Red Faction movie in the works, possible TV series

[clint g]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6260485.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2

According to the trade, the two-hour Red Faction movie will be a potential pilot for TV series based on the franchise, which was itself partially inspired by the film Total Recall. A similar arrangement saw a 2003 miniseries remake based on the 1970s show Battlestar Galactica turn into a full-fledged--and award-winning--series that ran from 2004 to 2009.

A pretty interesting development. I could actually see this turning out decently. It will also be nice seeing more Sci-Fi coming to SyFy

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I don't know, the plot of the original Red Faction was pretty pedestrian. Oppressed workers revolt and break away from their corporate masters!

You could get a good action-adventure kind of movie out of it, but I don't think it would be anything special.

I wish somebody would have the balls to make a Homeworld movie.

 

[Canadave]

I wish somebody would have the balls to make a Homeworld movie.

Me too. That would be epic.

As for this... I didn't think Red Faction was even that popular. It sold well enough, but seems like a strange game to use to jumpstart a franchise.

 

[Reverend]

I imagine the broad strokes of the game's story would just be used as a backdrop to tell whatever story they actually want to tell. It could work.

I don't know about a Homeworld movie though. So much of the story telling was done though pure voice work that we hardly saw any actual people and how interesting would it be for the entire film be a bunch of people standing around fleet command looking at tactical displays? A novelization might work though.

Now a Half-Life/Half-Life 2 movie, that'd be interesting. Though it'd be a mistake to try and characterise the ever mute Dr. Freeman, I have a pet notion that Alyx could be written as a film's central character. Gordon would still be there, but in a more obscure Keyser Söze kinda way. Like future John Conner in the first two Terminator films. He seldom appeared but his presence and actions strongly permeate both films.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I imagine the broad strokes of the game's story would just be used as a backdrop to tell whatever story they actually want to tell. It could work.

I don't know about a Homeworld movie though. So much of the story telling was done though pure voice work that we hardly saw any actual people and how interesting would it be for the entire film be a bunch of people standing around fleet command looking at tactical displays? A novelization might work though.

Now a Half-Life/Half-Life 2 movie, that'd be interesting. Though it'd be a mistake to try and characterise the ever mute Dr. Freeman, I have a pet notion that Alyx could be written as a film's central character. Gordon would still be there, but in a more obscure Keyser Söze kinda way. Like future John Conner in the first two Terminator films. He seldom appeared but his presence and actions strongly permeate both films.

A Homeworld movie would have to humanize and portray, at a minimum, three people: Karan Sjet, Fleet Intelligence (the male voice), and a pilot. Maybe throw in a civilian crew working one of the Harvesters and you've got a cast.

The selling point would be that the movie is all space battles. Most scenes would probably be set within the Mothership, though, and we have no idea what the interior of it looks like, do we?

Sorry for derailing the Red Faction movie thread, though. It could definitely make a cool movie, and I'm a sucker for stuff set on a colonized Mars. I just hope it will be good and do more with the story than just a pedestrian rebellion thing.

 

[Canadave]

^ Honestly, I think if you want to do a Mars-rebellion story, you're far better off trying to adapt a series out of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy.

 

[Reverend]

^I must admit, I'd love to see the tether cutting scene on the big screen. If done well it could be spectacular.
Having said that I could do without the dirt eating, creepy old Japanese lady and the greenhouse full of children. Parts of those books got downright odd.

A Homeworld movie would have to humanize and portray, at a minimum, three people: Karan Sjet, Fleet Intelligence (the male voice), and a pilot. Maybe throw in a civilian crew working one of the Harvesters and you've got a cast.

Of course straight away one third of your cast is permanently (until the end) stationary and stuck in a glass bottle. I'm not saying it can't be done or I wouldn't like to see an attempt but i have a hard time imagining what the tone and character of such a movie could be.

The selling point would be that the movie is all space battles. Most scenes would probably be set within the Mothership, though, and we have no idea what the interior of it looks like, do we?

I imagine the interior would look like a Peter Elson or Chris Foss painting.
As for the space battle, I'm not sure I'd trust Hollywood to capture the graceful majesty that defined Homeworld, even in intense dogfights and mass fleet engagements. It's more likely to degenerate into a mess of bright colours, quick edits and high octane action set against a thumping soundtrack.

Sorry for derailing the Red Faction movie thread, though. It could definitely make a cool movie, and I'm a sucker for stuff set on a colonized Mars. I just hope it will be good and do more with the story than just a pedestrian rebellion thing.

