hard drive with games on it." Accessing the evidence requires an embarrassing plot device yanked straight from the zeitgeist: The detectives must dramatically reach "Level 10" in Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, preferably with the aid of a stealth gurrrl gamer.[Thanks, Hashbrown_Hunter]
Newell: Prince of Persia 'not a video game movie'
Mike Newell had only been at the helm of the upcoming Prince of Persia movie for five days when he started insisting that it was a great story first, and a video game movie .. well, not at all. "It's not a video game movie," Newell told Rotten Tomatoes. "It's a great story. If you had read the script, you would know that it wasn't a video game. It's very exciting and it's immensely romantic and it's like Lost Horizon. It takes you to somewhere you've never been." Sure, that doesn't fill us with loads of confidence, but if you consider the "video game movie" canon, we can't blame him for wanting to distance his film from that pile of wickedness. Besides, if you're worried about him staying true to the series, Rotten Tomatoes reports he "has an assistant playing the video games to brief him on key details" ... so you're completely justified in your concern. Well done.[Thanks, Hashbrown_Hunter]
Harry Potter director offered Prince of Persia movie reins
Variety reports that mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer has offered director duties for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time to Mike Newell. Although Newell directed Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco, we're guessing Bruckheimer is tapping Newell because of his work with Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Newell is currently meeting with Disney studio execs this week and an announcement will probably be made shortly thereafter.The script for Prince of Persia was written by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) and PoP creator Jordan Mechner. All we can say at this point is this movie is sounding like a popcorn munching friendly theater experience.
Hollywood and Games Summit: crossing over from film to games
Click for larger version Jordan Mechner hosted a panel about talent (mostly writers and actors) crossing the "digital divide" between film and TV and video games. Sadly, they didn't drop any information about the Prince of Persia movie. For the most part, the panel covered familiar and expected territory. Yuri Lowenthal, voice of the Prince in several Prince of Persia games, said that the crossover is fairly easy for actors, although he would like for the actors to be more involved in the development process, if possible.Writer Flint Diller (The Transformers Game, Dead to Rights, and several more) said that as far as writers are concerned, you have to have a sense of humor going in with the underlying knowledge that,"This is gonna be a long, bumpy ride." He also said that you can't compare it to screenwriting, and if you try you'll find yourself very disappointed.
Live Top Ten: Shadow runs fast
This week's Live Top Ten let the dust settle from last week's onslaught of demos. The top three remained unchanged, with Guitar Hero II moving into fourth, pushing the Shadowrun demo down. One of the other demos from last week, Tenchu Z remains in the same spot, and the Arcade game, Prince of Persia actually moved up to eighth. Also, though its demo has been on the list for the past week, the retail version of Shadowrun has made it on the top ten list, and will hopefully continue to climb. Full breakdown of the list after the break.
Legendary Pictures producing Diablo film [update]
The official website of film production company Legendary Pictures has recently been updated to reflect a Diablo movie entering development alongside the previously announced World of Warcraft film. As far as game-to-film adaptations go, Blizzard's demonic role-player probably represents one of the better properties to mine, certainly ranking above The Sims and Dead or Alive. Examining the group's lineup of completed films, which includes Batman Begins and 300, vaguely instills some confidence in this adaptation, but we think you'll find the hands of movie executives usually have a way of wringing that out of you.No other information about the Diablo film has been disclosed, though it seems a fair guess that it'll have the eponymous villain attempting to wreck the world, only to be foiled by a floating arrow constantly jabbing at his head. Blizzard was unavailable for comment at the time of writing -- presumably off shoving large jewels into their skulls.[Via ComingSoon.net][Update: The Diablo listing has since been removed from the Legendary Pictures website.]
Live Top Ten: Demolicious
This week's live top ten has a third of the list devoted to digitally distributed demonstration content. Of those demos, Shadowrun came all the way in fourth, with Tenchu Z down in 7th, and the Overlord demo rounding out the list in tenth. Without the Halo 3 Beta there to hog the list, Forza moved up all the way to second, behind Gears of War. Crackdown proved it had some staying power without the help of the aforementioned beta, as it maintained the middle ground at fifth. Also, Prince of Persia managed to make the list at ninth. Speaking of the list, you can find that after the break. Enjoy.
