Mass Effect movie announced

[General Zod]

You can do that easily by focusing on the contact war, or something post-trilogy. Or make up a standalone story. What would "new fans" know what is obscure and what isn't anyway?
This kind of "stay the course" logic is what's turned the Star Wars EU into a stale, tiny universe always focusing on the movie characters and their descendants.

If you're just trying to confuse a new fan who sees the movie first and then goes to play the game, only to find it's nothing alike, then congratulations. Otherwise I don't see the point beyond appeasing fat nerds. If comic book movies can follow the general plot elements of their comics and still be successful then I don't see why that can't work for video-games.

[Gramzamber]

If you're just trying to confuse a new fan who sees the movie first and then goes to play the game, only to find it's nothing alike, then congratulations.

Who the fuck cares? Seriously. If they were going to play Mass Effect they'd have done so already.
If they haven't by now then they have little interest in the type of game it is. And if they do and *gasp* find out it's different from the movie, so what? It's a game. That's a movie. Of course it's different.

Otherwise I don't see the point beyond appeasing fat nerds. If comic book movies can follow the general plot elements of their comics and still be successful then I don't see why that can't work for video-games.

[/quote]

Videogames are a far more personal experience than comics, especially ones where you create your character and have some effect on the story.
Moreover, the Superman movies for example deviated wildly from any comics. Was that a bad thing? Certainly not for the first two! Yes it still had Superman because.. well, Superman is about Superman.
Mass Effect doesn't have to be about Shepard.

[Vendetta]

Sticking to obscure bits of the game doesn't seem like a good way to rope in new fans.

If you did the First Contact War, it would be a reasonably good way to introduce the Mass Effect universe. The game has 30 odd hours of incidental expository sidequesting and codex entries which the player can explore at leisure with which to explain who the Turians, Asari, Volus, Geth, etc. are and why they are relevant to what's happening. A movie doesn't have that, it has a couple of hours to explain it's universe, all the things in it, and tell it's story, so you either make almost all your alien characters background scenery like Star Wars, or you stick to a limited number of different relevant aliens who you can introduce naturally as part of the plot.

The First Contact War has plenty of story potential, and allows you to constrain the number of different aliens and their principle characters to be introduced to the audience to basically one, the Turians. A story like that would make a stronger two hour movie than attempting to retell the core plot of Mass Effect.

[General Zod]

Who the fuck cares? Seriously. If they were going to play Mass Effect they'd have done so already.

Because you have to appeal beyond the hardcore fanboys in order to make a movie financially successful or it's going to flop?

If they haven't by now then they have little interest in the type of game it is. And if they do and *gasp* find out it's different from the movie, so what? It's a game. That's a movie. Of course it's different.

Videogames are a far more personal experience than comics, especially ones where you create your character and have some effect on the story.
Moreover, the Superman movies for example deviated wildly from any comics. Was that a bad thing? Certainly not for the first two! Yes it still had Superman because.. well, Superman is about Superman.
Mass Effect doesn't have to be about Shepard.

If you take away Shepard and the Reapers then why call it a Mass Effect movie at all? What makes it different from any other generic boring space-marine movie out there?

[General Zod]

Sticking to obscure bits of the game doesn't seem like a good way to rope in new fans.

If you did the First Contact War, it would be a reasonably good way to introduce the Mass Effect universe. The game has 30 odd hours of incidental expository sidequesting and codex entries which the player can explore at leisure with which to explain who the Turians, Asari, Volus, Geth, etc. are and why they are relevant to what's happening. A movie doesn't have that, it has a couple of hours to explain it's universe, all the things in it, and tell it's story, so you either make almost all your alien characters background scenery like Star Wars, or you stick to a limited number of different relevant aliens who you can introduce naturally as part of the plot.

The First Contact War has plenty of story potential, and allows you to constrain the number of different aliens and their principle characters to be introduced to the audience to basically one, the Turians. A story like that would make a stronger two hour movie than attempting to retell the core plot of Mass Effect.

Which sort of brings me to my other point. What makes it any different from every other generic space marine movie out there if you went that route?

[Gramzamber]

Which sort of brings me to my other point. What makes it any different from every other generic space marine movie out there if you went that route?

And um... what makes it different from every other generic space marine movie out there if you go the retelling of the trilogy route?
It's not like the core story of ME is especially compelling, a lot of the fun comes from player choices and such, and since we know Hollywood is too cowardly to do anything other than Paragon male Shepard (though given the producers there would no doubt be a lot of GRIMDARK thrown in) it will come across as more generic than if they just tried to do something else.

[General Zod]

Which sort of brings me to my other point. What makes it any different from every other generic space marine movie out there if you went that route?

And um... what makes it different from every other generic space marine movie out there if you go the retelling of the trilogy route?
It's not like the core story of ME is especially compelling, a lot of the fun comes from player choices and such, and since we know Hollywood is too cowardly to do anything other than Paragon male Shepard (though given the producers there would no doubt be a lot of GRIMDARK thrown in) it will come across as more generic than if they just tried to do something else.

