A feature-film version of the critically acclaimed 2007 videogame BioShock, to be helmed by Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, has been put on hold by Universal, according to a story in Variety. With a budget reportedly at $160 million — caused in part by the film’s setting, a massive underwater city — the studio chose to halt production and seek alternative ways of cutting costs, including possibly shooting in London to take advantage of tax credits. Verbinski and the studio tell Variety they are still committed to making the film.
Apr 25
2009
06:07 PM ET
'BioShock' movie put on hold by Universal
- Comments 15
- Add comment
Would you kindly tell me what kind of world we live in where games-to-movie drek like ‘Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li’ can get made, yet one of the greatest video game experiences of all time (Bioshock) falls suddenly by the wayside due to chronic cheapness on a studio’s part?
Gore Verbinski is responsible for directing four big hits over the last seven years, and is a moderate draw by name alone. I can imagine that Bioshock as a concept is a little tough to sell, but studios make money by gambling — and gambling big.
I’m hoping clearer heads will prevail and the green light will shine again.
Great game, bad idea for a movie. Seriously, stop with the game movies.
http://tvdonewright.com/2009/04/25/ratings-report-fox-fails-on-friday-nights/
How about a Dead Space movie?
How about another Super Mario Bros movie?
hollywood turns to comics and video games because they have stories and great action so all they need is to do is to direct it i cant wait for the justice league movie or how about resident evil which actually takes place in the mansion or how about a movie based on starwars the force unleashed. halo the studio threw in the towel because the budget was too high hopefully we will be able to see a bioshock movie but i rather see a devil may cry movie or the walking dead based on robert kirkmans graphic novel
I bet a movie version of Bioshock would be much better than some of the other mindless crap Universal has put out recently.
Saying “we’ve had enough movies based on video games” is like saying “we’ve had enough movies based on books” or “politics.” The idea is to judge each script by its merit. I’ve only played a few minutes of Bioshock, but I saw and know enough about it to know that the script may as well have been originally written for the big screen. It’s creepy, clever, and teaches timely lessons. If the adaptation is well done, it has a lot of potential.
This is good news. I’d rather they make sure they get it right instead of just throwing something together. ($160 mil? damn! Already this shows promise!)
Sounds like they’re building an actual sets. Why not just shoot it like ’300′ with live actors and CGI everything else to cut costs big time? Makes more sense as a film based on a video game anyway.
Casting will be interesting here. Wondering who will play the main Title character.
http://tvdonewright.com/2009/04/26/tv-tonight-sunday-april-26th-2009/
Its hard to get excited about any film this guy directs as the last two Pirate films were nothing more than GCI vomit projected up on the big screen. They were both painful to sit through. Since he can’t tell a story he needs the studios to open up there check books for massive special effects. Im not excited.
http://blog.entertainmenttodayandbeyond.com/
chuck
Wowwww! i’m a huge fan of the game so i really hope they don’t screw this up, because if they really want to they could make an awesomee movie with some real actors and make rapture a fantasy dream for movie-goers.
Adam: The lead has already been cast. It’s Wentworth “Prison Break” Miller. Check the movie’s IMDB page. It says “rumored” but I happen to know it’s about as cut and dried as a rumor can get without losing its rumority.
When I first played BioShock when it first came out, I immediately thought it would make a good movie. I only played for 15 minutes, but it was a haunting and an unforgettable experience.
$160 million? Wow, that costs more than the average Michael Bay film (even The Island and Transformers, which was in the $120-$140 mil range). But hey…if any videogame adaption gets the five star treatment, I’m glad it’s this one. Same with Metal Gear Solid, though I imagine with its dense ideas and enough long cutscenes to fill two movies, it’ll be as tough to transition to the big screen as Watchmen.
As for the Devil May Cry adaption rich suggested, probably not, unless it was based off the third game’s narrative. The series isn’t known for grandiose plots or good dialogue (e.g., “I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with LIIIIIGHT!”), but at least DMC3 contained enough cool cutscenes and somewhat interesting characters to make it a passable action film. Personally, it would probably be more workable as an anime.