The announcement of a Shadow of the Colossus movie has outraged and/or disgusted nearly everyone in the gamer community so far because of the SACRILEGE! However, the film's writer, Justin Marks, wants you all to give videogame movies a chance, and seems to truly believe that Colossus & The Hendersons (working title) could be a hot project.
"I think many of the games haven't worked as movies because it's hard to find the right game. There are very few that lend themselves to movies," declares Marks. "If we started thinking that anything that worked in one medium shouldn't be adapted for another we wouldn't have a lot of the great movies we've had, because so many of them came from novels.
"With a lot of games there are so many elements in the universe you spend your time tearing down and tearing down. What's nice about this game is that it's so sparse so you can start building right away.
"With a lot of games you're caught trying to please the fans and the mainstream audience," he adds. "What's so nice about this game is that it's all seen through such an adult lens, so that what pleases the fans also pleases a wider audience."
I used to get annoyed by videogame movies, but the way I look at it, it's just a film, and shouldn't really impact your enjoyment of the game at all. So what, a movie about Shadow of the Colossus is coming out and there isn't really anything you can do about it. Get over it and let the Hollywood people have their fun. You still have a great game.
Contest:
9:40 AM on 04.09.2009 | 
Let's see if it sucks or not. Then if it does, bitch all you want. But either way it's not going to make the game stop existing.
I wish I could jump into the future and watch a trailer, at least.
If it doesn't follow the source material, it sucks; if it does, it looks silly; it doesn't follow the story; etc. I could go on.
*waits for Team Fortress 2: The Movie*
I'ld hope they either get such backlash from this that they either cancel it or at least hire weta workshop to do the colossi because no way will they be be recreated as well else where.
Jack, he HAS to. The game itself is all about leaving details to the imagination. If he creates a film that's close to the game, then it will be the most boring film punctuated by CG Colossi ever... but he's already talking about "building" which, in part, will be destroying the "up to your imagination" part of the game for people who've never played it.. they'll be tainted by this guy's idea of what happened in game.
whaargarbl.
But it won't be that way. It will be a big clusterfuck cross between transformers and tomb raider. It will be a big hollywood douchebag taking a greasy shit in the mouth of a terrific IP.
Because it's gamers on the internet. You're looking at one of the whiniest groups out there.
WHAT? YOU MEAN BIOSHOCK 2 ISN'T EXACTLY AS I ENVISIONED IT? IT'S RUINED FOREVER.
repeat ad nauseum.
This guy right here? He worked the Chun Li movie. Even without the Street Fighter name, it was still ass as a movie in and of itself.
I kinda want a Colossus movie. Really, I do. I could see it being really wonderful. But this guy isn't talented enough, in my opinion, to handle something like this. I hear what he's trying to say, and I agree, but that doesn't address my concerns.
But whatever. I liked the Shadow of the Colossus movie better when it was called "Reign Over Me".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_video_games
I'm struggling to find a single entry that I would consider "good" by any means (though Double Dragon starring the Chairman from Iron Chef America is totally awesome in an "Oh, silly 90s" sort of way...)
For example, I haven't enjoyed Street Fighter since The World Warrior on SNES. The SF movie came out a little after SF2 if I recall, and the same thing happened to me with Silent Hill. SH wasn't even THAT bad by VG movie standards, but it was still quite cheesy. I would mention Mortal Kombat Annihilation, but MK always sucked ass, everyone just had tunnel-vision from the first 100 times Sub-Zero ripped a dudes head off.
BTW, does Uwe Boll still direct movies? I thought he got banned, or if he hasn't he needs to be. His movies are crimes against humanity, forget gamers.
Sure, it COULD be good.. but no way.
Also his quote "With a lot of games there are so many elements in the universe you spend your time tearing down and tearing down. What's nice about this game is that it's so sparse so you can start building right away." just proves he has no idea what he's doing.
@ scientist tz- I think your right, this movie could be successful and effective the way you described it but that comment from the writer about the game being sparse and being able to start building right away scares me. It sounds like he wants to build a toll brothers development outside of the big temple.
Honestly, Hollywood sucks, and this guy? He directed the Chun-Li movie.
