J.J Abrams: A Portal Movie Announcement is very soon - Polidicks

Half Life wouldn't be bad if it wasn't based on Freemen. Maybe some other rebels or scientists in Black Mesa or something. Hell maybe even Shepard or Barnie. No idea how Portal would work though.

You people should really look at what previous videogame movies did wrong and how Abrams can avoid those problems. Most videogame adaptions try to adapt the ingame-story and bring it to the big screen instead of giving it a fresh new take. The only way for this movie to work would be to not be bound to the game's story other than the setting and maybe GladOS. There should be no Chell and therefore there would be no problem to make a talking character. Additionally a Half Life movie should focus on everything except for Gordon Freeman. Like following a group of rebels during the 7 hour war or the aftermath of it. [QUOTE=Kylel999;51126330]I didn't know J.J. Abrams liked videogames[/QUOTE] He and Gabe are really good friends. There are references to Half Life in Lost and there are references to Lost in Half Life.

[QUOTE=Lolkork;51126443]Maybe something that explores Aperture science vs blackmesa, or the events between half life 1 and 2.[/QUOTE]something to do with the Portal Storms or maybe even the 7 Hour War would be fucking NEAT [editline]29th September 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;51126572]Half Life wouldn't be bad if it wasn't based on Freemen[/QUOTE]what are you, a HECU grunt? it's Freeman.

Abrams did a good job with Force Awakens. Not as good a job as he could have, especially considering how heavily based it was on A New Hope, but I think he's got a good chance of pulling this off. I'd like to know more before I judge it just yet.

When I think "Portal as a movie", I was thinking more along the lines of it being more akin to a Pixar movie, with Atlas and P-body going on a buddy-buddy journey throughout Aperture, encountering various kooky personality cores as they try to track down the last human. If done like that, it'd probably make for a fun little adventure.

[QUOTE=ironman17;51126646]When I think "Portal as a movie", I was thinking more along the lines of it being more akin to a Pixar movie, with Atlas and P-body going on a buddy-buddy journey throughout Aperture, encountering various kooky personality cores as they try to track down the last human. If done like that, it'd probably make for a fun little adventure.[/QUOTE] If it's animated it'll be a guaranteed success - even if it's just a retelling of the games. Biggest risk-factor there is how you would even tell the puzzles without getting repetetive. It'd work better as a short film in that case. Either way it's, in my opinion, the cheesiness of live-action that's the biggest threat here.

I seriously love the Half Life 1 aesthetic in all the game manuals and everything. If they could make a movie with that rusty lab room vibe, I'd be so game. And a HL movie should really start in Black Mesa, maybe with a science team that doesn't know about the Xen projects. That would make for interesting exposition and introduction to the universe that's easily digestible for a wide audience that's never been exposed to this series.

[QUOTE=Tuskin;51126335]He likes Half-Life. There were a few references to it in Lost (or was it Alias?) I think him and Gabe are friends too.[/QUOTE] There's someone [URL="https://youtu.be/9NNyXBpBeZM?t=147"]playing Half-Life: Source[/URL] in Lost, and in return HL2 EP2 has a hidden Lost easter egg [t]http://i.imgur.com/pkfjJ66.jpg[/t]

Just make the film about the life and career of cave johnson, that would probably work wonders as a comedy, science-fiction flick.

I have no opinion until the announcement is made.

Why would anyone want a half life film which focuses on the war that happened after the game? There's so many forgettable CGI alien vs human war films that you could just watch one of those and pretend it's the Combine.

[QUOTE=cyanidem;51126742]Why would anyone want a half life film which focuses on the war that happened after the game? There's so many forgettable CGI alien vs human war films that you could just watch one of those and pretend it's the Combine.[/QUOTE] Because the 7 hour war happened before Half-Life 2, and I can't think of any alien vs human war films that come out with the humans losing. You can just condense it into flashbacks or something for a rebel/civvie and work from there, if it's that big a deal.

[QUOTE=madmanmad;51126714]Just make the film about the life and career of cave johnson, that would probably work wonders as a comedy, science-fiction flick.[/QUOTE] Oh dude, that'd be rad. Kinda flashback-flashforward between the 80s/90s Cave played by JK Simmons (portraying him in his final years and eventual death) and early 40's Cave trying to sell shower curtains and getting by.

