Kotaku: Cinema

Phoenix Wright Movie Confirmed; Releases in Japan Early Next Year

Owen Good — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:52:00 EDT

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This week at the Cannes Film Festival, Japanese director Takashi Miike tipped off he was working on a Phoenix Wright adaptation for the big screen. Capcom has now confirmed it. A news release says the live-action Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will open in Japan in early Spring 2012. More »

Movie Debuts On PS3 Same Day It Hits Cinemas

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:30:00 EST

Mubi, the new film service for the PS3 that we're quite big fans of, ran an interesting test over the weekend: showing a movie the same day it was out in cinemas. More »

After Toy Story, Disney Want To Tell A Video Game Story

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 EST

A few years back, Disney was working on a movie called "Joe Jump", the tale of an outdated video game character who's able to find his way into new titles. It had been presumed scrap, but no, it's not! More »

Negotiations Underway to Inflict Space Invaders Movie on Us All

Owen Good — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:30:00 EST

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Did you ever play Space Invaders and, while you were dodging and firing and shooting, make up a story about who was in the tank and wish you could someday see them in a movie? Yeah, I didn't either. More »

God Of War Movie Sticks To Game Plot Like Loincloth To Kratos

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:30:00 EDT

A writer over at CC2K claims to have gotten hold of a script for the long-in-pre-production God of War movie. Having read that script, he proceeds to tell us all about it. More »

Uwe Boll Wins Big At Weekend Movie Awards

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:30:00 EST

The Oscars? Hah! Anyone can win an Oscar. And the show itself, gah, it's so boring. The Razzies, though, a night honouring the worst in Hollywood, well, now we're talking. More »

Castlevania Movie Dying, Spyhunter Movie Dead

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:20:00 EST

News from Hollywood here, kids, and the news is good. In an interview with IGN, movie producer Paul W.S. Anderson has revealed that not only is the Castlevania movie stalled, but Spyhunter is stalled and then some. More »

King Of Fighters Movie Sounds Like A Disaster-In-Waiting

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:40:00 EST

To refresh: Gordon Chan is directing a King of Fighters movie. Previously, details were scant, but today, details on the flick have surfaced. We wish they'd remained scant. More »

Do Games Really Qualify As 'Escapist'?

Maggie Greene — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST

Ian Bogost and his students have a new project underway looking at the intersection of journalism and games; their new blog is full of interesting stuff. More »

Street Fighter: The (Sucky) Movie Gets A Blu-Ray Release

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:30:00 EST

Is there a market out there that needs/wants to stare intently at high-definition renditions of Kylie Minogue's butt cheeks, Jean Claude's chest cheeks and Raul Julia's...cheeks to the extent we need Street Fighter released on Blu-Ray? We'd like to think there isn't, and that the release of the forgettable, regrettable 90's tie-in is just part of Capcom's hype machine for Street Fighter IV (the disc is packed with "bonus" SFIV promo material), but these days, you never can tell. It'll be out on February 10, just in time to coincide with the console release of SFIV and the theatrical release of the Chun-Li movie. More »

Universal Buys Rights To EA's Dante's Inferno

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:00:00 EST

What a world we live in. Universal Pictures have bought the rights to make a movie based on EA's Dante's Inferno. And they've bought them for a "seven-figure sum". Bear in mind, this is a game that hasn't even been announced yet. The project will be overseen by EA movies-and-comic books guy President David O'Brien, as well as Jonathan Knight (from the gaming side of things), and both game and movie will involve - wait for it - "a journey through the depths of hell" More »

Gears (The Movie) Sticking Close To Gears (The Game)

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:30:00 EDT

When Hollywood adapts a property for the big screen - be it a book, comic or game - they can often take a few...liberties with the source material. Take the Mario Bros. movie, for example. The upcoming Gears of War movie, however, will be doing no such thing, with the film's screenwriter Chris Morgan telling MTV that the film will be sticking to the men and events of the game pretty closely. More »

