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| Big Games, Bad Movies… |
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| Great games do not necessarily mean great movies, as a series of game-based flops have proved recently |
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With global revenue of $24.5 billion in 2004, the video game industry dwarfs the $9.5 billion in domestic theatrical revenue earned by the film industry. That fact has movie executives hoping to turn all those loyal garners into equally eager ticket buyers. But getting game boys to surrender their joysticks for a trip to the multiplex-not to mention attracting non-gamers to multimillion-dollar films-has proved a difficult challenge, which Universal Pictures hopes to overcome with the release of a movie adaptation of the best-selling game Doom, directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. "There have been some good ones, but there have been many more that have not met audiences expectations," said John Wells, one of the producers of Doom, regarding the spotty track record video game adaptations at the box office. The genre, still in its adolescence, might have matured some since Buena Vistas 1993 release of Super Mario Bros, which grossed just $21 million. But the runaway hits-most notably Paramount Pictures Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, which grossed $131 million in 2001-have been few.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Games have very loyal fans, which has been both a blessing and a curse. "These movies have a built-in fan base, which you have to make happy; they have expectations," said Dave Callaham, one of Dooms writers. "Every one of those fans has in their heads designed the perfect version of the movie." Disappoint those fans, and a movie doesnt stand a chance. As a result, some of the video game/movie flame-outs have been spectacular. Sony Pictures spent an estimated $137 million on its CG-animated Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. When it grossed just $32 million, it led to the closing of Square Pictures animation studio in Hawaii. Even though successful video games spin off a steady stream of sequels, that has not been the case for video game movies. Paramount stumbled when it tried to develop its franchise with 2003s Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, whose $65 million domestic gross couldnt match its estimated $95 million budget.
Only Screen Gems has managed to develop a reliable ongoing franchise with its two Resident Evil movies, written and produced by Paul WS Anderson, who also directed the first feature. 2002s Resident Evil, budgeted at $40.1 million, grossed $110 million worldwide, while last years Resident Evil: Apocalypse racked up $129 million internationally. The economics of such movies can be tricky. Because most of them reflect the violent worlds of the games on which they are
based, they have been rated R, which limits the size of prospective audiences.
BUDGET-CONSCIOUS
Anderson, who had one of the genres first hits in Mortal Kombat and who is writing a third Resident Evil installment, said one of the keys to making successful video game adaptations is keeping budgets at modest, rather than stratospheric, levels-their FX demands notwithstanding. "The budget is something I keep in mind because I own a percentage of the negative of the movies I make," he said. "I love Resident Evil, and I want to continue it as a franchise for a long time. If we goinsane and make Resident Evil II for $100,million, there probably wont be a Resident Evil Iv!" Still, in mounting Doom, based on the game made by Id Software, Universal is wagering a budget of about $70 million on the feature, which stars Dwayne The Rock
Johnson and Karl Urban. Like in the game, the movie finds a squadron of Marines fighting off monsters in a research facility on Mars. Said Wells, "Doom has a wonderful cinematic venue; its atmospheric and moody and scary. So you know the genre youre in, but you still have to craft a complete story." However even a compelling tale must confront some of the natural limits of the genre. "Its an R-rated movie, and its a sci-fi horror movie, and those have capped audiences," said one exec, who declined to be named. "Its not a four-quadrant film."
NOT KID STUFF
Even though the popular image of garners is that they are nothing but teenage boys, the Doom film-makers insist they arent depending on attracting a teen audience, many of whom are too young to see the movie. "If you talk to the gaming company, the primary audience is really a bit older because they have the money to buy the games," said Doom producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. He pointed out that those who made the initial Doom games hits are now between 25 and 35. However Doom the movie fares this weekend, film-makers who specialise in adapting games appear to be looking for that one adaptation that takes the genre to the next level. "Video games are like comic book movies: You need a Spiderman and an X-men to show people what you can achieve with a video game movie done right," said Adrian Askarieh, who is producing an adaptation of Spy Hunter, with Johnson attached to star, as well as Hitman, with Vin Diesel attached. "When studios start making them with passionate first-rate directors and good writers, they too can taste success"
That day might be on the horizon: This month, film-maker Peter Jackson joined the production of a big-screen version of the video game Halo as an executive producer. He will give creative input on the film, and his Weta Digital Ltd and Weta Workshop Ltd will provide creatures, miniatures and visual effects for the production.
And just as the first generation of garners is growing older, the genre might continue to mature as well.
Said Anderson: "For Lord of the Rings, there were many generations of people who read those book and loved those books. Video game properties have not had that exposure over that amount of time. Yet."
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