tekið af Megagames.com

Microsoft's negotiations with Hollywood for the rights to the Halo movie may be a sign of the growing power of the gaming industry. The terms set by Microsoft and the company's demands may pave the way for better treatment of game-to-movie projects, but a lot will depend on how the final product will be received by the viewing public.

Creative Artists Agency, Microsoft's agents negotiating the Halo rights deal, put forth an aggressive proposal which outraged movie studio executives. Microsoft's demands included a USD 10 million upfront fee for the rights to the Halo movie, approval over the cast and director and a mere 60 first-class plane tickets for MS people to the movie premiere. This attitude by MS led to some tension with five studios dropping out of the bidding within 24 hours of reading the script, with DreamWorks SKG and Paramount Pictures among the first dropouts. The two that remained, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, seemed daunted by the price although it is rumored that a deal with one of the two is near completion.

This being Microsoft, we do have to be careful about deciding what is true and what is hype but the fact that Hollywood is listening carefully to the gaming community cannot be denied. The recent onslaught of Uwe Boll gaming related projects has left the industry's credibility in tatters; of the most popular adaptations only one has earned more than USD 100 million in the US: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Hopefully Microsoft will be careful with its product and will avoid hiring Uwe Boll as its director, let us all hope that Far Cry is the last title sacrificed on that particular alta