X3F hands-on: Prince of Persia Classic
So, we spent a better part of this morning running through Prince of Persia for Xbox Live Arcade. To answer the most obvious question: yes, it is Prince of Persia. Feel free to draw as many conclusions from that as you wish. For many people, that alone should be enough information on which to base a purchase (or non-purchase). For the rest of you, read our impressions after the break.
Prince of Persia leaps onto XBLA
Lest you haven't noticed, Prince of Persia Classic is now available on Xbox Live Arcade. Spruced up with new moves, new enemies, and speedier gameplay, the classic title is reborn for a new generation of gamers. Old school gamers have nothing to worry about though, it essentially the same game with a few minor tweaks. Even the one hour time limit is still in effect. Should you desire to pick up Prince of Persia Classic for yourself, it will set you back 800 MS Points.
Prince of Persia Classic hits XBLA this Wednesday
While Ubisoft may have spilled the beans in regards to Prince of Persia Classic's releasing this Wednesday, Microsoft has caught up and officially confirmed that announcement, as well as price point. The updated title, with its snazzy new mazes, traps and graphical enhancements, is going to run you 800 Microsoft Points. We suppose that could have been expected, but it still may turn a few off from the title. We'll have to wait and see if the demo pulls us in, nostalgic memories notwithstanding. What's your take on the game and price?
Watch the Prince of Persia movie on 10 July, 2009
You know, if you have nothing else to do. According to ComingSoon.net, Disney has already scheduled a release date for its game-to-something-vaguely-adhering-to-the-characteristics-of-cinema adaptation, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Arriving on July 10th, 2009, the film will presumably spring from the world established by Ubisoft's modern Prince of Persia trilogy and then be run through the standard movie exec alteration gauntlet. Not much is known about the film, save for its alleged incorporation of Parkour and its involvement with Jerry "Needs More Splosions" Bruckheimer. Michael Bay's directorial sledgehammer has been eyed for the film, but no official announcement on the subject has been made. There's a feint chance of the film turning into a charming and boisterous adventure along the lines of Pirates of the Caribbean, but the realistic expectation is to leave the cinema complaining about the abundance of car chases and Eva Mendez's poor rendition of "Look, a crack!"
Ubisoft: Prince of Persia on XBLA next week
Speaking to Eurogamer, a representative from Ubisoft has confirmed that Prince of Persia will be arriving on Xbox Live Arcade next Wednesday, June 13. Developed by Gameloft, the game is a remake of the original Prince of Persia featuring completely revamped graphics. In addition to the graphical upgrade, the game will feature new traps, enemies, and puzzles that expand on the traditional gameplay. The original Prince of Persia tasked players with clearing the game in one hour. We have to wonder if the new Xbox Live Arcade port will have the same restriction. At any rate, what we've seen so far looks promising. Assuming Prince of Persia comes out at a decent price, are you planning on picking it up?
Prince of Persia film to feature Parkour, says early script review
Latino Review, who always manages to nab early script reviews, has recently taken a look at the Prince of Persia movie and given it an overwhelmingly positive A-.Though the review attempts to abstain from spoilers, it does mention the script specifically calling for Parkour, a French physical art form that emphasizes momentum and efficient movement. You might remember seeing it in the French action flick District B13 or Casino Royale. It also fits really well given the Prince's acrobatic nature.The Prince of Persia film is being developed by Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer, who managed to take a theme park ride and turn it into one of the highest grossing movie trilogies of all time. Can they work the same magic with a video game adaptation? With Michael Bay? The sands of time are trickling, and it looks like this movie is moving along.See Also:Gears of War screenplay details leaked onlineScript for Halo movie leaked and reviewed?[Via Movie Chronicles; thanks, Paul]
Prince of Persia Classic looking snazzy
Leaked last month by the USK, basically Germany's ESRB, Joystiq has uncovered a video of Prince of Persia Classic for Xbox Live Arcade. Those of you out there expecting a be-turbaned hero may be disappointed, as the game uses the Prince as he was in Sands of Time. The entire game gets a graphical overhaul and honestly it looks pretty good. It also looks like the game has been streamlined somewhat to speed up gameplay. The pacing of the original Prince of Persia was a tad slow, so this may not be a bad thing. All in all, Prince of Persia Classic looks to be a top notch title for Xbox Live Arcade.Now how about we get some Out of This World?
