- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Okay, this isn't so much about cast members... though some of it is.
I've heard Bruce Willis thrown around... pleasegodno. Has something of the right physique, but I think his ego is too high, and that is something that has more trouble being brought down to size... can't exactly cgi that out. Not that I would know if Bruce does have an ego... from what I've heard, he's a pretty down to earth guy.. but then again, we were also supposed to find WMD in Iraq.
But I digress...
Please, no "Keanu syndrome" actors. The "Keanu syndrome" is where a studio has a hit movie on their hands, but it's a bit risky. So what do they do to make sure that they get good box office receipts? Put someone with a pretty face in it, regardless if they can act, so people of the opposite (or same) gender will come to watch the show, just to enjoy the sights. Now, performances aside, I'm sure you all get what I'm saying by now when I say that the Keanu syndrome was started with the movie the Matrix... and has gone from there. Batman Begins almost did it with Katie Holmes, but thankfully she wasn't the main character.
Someone else posted that the more real it is, the better... and I agree. There is only so much one can do with CG, and while I can understand certain things (i.e. Hunters, for example) being CG in certain shots, or other things being CG (the Chief's shield flaring when it takes hits), the more "real world" it is, the more authentic it translates to on film, and thusly on screen.
Elites would pose a special problem, I think... and I do wonder if they would include the character of the Arbiter (before he became the Arbiter, when he was the general) in the movie, in case they decided to make a sequel, so as to create a sense of continuity for later in the films.
Now, for directors. The reason why Iisted all the ones I did was for one very simple reason - PRODUCTION QUALITY. All of the directors I listed are know for making movies that don't skimp, i.e. if they need their assault rifle to look a certain way, then they will do whatever it damn well takes to make sure that their assault rifle (or alien creature, or deep space station, or uninhabited alien ringworld) looks as real and as authentic as possible. They don't cut corners, but they also know how to get things to look and feel a certain way, and how to do it right.
This is, more than anything else, what the movie of Halo needs - someone who can see and understand the vision that Bungie is placing before them in the script, and make it come to life and not cut corners, or make it too far fantastic or out there, but keep it instead grounded in the firm truths of reality (as much as is possible with a movie). They need to be familiar with, see, grasp, and understand the vision, and from there be able to bring it out and not overdo it all, but give it the respect it deserves.
Which makes me realize... add one more director to the list... Christopher Nolan, who did Batman Begins. That movie not only made up for the mistakes of the past films in the franchise, but it also set a new standard (for me, anyways) as to what a film based on something like a game or a comic book should be like.
Now, as ages go... if Keyes was in his thirties when he found John-117 with Dr. Halsey, then he would be around 70 or so when he is on Halo. If he was in his 20's, then he would be in his 60's. Which makes sense, since I'm giving forty years as that is (if I recall correctly) about how old the Master Chief is when he is on Halo. Hence my recommendation for Robert Duvall as Keyes.
Finally, as it just occured to me in a brain flash - Edward Norton in a cameo as Pfc. Jenkins.