Not a whole lot? I doubt the movie is going to end up doing well as it is, but basing it on obscure events in the game doesn't seem like it'd help. Frankly I can't think of any game or movie project that was actually made better by listening to fat fanboys.

[Gramzamber]

Not a whole lot? I doubt the movie is going to end up doing well as it is, but basing it on obscure events in the game doesn't seem like it'd help. Frankly I can't think of any game or movie project that was actually made better by listening to fat fanboys.

Okay again, how would it be obscure to new fans? And if these movie goers are somehow convinced to play a game they had little interest in before, they'll find out what they saw was an important historical event that leads up to the current game world. Why is that bad?
Far better than some half assed 2 hour retelling of a 30 hour game that is just going to look like a ripoff of BSG to the non-gamer audience.

[General Zod]

Okay again, how would it be obscure to new fans? And if these movie goers are somehow convinced to play a game they had little interest in before, they'll find out what they saw was an important historical event that leads up to the current game world. Why is that bad?
Far better than some half assed 2 hour retelling of a 30 hour game that is just going to look like a ripoff of BSG to the non-gamer audience.

So something that follows the general plot of the game would be half-assed but something that's based on a blurb in the game wouldn't be?

So far it seems your only objection to following the game events is that you don't like it. Frankly I wouldn't mind it if they followed the general chain of events as long as they avoided some of the usual Hollywood cliches. Some of the dialogue in the game was utterly cringe-worthy, so they'd have to wind up rewriting it anyway for it to be worth putting up on the screen. In any case I don't think the main plot should be ignored because a few fat nerds loudly object.

[Gramzamber]

So something that follows the general plot of the game would be half-assed but something that's based on a blurb in the game wouldn't be?

Yeah because you see, the plot of the game just wouldn't make that interesting a 2 hour movie.
The contact war might however.

So far it seems your only objection to following the game events is that you don't like it. Frankly I wouldn't mind it if they followed the general chain of events as long as they avoided some of the usual Hollywood cliches. Some of the dialogue in the game was utterly cringe-worthy, so they'd have to wind up rewriting it anyway for it to be worth putting up on the screen. In any case I don't think the main plot should be ignored because a few fat nerds loudly object.

My objection is that retelling the game is redundant, in this case intrusive and the simple fact that every single movie that's tried to retell the plot of a game has been atrocious.
The fact that the creators are involved won't change that. Wing Commander anyone?

[General Zod]

Yeah because you see, the plot of the game just wouldn't make that interesting a 2 hour movie.
The contact war might however.

So make enough modifications that it's not an exact retelling? Really, we're back to "I don't like it".

My objection is that retelling the game is redundant, in this case intrusive and the simple fact that every single movie that's tried to retell the plot of a game has been atrocious.
The fact that the creators are involved won't change that. Wing Commander anyone?

That's because most of the games they've picked haven't exactly had a plot worth retelling, their budget was small or the writers and directors were terrible and didn't know how to adapt a game plot to work on the big screen. The fact that they tried retelling the plot is almost entirely irrelevant.

[Gramzamber]

So make enough modifications that it's not an exact retelling? Really, we're back to "I don't like it".

If you have to make so many modifications, why not come up with another story? And yes, I don't like it.
I wouldn't like it even if Hollywood grew some balls and went against type with a renegade female Shepard. But that's not the sole issue. The real issue is simply that retellings of videogames suck. Always have, always will.

It also makes more business sense to focus on the contact war. Not only are you not making anything redundant, you're complimenting the game and saying "If you want to see more, play the game!"

That's because most of the games they've picked haven't exactly had a plot worth retelling, their budget was small or the writers and directors were terrible and didn't know how to adapt a game plot to work on the big screen. The fact that they tried retelling the plot is almost entirely irrelevant.

Bullshit, budget doesn't excuse the terribleness of some of these movies. Doom for example had a pretty large budget if I recall.

[General Zod]

Bullshit, budget doesn't excuse the terribleness of some of these movies. Doom for example had a pretty large budget if I recall.

There's a reason I listed more causes than just the budget, genius. Now you're just being a nitpicking dipshit.

[Gramzamber]

Bullshit, budget doesn't excuse the terribleness of some of these movies. Doom for example had a pretty large budget if I recall.

There's a reason I listed more causes than just the budget, genius. Now you're just being a nitpicking dipshit.

It was still a reason you listed.
The others I already addressed; the core plot of ME isn't so damn wonderful that it's worth retelling, and "they didn't know how to adapt a plot" is a stupid excuse, especially with the likes of Wing Commander where the fucking creator directed it. If *he* didn't know, who would have?

[General Zod]

It was still a reason you listed.

And you're an idiot who's incapable of critical thought, since I wasn't listing any of them as the sole reason all game movies fail. But I guess attacking strawmen is easier.