3D Realms Now Big Fans Of The Ol' Max Payne Movie

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:30:00 EDT

It was Monday we heard 3D Realms boss Scott Miller hating on the Max Payne movie. Monday of this week. Now it's Thursday, and what do we see, but 3D Realms boss Scott Miller being totally in love with the Max Payne movie. "To be clear, I'm proud of this film" he told Edge. More »

3D Realms Not Big Fans Of The Ol' Max Payne Movie

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:40:00 EDT

Lots of people have seen the Max Payne movie, lots of people don't like the Max Payne movie. Add 3D Realms boss Scott Miller to the chorus of nay-sayers. Having had a hand in the production of the 2001 classic, he knows what he's talking about when he says "There are several fundamental story flaws ... in the film that have me shaking my head in bewilderment". Like what, Scott? Like how a major character from the game is just killed off nonchalantly. Or how we we don't know that Max's wife and kid were killed until halfway through the movie. Or how...yeah, you get the idea. Game movie sucks, guy who helped make the game is upset, world keeps on spinning. More »

World Of Warcraft Movie Isn't Dead

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:30:00 EDT

It's been years since we first heard of Blizzard's plans to make a movie out of WoW. In that time a bunch of game movies have come, disappointed and faded away, and still we have no WoW movie. So what's the deal? Has it been Starcraft Ghosted? Nope. Turns out the project's just been moving along at a snail's pace, Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime saying "there are still plans for a World of Warcraft movie...the script is being written but if they say anything more than that they will be shot". Being Blizzard, we kinda hope they go the CGI route. Imagine a 97-minute Blizzard cutscene! More »

First Uncharted Movie Details

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:30:00 EDT

In case you missed it, our own Mr. Hollywood, John Gaudiosi, ran an excellent feature this morning on the Avrads, and their plans to start making video game movies that don't suck. If you haven't read it, it's good stuff, go read it. If only because Avrad gives the first details on the Uncharted movie project, which until now had only been hinted at.

When it comes to the big screen adventure, Arad said the plan is to mix things up a little bit. In the game, the action moves very quickly to the island, but the film will open things up a bit and add some depth before the island adventure.

So, more talking, more sexual tension, less gunplay. Avrad also stresses that Nathan Drake is not just another Indiana Jones clone, saying "Indiana Jones was always a good guy and he relentlessly did the right thing. Drake is a guy who's being hauled over to virtue throughout the game". The story should at least make for a half-decent popcorn flick, but wasn't the main appeal of the game the fact it already felt like a movie? [The Man Behind Marvel Movie Magic Hopes To Do the Same For Gaming] More »

This Is Why The Sims Movie Idea Is A Stupid Idea

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:20:00 EDT

The core idea of making a movie on The Sims is a solid one. Solid in the storied Hollywood tradition that The Sims is popular, and movies based on popular things make money. But the execution? So far, it sounds just awful. Most people have pointed to the "Weird Science was great...in the 80s" argument, and it's a valid one, but Newsweek's N'Gai Croal finds fault on a more fundamental level: More »

Prince Of Persia: The Movie: The Set

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Jerry Bruckheimer's making a Prince of Persia movie. Jake Gyllenhaal's starring, and he certainly looks the part. But what about the sets? Don't sweat it, fans, the sets look the part as well. Here's your first look at them, courtesy of film site Korben. The trick is to imagine that there are less trucks sitting around, more shirtless Jake Gyllenhaals strolling around. More »

