Mechwarrior movie...

[Sulimo]

Taken from http://pc.ign.com/articles/387/387535p1.html

'February 27, 2003 - If there's one thing I've learned in my time as an online entertainment writer it's this: If a project involves anything remotely resembling giant robots, it has to be cool. Filmmaker Dean Devlin (Eight Legged Freaks, Independence Day, The Patriot) would probably agree. According to today's Hollywood Reporter, Devlin has just signed on to produce a feature film based on the popular gaming franchise MechWarrior. Paramount Pictures is in talks to snag the rights to the property from Wiz Kids, the game's Seattle-based developer, for Devlin's Electric Entertainment.

Devlin's commitment to the project is certain, but his level of involvement is yet to be determined. He tells the trade,

"Whether I write the script or help with the script or direct, I'm crazy about the material, and this is a real passion project for me."

He says he plans to make the film look like a $150 million movie with an actual budget of less than $100 million. By contrast, Devlin's Eight Legged Freaks cost just $30 million to make. "The type of CG we'd use for this movie, in which warriors battle in giant mechanized suits of armor, would be much easier to create than spiders," he says.

"We had 200 CG shots in Freaks, and I think we could get a lot more out of this film."

The best-selling PC game has spawned a handful of sequels and console ports over the years, with the predominate Mech o' the moment being MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries. Ivan Sulic, IGN's resident Mech-head says in his review,

"I long for MechWarrior even when I play MechWarrior. Masterfully manipulating dozens of keys on the keyboard to flush coolant, switch weapon groups, delegate down orders, blow the arms off a troublesome Thor, dodge a flurry of SRMs, and at the same time jump jet over a small plateau to reach a critical objective that needs a critical murdering is marvelous. It always has been."

The filmmakers won't be able to recreate such tactile thrills, but hopefully they'll give MechWarrior fans a solid story and, at the very least, a look at some jaw-dropping, big-screen-sized Mechs. Keep your browser set to IGN FilmForce for the latest on MechWarrior and all the games-to-film news you know you want!'

Whilst I'd love to see this...having Devlin involved has me a little worried.

 

[jdavis]

nobody has gotten a live action Giant Robot movie right yet, but Devlin might be able to get a big enough budget together, not to mention the right Special Effects talent to try and do it right. Now whether the actual script will be any good is anybody's guess.

 

[uv23]

I am half exilerated and half terrified. For years and years and years I pined for a Battletech movie, or better yet a trilogy. The history of the setting and its politics, with the succession wars, Word of Blake, and then the clans and so on, its one of the richest settings out there hands down.

But the worry is, will they even bother to use any of that material or will it be a straight out action flick. Though that might be entertaining, it would also be a humungous dissapointment.

*fingers crossed*

 

[jonesy]

Dean Devlin (Eight Legged Freaks, Independence Day, The Patriot)

Uggh..aaargh..iih..umm..whatthe...oh my...nooo!

Well... at least he has done movies with pretty decent special
effects. If only someone would write him a good script too.

They should base the movie on the first book in the Warrior
trilogy. The plot doesn't end with too much loose ends, but
still has a small cliffhanger for a sequel to fit through if the
movie somehow becomes a hit. It also has very cool fight
scenes in the Solaris arenas and I'd rate the plotline of the
trilogy as the very best Battletech has had.

 

[Ranger REG]

Somehow, I'm afraid they're going to use the Anime approach to live-action, making the mechs' move faster and agile than they're suppposed to, which is not the premise of American-made BattleTech.

So, expect some exaggeration.

OTOH, it would be nice to see the Clan Invasion story unfold on the big screen.

 

[Black Omega]

well, mostly American made Battletech. One of the early lawsuits was them borrowing mech designs from anime.

I'm alot less interested in this than I would have been a couple of years ago. WizKids has already trashed all the backstory of the BattleTech universe. since the WizKids Battletech doesn't really use the same universe as the original game anymore, those battles between Kurita and Davion seem unlikely, sadly.

 

[Ranger REG]

Actually, WizKids' BattleTech backstory is set very far into the future.

Do not forget, WizKids licensed Classic BattleTech to FanPro, who will take over the familiar backstory we've come to know and love (or hate).

Personally, that's a smart move.

And yes, I do know about the early art design, even to the point where they altered the Phoenix Hawk by putting a round head on a Veritech/Valkyrie Battloid Mode.

Still, you have to give prop for introducing the LAMs, even the rules to create them.

But when you have come to know and played the rules, it doesn't move like Anime.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Well, if it's Mechwarrior, then it'll probably be a Mechwarrior Dark Ages film, so little enough of the Classic Btech feel.

Should still be nice though.

Also, from what I recall;
FASA bought a license from the people connected to Robotech, the problem was that it wasn't an exclusive license.

FASA approached a toy company about building some toys, and they had mock ups. The toy company never got back to them, but then came out with a series of toys and a cartoon based on mechanized armor or whatever.
FASA sued them, and the toy company then formed an alliance with the Robotech people, who then countersued FASA based on them having the wrong license or something.

FASA stopped using the images, but it was never really decided that they "lost" the lawsuit, since it has all the markings of a settlement.