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Predictable?
Posted By: Narcogen <narcogen@rampancy.net>Date: 8/12/06 9:55 p.m.

In Response To: Re: straw men make good burnin' (Matt)

: My original point, and I admit this may have been less than clear in my post,
: is that the "I've never heard of this guy, he's only done
: commercials, how good can he be?" argument is pretty fuckin' amusing
: in the context of a Halo movie discussion. Halo was made by unknowns and
: ad people.

To take an extreme cynical look at that, this is like saying that the first round of Russian roulette went well, why not keep playing? Sure, one can have success picking relatively unknown people for projects.

However, does that mean that having finished one successful project, you dump all the people you just worked with and go with a completely different band of unknowns, because it worked well the last time?

Or, do you use the fact that the particular team of individuals you assembled for the last project worked well together, and use that past performance as a predictor of future results, and keep them together?

: Steve Downes? Best known for whispering "The soundtrack of our
: lives...97.1 FM...The Drive" on Chicago radio.

Yes, but now he's known as the voice of the Master Chief from Halo and Halo 2. If all the movie needs is a voice talent, based on past performance, who would be better? If it's a good idea to pick an unknown director so preconceived notions and past experiences don't mess up the Halo film, why not replace Downes with another unknown? Why not the same for Taylor?

Heck, why not get rid of Staten, too? He's clearly too ensconced in his own ideas of what Halo is, too experienced, heck-- too well known-- to do a good job.

: O'Donnell/Salvatori? Who among you would have said "let's get the
: Flintstones vitamin guys to do the soundtrack"?

I thought they said "let's get the guys who did the Myth soundtrack on board and keep them on full-time, because that stuff was awesome. Maybe they can even re-use some of it!"

: Bungie themselves were an unknown quantity to many people. Halo was the first
: time millions of people had ever heard of them. Prior to that, they had a
: small cult following - mostly among Mac gamers, which is sort of like
: being the biggest band in Tulsa.

Let's not overdo that angle. Jones had just been invited on stage at MacWorld in front of quite a few members of the gaming and computer industry press, and impressed quite a lot of people, if I recall.

It's almost as if you're saying the buyout was a wild and unjustified stab in the dark that Microsoft made without doing any research. While I'd almost like to give them credit for being that intuitive, somehow I have a hard time imagining it.

: We can go back and forth naming crappy movies by directors both famous and
: unknown, but that's hardly the point. Having a track record that makes
: one's involvement "plausible" isn't necessarily better than
: having no track record at all.

Then that's where I guess we have to agree to disagree. Having a track record of successful films DOES, statistically speaking, make it more likely that you will succeed with a given project in comparison to someone who has no such track record.

More importantly, if all other things are equal, and a third party had to make a guess about the potential for success of a project based on who is running it, virtually the only benchmark one can possibly have is the past performance of that individual.

I honestly don't see any way around that. That doesn't invalidate the choice of Blomkamp, or mean it's a bad idea, or mean that he's doomed to failure. It does mean it is a calculated risk.

If Halo: The Movie has Ridley Scott
: directing, Gary Sinise in the lead, James Horner scoring and Alan Dean
: Foster writing the novelization, it'll be just as safe, just as
: predictable, and just as boring as if Ron Howard did it. Possibly a little
: less schmaltzy, but that would be the only difference. Just writing all
: those names in a row makes it sound like a hundred other unmemorable
: movies.

I'm flabbergasted.

Ridley Scott is incapable of directing a film version of a game that is largely based on a movie he already directed?

Alan Dean Foster is incapable of writing a script for a game that is largely based on a movie he already novelized?

Halo's appeal as a game is in its execution, not in originality of plot, because frankly, it didn't have much. Some say accusingly that this makes it "unmemorable". I disagree, but it sounds like you'd be coming down on the other side of the table now, the only exception being that you hold "Halo: The Movie" to different standards than "Halo: The Game". Why does the former have to be more original, less safe, and more risk-taking than the latter in order to be good?

Space zombies? A gritty cigar-smoking Sergeant? A collection of wise-cracking space marines? A wise-cracking yet sexy artificial intelligence?

Yeah, I'd suggest they drop those elements. Much too safe and predictable.

: I hope the Halo movie surprises me. I hope they make some ballsy choices. If
: you want Halo to break the Crappy Videogame Movie mold, you can't turn
: into Pauline Kael everytime some unfamiliar name gets batted around.

I think you intended that as an insult, but I took it as a compliment.

I want those things to happen, too. But it seems everybody is wearing rose-colored glasses right now, and no one is willing to even admit "hey, this is a ballsy, risky choice". Everybody's acting like they've dodged a bullet by not signing an experienced director, when I think the reality is they are taking a huge chance. It may pay off spectacularly for them-- I hope it does. It also may not, and there is comparatively little one can point to to say definitively that it will. That's all.

