konami gamer's day 08
My hands on with Hellboy: Science of Evil was a surprising experience. I wasn't expecting to like it much but it ended up being a pretty fun little action game experience. You play Hellboy, the demon with the sawed off horns and stone fist of fury. After discovering a Nazi plot to take over the world, Hellboy must hit the streets to keep them from fulfilling their evil plans. Co-op play is available through two additional characters, Liz and Abe who you might remember from the movie and comic books. It should be noted that the game is mainly based on the comics but there are elements room the movie such as character voices from stars Ron Perlman,David Hyde Pierce and Selma Blair. As an added bonus, the script for the game was penned by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and movie director Guillermo del Toro.
More »
harry potter and the half-blood prince
A game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is being developed by EA's Bright Light Studio, the company announced today.
In the game, which is aiming for a release to coincide with the movie hitting later this year, Harry returns to Hogwarts for a sixth year. The game will include wizard duels, potion brewing and Quidditch play.
The game hits the DS, Mac, mobile devices, PC, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. What no iPhone? Come on!
More »
midway gamer's day 08
If you've ever wanted to be involved in a classic Hollywood car chase movie, Midway has a game for you. Wheelman is based on the upcoming Vin Diesel movie of the same name and puts the player in control of Mr. Diesel himself. It is an sandbox action driving game taking place in a nicely recreated Barcelona.
I took a look at the opening chapter of the game entitled Frantic that introduces us to the character and the heavy driving theme of the game. You are the titular Wheelman and your first mission is to help a gal named Lomi escape from a bank heist. Because you are new to the area and don't know your way around, you must follow her directions to complete the mission. An inset map also helps with finding your way around. Throughout the level you are being pursued by police and a quick flip of the left stick will have you ramming your car into your chasers. If you are in possession of a gun, you can also use the stick to fire your weapon out the window. One insane special move called the cyclone sends your car spinning 180 degrees allowing you to shoot at enemies through the windshield. Your car takes a lot of abuse in this game, constantly smashing into other cars or in my case, walls. Luckily, once your car is wrecked, you can merely hop out and jump into another one.
More »
top
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li dropkicks an official movie blog. The first update provides a full cast list as well as info about the director ("Relax, you're in good hands"), actor Michael Clarke Duncan ("...this mand does ALL HIS OWN STUNTS...") and cockteasing about who will play GEN ("our first official scoop"). Though, I'm confused, how can the movie's official blog have a scoop? Should that be "first official press release"?
The blog does have some movie storyboards from artist Ted Boonthanakit. There's shooting and running. Don't remember shooting and running from the Street Fighter games, but whatever! Hit the jump for a look.
More »
media
IGN's Zelda movie prank by Rainfall Films probably broke a lot of fanboy hearts April 1st morning, but that doesn't mean a lot of love for the series wasn't put into the trailer. Requiring 3 months of work for a crew that peaked at 20 people, the first makeup tests actually started all the way back on July 20th of 2007. (Which means that when accounting for casting, costume design and general organization, its a date nowhere near the actual project's start.) Here's the making of video, which we promise doesn't end as badly as
Adam's Kaketakumentary.
Editorial: Zelda on the Big Screen [IGN]
halo
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.
Exclusive: Halo Movie Has Reach! [LatinoReview, via
io9]
gears of war
Wyck Godfrey, producer of the probably-upcoming Gears of War, has told ComingSoon that progress on the movie's coming along nicely. They've even got some key personnel onboard, with a director they're "about to attach" and a tentative release date of Summer 2010. Yikes! That's the future. Now, to wonder who that director is...
Gears of War Movie Update [ComingSoon]
onimusha
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.
ONIMUSHA delayed? What's Christophe Gans up to, then? [AICN]
hollywood
Hollywood producer Michael De Luca has produced lots of good movies. Take Boogie Nights or Wag the Dog, for example. He's also produced lots of bad movies, like Little Nicky or Ghost Rider. He latest project? Bringing Metal Gear Solid to the screen. No easy task! No doubt fans of the cinematic game franchise have high expectations. And with the way Hollywood bungles game adaptations, the pressure is on. So, how does De Luca feel about this whole Metal Gear Solid movie dealio?
More »
max payne
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.
Bridges cast in 'Max Payne' [Hollywood Reporter]
speed racer
Topps, the purveyors of candy treats have just launched a little racing web based game to help promote the upcoming Speed Racer Movie, Speed Racer Candy Tracks The game is exactly what you'd expect from the title, a racing game with a Topps candy tie in. The tie in coming from a massive onslaught of in game advertising for all of their products from Bazooka gum to Ring Pops. The tracks may be pink and candy coated but this Flash game already seems ten times more interesting than the bore fest that is Speed Racer the Video Game. I'm sorry, but having to tack on "the Video Game" at the end automatically puts it on my "don't buy list."
