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Mark Wahlberg IS Max Payne!

by Alex Billington
November 9, 2007
Source: Variety

This one came out of left field! Mark Wahlberg will star as Max Payne in a live-action adaptation of the video game to be directed by John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix, and The Omen). The video game is a bestselling hit from Rockstar that first debuted in 2001 and followed up with a sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, in 2003. The game is a third-person shooter noir crime thriller and is one of my all-time favorite games, so without a doubt I'm already looking forward to this.

Max Payne is a cop who is haunted by the tragic loss of his family and has little regard for rules as he investigates a series of mysterious murders. He finds himself up against an adversary bent on destroying Max and the streets he protects. The game used bullet-time as well as a noir and comic like feel to it, which will lend itself great to a film adaptation. The script was written by newcomer Beau Thorne. The film will go into production immediately after Wahlberg finishes The Lovely Bones with Peter Jackson, meaning yet another pre-strike movie.

Where I'm confused here is that Marky Mark has consistently stated that he won't join films that don't have incredible scripts. He won't even do a sequel to The Departed because he think it won't be as good as the first one! Yet he's joined this, with a director who has had consistent tentpole crap films? I'm confused, am I missing something here? As much as I really, really want this to be great, I just fear for the worst.

I can tell you the path to success with Max Payne is to base it very strictly off of the video game, almost like Zack Snyder and 300 (with its exact frame-to-frame comparisons from the source material). It really needs that Sin City visual style and Matrix flair for it to really succeed. Without it, I can tell you it's a guaranteed flop. And honestly, Moore is not the best guy for the job. Damn, why can't the good directors be available more often!

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Ross

Wow, this really came out of nowhere! Wahlberg is a great choice for the role, but I'm with you in being sceptical about the quality of the script and especially the director. Max Payne was also pretty much Sin City: The Video Game when it came out, so this will probably just end up looking like a cheap rip off of Rodriguez's Sin City.
David

Ross... Did you even bother to play the game? It looked nothing like SinCity. If you're comparing it to the long drawn out tail of discovery and vengence, you really can't compare that to SinCity since the revenge tail has been around since the days of Plato. And by the way... that's not Rodriguez's Sin City. That's FRANK MILLER's SIN CITY. Pay Attention. there will be a test.
David

Also, I apparently have no idea how to spell TALE
Erik

The article gives the impression that Rockstar is behind this game. They just published the PS2 and Xbox ports of the game. The actual developer is the Finnish company Remedy.
mikey

awh sweet,,, i always said this should be adapted into a movie,, it better be good!!!
http://www.vg.no steel

WoooW!! I love max payne! Im looking forward to se him in action!! When is the movie planed??? Steel
Robbie

I love the game Max Payne. The story line is very complex but easy to get drawn to. For a director to pull this off without disapointment would not be a walk in the park. Doom the movie was only a good movie for those who havn't played the game. Hitman was good, no doubt, but lacked a few important things from the game like the clones of hitman, not orphans becoming trained killers. I hope this isn't another cheap easy put together movie just to attempt to keep the fans happy.
http://www.yahoo.com/ Brooklynn

Wooooooooooooow Sexy Mark Wahlburg is playing in the new Max Paine movie . . . For one [Sexy Markymark is playing in the movie, for two I love the game Max Paine . . . Mark Wahlburg is my sexy stud muffin . . . P.S. Im 11, dont be surprized
old news .. hes not check official site

old news .. hes not check official site or at lest give a reference 2 ur source
http://www.yahoo.com/ Brooklynn

Awsomn I love the game Max Paine, it is so awsomn . . . I also love Mark Wahlburg and if he is playing in the Max Paine Im looking forward to seeing it Brooklynn
Grizz

Love the max payne games! surprised that mark wahlberg is playing max... too young and not hard bitten enough (I would cast sean penn, or someone similar) but mark may prove me wrong! I hope they have "late goodbye" by poets of the fall on the soundtrack (that song for me is so in keeping with the whole "payne" ethos), and keep the "comic strip" effect (no bullet time though..done to death!) I hope this movie kicks ass (Is Mona Sax in it (kristanna loken or someone similar...someone hot anyway! ;p PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT SCREW PAYNE UP!!!!! I have had it up to here with BAD GAME TO MOVIE adaptations!!!!. Gotta love the Payne!!!
Grizz

P.S Max Payne is NOTHING like Frank Miller's Sin City (good one david, for putting ross right!!) BTW, is the film a direct lift from the games or a new storyline?? will it feature a massive gunfight in the Ragnarok club with crims high on Valkyr (come on filmmakers, you know it makes sense!) P.S MAX PAYNE ROCKS!!
Rex

I always thought the movie should be called V for Valkyr. It would just sound like a cheap vendetta copy though.
Grizz

Not bad Rex! anyone got any good possible names for the movie (other than "potential fuck up"!) I think something like "Max Payne: No Payne No Gain", or equivalent. (I know it has no bearing on the outcome, just a bit of fun!) KEEP ROCKING ALL YOU PAYNE FANS!! The Payne Is Coming!!!!!
tattoodprincess

Mark Wahlberg is DEFINETLY playing Max Payne. Chris O'Donnell and Beau Bridges are also starring in this project. A family friend does movie special effects (look up Raisin in the Sun on IMDb, his name is Dave Hill) and he's working on this project. They started filming a few days ago and he said it looks really good. He met Chris's wife and kids yesterday on the set. They're filming in Toronto currently.
TheDude

