The Last Of Us Film Announced

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=115660

Neil Druckmann writing the script.

It will amuse me greatly if they hire Ellen Page for Ellie, due to that whole resemblance shenanigans.

This is a terrible idea. And I say that as a huge fan of The Last of Us. If they are just going to copy the story, then the whole thing will be rather pointless. It's possible that they'll do something interesting with it, but... eh.

No, I'd say it's rather pointed: film and video games have very different audiences. There's a lot of overlap with video gamers who like to watch movies, but there are also many moviegoers who don't have the time, patience, or desire for a video game. If they think the story is marketable enough to survive the transition from interactive media to blockbuster, there's no reason not to do it.

I'm rarely optimistic about video game adaptations, but The Last of Us is cinematic enough as it is that I don't think it would be overly difficult to convert to film.

edited 7th Mar '14 6:57:47 AM by TobiasDrake

So...it's The Walking Dead movie, basically.

It'll probably be a prequel-type story. Dealing with the initial infection of humanity. Or just a Resident Evil/World War Z film.

No, it's more Children of Men : The Game: The Movie

You're right, of course. And being a PS 3 exclusive limits the audience even more.

But a lot of what made the game really great were video game things. There's a part where some dude's trying to kill Ellie, and you have to run up to them and kick them in the face and it's the most satisfying thing ever. That just can't translate over to film.

It won't necessarily be bad — since the Naughty Dog peeps are involved properly right from the beginning, it could even be good. But I doubt it'll be as OMFG amazing as the game.

Then again Ellie's a five-star finger-breaking brick master badass, so she'd be a nice character to throw into the mix of Hollywood films of the next few years. If this film is successful, maybe it could launch a trend of decent female characters in action films. And Clickers could be fucking gruesome on the big screen.

edited 7th Mar '14 8:22:16 AM by imadinosaur

Not launch a trend, but continue it. The trend already started with Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss.

I don't have anything against this movie, but I do wonder how video game movies keep getting greenlit. I mean, we want a video game movie smash hit, sure, but I'm not sure the movie executives would see it the same way. What with the generally lackluster performance of video game movies.

Video games (especially the kind of video games that keep getting made into movies) are largely played by the 14-25-year-old male demographic. Which, as we all know, is the only demographic that matters.

And also, naively, they just seem like they should work. Video games appear to be a very similar medium to film, if you're a 40-year-old cocaine-snorting crab-man executive who doesn't actually play the things (because he's too busy snorting cocaine off of strippers' tits and what does he look like to you, a nerd?).

edited 7th Mar '14 10:21:45 AM by imadinosaur

The fact that Uwe Boll's name isn't anywhere near the project is also a good reason to take a shot on it, because it removes the biggest risk in video game adaptations.

edited 7th Mar '14 11:49:36 AM by TobiasDrake

I just wonder how long it'll take for this film to get stuck in Development Hell like so many other Video Game films.

Does the game have a branching story or multiple endings? Or are there other things (besides the simple fact that you're in control) that make use of interactivity in ways a linear narrative can't? I'm pretty sure I've seen a few reviews that felt the gameplay was a weak point.

On the matter of how this got greenlit, remember that even if they are widely felt to be bad, existing copyrights often have enough name recognition to guarantee some return. Or failing that, it is a rationale that is easy to understand for an institutional investor.

It could be really good. What made the game really awesome was the relationship between the leads. I just hope they don't change the ending. That's a huge reason it stood out so much from similar stories. Joel decides humanity can fuck itself if it means saving Ellie, and butchers his way through people who are trying to save the world.

Also, in one regard, it's like 28 Days Later on crack, with the humans becoming the bigger immediate threat. The most disturbing enemy is a soft-spoken marauder. It also shows a world like 20 years after a "zombie apocalypse," so the feel is different than most zombie films.

edited 15th Mar '14 9:02:43 PM by Phoenixflame

It's too long and too episodic for a film. Could be a good miniseries, but I've already played the story why should I pay to see it again?

You've never seen a movie more than once? Or a movie of a book?

Obviously it won't be a line-by-line retelling. The thread of finding the Fireflies connects the different bits.

If I want to see it again, I can play it again. If it is an origonal story set in the same universe, that could be worthwhile.

A book to film adaptation adds visual and audio elements.

That Stark kid is going to be Ellie.

I was just about to post that and this: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtaSNTICUAAxiGf.jpg:large

Sam Raimi is going to be producing the film.

edited 25th Jul '14 5:54:55 PM by VeryMelon

I really don't like the idea of Rami involved. I didn't like the original Spider-Man Trilogy and I outright loathed that OZ film so... : /

Well, I'm in. Although I am a bit concerned that Raimi's involvement might be a sign of a more horror rather than character driven film.

To be fair, this is also the guy who did the Evil Dead trilogy and Darkman. And as a producer, he only has so much influence.

edited 25th Jul '14 6:09:19 PM by Kesagake

I wouldn't mind a more horror type of film if for no other reason than seeing the potential silver screen horror of the world really empathized in order to allow the film to do more of it's own thing with the IP.

For example, I hope they really capture the tense atmosphere of the stealth portions in the game.

edited 25th Jul '14 6:27:03 PM by VeryMelon

That's a valid point; the movie doesn't have to stick to the game's vision entirely. Part f the fun of adaptation is seeing how it changes after all. Unless of course it changes it into something horrible.