One Against 4...

So Micro$oft introduced their successor to the XBox 360...

And it's not called the XBox 720 like so many gaming geeks expected.  It's called the XBox One.  One?  Really, didn't they already have a one?  That means the fourth version of this will be called, what?  The XBox Two?  Confusing.  I guess they're going back to square one and starting fresh.  So now we know the competition that the PS4 will have.  But could they have made it look better than a late 70's VCR?

But it appears that the guys up in Redmond want to also become like Netflix.  Hulu has tried to be a Netflix competitor.  Amazon has started their own streaming service, HBO has hinted that HBO GO might eventually be a Netflix like service and now, it appears that the XBox Live service plans to have original content as well.  And they've lined up the Babe Ruth of film to start it off.

Steven Spielberg.

And not only him, but the television series that he'll produce for the XBox Live: Halo.  That's right, Halo is finally going to be seen in live-action.  Just as a television show, not a film.  Spielberg will be executive producing the series.  Not much information is available about the show other than the fact that it'll be exclusive to XBox Live.

There are a lot of competing platforms out there competing for your eyeballs.  It's creating an incredible amount of fragmentation in the marketplace.  The result is many more markets with smaller audiences.  Long gone is the night when a network would have fifty percent of the viewing audience.  Today, if you get ten to twenty it's huge.  And it's only going to get more fragmented.  But that means more choice, and choice is good.  And now with XBox One, you have another choice.

And with the Halo series, you'll have another...

This Generations' Star Wars...

So that's the feeling of Stuart Beattie...

He's the guy that wrote the "Halo" script that supposedly Spielberg fell in love with. Now, from all I'm hearing this is the same script that Peter Jackson was going to make. Which was the same one I read. And it was... good, but not mind-shattering or brilliant. At least in my opinion. And like I said, I can't spend an entire movie never seeing my main character as he walks around in a motorcycle helmet. I have to feel empathy, I have to relate to them and I have to know they're human. That's what a face is for, that's what eyes communicate, that's what a mouth is there to convey. Along with a million other facial ticks that we associate with humans.

And don't get me wrong, there are many other things that need to be better in this script for a Suit to justify shelling out somewhere between $150-$200 million dollars. I have a feeling there's a great story here, but maybe it needs a rewrite. Justin Marks, anyone? Just kidding. His "Supermax" script wasn't the best or worst I've ever seen, but somewhere in the better middle. If I was to have someone do a polish or rewrite on this, it'd be Mark Protosevich, one of my all time favorite screenwriters. He keeps having great scripts rewritten and turned into good scripts... perhaps it's time he took a good script and turned it into a great one? Now, if only the Suits would agree.

If you'd like to read what Beattie said about his love for all things Halo, then go HERE and check out what he had to say to Sci Fi Wire while he was on a press junket for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of ADD" recently.

Time will tell...

Could Halo Be Disney/DreamWorks' First Big Deal...

Now here's an interesting story that could become something grand...

It seems that Steven Spielberg has fallen in love with a new script. He apparently wants to begin his new relationship with Disney with a bang, if you believe the new rumor floating from IESB. The man that brought has brought us more blockbusters than any other Hollywood director/producer read the latest "Halo" script by Stuart Beattie and wants to produce it. It appears that the version we were to see produced by Peter Jackson may not happen. But this would be a nice consolation prize if the script is as great as Spielberg reportedly makes it out to be, plus a great director since Neill Blomkamp appears to no longer want to film it. I remember reading an earlier draft several years ago, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was anywhere near the greatest sci-fi story you could tell, and for the kind of budget that was going to be needed to tell it, it had better be great. That's a lot of money to be tossing around.

Developing...