Halo 3 Articles


Message Index



Replies:

Halo Director AnnouncedCornballer 8/9/06 11:25 a.m.
     For anyone who wants a taste of his style...Ename Nep 8/9/06 11:29 a.m.
           Great...hminn 8/9/06 11:42 a.m.
           Ahh, he made the 'transformer' Citroen advert.Bry 8/9/06 11:46 a.m.
                 Re: Ahh, he made the 'transformer' Citroen advert.Echoes 8/9/06 5:06 p.m.
           Very interestingJillybean 8/9/06 12:02 p.m.
                 Re: Very interestingStonesand 8/9/06 3:47 p.m.
                       Re: Very interestingJillybean 8/9/06 3:57 p.m.
                             Re: Very interestingPeptuck 8/9/06 4:14 p.m.
                                   Re: Very interestingJillybean 8/9/06 4:33 p.m.
                                         Re: Very interestingDMDyet 8/9/06 4:55 p.m.
                                               Re: Very interestingEndbringer 8/9/06 5:15 p.m.
                                                     Re: Very interestingJillybean 8/9/06 5:31 p.m.
                                                           Re: Very interestingEndbringer 8/9/06 5:44 p.m.
                                                                 Re: Very interestingJillybean 8/9/06 5:59 p.m.
                                                                       Re: Very interestingEndbringer 8/9/06 6:09 p.m.
                                                                       Re: Very interestingBry 8/9/06 6:12 p.m.
                                                                             Re: Very interestingGryphonosiris 8/9/06 6:21 p.m.
                                                                                   Re: Very interestingBry 8/9/06 6:31 p.m.
                                                                                   Re: Very interestingJillybean 8/9/06 6:35 p.m.
                                                                                         Re: Very interestingDMDyet 8/9/06 11:31 p.m.
                                                                                   Re: Very interestingKiloh Ekim 8/9/06 8:45 p.m.
                                                           Re: Very interestingDMDyet 8/9/06 11:29 p.m.
           Re: For anyone who wants a taste of his style...Dan Chosich 8/9/06 12:06 p.m.
           Re: For anyone who wants a taste of his style...Quantum 8/9/06 1:20 p.m.
           Impressive.Peptuck 8/9/06 2:21 p.m.
           Very impressiveEndbringer 8/9/06 2:50 p.m.
     Re: Halo Director Announcedhminn 8/9/06 11:32 a.m.
           Re: Halo Director AnnouncedJoEsMhOe 8/9/06 11:56 a.m.
     Re: Halo Director AnnouncedDeepblue 8/9/06 11:42 a.m.
     Citreon man?Jillybean 8/9/06 11:54 a.m.
     Neill Blomkamp's worksSlith 8/9/06 11:55 a.m.
           Re: Oh no way.Dan Chosich 8/9/06 12:20 p.m.
                 Re: Oh no way.Tempus Fugit 8/9/06 12:32 p.m.
           Machinima Challenge!Quantum 8/9/06 1:38 p.m.
                 Re: Machinima Challenge!Gryphonosiris 8/9/06 3:33 p.m.
                       Re: Machinima Challenge!Gordon Freeman 8/10/06 12:32 a.m.
                 I'd do it.Spartan Jag 8/9/06 4:35 p.m.
           Nike Crab Commercialsorahn 8/9/06 2:29 p.m.
           Re: Neill Blomkamp's worksdolbex 8/9/06 3:32 p.m.
     Episodes of Dark Angel...CYBRFRK 8/9/06 11:59 a.m.
           Re: Episodes of Dark Angel...Jillybean 8/9/06 3:42 p.m.
     Awesome!RC Master 8/9/06 12:10 p.m.
     Cool! *NM*Stuntmutt 8/9/06 12:31 p.m.
     Re: Halo Director AnnouncedHypersoldier 8/9/06 12:47 p.m.
           Re: Halo Director AnnouncedGryphonosiris 8/9/06 12:58 p.m.
     So do we think...Stuntmutt 8/9/06 12:57 p.m.
           Re: So do we think...Billstrom 8/9/06 1:28 p.m.
                 Re: So do we think...Dojorkan 8/9/06 1:33 p.m.
                       Re: So do we think...Billstrom 8/9/06 1:36 p.m.
                             Re: So do we think...TFP 8/10/06 10:07 p.m.
           Steve Downes FTW! *NM*GhaleonEB 8/9/06 2:46 p.m.
                 Thirded! and marty does the soundtrack! *NM*Billstrom 8/9/06 2:51 p.m.
           And some other cluesJillybean 8/9/06 3:39 p.m.
     I cant get enough of that fight scene!!!Grey Wolf 8/9/06 1:40 p.m.
     Re: Halo Director Announcedagdtinman 8/9/06 2:43 p.m.
           I SECOND STEVE DOWNES FTW *NM*Jayshum 8/9/06 2:50 p.m.
           Re: Halo Director AnnouncedSPARTACVS 8/9/06 2:59 p.m.
                 Re: Halo Director AnnouncedSteveOll 8/9/06 3:17 p.m.
