Tekken, Castlevania, and Pac-Man movies confirmed.

[Dark Jezter]

Studio Confirms Tekken, Castlevania, Pac-Man Details

Crystal Sky to focus on videogame and comic book films.

by Paul Davidson

December 22, 2005 - Steven Paul, CEO of the small film studio Crystal Sky, chatted with Gamecloud a few weeks ago about some fairly juicy projects that could put the company into the limelight. Tekken and Castlevania are both names familiar to millions of videogamers around the world, and Hollywood is far from exhausting the pool of potential that exists in console games, despite numerous flops at the box office.

Paul confirmed that production on Tekken is imminent, planned for early 2006. He said that the deal for that picture came about thanks to his studio's close relationship to the Japanese companies associated with the game series, Gaga and Namco. He did not, unfortunately, address any casting. The rumor about Jet Li's involvement remains up in the air at the moment.

According to the Crystal Sky Homepage, a promotional trailer for Tekken is "coming soon."

Paul also briefly mentioned the Castlevania film that has been previously reported on here and elsewhere. He confirmed the hiring of Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat) to write and direct, saying Anderson was a natural choice due to his experience in adapting videogames to the film medium.

"Paul Anderson's vision will encompass both his own take on the subject matter, but will also stay faithful to many of the game's aspects that have made it so appealing and such a classic."

The Crystal Sky chief also shed some light on the film's subject matter, saying that it would chronicle Dracula's early years and the creation of the legend. The long-lived game franchise follows the ordeals of the Belmont family, who must defeat Dracula every few centuries following the vampire's periodic resurrections.

Crystal Sky is also planning a movie based on the venerable arcade hit Pac-Man. However, Paul wouldn't divulge any details at this time.

Perhaps it's a sign of the times that small indie studios like Crystal Sky are moving to fill the videogame film niche. There's plenty of original material waiting to be repackaged for film, but with most recent efforts proving to be financial flops, more modest budgets might be in order. Doom, for example, is one the latest game adaptations to fall short of expectations. The sci-fi actioner, which stars The Rock and LOTR's Karl Urban, has earned back only a portion of its $60 million production budget. Can Tekken and Castlevania help to reinvigorate the genre?

Source: http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/678/678023p1.html#pacman

Now, Tekken and Castlevania I can see, but Pac-Man?!

 

[trancejeremy]

I think Colin Farrell would make a pretty good Pac-Man

 

[Truth Seeker]

*shakes head in sorrow, on the mention of Pac man for the silver screen*

No new fresh ideas from Hollywood anymore?

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I think Colin Farrell would make a pretty good Pac-Man

Nah. Jude Law.

 

[Kesh]

Okay. Getting the Resident Evil guy for a Castlevania film gives me some hope.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Okay. Getting the Resident Evil guy for a Castlevania film gives me some hope.

For a long time now, I've thought that Castlevania would make a very cool movie. With a lone hero fighting against classic horror creatures like the mummy, werewolves, Frankenstein's monster, the Grim Reaper, and Count Dracula, this movie could be everything that Van Helsing should have been.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Okay. Getting the Resident Evil guy for a Castlevania film gives me some hope.

OK, but getting the Mortal Kombat guy for a Castlevania film dashes those hopes on the rocks.

 

[trancejeremy]

I liked Mortal Kombat (the movie). Though I liked the TV show even more. (Don't like the video games, though).

 

[TwinBahamut]

Mortal Kombat is still probably the best videogame movie I have seen so far, so I am not worrying too much about the writing for Castlevania. And the early years of Dracula? The origin of Dracula himself (Lament of Innocence) and his original defeat (Castlevania Legends) were both covered by Castlevania games. So, the movie will either cover one of those two stories, or more likely describe the few hundred years between those two games, when the Belmonts are hunting Dracula but have not yet killed Dracula off yet. Interesting.

But as long as they capture the mood of the Castlevania games and have a Belmont fighting Dracula with a crazy whip, it will be good. I think mastery of the whip is the only talent the main actor will really need. Leave the acting to the other characters.

I am cautiously optimistic. This could be a good movie.

I don't play Tekken, so I can't comment on that one. But Pac-Man? He is a faceless character inspired by a partially eaten pizza. I can't even imagine a movie based on Pac-Man. Of course, if it was some kind of freaky horror movie based on characters trapped in a game being hunted by the yellow eating machine, I might be tempted, but other than that...

 

[Dark Jezter]

I don't play Tekken, so I can't comment on that one. But Pac-Man? He is a faceless character inspired by a partially eaten pizza. I can't even imagine a movie based on Pac-Man. Of course, if it was some kind of freaky horror movie based on characters trapped in a game being hunted by the yellow eating machine, I might be tempted, but other than that...

I think that the Pac-Man movie should be handled as a serious drama, with Harrison Ford as Pac-Man, Nicole Kidman as Ms. Pac-Man, Anthony Hopkins as Inky, Al Pachino as Blinky, Hugh Grant as Pinky, and Dustin Hoffman as Clyde. And the movie should be directed by Stephen Spielberg.