We’ve been following the development of the BioShock movie for a few years now, and the last we heard was from Gore Verbinski (once attached to direct, now producer) who said earlier this year they couldn’t find a studio willing to provide the $100m+ budget while keeping the R-rating.

Now Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine, who last year said the movie was still “active”, has hinted at the film’s demise by saying they “don’t have a need to get it made.

From Industry Gamers:

“We got very close to having it get made – we had a deal in place and a director. But for us there’s no burning [desire] to have a movie made just to get it made,” Levine stressed to us. “For us and for Take-Two, it’s really got to be something that will a) give the fans something that they want, and b) for those who don’t know BioShock, really introduce them to something that is consistent with the game, and is it going to be a good representation of the game.”

He added, “There are differences between games and movies, no doubt, but the movie has to draw from the same DNA in terms of the world and the story beats,” then reiterating: “But you know, we don’t have a need to get it made.”

For those unfamiliar with the game, BioShock takes place in an alternate 1960, and in the game the player takes the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack who must explore the underwater city of Rapture and survive attacks by the mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate it.

28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was hired to replace Gore Verbinski as director, but he’s been spending his time on other projects so it’s unlikely the BioShock movie will move forward any time soon, if at all.

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Despite hardly any movement on the movie adaptation of BioShock games designer Ken Levine assured fans last September that the film is still being “actively” worked on. 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was hired to replace Gore Verbinski as director in 2009, with Gore remaining as producer, however no studio wanted to back “a really expensive R-rated movie”.

Gore Verbinski, who is no longer actively involved in the project, recently discussed his plans for the movie with ComingSoon:

“I couldn’t really get past anybody that would spend the money that it would take to do it and keep an R rating,” he explained, “Alternately, I wasn’t really interested in pursuing a PG-13 version. Because the R rating is inherent. Little Sisters and injections and the whole thing. I just wanted to really, really make it a movie where, four days later, you’re still shivering and going, “Jesus Christ!”… It’s a movie that has to be really, really scary, but you also have to create a whole underwater world, so the pricetag is high. We just didn’t have any takers on an R-rated movie with that pricetag.”

For those unfamiliar with the game BioShock takes place in an alternate 1960, and in the game the player takes the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack who must explore the underwater city of Rapture and survive attacks by the mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate it.

Apparently the budget spiralled to $160 million, which is an average cost for a blockbuster these days, but no studio wants to spend that amount on a R-rated horror (unless James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro are involved).

Would fans of the game rather see a PG-13 dumbed down movie, or have an R-rated movie that remains in development hell?

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Last August 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was hired to replace Gore Verbinski as director of Universal’s BioShock movie as Verbinski could not commit to the lengthy overseas filming (Gore decided against directing Pirates 4 for BioShock).

Verbinski, who is still on-board as a producer, said in June the reason they are having a hard time getting things moving is because “it’s a really expensive R-rated movie” and they don’t want to “dumb it down, we don’t want to make it PG-13.” Now the game’s designer Ken Levine has assured fans the film is still being “actively” worked on.

From Kotaku (via ComingSoon)

“I will say that it is still an active thing,” Levine tells DC radio station 106.7. “And it is something we are actively talking about and actively working on.”

That doesn’t mean that filming of the project is 100 percent certain. “I can’t tell you whether — you know, the movie business is complicated — I can’t tell you whether it’s going to happen for sure or it’s not going to happen for sure,” Levin adds. “But it’s something we are actively discussing, quite actively, and actively working on.”

Apparently the budget spiralled to $160 million, which is an average cost for a blockbuster these days, but no studio wants to spend that amount on a R-rated horror (unless James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro are involved). Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is currently filming Intruders with Clive Owen for Universal, so things may develop further after he has finished work on that next year.

For those unfamiliar with the game BioShock takes place in an alternate 1960, and in the game the player takes the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack who must explore the underwater city of Rapture and survive attacks by the mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate it.

