Hollywood and Video Games: A Volatile Affair

Video game movies: a taboo subject for any gamer. Merely utter the possibility of an upcoming cross-medium production, and you may find yourself bombarded with groans, satiric speculations, and hands reaching to the heavens yelling, “Why?!” All because of the shadowy stigma that has haunted the video game film genre: they’re garbage. While one name has become almost synonymous with bad VG-film adaptations, Uwe Boll is not responsible for all of them.

Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros., D.O.A.: we can thank Hollywood for those sparkling balls of suck. Granted, there are the few that have stood out from the catalog of crossovers, passing as either “acceptable” or as “more for the fans” films. Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Tomb Raider: I may risk discredit for my taste in films, but I personally felt that they were okay. Not Oscar-worthy, but not bad.

Regardless, the stigma is still there.  In what appears to be an attempt to make amends with the gaming community, Hollywood has begun flexing a bit of muscle. By muscle, I mean bigger stars, better directors, and better scripts. With a proverbial white flag raised, several projects have already seen the so-called muscle in action with bigger names becoming attached.


Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: Directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, both National Treasure films), and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Sir Ben Kingsley. This film has ‘blockbuster’ written all over it.

Bioshock Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) recently signed on to direct, with the screenplay being written by John Logan (Sweeney Todd, The Aviator).

Kane & Lynch: Bruce Willis is set to star as Kane, with Simon Crane helming the film (second unit director/stunt coordinator for Hancock and Mr. & Mrs. Smith); a directorial debut, but with an impressive background that shows promise.

Max Payne: Due out October 17, Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis lend their star power under the direction of John Moore (The Omen, Behind Enemy Lines). And given from what I’ve seen in the trailer, October can’t come soon enough:

And then there’s Halo: While Peter Jackson’s name is still attached to this project as producer, the Chief has apparently fallen into “developmental hell.” However, recent rumors have surfaced that Stuart Beattie (upcoming G.I. Joe film) has a script ready.

A Gears of War movie was also recently announced. Directorial duties have been handed to the veteran Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, both Underworld films). Cliff Bleszinski will be executive producer and development consultant for the film, illustrating a determined approach from Hollywood to work more closely with the source material for VG films.

So while the stigma of the VG film genre may be ever prominent, it doesn’t seem to be stopping Hollywood. The gaming industry has proven itself a true rival in terms of revenue, and may be the very reason that Hollywood is finally showing signs of proper treatment of the genre.

Poorly hashed scripts, bad acting, bad directing, and severe deviations from the source materials will only continue to hurt the image (and profit potential) of VG film crossovers. Big names and budgets are a start, but without these basics in place, the genre may still be killed off altogether.