[QUOTE=Dissolution;51126754]Because the 7 hour war happened before Half-Life 2, and I can't think of any alien vs human war films that come out with the humans losing. You can just condense it into flashbacks or something for a rebel/civvie and work from there, if it's that big a deal.[/QUOTE] Something like the 7 hour war + before/after would be amazing as a movie.

I severely doubt these movies would be about anyone other than Freeman/Chell. Certainly there are many potential side-stories to explore in the HL/Portal universe, but what sense would it make (especially commercially) to make a movie that required the audience to have played through a series of games that came out many years ago? If they were to be about Chell or Freeman, they would simply be the game stories in another format or way of delivering the story, and thus they could stand alone just like the games can stand alone. An audience member should be able to appreciate these movies on their own merits without past knowledge of the game franchise. No one but us Half-Life fans would turn out to see a 7-hour war movie, I guarantee you. Maybe if such a side story movie followed upon the success of a straight adaptation of a Portal/HL movie, it might happen. Not otherwise. Personally, I have no problem if Freeman/Chell talked in these movies, since the movies would in any case have significant differences compared to the games, and therefore these characters wouldn't exactly become synonymous with the ones were playing in the games either. Also, you can all forget the idea of them being silent or mute protagonists, since this makes the storytelling too difficult, especially since you've got to introduce a whole world, or rather a whole unfamiliar mythology, to the audience. The reason the movie "The Great Silence" works with a silent protagonist is because the audience is familiar with the western setting the movie takes place in, and therefore the movie doesn't require the character to act as a Luke Skywalker or Frodo/Bilbo Baggins type outsider-to-the-grander-scheme-of-things-who-asks-questions-to-clue-in-the-audience main character. Furthermore, it's ultimately self-defeating in purpose to make them silent. I doubt the "Freeman/Chell should be silent in the movies" people are actually objecting to a speaking Freeman/Chell per say, but rather to the idea that the movies give them traits and characteristics that are different than the ones you are freely allowed to project upon them when playing the games, voice being just one of the obvious instruments through which this would happen. In the end you've got to give them characteristics in order to make them, you know, characters you can give a shit about. If they have characteristics, then they already intrude upon your private imagination of who Chell and Freeman are, and therefore it isn't really made any worse by having them speak.

[QUOTE=Kylel999;51126330]I didn't know J.J. Abrams liked videogames[/QUOTE] There was an interactive teaser for Super 8 in Portal 2.

[QUOTE=Zannabluke;51126418]cave johnson solo movie, starring J. K. Simmons make it happen[/QUOTE] Actually I could see that working if done right. Absurd tragedy/comedy thing, could be fun.

[QUOTE=juhana;51126833]I severely doubt these movies would be about anyone other than Freeman/Chell. Certainly there are many potential side-stories to explore in the HL/Portal universe, but what sense would it make (especially commercially) to make a movie that required the audience to have played through a series of games that came out many years ago? If they were to be about Chell or Freeman, they would simply be the game stories in another format or way of delivering the story, and thus they could stand alone just like the games can stand alone. An audience member should be able to appreciate these movies on their own merits without past knowledge of the game franchise. No one but us Half-Life fans would turn out to see a 7-hour war movie, I guarantee you. Maybe if such a side story movie followed upon the success of a straight adaptation of a Portal/HL movie, it might happen. Not otherwise.[/QUOTE] There is absolutely no need for the movies to focus on the main plots of the games. Multiple stories can exist within the same universe without the need to depend upon each other. Any knowledge the audience needs can be given through the movie, as pretty much every movie does this anyway to set up the world, regardless of it being original or not. For example, Opposing Force can be enjoyed without having previously played Half-Life. It's a complete experience that operates in the same universe close to the original events, but from a different perspective. Freeman's adventure is only briefly seen and referenced at various points.

[QUOTE=Kylel999;51126330]I didn't know J.J. Abrams liked videogames[/QUOTE] TFA has pretty noticeable KOTOR references so it doesn't come to me as much of a surprise.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;51126991]TFA has pretty noticeable KOTOR references so it doesn't come to me as much of a surprise.[/QUOTE] What references? I watched the movie a couple times, never saw any.