More Halo "Movie" Concept Art

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:40:00 EDT

Last week, we got our first look at some concept art for a second Halo movie project currently doing the rounds in Hollywood. The drawings - by artist Kasra Farahani - are depicting some of the key scenes from writer Stuart Beattie's (Pirates of the Caribbean, GI Joe) screenplay, which in turn is based on the events in the novel Fall of Reach. We were promised that last week's image was the first of five, and this week, film site Latino Review obliges, with a second picture, this time showing the kids (including Master "John" Chief) being put through their paces by some UNSC instructors. Wide pics screw up the front page, so the full version's after the jump. Oh, and anyone doubting the legitimacy of these pics might be interested in going here, and reading Microsoft's angry "please stop" letter. Exclusive: 2nd Halo Fall Of Reach Concept Art! [Latino Review] More »

Street Fighter Movie Writer Takes Things VERY Seriously

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:20:00 EDT

Come on. Admit it. You love it to death, sure, but Street Fighter is absolutely ridiculous. Electrified Brazilian jungle mutants? Elastic-limbed Indian yoga masters who can breathe fire? It's comic book stuff. And as rubbish as the 90's live-action movie was, at least it knew that much. But the new Street Fighter movie? The one being written by Justin Marks? Don't expect ridiculosity. Expect serious business. Because Marks takes his Street Fighter very, very seriously. More »

BioShock Movie Staying Faithul To Source, Won't Star Kate Hudson

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:40:00 EDT

PHEW. Speaking with VG247 at the Develop conference in Brighton (fun fact: I used to live in neighbouring Seaford), BioShock creator Ken Levine has told everyone to relax. The upcoming BioShock movie project is staying faithful to the source: More »

Max Payne Movie Is Wahlberg's "Bourne"?

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:30:00 EDT

That's what the cover of the latest issue of British mag Total Film is asking. We'd respond with "hopefully not", what with Jason Bourne being nothing like Max Payne, but whatever. On the bright side, the mag's feature article on the movie has a bit of new info, including the fact that, apparently, Payne is Wahlberg's all-time "favourite role", and that he'll be bringing a little more depth to the character than the game ever afforded: More »

Second Halo Movie Script Lives Long Enough To Generate Concept Art

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:30:00 EDT

That first Halo movie project? With Neil Blomkamp and Peter Jackson? So dead. Never. Being. Made. But, as we already know, Halo nerd Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean, GI Joe) has stepped into the vacuum left by Jackson & co, and has written a script based on the events of the first Halo novel, Fall of Reach. That script's apparently been kicking around Hollywood for a little while now, and has a few people very interested in the project, to the point where some concept art is being drawn up "as part of an eventual presentation to Microsoft". Film site Latino Review claim to have gotten hold of some of this art, and will be posting it over the next few weeks. Which, provided our chains aren't being yanked, should be a hoot. The first piece is a little...fantastical, though LR say it's actually in the script/book. Click through for the full thing. More »

Roger Avary Still At Work On Wolfenstein Script

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:30:00 EDT

Don't go expecting that Wolfenstein movie adaptation any time soon. A combination of the writer's strike and his own workload (plus, uh, some other stuff) means Roger Avary is still working on the movie's script. And with nobody else having seen it, it's to be presumed he's only just started it. Bummer. While id's Todd Hollenshead revealed to Eurogamer that the movie deal includes some "contract provisions", stating Avary can't just sit on the property forever, he also admits that it's not every day you get a chance to have an Academy Award winner write your movie. Not every day an Academy Award winner gets to write a movie about nazis, zombies and a mechanised Adolf Hitler, either. More »

Mark Wahlberg Won't Play Max Payne

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:20:00 EDT

Oh, he's playing Max Payne in the upcoming movie, but he won't be playing Max Payne in either of the games. Not even for research. Why? Because the dude has an addictive personality, apparently: More »

Castlevania Movie Sees Belmont Armed With "A Fucking Sword"

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:20:00 EDT

After Dr. Henry Jones, modern pop culture's second-best proponent of the whip has got to be Castlevania's Simon Belmont. And with a Castlevania movie (sort of) coming up, just imagine the kind of stuff he could be doing with said whip! And yet, courtesy of a script review for the upcoming project, it seems the whip's been relegated in favour of a sword. And not just any sword: More »

