Pages tagged “gore verbinski”

Cue collective grumble from cult sectors: Universal has officially nabbed Gore Verbinski to produce a remake of The Host, the much-touted 2006 creature epic from South Korea.

Disappointed as you may have been by the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski clearly had good chemistry. And given that Depp often works with his favorite directors repeatedly (Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam), it's not too big of a surprise that he'll be working with Verbinski again on a new feature. What is quite a surprise is that the team is embarking on an epic $150 million animated feature and turning away from Disney.

When we reported back in March that David Fincher was reviving the Heavy Metal series, it seemed a little bit pie in the sky. Sure, it makes sense that Fincher would work on a project like that, but he's got enough other things in pre-production that it's hard to say what will ever see the light of day. The early announcement that Kevin Eastman and Tim Miller would be directing parts didn't make things seem likelier since neither of them have headed a film before.

We've long thought a Bioshock film was on the way, but that didn't make Variety's announcement of the specifics any less, well, shocking. Universal and Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean)will be making a film adaptation of the acclaimed video game, set for release likely sometime in 2010.

Bioshock takes place in an Ayn Rand-based dystopia, with the player going deeper into its society and learning about how messed up things get. A surprise blockbuster upon release, considering the relatively lackluster performances of its spiritual successors in the System Shock series, the game has gone on to sell more than two million copies worldwide.

"I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that's cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential," Verbinski told Variety. "Of all the games I've played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative."

Best of all, it looks like the adaptation will actually follow through this time, unlike the constant stalls surrounding the Halo film. "The reason I structured it the way I did is to make sure it gets made," said Take-Two executive chairman Strauss Zelnick.

John Logan, screenwriter on The Aviator, is writing the script. Reportedly, game director Ken Levine has been "regularly consulting" with Verbinski, though what exactly this means is anyone's guess. No firm release date is set, since the film's script isn't yet finished.

Related links:
Review: Bioshock
Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
News: Guillermo del Toro interested in adapting Bioshock?

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