I'm tired of stupid movies about games I like. I know it's selfish, but oh well.
This guy IS the next Uwe Boll in script-writing form, and everyone seems to be behind him in Hollywood.
Someone else took the exact quote that I latched onto and said it perfectly, but I'll reiterate. From Marks: "What's nice about this game is that it's so sparse so you can start building right away." This is the whole problem. If you want to tell a different story that has similar motifs (giant, godlike beasts roaming a magic land, a lone hero) make something NEW. The whole, WHOLE point and argument of SOTC's artistic value comes from the way the narrative is sparse, the absence of exposition in a traditional sense, the mystery surrounding the hero's motives and what, exactly, his quest will really accomplish. Marks is seeking to "flesh out" something that was effective and evocative BECAUSE of the sparseness. His comment shows that he has missed the point entirely.
Now, that said, as a film, it might be fine. I do not hold all art up to a "SOTC" standard. The problem is, if it's changed in the way Marks has mentioned, as in introducing more characters and more exposition, and they retain the Shadow of the Colossus name, it must be compared to SOTC, because the studio has optioned the name to halve their marketing and risk. This is the whole point of expanding a franchise...use name recognition to entice brand conscious consumers to take a risk based on past success. (The same reason few new IP's get introduced to the games market) Marks is attempting to make a living and career out of capitalizing on established brands. I think that the backlash against this film is warranted, insofar as the film studios need to know that the games community will not mindlessly buy anything related in name alone to beloved IPs that we are fighting hard to legitimize with the artistic elite.
"I think many of the games haven't worked as movies because it's hard to find the right game"
This is not the right game. Not at all.
Sure, it'll probably suck, but I can see how it might succeed where others have failed.
I suppose I could understand how adding a subplot to it will make it interesting. Emphasis on the interesting part because I do want it to be as true to the game as possible. Wander needs to look for an obscure artifact for some reason while he does his slaying? I could MAYBE believe that. But god help this movie if this movie has a scene where Wander somehow discovers another love interest, which would more than likely come out of nowhere, and the story revolves around that rather than the whole reason he's slaying the colossi because something tells me fans of the game will not be happy with that.
Choir preached to.
They're making a film about The Road, one of my favorite recent novels. Bale is in it and it may be good. But guess what? It won't be nearly as good as the book and I couldn't care less.
The best part of this came was the bleakness and the hopelessness of the situation and if they try to give it a good end, then it's going to completely obliterate the message of the game. If he wants to make a movie based on Shadow of the Colossus, then fine, but don't slap the label on it if you're going to add more to it. Colossus works because of what people put into it and when someone tries to put their own ideas on top of someone else's, people are going to get super pissed. As shown by this thread. >_>
I enjoy being caustic about obvious rubbish as the next dude but in the early stages I'll give anything a chance (I had both Sonic Unleashed and Sonic and the Black Knight on my radar before their releases) and this isn't any exception. However, my gut feeling is that it'll get pawned off to a talentless staff and bungled completely like every other videogame based movie.
1) Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh Writing the Script
2) Peter Jackson directing the movie
3) Weta working on the special effects
facepalm.jpg
HOWEVER, if they make a huge scale fantasy movie with no dialougue i will actually be somewhat impressed. it seems fairly unlikely that it going to go down like that though.
= We're gonna make some crazy shit up, and add a wacky sidekick. Maybe Chris Tucker. And it needs more explosions and a 16-wheeler crashing. Someone call Michael Bay. BOOM.
"What's so nice about this game is that it's all seen through such an adult lens..."
= Wow all those other video games are for kids. I'm not writing this for them, I'll do it for average-idiot-consumer. Happy ending time yay.
Yeah I don't hold much hope for this. Prove me wrong Hollywood, prove me wrong.
That would be hypocrisy, my friends!
Videogame adaptations don't get that same respect. What we get instead is Hollywood schlock writers too uncreative to think up new premises so they licenese prefabricated plots. The name SOTC alone will not pack movie theaters and that's the point; Marks sees a box art for a game and thinks "shucks, it's too bad they made a game with that, fighting giant colossi would make a bitching movie!"
I'm not willing to give the movie a chance. Maybe I'm close-minded and cynical and that's fine.