BuzzSugar

Brad Pitt Enters the Dark Void

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:54 -0800

Introducing Brad Pitt, computer game star: the actor's production company Plan B has signed off on a deal with Capcom to adapt the game Dark Void for the big screen with Pitt as the lead. Void follows a pilot who crashes in the Bermuda Triangle and finds himself in an alternate universe fighting off aliens intent on taking over the human race.

This seems more like Will Smith territory to me - I immediately think of something along the lines of I, Robot or I Am Legend. Even so, I welcome the chance to see Pitt in a sci-fi action movie, and this storyline sounds tailor-made for the blockbuster treatment.

What do you think about Pitt as a gaming hero?

Buzz In: What Do You Think of Movies Based on Video Games?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:30:44 -0700

War play video game Call of Duty could join the ranks of Max Payne and Prince of Persia by going from gaming console to big screen: an adaptation of the game may be in the works (admittedly, all I know about Call of Duty is that it's the video game Jim, Karen, and Andy played in the Stamford branch on The Office).

Video games have been mined for years for movie potential, but only a few have proved successful. Sometimes the movies are entertaining, but other times the plot lines come second to special effects. I have mixed feelings; I think Tomb Raider is great but Super Mario Bros. majorly missed the mark. Where do you stand? Do you hold a particular video game movie close to your heart?

Four Studios Fought For the Rights to the Asteroids Video Game?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:30:21 -0700

Do you remember the Asteroids video game? It's one of the most basic video games ever. The player has to shoot asteroids with his or her tiny spaceship and avoid being smashed. Video games have come a long way since the Asteroids days, and yet some folks in Hollywood are very anxious to bring Asteroids back - in movie form. In fact, Universal just won the rights in a bidding war against three other studios.

Huh?

Maybe there's more to this video game than I can see because it seems like a lot of fighting over something that doesn't really inherently provide a story. Now, Pac Man I could understand. There's romance and dangerous chases! But Asteroids? Huh.

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Sound Off: A Beatles Video Game?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:30:28 -0700

No, it's not going to be another Rock Band game, though it may not be too far off. MTV Networks is teaming with Harmonix and the Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. to develop a video game "based solely and exclusively on the entire Beatles catalog." Billboard has more details:

The game is designed to take users on an "experiential journey" through the Beatles' career, music and vision. It will also include new types of interactive gameplay associated with the Beatles' imagery in addition to its music. Surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, are involved in the vision and creative direction.

The music will come from master recordings of the Beatles' U.K. releases, but will not be remixed or remastered.

Apple Corps CEO Jeff Jones went on to emphasize that this announcement "was in no way meant as a precursor to the Beatles' catalog arriving at digital music services."

What do you think of this news? Many of you found it blasphemous when there was Beatles night on American Idol - should the video game industry also just leave them alone? Or is a video game just a video game, no big deal?

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What on Earth Will a Video Game Based on Clueless Be Like?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:30:35 -0700

Things that make me go "hmm...": I spotted on GeekSugar yesterday this news that several new movies have been picked up as future video games - and they're not your usual action-heavy flicks with guns and bombs or. . . action of any kind (unless you count Cher's steamy online chat, after which "he just logged off"). They're Clueless, Mean Girls and Pretty in Pink.

On the one hand, it's nice that there are going to be video games for girls, and ones that aren't totally violent. On the other hand, seriously, what will these games entail? Competitive shopping? Backstabbing contests? A race against time to alter Iona's old pink prom dress? Brainstorm below.

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Leo to Show Us His Geeky Side in Atari Biopic

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 05:30:17 -0700

Do you remember Atari? The way-cool-at-the-time arcade and home video gaming systems of the 1970s and early-1980s? I sure do. I have distinct memories of whiling away hours on end in basements playing games like Pong and Pitfall. I remember learning the word "joystick" and thinking it was a funny, yet appropriate, term.

Anyway, there's now a movie in the works about Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, with Leonardo DiCaprio set to star as this "creator of Atari and one of the founding fathers of the vidgame industry." Variety continues:

Although Bushnell's life rights had long been pursued by various suitors, [screenwriter Brian] Hecker and Craig Sherman convinced the gaming pioneer that they could do his unique story justice. Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded Atari Inc. in 1972 and were instrumental in bringing arcade games, home vidgame consoles and home computers to the masses.

To top things off, Brain Hecker is writing the script, and he's responsible for having penned one of my favorite films from this year's Tribeca Film Festival, Bart Got A Room. This project seems so random to me, but I'm also both amused and intrigued to see what happens with it.

If you think your Atari knowledge is pretty impressive, take Geek's quiz and test the ol' memory.

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Jake Gyllenhaal to Become the Prince of Persia for Disney

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:23:14 -0700

According to Hollywood Reporter, Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton will star together in a film adaptation of the Prince of Persia video game for Disney. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Mona Lisa Smile, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will be a "fantasy adventure" in which "Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a young prince in sixth century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world."

Jake Gyllenhaal in a fantasy adventure for Disney. . . Thoughts?

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Who You Gonna Call? Ghostbusters Video Game

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:26:30 -0800

Motivated by the success of other classic movies-turned-video games (Scarface, The Godfather), Sony has inked a deal to make the campy Ghostbusters franchise into a video game. What's more, not only will all four of the main movie guys (Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis) and some of the supporting actors (William Atherton, Annie Potts) be lending their voices and likeness to the game, but Akroyd and Ramis will also be writing a story for it.

Aykroyd and Ramis' story will take place in the early '90s, after Ghostbusters II, "during a new ghoul invasion of New York City."

What other beloved '80s movies would make good video games? Personally, I'd love to see one for Adventures in Babysitting. What about you?

"Heroes" Video Game in the Works!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:31:49 -0700

Well, you all called it: After the news that "The Office" was getting its own video game, you predicted "Heroes" would be next - and it is! Apparently, series creator Tim Kring had a video game in mind for the "Heroes" franchise from the very beginning of the project. In fact, the idea of a video game down the line even influenced the way the writers conceived of story lines for the show. Hollywood Reporter has more:

"From Day 1 we've all been thinking about the game," said "Heroes" co-executive producer Jesse Alexander, who first hinted about the game during an online podcast in May. "All along we've been writing some of our stories in ways they can tie into the eventual video game."

Instead of highlighting a specific character's heroic journey, the game will focus on the entire ensemble cast. The game also is expected to play a crucial role in how the show's writers explore cross-platform storytelling for future seasons.

To ensure its relevance, the "Heroes" game won't retell a specific volume's story or be used as a bridge between seasons. "We want it to have a lasting shelf-life and tell a distinctive story that gives you enhanced insight into the entire franchise," said Alexander, an avid gamer.

My first assumption was that the player would get to choose which character he/she wanted to play, thus getting to use the character's special ability. I'm so curious to find out how this will go with it being an "ensemble" game. There's no precise release date for the game, though the article states, "The untitled game could be in stores as soon as late 2008." I'm not sure I can wait that long! Can you?

Source

What TV Show Should Become a Video Game Next?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:30:00 -0700

In case you missed it, gamemaking company MumboJumbo has secured the rights from NBC to make "The Office" into a video game. Apparently, they plan to "turn 'The Office' into a humorous game in which players have to handle jobs and play pranks at Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch." This will be a "simplistic and low-cost" video game for the likes of Nintendo DS, not Wii or Xbox 360.

I find it baffling that a half-hour comedy show about office life has made its way to the world of video games, but now that it has, what's next? Which of today's popular TV shows would you most like to see adapted for virtual gaming?