Topps' Speed Racer Candy Tracks Game [Topps]
Coming Soon had a chance to speak with producer
Michael De Luca (
21,
Ghost Rider) and he passed along news that a
Metal Gear Solid movie, based off the long-running hit espionage video game franchise,
is once again going ahead. The project has been in the very early
stages for sometime (see eerily similar
Slashfilm post from Feb ‘07), and faced a set back from the writer’s strike. Moreover,
De Luca says that a meeting will take place in the “next few weeks”
with writer/director
Kurt Wimmer about adapting a screenplay for the film.
Though De Luca didn’t directly state it, this probably means that
Wimmer is also up to direct the big budget affair, as his previous
films,
Equilibrium starring Christian Bale and
Ultraviolet starring Millo Jovovich, were similar fanboy-intensive, kinetic
action/genre flicks. Neither one of those films connected at the box
office, however, so
MGS would be the director’s closest shot
at bagging a sure thing, the whole video game curse notwithstanding.
Wimmer’s next screenplay to hit the big screen will be April’s LAPD
thriller
Street Kings with Keanu Reeves.
Video game synopsis:
Metal Gear Solid follows Solid Snake,
a retired soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons disposal facility
to neutralize the terrorist threat from FOXHOUND, a renegade special
forces unit.
Full Story at http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/03/15/kurt-wimmer-to-write-and-possibly-direct-metal-gear-solid-movie
gallery
With my Iron Man excitement gland working overtime lately, I've not paid much attention to Sega's other upcoming Marvel movie video game, The Incredible Hulk. Remember how awesome Radical Entertainment's The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction was? Well apparently developer Edge of Reality does as well, as Sega's Incredible Hulk features the same sort of open-world gameplay with film-centric events wrapped around a symphony of destruction on a scale only the Hulk could conduct. You can use cars and such as weapons, participate in mini-games, and build up your rage to learn more powerful moves. Just ignore the movie connection and consider this a very pretty Ultimate Destruction 2.
max payne
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.
First Look At Mark Wahlberg As Max Payne [DarkZero, thanks Rav!]
mortal kombat
How do you make a
new Mortal Kombat movie suck harder than the
last sucky Mortal Kombat movie? I'll tell you: you hire Chris "Mink" Morrison to direct, whose last movie was 2005's Into The Sun. With Steven Seagal. Note that's fat, crazy 2005 Steven Seagal, not chubby, hilarious 1988 Steven Seagal. This new film won't be a sequel to the 1995 movie, nor its 1997 sequel; rather it will, according to the director, be a "re-envisioning (if that is a word) of the Mortal Kombat franchise from top to bottom". Oh, and it'll also be borrowing from the original's "pioneering spirit":
Todays audience is a savvy, involved group so the film must be A plus plus in every area in order to capture the magic of the first film...The original Mortal Kombat game was born a child of many visual loves by the creators at midway so this latest version borrows heavily from that pioneering spirit and must be thought out and executed at the highest level in order for it succeed in today's market place.
Uh...right. Repeat after me: "straight to DVD".
Director talks Mortal Kombat reboot [Moviehole]
oneechanbara
That's right, hack-and-slash game Oneechanbara is getting a hack-and-slash film adaptation! The movie was announced today at a Tokyo press conference, and the flick's website was launched. The film will star TV talent Eri Otoguro as Aya, bikini model Chise Nakamura as little sister Saki and idol Manami Hashimoto as Reiko. And how was it playing the bikini cowgirl Aya? Otogruo illuminates:
It's was the first time I've ever worked in a bathing suit, so I was a little worried at first. Though, the costume was really cool, and I was able to play the part. We filmed during the winter, so it was a little chilly. I don't think you'd see a person dressed like this in winter.
No, no you wouldn't. Starting this April, the ninety minute film will be playing at the Shibuya Q-AX Cinema and Cinemart Shinjuku before getting a wider release. Click through the gallery of bikini cowgirl pics below.
Oneechanbara Movie [Famitsu] [
Pic]
hollywood
Live in Mexico? Like
Dragonball? You're in luck! The
DB movie is looking for extras. No experience necessary! It looks like the cattle call has already commenced. This is actually the coolest news to come out of the
Dragonball movie shoot. In an age were all crowds scenes are CG, it's pretty neat that the producers are using actual people for the shoot. Too bad they seem to be mucking up the rest of the flick. Then again, after the censoring the anime got when it came to the US, this movie should just be par for the course.
More than 1,500 People [Movieland via
Otaku Times]
Kotaku