The others I already addressed; the core plot of ME isn't so damn wonderful that it's worth retelling, and "they didn't know how to adapt a plot" is a stupid excuse, especially with the likes of Wing Commander where the fucking creator directed it. If *he* didn't know, who would have?

What the fuck makes you think someone who makes games would know how to change the plot to work on the big-screen? Had he directed any movie at all before Wing Commander? I'm also not sure why you keep listing a 20 year old movie as an example of why adaptations don't work. Incidentally, I should point out that Tomb Raider is the most successful game to movie adaptation to date.

[Havok]

If *he* didn't know, who would have?

George Lucas didn't direct TESB, and it is arguably the best Star Wars movie out there.

[Losonti Tokash]

Just gonna leave this here so there might actually be something interesting to talk about rather than Gramzamber's fantasies.



I imagine Fox wants to keep acting, but he said he's absolutely done with television. What's better than the starring role in a sci-fi epic where the main character is conceptualized as looking identical to you?

[Gramzamber]

And you're an idiot who's incapable of critical thought, since I wasn't listing any of them as the sole reason all game movies fail. But I guess attacking strawmen is easier.

And you're a dishonest twat who makes a point then hides from it by claiming that's the only point I addressed when I already talked about the others.

What the fuck makes you think someone who makes games would know how to change the plot to work on the big-screen? Had he directed any movie at all before Wing Commander?

Bad direction and inexperience doesn't explain the many basic mistakes made in that movie and how misguided it was.

I'm also not sure why you keep listing a 20 year old movie as an example of why adaptations don't work. Incidentally, I should point out that Tomb Raider is the most successful game to movie adaptation to date.

The only thing that ever sold Tomb Raider was a girl with boobs and a tight shirt. That goes for both the games and the movies. The plots were shit anyway.
And fine, shall I cite other movies then? Street Fighter, other of them. Super Mario Bros. Doom. Hitman. Alone in the Dark. Mortal Kombat.

[Gramzamber]

Just gonna leave this here so there might actually be something interesting to talk about rather than Gramzamber's fantasies.

Yes, my "fantasies" are so much less interesting than wanking about what macho ape will play Shepard in a redundant retelling of the plot.

[Losonti Tokash]

So how exactly do you get around the cognitive dissonance of dismissing Shep as a macho ape while simultaneously pining for a Renegade Shepard? Cause it seems like you just assume that the canon Shepard (you know, the one that they put in all the marketing, on the cover of the games, and are going to use in the film) solves problems by hitting them, and that this is bad. Then you say how much you'd like it if they used a female Shepard who solves problems by hitting them.

[General Zod]

Bad direction and inexperience doesn't explain the many basic mistakes made in that movie and how misguided it was.

Being inexperienced doesn't explain basic mistakes? Seriously, are you even reading what you type or are you just lashing out in blind fanboy rage like a drooling neckbeard?

[Gramzamber]

So how exactly do you get around the cognitive dissonance of dismissing Shep as a macho ape while simultaneously pining for a Renegade Shepard?

I don't subscribe to the idea that renegade is being macho for one thing.
There's a difference between being ruthless for the sake of the mission and dick waving. Yes, the latter can happen, that's why I prefer a nuanced renegade.
But that's the thing, I don't see Hollywood doing nuanced anything, it's all about the macho dick waving for them.

[Gramzamber]

Bad direction and inexperience doesn't explain the many basic mistakes made in that movie and how misguided it was.

Being inexperienced doesn't explain basic mistakes? Seriously, are you even reading what you type or are you just lashing out in blind fanboy rage like a drooling neckbeard?

Let me spell it out for you.
Being inexperienced in directing does not explain basic mistakes in writing your own characters that you've written for years.

[Losonti Tokash]

So how exactly do you get around the cognitive dissonance of dismissing Shep as a macho ape while simultaneously pining for a Renegade Shepard?

I don't subscribe to the idea that renegade is being macho for one thing.
There's a difference between being ruthless for the sake of the mission and dick waving. Yes, the latter can happen, that's why I prefer a nuanced renegade.
But that's the thing, I don't see Hollywood doing nuanced anything, it's all about the macho dick waving for them.

Uh, too bad that a Hollywood film studio isn't going to make a film based on your character, but the one that Bioware made?

[General Zod]

Bad direction and inexperience doesn't explain the many basic mistakes made in that movie and how misguided it was.

Being inexperienced doesn't explain basic mistakes? Seriously, are you even reading what you type or are you just lashing out in blind fanboy rage like a drooling neckbeard?

Let me spell it out for you.
Being inexperienced in directing does not explain basic mistakes in writing your own characters that you've written for years.

Uh, yes it does. It means he didn't have a fucking clue how to adapt the dialogue to the big screen. Video-game dialogue can be fucking cringe-worthy and not suitable for use in movies at all.