Ha, cool. I needed to know if Mark Wahlberg is currently filming a movie in Toronto because I was dead certain he was in the passenger seat of an Escalade that drove past me earlier today. Now that I know he's filming there, there's not a doubt in my mind it was him that I saw.
Nirune

Yes he is filming in toronto right now. They were just shotting at bay station and i know the extreme fitness he uses to work out in hahaha.
JimSmith

I just saw Mark in an Escalate driving down the QEW towards Hamilton. I wasn't sure if it was him at first but he looked over and waved. Definitely him.
Spawn

Jea right Mark Wahlberg has not the face or body constitution similar to Max and that is a big Minus and second they will and that is garanteed that they wil make movie bad as hell LEAVE MAX ALONE
Spawn

That actor is not even close to Max Payne and my prediction is total disaster
B667

Mark Wahlberg a good actor. However, I can't see him as Max Payne. I think Clive Owen should play Max Payne. I think he more closely resembles the character and I think it would most likely be a better movie if Max were played by CLive Owen. I also think releasing the movie under the title 'Payne' as opposed to 'Max Payne' would be a good idea. I personally think that if I hadn't played the games and heard of a movie called 'Max Payne' I would just dismiss it as a generic gung-ho action movie. Does anyone agree?
JD

Saw Mark Wahlberg at MUZIK nightclub on sat night.... he was there with Domi, wierd..... As he walked by, i said "you go get them Mr.Diggler..." he turned around and laughed... hahaha
sepij

Kinda weird actor choices in my opinion and moore wouldnt be my choice either, but hey robert rodriguez made only crappy movies before sin city. Looking forward this movie
karl

i think Tom Jane(the punisher) would have suited the role a lot better than Mark Wahlberg. The main characters from both scripts having had the same tragedies. Although this really does depend on the director because bad enough with the bullet time, it will be compared to one of the best action movies ever made in the Matrix. And as much as i like the idea of it being made in a Sin City type style, the action and script is too fast paced for that style to be adapted. But then again thats my opinion. This will be an extremely difficult movie to make.
adam

There are currently filming at McMaster University in Hamilton. I saw the set up today while at night class. It's a big production, but I didn't see marky mark. (there is an extreme fitness trailer on campus so im sure he's around.)
Ryan

I go to McMaster too...what could they possibly be filming there??
Trace

Wahlberg isn't ideal, but could fit the bill. I always thought Edward Norton had the look, but not necessarily the vibe. Whoever said Clive Owen was on the money, though I always associate over-the-top shenanigans with that guy since Sin City and Shoot 'Em Up. At any rate, you should apply for the casting business right away. Once you get in, punch the guy who thought casting Ludacris as Jim Bravura would be a good idea. I know Hollywood likes taking liberties (Read Stephen King's Dreamcatcher, then watch the movie. WTF?) but casting Luda as a white NYPD DT with unusual "eating habits," as quoted in the game, is in itself ludicrous (no pun intended). The dude can act, as evidenced in Crash (I was very surprised), but are we really gonna flip off the fans by forsaking "adaptation faith?" Sin City kept that faith when it hit the screen and therefore was a success. Doom took liberties, but the innovation kept it from being too terribly bad, in my opinion. Final Fantasy:SW was good only if you were a diehard fan of the series that had an open mind. Hitman was already mentioned and do any of Uwe Boll's movies even count? My point is, keep the faith. Bringing a video game to the big screen with real people rather than real polygons is a big deal to those of us who followed those polygons from beginning to end. We all want entertainment, but many of us who play video games do it for the story, for the characters, or for the action. Unless your story has holes, your characters are mute and your action is less exciting than 3 on 3 street ball, filmmakers should succeed in this industry - especially if they have source material, the game itself; (You know what's even better? 'Source material' that was already well-received). My last line: I don't think we want filmmaker's to carbon copy a game and put it on film. Respect the game, though, and respect the fans - PLEASE!
iggoh

i think that it will be good ... if the script would be bad then mark wahlberg wouldn't play max payne ... he's a great actor; one of my favs.
Smiky

I love Max Payne story. Mark Wahlberg is TERRIBLE choice (too young, bad face), and i mean too - - this film will be dissapointment. I want to see the film anyway.
ak

All I have to say is this movie is gonna be crap, and not just any crap but big huge elephant crap! Horrible casting, typical hollywood director and from what I'm hearing, not so faithful to the story line of the video game. But, I'm still gonna spend my hard earned cash to see it in the theatre because I'm too damned curious to what its gonna look like on screen.
ak

When the trailer comes out, it's judgment day!!!!
rg

The company which developed the Max Payne was Remedy Entertainment ( http://www.remedygames.com/ ) not Rockstar like says the article.
Nahyan Quasem

We all love and respect Max Payne. We all been through Max's hardest moments in his life. So lets hope the guys making the film share the same respect.
Darkmyst

I've seen 3/4 of this movie, walked out on it in bitter disappointment. It was indeed a flop; I have serious doubts that anyone involved in its production has ever played any video game, much less the one they took the name of. So much for sticking to the source material.
http://www.clockout.org employee clockin clockout

He was also pretty good in Invincible. I gotta hand it to him, the guy can act.