Topic: HELL YES! (Mass Effect movie)

[Pugnate]

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/129/index/2717410

From PC GAMER's facebook page:

It's official: A Mass Effect movie is in the works. It's being done by the folks at Legendary, the production house responsible for The Dark Knight, 300, The Watchmen, all of which treated their comicbook source material with great respect. Could this be the first great gaming movie?

[beo]

awesome. i really hope that they cover another part of the mass effect universe, rather than rehashing the games. there's huge potential there.

[MysterD]

*shrugs*

If it's a self-contained story, it might work.

If they try turning a 30-50 hour game into a 2-hour flick, FORGET IT.

[Pugnate]

Yes, because the game took 30-50 hours to tell a story.

[MysterD]

Yes, because you the game took 30-50 hours to tell a story.

No, but there was plenty of action and plenty of storytelling.

I doubt all the story-stuff - if for some reason they took any of any of the game's story - could be told in TWO hours.

Stuff like that could be told through an episodic fashion for a few seasons.

[sirean_syan]

I saw a post somewhere else that summed things up pretty nicely. I'll paraphrase:

Mass Effect already looks good, is telling a pretty good story, is well acted, looks pretty cinematic, and lets you control the story way more than most games.

Why bother with the downgrade?

[angrykeebler]

*shrugs*

If it's a self-contained story, it might work.

If they try turning a 30-50 hour game into a 2-hour flick, FORGET IT.

So you want them to include everything in the movie.

Like all the time you spend vendoring shit, time spent lost in a level, time spent picking a dialogue choice, time spent creating your character, etc?

just....no

[gpw11]

I saw a post somewhere else that summed things up pretty nicely. I'll paraphrase:

Mass Effect already looks good, is telling a pretty good story, is well acted, looks pretty cinematic, and lets you control the story way more than most games.

Why bother with the downgrade?

Different market.  A lot of people don't play videogames and especially don't play RPGs.  Think about something like 300....reached a far larger audience as a movie -- not just because of the cinematic "upgrade", but because 99% of people don't know what the fuck a graphic novel is.

[Pugnate]

I saw a post somewhere else that summed things up pretty nicely. I'll paraphrase:

Mass Effect already looks good, is telling a pretty good story, is well acted, looks pretty cinematic, and lets you control the story way more than most games.

Why bother with the downgrade?

What GPW said, and I think you can expand on plenty of stuff. The first game had a sense of wonder I'd love to be captured on film.

edit:

OK they already casted Ashley. That was fast. If you don't want to wait for the movie then go ahead:

(click to show/hide)

[MysterD]

So you want them to include everything in the movie.

No.

Like all the time you spend vendoring shit, time spent lost in a level, time spent picking a dialogue choice, time spent creating your character, etc?

just....no

NO.

My point is it's hard to take a game that is played in say 30-50 hours and try and make that work in a 2 hour movie. Hell, it's been hard for them to get 10 hour games and turn them into a film!!!

Many game-to-film translations have been...poor.

Max Payne movie was not good at all - and they took elements from two games (Max Payne 1 game is about 10-12 hours; Max Payne 2 game is around 6-8 hours). For some odd reason, the Max Payne film lacked one of the game's man elements - ACTION.

Silent Hill movie borrowed elements from a few of the SH games (SH games usually range from 8-12 hours a piece) - and it didn't turn out good either.

[PyroMenace]

My point is it's hard to take a game that is played in say 30-50 hours and try and make that work in a 2 hour movie. Hell, it's been hard for them to get 10 hour games and turn them into a film!!!

Like all the time you spend vendoring shit, time spent lost in a level, time spent picking a dialogue choice, time spent creating your character, etc?

[MysterD]

I can't wait to see the mining planets aspect in Mass Effect movie... 

EDIT:

Like all the time you spend vendoring shit, time spent lost in a level, time spent picking a dialogue choice, time spent creating your character, etc?

Throw that gaming aspect out, you'll still have more story and dialogue than you can provide in a 2-hour film. That amount of story could be told easier in a Season of a TV series.

Movies likely hold a bigger audience. I still think games being turned into movie is a marketing tool to try and get those who ain't bought the games to get into them...

[Ghandi]

*shrugs*

If it's a self-contained story, it might work.

If they try turning a 30-50 hour game into a 2-hour flick, FORGET IT.

[gpw11]

Mass Effect does have a shitloat of dialogue, but I imagine that if you streamlined it you could cut the story elements down fairly well.  It's not a complicated or overly intricate plot line compared to many many games.

[Pugnate]

Mass Effect does have a shitloat of dialogue, but I imagine that if you streamlined it you could cut the story elements down fairly well.  It's not a complicated or overly intricate plot line compared to many many games.

What GPW said.

My point is it's hard to take a game that is played in say 30-50 hours and try and make that work in a 2 hour movie. Hell, it's been hard for them to get 10 hour games and turn them into a film!!!

There is a reason why most 10 hour games struggle in film form, and it is because they have very little story telling, and most of it has to be added by the screen writers.

Mass Effect's game's world is so rich with many wondrous sites, and great character and back story that any good screen writer should be able to put together a fine story.

You will probably see an ensemble cast featuring Shepard, Tali, Wrex, Ashley, Kaiden, Dr.Liara, and Garrus... though they will probably go deep with only three or four of those... like say, the new Star Trek flick.

Beo's idea about covering a separate aspect of the ME universe is interesting, and probably a sensible one, but I don't think it will happen, as it won't be financially sound to ignore the recognizable characters. They want to sell this movie with Shepard's face on it.

Wow, I feel like playing ME again. That music you hear on the Normandy is in my head.

Any ideas who they should cast as Shepard?

[MysterD]

Any ideas who they should cast as Shepard?

Nolan North.

[Pugnate]

What about Dominic Purcell? Matthew Fox looks a lot more like him though.

GPW can be cast as Wrex.

[Xessive]

Oh yeah man, Shepard even looks like he was modeled after Matthew Fox!

[angrykeebler]

Interesting you said Matthew Fox. I may be crazy but I think they based Commander Shepard's character on Fox's from "Lost". the both look alike and have similar last names ("shepard" and "shepherd")

[MysterD]

What about Dominic Purcell? Matthew Fox looks a lot more like him though.

Either one could work.

GPW can be cast as Wrex.

LOL!

Martin Sheen could be The Illusive Man (if they are taking on Cerberus in this story).
Seth Green can be Joker.

Mila Kunis can be Ashley.

[Pugnate]

I doubt they will get into Cerberus for now -- though they may hint at it.

The rest aren't bad choices... Seth Green already does the voice, so it would be a fit.

Not sure about Kunis as an actress though.

[PyroMenace]

Martin Sheen is too old and fat to be the Illusive man, he just has the voice. They just made him look like he did when he was younger.

[MysterD]

How about Charlie Sheen as Illusive?