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Gears of War Movie Being Helmed by Len Wiseman
June 16, 2008
by Alex Billington
If you're a big Gears of War fan, then I really hope you liked Live Free or Die Hard. Hollywood Reporter officially confirms that Len Wiseman, who directed the fourth Die Hard last year, is officially signed on to direct the Gears of War movie currently in the works. We initially announced this last year and since then have reported on various rumblings, including a rumor that the film was canned. Apparently the New Line merger, since this was a New Line film, didn't affect this project too much - because Wiseman is now attached and the project is actually moving forward as a big summer blockbuster. Screenwriter Stuart Beattie has been replaced with Chris Morgan instead, however, which may hurt the film more than help.
Gears of War, developed by Epic Games, became an instant success when it debuted on the Xbox 360 in November 2006. It became one of the most popular games on Xbox Live and sold more than 3 million units worldwide in its first 10 weeks. It received numerous awards, including Gamespot's Game of the Year and the Interactive Achievement Awards' Overall Game of the Year. Set on the planet Sera, the game thrusts players into a battle for survival between humans and a race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet known as the Locust Horde. Players assume identities of soldiers on Delta Squad, specifically the character of Marcus Fenix, as they fight to save Sera's inhabitants.
Cliff Bleszinski aka CliffyB, the lead game designer for Gears of War and Epic Games, worked with Stuart Beattie on the original 21-page treatment before handing it off to Chris Morgan to finish. Morgan previously wrote the scripts for Cellular, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and the upcoming Wanted. If you're concerned about this film, Bleszinski tries to calm our fears. "Hollywood needs to take the source material seriously, win over the avid gamers and make it work for an audience that is young and old, male and female." He continues, "Disney made a great movie out of a theme park ride, and somebody is sooner or later going to make a great one out of a video game. Having someone like Len really helps the odds. I think we're going to create something special here."
Before I get too far into the discussion of how great Gears of War could be, let me say that I really did not enjoy Live Free or Die Hard. But maybe it was the script and terrible ideas for an action movie that annoyed me more than Wiseman's directing. All I know is that with Wiseman directing and Morgan writing, I'm very concerned for this movie. I really don't think Wiseman is the one who is going to show us how good video game movies can be. Thankfully this probably won't hit theaters until 2010, meaning we'll see Jerry Bruckheimer's Prince of Persia before this hits. Maybe that will be the first movie that will kick video game adaptations into high gear.
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Reader Feedback - 18 Comments »
1
yippee….it will be a PG13 film probably that resembles nothing of the original story. Much like Live Free or Die Hard.
Heckle on Jun 16, 2008
2
So I guess everything will look blue like all his other movies? I really wish Len would lose the filter.
Jesse on Jun 16, 2008
3
Awesome. Tokyo Drift AND Live Free Die Hard. This movie will be beyond amazing.
Brian on Jun 17, 2008
4
Alex you are such a hypocrite. You yourself say wanted looks awesome and the same script writer is actually writing the script for this movie!!!!!! And now you say you are concerned?
DH4 was awesome movie in my opinion. Underworld movies were cool.
Len Wiseman is the perfect guy for this movie.
Jojo on Jun 17, 2008
5
well, I think you can kiss another game adaptation a bust. Its pretty simple why they cast someone like Wiseman… he can bring in the bucks with the watered down please everyone type of movie like DH4. There's a real need for some real auteurs to get behind a game movie, because otherwise the studios are going to run every idea to the ground in the search for more money. Then again… I don't think I really want to see Gears turned into a movie, mainly cuz I didn't like any of the characters, nor did i care for the storyline. Without gameplay to save you in a movie, I think this is pretty doomed (pun intended).
yh on Jun 17, 2008
6
I think Wanted looks poor. Ok the film might be all right but from the trailer it looks like every single thing that a geek would think 'cool' had been thrown in with the hope that something sticks.
If it does go the way of PG-13 I guess we can say goodbye to the chainsaw bayonet!
Payne by name on Jun 17, 2008
7
Based on his work on Underworld i think Wiseman will do a pretty good job with Gears.
Andreas on Jun 17, 2008
8
At least Uwe Boll isn't involved. With Wiseman and Morgan involved and not Boll there is some hope it won't suck.
I'm not concerned about the writing because Gears of War already has a defined plot. All they need to do is expand it, detail it, and make it more film ready. In a technical stand point, it should be easier for Wiseman than making a story for the ground up.. However, on the other hand it could be like this upcoming Wanted movie. Based on a coming mini-series that borrows a few elements but otherwise doesn't resemble the same story.
I didn't mind DH4. It tried to be a bit too modern with the whole hacking plot which felt ridiculous but it wasn't a bad movie. It wasn't great either, but I enjoyed it, at least for the action in it.
I am actually a little worried and more disappointed on the choices of Wiseman and Morgan. From my stand point they are not horrible at their job, which is a plus, but they don't really stand out with any excellent projects in the past (Underworld series sucked for me). The choices for director and writer could have been better (way better) but at least these guys are not at the end of the spectrum and suck horribly.
Thoughtless on Jun 17, 2008
9
this game has a gun with a chainsaw bayonet, that lets you slice people in half. If the film doesn't feature this, it will be an epic fail!
chrisUK on Jun 17, 2008
10
This is great news. Len Wiseman is a very solid director that can do some great visuals and action sequences.
Discateia on Jun 17, 2008
11
I tried playing this game and couldn't stand it.
While I like Wiseman for vanilla Hollywood action, I just can't imagine it being any good.
Andrew Wickliffe on Jun 17, 2008
12
Am I the only one who say Bruce Willis and thought he'd make a decent Marcus Fenix?
Sean on Jun 17, 2008
13
Saw. I meant saw, not say. god dammit.
Sean on Jun 17, 2008
14
hey if this is not rated R, epic games has failed me as a movie freak and a gamer.
Drake on Jun 17, 2008
15
I am an avid gamer, and gears happens to be a favorite game of mine. What makes this game fun is the absolute gore fest that it is, the story line is interesting at times and keeps the game moving, but the action and violence are what drive this game. If this movie is not rated R it will have failed completely in reaching its gamer audience. The characters in the game say cheesy lines that are only interesting because they only further to enhance the main characters meathead image. If it is not an R rated movie than it will be a complete miss.
andrew on Jun 17, 2008
16
Len Wiseman is great for the job of making Gears into a live action movie, i loved Live Free or Die Hard with its over the top action, the only problem i have is that Chris Morgan is now the screewriter that might hurt the movie big time.
Curtis on Jun 18, 2008
17
18
The game gears of war was great! I loved it, beat it about 5 times, so if these guys are capable of creating a movie that is able to portray the game, then I can't wait for this film to hit theatres!
D'riz on Jul 28, 2008