Lost Planet Movie Confirmed

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:30:00 EDT

MGS actor and Hollywood writer David Hayter said, a few weeks back, that a deal to bring Lost Planet to the big screen was "not entirely confirmed yet". Is now! Variety are reporting that the project's a done deal, with Warner Bros. to distribute, former Marvel pictures boss Avi Arad to produce and Hayter to write. Capcom will be contributing at least some, if not all of the money for the movie, though there's no word on a release window. Expect more info at Capcom's E3 event tomorrow. More »

The Blind Spot of 'Genius': Kojima and Griffith

Maggie Greene — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:30:00 EDT

I'm really fond of the Brainy Gamer, mostly because Michael Abbott's posts almost always live up to the title of the blog; this week, he tackled the question of 'genius' and auteurs, amongst a lot of MGS 4 talk (especially in reference to Citizen Kane). Abbott looks at the parallels between D.W. Griffith (director of Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, among a lot of others) and Kojima Hideo of Metal Gear fame. Leaving aside the question of whether Kojima 'is' a genius (at the very least, he is an auteur), Abbott draws parallels between the two, especially in terms of a 'blind spot': More »

More Max Payne Movie Shots

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:30:00 EDT

This time courtesy of /film, and these ones are doozies. No Mark Wahlberg exiting make-up here, no, these have stuff, and cop cars, and stuff that crashes onto cop cars. Oh, and more snow, something I'm glad to see they're paying attention to: the real star of the first game wasn't Payne, or the villains, or the walkable umbilical cord, but the all-encompassing storm. Two more pics after the jump. More »

Somebody Wants To Make A Lost Planet Movie?

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:20:00 EDT

Yesterday's episode of Evil Avatar's podcast featured as a special guest David "Voice of Solid Snake" Hayter. They got chatty, they talked Metal Gear, but something else they talked about was Hayter's other line of work: as a Hollywood writer. Over the year's, Hayters worked on movies like X-Men 1 & 2 and the Scorpion King, and he's even at work on the upcoming Watchmen flick as well. Seems he's also in discussions with both Capcom and Warner Bros to write a screenplay for a Lost Planet movie. Interesting choice, Capcom. Can't say I enjoyed the game too much, but the setting could work as a flick, especially if it's pitched at the Chronicles of Riddick end of the budget/market. More »

Dreamcast Lives On (In New Jackie Chan Movie)

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:30:00 EDT

The Dreamcast is dead? Don't tell the production crew of new martial arts flick Forbidden Kingdom. Siliconera's Spencer just finished up a viewing of the Jackie Chan/Jet Li epic, and says that while the film's littered with gaming references, one stands above all others:

However, the best reference is also the most subtle. In the first five minutes of the movie, after Jason wakes up from his dream, you can see a Dreamcast on the left hand corner of the screen underneath his TV.

Sounds pretty blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but then, so was the Dreamcast. More »

Uwe Boll Wanted To Do A WoW Movie, Blizzard Said No, Thanks

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:30:00 EDT

Uwe Boll likes games. Likes making movies based on games. Likes making movies based on games involving swords, castles and magic. Guy's got a track record. So Uwe Boll making the World of Warcraft movie, it just fits, right? Did for Boll. Didn't for Blizzard. Boll says: More »

Onechanbara Movie Hits Next Week

Luke Plunkett — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:30:00 EDT

Ah, Onechanbara. Cowgirl, female flesh, zombies. It's like lightning in a bottle. As you may or may not know, the hack n' slash series is being made into a live-action movie, of which this is the final theatrical poster. The film's due to open in theatres across Japan next week (April 26), and should go down a treat with fans of the games. For everyone else, this poster does a pretty good job of setting the scene.
More »

Assassin's Creed On "Hollywood's Radar"

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:20:00 EDT

Variety's Ben Fritz is a games journo, yeah, but dude also works at Variety. Which means he gets an insight into the movie business the rest of us don't. So it's interesting to see that, tucked away in his post about John Riccitiello's "OMG games > movies" rant from yesterday, is this:

...a few big games like "Bioshock" and "Assassin's Creed" are, I hear, on Hollywood's radar.