[QUOTE=Blade Rx69;51126925]There is absolutely no need for the movies to focus on the main plots of the games. Multiple stories can exist within the same universe without the need to depend upon each other. Any knowledge the audience needs can be given through the movie, as pretty much every movie does this anyway to set up the world, regardless of it being original or not. For example, Opposing Force can be enjoyed without having previously played Half-Life. It's a complete experience that operates in the same universe close to the original events, but from a different perspective. Freeman's adventure is only briefly seen and referenced at various points.[/QUOTE] Still, it's awkward from a marketing perspective to say to the audience that not only is this an adaptation of something most of them are not familiar with (by itself not a problem), but also a side story to that something at the same time. With all the other movies playing in theaters, this is likely to push many on-the-fence general audience members into choosing to see something else.

[QUOTE=Coyoteze;51126766]Oh dude, that'd be rad. Kinda flashback-flashforward between the 80s/90s Cave played by JK Simmons (portraying him in his final years and eventual death) and early 40's Cave trying to sell shower curtains and getting by.[/QUOTE] that would work well as a melodramatic self-aware comedy, a parody of those "depressed genius" movies like theory of everything or the imitation game

I'm not sure I would like any Valve based movie if it didnt look like the game. For portal, maybe something about GLaDOS' take over of the facility would be a neat film. Survivors against an omnipresent villain. Half Life, I can see a black mesa movie working. Or even the seven days Gordon and Alyx are teleporting.

[QUOTE=juhana;51127144]Still, it's awkward from a marketing perspective to say to the audience that not only is this an adaptation of something most of them are not familiar with (by itself not a problem), but also a side story to that something at the same time. With all the other movies playing in theaters, this is likely to push many on-the-fence general audience members into choosing to see something else.[/QUOTE] I'd like a story about a team of BM scientists working together to escape, then they get caught by HECU or something

if Valve endorsed a series of movies starting with Half-Life, 2 and then 3. if they were all terrible then maybe that would reduce the amount of hype around the third game. then Valve could release a game that explodes expectations.

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;51126688]I seriously love the Half Life 1 aesthetic in all the game manuals and everything. If they could make a movie with that rusty lab room vibe, I'd be so game. And a HL movie should really start in Black Mesa, maybe with a science team that doesn't know about the Xen projects. That would make for interesting exposition and introduction to the universe that's easily digestible for a wide audience that's never been exposed to this series.[/QUOTE] I agree that it would work out well, but considering the [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z6CfxZ4opE"]numerous[/URL] [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1UPMEmCqZo"]fan[/URL] [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw684xM2cUo"]short[/URL] [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvgEx1g9dW4"]films[/URL] that have been made its been done and done better IMO than what we could expect from hollywood. Hell especially the [URL="http://www.thefreemanchronicles.com/"]Freeman Chronicles[/URL] that's been in production for a while with its pilot "Enter The Freeman".

I don't see why Half-Life 1 couldn't be made into a movie.

[QUOTE=dot.rich;51127249]if Valve endorsed a series of movies starting with Half-Life, 2 and then 3. if they were all terrible then maybe that would reduce the amount of hype around the third game. then Valve could release a game that explodes expectations.[/QUOTE] wouldn't really work this way all it'd do is give further proof that movie adaptations of video games never work

[QUOTE=Chrille;51126364]There was a scene in Lost were a bunch of terrorists were playing Half-Life on a PS2. Anyway, I'm glad to see that these projects are moving forward. People were already claiming that these movies were dead, having no real understanding of how slowly these things move forward, especially when Valve is involved. I also fail to see how either Black Mesa, City 17 or Aperture Science would be boring settings for a movie. Basing the story around Freeman or Chell would obviously not work, but since when was that a given?[/QUOTE] Perhaps go into detail about the later events that happen to Freeman during the 7hour war in such?

[QUOTE=juhana;51127144]Still, it's awkward from a marketing perspective to say to the audience that not only is this an adaptation of something most of them are not familiar with (by itself not a problem), but also a side story to that something at the same time. With all the other movies playing in theaters, this is likely to push many on-the-fence general audience members into choosing to see something else.[/QUOTE] That's why marketing doesn't say it's a side story or an adaptation. Sell it for what it is, a movie with a complete experience which exists in the same universe. Being an existing franchise gives it a boost, but you don't need to be familiar with it to enjoy it. Think of Star Wars. You've got the main movies, but so much more media exists in the same universe. The latest movie appealed to both newcomers and longtime fans. KOTOR is like this as well, it helps if you're a fan of the universe, but anybody can enjoy it as it's a great game.