                 Re: Halo Director AnnouncedTFP 8/10/06 10:13 p.m.
     Doubts...Roger Wilco 8/9/06 3:25 p.m.
           Re: Doubts...Billstrom 8/9/06 3:29 p.m.
                 Re: Doubts...Spartan Jag 8/9/06 4:43 p.m.
           Piffle!Stuntmutt 8/9/06 3:40 p.m.
                 Pishaw!Roger Wilco 8/9/06 3:52 p.m.
                       Re: Pishaw!Anton P. Nym (aka Steve) 8/9/06 4:02 p.m.
                             Re: Pishaw!Jillybean 8/9/06 4:03 p.m.
                                   Re: Pishaw!Slimby 8/11/06 6:11 a.m.
                             Re: Rabble rabble rabble!gspawn 8/9/06 4:57 p.m.
                       Re: Pishaw!Bachus 8/10/06 7:37 p.m.
           Re: Doubts...Matt 8/9/06 4:11 p.m.
                 Re: Doubts...Stuntmutt 8/9/06 5:05 p.m.
                       ?Miguel Chavez 8/9/06 7:16 p.m.
                 Re: Doubts...Jayshum 8/9/06 5:39 p.m.
                       Re: Doubts...RobW 8/9/06 6:02 p.m.
                 Re: Doubts...Roger Wilco 8/9/06 6:42 p.m.
           Re: Doubts...meleeman 8/10/06 12:01 a.m.
                 Re: Doubts...Dr Sky tower 8/10/06 7:28 p.m.
                       Re: Doubts...Matt 8/10/06 10:02 p.m.
                             Re: Doubts...TFP 8/10/06 10:22 p.m.
                                   Re: Doubts...Matt 8/10/06 10:51 p.m.
                                   Re: Doubts...Tarrsk 8/11/06 12:15 a.m.
                                         Re: Doubts...Narcogen 8/11/06 3:28 a.m.
                             straw men make good burnin'Narcogen 8/11/06 3:26 a.m.
                                   Re: straw men make good burnin'Stephen L. (SoundEffect) 8/11/06 8:00 a.m.
                                   Re: straw men make good burnin'Matt 8/11/06 11:37 a.m.
                                         meh...as long as the movie turns out to be good... *NM*TFP 8/11/06 3:43 p.m.
                                         Re: straw men make good burnin'Roger Wilco 8/11/06 6:11 p.m.
                                               Re: straw men make good burnin'Matt 8/11/06 7:42 p.m.
                                                     Re: straw men make good burnin'Stuntmutt 8/12/06 4:26 a.m.
                                                           Re: straw men make good burnin'Narcogen 8/12/06 9:57 p.m.
                                         Predictable?Narcogen 8/12/06 9:55 p.m.
                                               Re: Predictable?Matt 8/14/06 11:43 a.m.
                                                     One could only hope.Narcogen 8/15/06 12:17 a.m.
                                                           you both are boring meMiguel Chavez 8/15/06 1:02 a.m.
                                                                 Re: you both are boring meNarcogen 8/15/06 11:07 p.m.
                                                                       Re: you talk like old people ****.Blackstar 8/16/06 7:07 a.m.
                                                           Re: One could only hope.Matt 8/16/06 8:50 a.m.
                                                                 Re: One could only hope.Louis Wu 8/16/06 8:56 a.m.
                                                                 Re: One could only hope.Miguel Chavez 8/16/06 12:01 p.m.
                                                                 Auteur! Auteur! *NM*Anton P. Nym (aka Steve) 8/16/06 12:37 p.m.
     Re: Halo Director Announcedjdogmoney 8/9/06 4:56 p.m.
     Re: Halo Director AnnouncedPaul 8/9/06 5:22 p.m.
     Re: Halo Director AnnouncedEchoes 8/9/06 5:22 p.m.
     Page Not Found?Dt7 8/9/06 6:31 p.m.
           Re: Page Not Found?Jillybean 8/9/06 6:36 p.m.
           Re: Page Not Found?Hookednhalo 8/9/06 7:17 p.m.
                 Re: Page Not Found?Endbringer 8/9/06 8:07 p.m.
                       Re: Page Not Found?Juan_Anselm 8/9/06 8:15 p.m.
                       Re: Page Not Found?KLind 8/9/06 9:33 p.m.
                             Ain't It Cool interview...Mid7night 8/11/06 4:10 p.m.
           Re: Page Not Found?DarkSim 8/9/06 8:48 p.m.
           Engadget has moresorahn 8/10/06 1:16 a.m.
     Re: Halo Director AnnouncedMuffinking 8/9/06 8:47 p.m.
           Thumbs up, yo.Meyeselph 8/9/06 9:01 p.m.
     Anyone Happen To Save The Article?Xmoose 8/9/06 11:26 p.m.
           Yeah.Spenser 8/10/06 12:54 a.m.
                 Awesome, Thanks *NM*Xmoose 8/10/06 5:54 a.m.



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