io9: stuart beattie

Halo Movie Maybe A Go, Thanks To Spielberg

Graeme McMillan — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:30:00 PDT

Is GI Joe writer Stuart Beattie's dream project about to come true, courtesy of a big-name benefactor? That's the rumor going around town right now. Are you ready for Steven Spielberg's Halo?

We told you last month about Beattie's desire to make a movie based on the popular Halo franchise and we showed you concept art from his pitch last August. But it seems that we weren't the only ones who noticed the passion in the GI Joe writer's words; Steven Spielberg is, according to IESB's sources, in active negotiations to sign onto the project — in the process, resurrecting it from the dead state it's collapsed into — because of Beattie's pitch.

Whether or not this means that the movie will ever get made, remains to be seen — Halo has already defeated Peter Jackson, after all.

Master Chief and HALO May Be Coming to the Big Screen Sooner than Expected with a New Big Name Producer [IESB]

GI Joe's Writer Pitches The Internet His Halo Movie

Graeme McMillan — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 07:00:22 PDT

Want to see a Halo movie? So does GI Joe: Rise of Cobra writer Stuart Beattie, which may be why he's giving interviews about the potential movie despite the project being assumed dead in Hollywood. Viralpushforanon-existentmovie go!

Beattie talked to SciFi Wire about the Halo movie that he wants to make so much, he's even come up with his own concept art:

I just think it's an amazing story about this child that no one cares about and who cares for no one else, who kind of ends up saving all of humanity... "I wouldn't want to stand in the way of it getting made, but I firmly believe that the first Halo movie needs to be the Fall of Reach story, because it sets up all the characters, the world, the Covenant, the big struggle between mankind and the aliens, all that stuff... that's where my money is.

But why make a Halo movie in the first place?

I think not every video game should be made into a movie, just like not every book should be made into a movie. Not every comic book should, but certain ones definitely should, because they're so visual, the characters are so rich and the mythology is so vast that they should. Halo is definitely one of the shoulds... It's like our generation's Star Wars. The whole Halo nation that's out there, and a 100,000-year history of the Halo universe, it's just breathtaking and so much fun to play in that sandbox. I've read every book, played every game, every graphic novel. It's just a fun world to be in.

And, as every wish made on the internet comes true in some strange way - just try it, if you don't believe me - Beattie's IMDB listing already lists his fantasy Halo movie as having been announced. Now that's fast.

Why Stuart Beattie believes his Halo film will work [SciFi Wire]

The Master Chief Zooms Up Out Of The Darkness, But Will Microsoft Push Him Back Down?

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:30:00 PDT

Will Microsoft finally pull its foot off the brake and let a big-screen Halo movie go forward? Maybe, once the suits see this concept art of the Master Chief and his troops zooming upwards, by concept artist Hasra Farahani. The art goes with Stuart Beattie's spec script, which is based on the best-selling Halo: Fall Of Reach novel. Farahani created this concept art as part of a presentation to Microsoft based around Beattie's script. This is just a detail of the whole image, and you can view the whole thing at the link. [Latino Review]

Will The Master Chief Be A Movie Star?

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:00:00 PDT

After three different scripts, the Halo movie has fallen into development hell due to "cockblocking" from the control freaks at Microsoft. So screenwriter Stuart Beattie (G.I. Joe) has decided to try and break the logjam by writing a Halo script on spec. Minor spoilers ahead.

Based on the Fall of Reach prequel novel, Beattie's script follows a soldier named John from his conscription into the USNC to his transformation into the Master Chief. Then we see the horrific first contact with the Covenant, leading to the fall of the USNC base on Reach, which only the Master Chief survives. Beattie also has sketched out the plots for two sequels. Now will Microsoft pay attention? [Latino Review, which swears this isn't an April Fools thing.]