...Hmm, maybe we should start a new thread about games we'd like to see adapted?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: Red Faction movie

I posted about this a couple days ago.
Red Faction movie on SyFy
http://trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=4026767&postcount=9

 

[Canadave]

I imagine the interior would look like a Peter Elson or Chris Foss painting.
As for the space battle, I'm not sure I'd trust Hollywood to capture the graceful majesty that defined Homeworld, even in intense dogfights and mass fleet engagements. It's more likely to degenerate into a mess of bright colours, quick edits and high octane action set against a thumping soundtrack.

Apologies for continuing the derail, but you're right. A Homeworld movie would need to be very, very ethereal, and I'm not sure if that would be a big sell in Hollywood. Part of the reason the game works so well, I find, is because you feel so... alone. The slow, haunting soundtrack, the vast, empty maps... I'm not sure how well a movie could convey that.

 

[Reverend]

Or for that matter how good a movie it'd make. 2001, Mission to Mars and Solaris all took the slow, quiet, isolated approach to space travel and whatever else you can say about the films on their own merits, the results were unarguably Dull.
On the other hand, that approach might work better for an animated film, maybe even an anime...a good one that is. Think IG Productions meets Hayao Miyazaki.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I imagine the interior would look like a Peter Elson or Chris Foss painting.
As for the space battle, I'm not sure I'd trust Hollywood to capture the graceful majesty that defined Homeworld, even in intense dogfights and mass fleet engagements. It's more likely to degenerate into a mess of bright colours, quick edits and high octane action set against a thumping soundtrack.

Apologies for continuing the derail, but you're right. A Homeworld movie would need to be very, very ethereal, and I'm not sure if that would be a big sell in Hollywood. Part of the reason the game works so well, I find, is because you feel so... alone. The slow, haunting soundtrack, the vast, empty maps... I'm not sure how well a movie could convey that.

I agree, the aesthetic of the game is one of its greatest strengths. It's quietly epic, taking the low-key approach rather than going for explosive bombast. It works incredibly well, too, because the handful of times you sense any emotion in the voices of either Fleet Command or Fleet Intelligence, you know the shit has hit the fan.

Or for that matter how good a movie it'd make. 2001, Mission to Mars and Solaris all took the slow, quiet, isolated approach to space travel and whatever else you can say about the films on their own merits, the results were unarguably Dull.
On the other hand, that approach might work better for an animated film, maybe even an anime...a good one that is. Think IG Productions meets Hayao Miyazaki.

An anime Homeworld would be pretty sweet as long as they don't make it a rapid-fire epilepsy engine.

I would pay good money just to see a filmed/animated take on the Garden of the Kadesh sequence.

 

[clint g]

I really really should play homeworld someday

 

[Robert Maxwell]

You really should. It's awesome. And you can probably get it for under $10 now. Like here.

The Game of the Year Edition is $75 new now, though, which is what I have.

 

[Lindley]

I've played Homeworld 2. Is the first one as good?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Homeworld 2, which I have not played, is usually described as an enhanced remake of the original. If you enjoyed Homeworld 2, then you will probably like the first one, but keep in mind the mechanics are simpler and the graphics will be more dated.

The production quality is superb, though, and the way the story is told (through voiceovers and animatics) still holds up, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[O'Dib]

I never got around to Homeworld 2, and I found Homeworld prohibitively difficult. Carrying over the same diminishing army from mission to mission against increasingly numerous enemies? Insane. Anyway, a movie would be a little too close to BSG in concept.

 

[Lindley]

That's why you take every opportunity to increase the size of your fleet!

 

[O'Dib]

Of course, but it's frustrating, after just barely beating a mission, realizing you're ill equipped for the next one. It diminishes the satisfaction of a winning streak, when it hits you that you'd have to go back and redo the whole game up to that point. The traditional RTS where each mission is self-contained, while it would make little sense in this context, is better conceived. I actually recently considered going back in with dedication bordering OCD, but realized the game looks a bit too dated for me at this point.

 

[Lindley]

But on the plus side, when you've managed to build up a squad of 20 Ion Frigates, your ability to totally obliterate enemy capships remains undiminished the next mission.

 

[Reverend]

There are some tricks like making sure you totally harvest out a map before jumping so you have all the possible resources to repair, replenish and research. Capturing enemy capital ships is also a must and the ion frigates in the "Garden" level are a godsend later on if you can get them.

[EDIT] Damn you Lindley!

I liked that it was difficult; games were supposed to be challenging back then and you get a real sense of achievement when you do eventually beat it. These days I can usually complete a newly released game in a few days or a week (on and off) instead of the months games used to take. Hell, I still have some old games I've still never finished!