BioShock, we knew, but Assassin's Creed, that's new. Here's hoping any possible Hollywood adaptation remains faithful to the source material. Be a shame to see them focus solely on violence at the expense of all that church-diving and bench-sitting. More »

New Halo Movie Script About A Kid Named John

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:20:00 EDT

Hollywood writer Stuart Beattie, of GI Joe and Gears of War, is a huge Halo nerd. And like many Halo nerds sheds the odd tear at the sorry state the series' film adaptation hopes have found themselves in of late. His solution? Write another script, one that can get made on the cheap, then throw in a couple of extra plot outlines to round it all off and make it a trilogy. Beattie's take is based loosely on the novel Fall of Reach, and is about a six year-old kid, named John, who's kidnapped by the USC "then brutally trained to become an elite Spartan warrior known as Master Chief 117". The movie then deals with humanity's first contact with the Covenant, and the...well, fall of Reach. Subsequent sequels would then focus on the stories of Halo 1 and Halo 3. And before you ask, we're assured this isn't an April Fool's joke, for what that's worth. More »

Onimusha Movie Delayed

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:30:00 EDT

Christophe Gans' Onimusha movie is in a spot of bother. It's been put on indefinite hold thanks to, of all things, the death of Heath Ledger, which impacted on the schedule of producer Samuel Hadida, who was due to work with Ledger on a new Terry Gilliam movie. Because that's been stopped, Hadida had to delay the filming of Onimusha, which has now thrown out the calendars of the film's Japanese cast, who are now all too busy working on other stuff to get started on Onimusha. Series fans not put off by either the prospect of an adaptation or the fact Gans was handling it will no doubt be crushed. If, you know. Those people exist. More »

Beau Bridges Will Make The Max Payne Movie Perfect

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:20:00 EDT

All those Street Fighter II casting announcements mean nothing. Nothing. Because they've all been trumped by this single signing: Beau Bridges has been cast in the role of B.B. Hensley for the upcoming Max Payne movie, which will see him acting as Payne's mentor. I don't remember a B.B. Hensley in either Max Payne game, but really, that doesn't matter. Because it's Beau Bridges. Which instantly makes the character incredibly awesome. More »

'Designing Filmic Games': Designing the Bourne Game

Maggie Greene — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:30:34 EDT

Gamasutra has a great interview up with Paul O'Connor of High Moon Studios, talking about the challenges and pitfalls of designing games based on movie IPs (in this case, a game based on The Bourne Conspiracy; while not directly tied to any of the films, they are using parts of the films in their game). As he succinctly notes early in the interview, the terrible reputation of movies-turned-games is entirely deserved; while I've read a number of interviews tackling this question, this interview is in-depth and a meaty read in a way that most of the others aren't. More »

First Shot Of Mark Wahlberg As Max Payne

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:30:00 EDT

Smuggled off the set of the upcoming adaptation, and I must say, there's a pretty good likeness going on here! Not only is the movie's snow machine set to OVERKILL, but Mark Wahlberg's even sporting Max Payne's trademark "constipated" pinched face. Only niggle? I don't remember Max Payne's face being that...well, portly.
More »

Uwe Hates On Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:30:00 EST

Latest from the Uwe Boll anger files: his adaptation of Postal is hitting theatres on May 23. Same day as some Indiana Jones movie. An error on Herr Boll's part? Not on your life. Dude's out for blood. Spielberg's blood.

On the Indiana Jones weekend - May 23 - we will go out and destroy Indiana Jones in the Box Office! We all know that Harrison Ford is older as my grandpa and his time is up - would Michael Moore say!

Gotta love how the angry, broken English makes it into his emails! More »