/-/S'pht-Translator-Active/-/

	Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Marathon Movie
	Posted By: REB	Date: 3/31/02 8:39 p.m.
	Beer Can have done it again. Do you guys remember he talked about a movie script in which the Marathon story was based? Read below. Greets: I believe I mentioned to you some time ago that I'd read a screenplay, written December 1990/January 1991, that seems to me to be a place where a great deal of Marathon started. I just got ahold of a copy, and am just about through it. Wow. First of all, this work is as it was back in 1990/1991. This is an absolute certainty, based upon the way I came about it. Now: This is either a colossal coincidence on a stellar scale, or Grand Theft Idea. Christ, there's even an AI with an attitude (toward the end). Plus: There's a small, malfunctioning security drone that flies around and causes hell for the protagonist. The aliens have solid "cords" of hair running down their backs. When the aliens are killed, they erupt in (I'm copying this right out of the script) "a gush of luminous, multicolored goo." The aliens have spider-esque, multiple eyes. There's a sequence where a shuttle hauls ass and semi-crash-lands in an open hangar bay. A story point revolves around a blast door that will only partially raise. Most of the action takes place on an alien ship in earth orbit, which has been invaded by two solitary human soldiers (followed later by a group of others). From there, they go to a hidden alien base, nearby. And there’s more. I can see why this script wasn't made at the time it was written. There was no technology to do it. It's otherwise an ass-kicking romp, with amazing action, and, for the time, extremely fresh and quite original ideas. And it's pretty funny, too. I can also see why Schwarzenneger liked it, and why the guy who produced a couple of Lucas/Spielberg movies also dug it. But man: What to say about the Bungie cats? The strongest evidence to support a borrowing of this work by the Bungie guys is the fact that they've had no qualms about "borrowing" stuff before. I give you "Lost Tomb" as a stunning example. On top of that, I know for an unalterable fact that this script made rounds not only at ILM, but all over effects houses in Los Angeles. A lot of "computer guys" had access, and in those days, there weren’t all that many, like now. I even remember hearing about one guy in particular (at an effects place in the San Fernando Valley, the name of which escapes me) who said something obscure about it making a great game. Possible a copy of the script got into a Bungie guy's hands, and he figured, "This thing will never get made, and it's got some cool ideas, so..." Note that it's not an exact duplicate, at all, but seems very, very much to be a basic "outlay" of the Marathon experience. I'm professional enough to know the difference between sheer coincidence and duplication... And this, my friend, is just too close: There's too many elements that bear remarkable similarity. If only one or two things were familiar, I'd say, "Bah!" But with so many little snigglets having a match...I wonder. I really do. On the other hand...you can't copyright "ideas." Yeah, this work is protected, but the ideas are not. Furthermore, you'd have to prove it. Impossible to do. But it makes for a very, very interesting bit of thought. Furthermore, if this thing ever DOES see the light of day, nobody can touch the material with a ten foot pole: It was registered with the Writer’s Guild of America, West, in January 1991, and a previous incarnation was registered in appx. 1988/1989. Anyway, figured you'd find this most interesting. :: Beer Can :: I alredy asked him about the title and how did he know Arnold Schwarzenegger liked the script. Here's a wacky coincidence: next year, Arnold is going to be on Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines. The first level of Marathon Infinity is Rise Robot Rise. So if you consider Infinity as M3... yeah, even Hamish will consider this as too weird to be true. But it's funny to think of Arnold saying "Frog Blast The Vent Core!" or "Fhrog Vlazt Da Bent Korr!" as the case may be.

Problems? Suggestions? Comments? Email maintainer@bungie.org Marathon's Story Forum is maintained with WebBBS 5.12.