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Last August 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was hired to replace Gore Verbinski as director of Universal’s Bioshock movie as Verbinski could not commit to the lengthy overseas filming (Gore decided against directing Pirates 4 for Bioshock). Since then we haven’t heard anything about the game adaptation, however in a recent interview Verbinski confirmed the film was still in the works, it is just a matter of getting the budget down.

From IGN:

“We’re working trying to make it. The problem with BioShock was: R-rated movie, underwater, horror. It’s a really expensive R-rated movie,” he explained. “So we’re trying to figure out a way working with [director] Juan Carlos [Fresnadillo] to get the budget down and still keep so it’s true to the core audience, you know? The thing is it has to be R, a hard R.”

“We don’t want to dumb it down, we don’t want to make it PG-13. We want to keep it really edgy, and it’s a huge bill,” Verbinski insisted.

When asked if he might take over the directing reins from Fresnadillo should the latter opt not to make BioShock after all, Verbinski dodged it. “We’re really down the road with Juan Carlos and right now it’s really a budget thing and how to keep the integrity and keep it a Hollywood movie because it could balloon. It’s a lot. Our first budget was extraordinarily high and we’re working on it,” he said.

Apparently the budget spiralled to $160 million, which is an average cost for a blockbuster these days, but no studio wants to spend that amount on a R-rated horror.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is a capable director, and Universal will need one. Bioshock takes place in an alternate 1960, and in the game the player takes the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack, who must explore the underwater city of Rapture, and survive attacks by the mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate it.

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In its desperate attempts to avoid original creations and find something else to adapt, Hollywood has occasionally looked to the games industry. Generally though, the wrong games have been picked, or the right games have been adapted in the wrong way. Alone in the Dark, Mortal Kombat, Doom… Currently films based on Space Invaders and Asteroids are being planned. Inspired. But there are some huge properties on consoles that would make huge properties on screen. Good ones, too.

David Jaffe, creator of the famously cinematic game series God of War, has stated that the process of adapting games into films isn’t easy – games are highly inspired by films, so adapting a game essentially creates a non-progressive process of film -> game -> film. It’s true, but I still think that if films based on games manage to strike a balance between adaptation and original ideas, they could turn out well. There is room in these universes for new stories. And just to quickly disclaim, I am not saying that any of the games in my list need films. Obviously, the majority of the ones present here have self-sufficient stories that work well in the gaming medium. I just think it would be great to see adaptations of some of these, especially compared to the ones we’re being given by the film industry at the moment.

So…movie studios, producers, everyone…are you listening? THESE are the films we should be seeing. No more Dead or Alive, please. Why haven’t we ever seen a properly good film based on a game? Here I’m going to suggest some games that could make great movies.

10. Borderlands

Borderlands was an absolute gameplay-fest; providing tonnes of sidequests, lots of guns, lots of EXP, and stats flying all over the place. You could play the whole thing co-op with your friends, too. What the game didn’t really offer though, was an original plot. In a nutshell, hunters on a wasteland-like planet are looking for a thing called “The Vault.” You go to look for “The Vault.”

Why make it into a film then? Well, what is present in Borderlands is a level of humour that most games don’t offer. The expansion The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned even made me laugh out loud at times – which is an unprecedented thing to happen while playing. I can’t really quote any of the humour here, because it’s all “contextual.” But…something just makes me think that David X. Cohen and Matt Groening could be called upon to turn it into a very funny film. Or any of the crew from Futurama. An over-the-top sci-fi action-comedy with writing in the vein of that (hilarious) series, that could also spoof on the over-abundance of post-apocalyptic films flooding cinemas at the moment. A shot in the dark? Probably. But it’d be more interesting than the Tekken or Street Fighter films, at least.

I wouldn’t suggest adapting Borderlands as something other than my proposed idea of a genuinely funny comedy with exciting gunfights, explosions, and large creatures thrown in. Otherwise it’d turn out a little bland.

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Back in June Gore Verbinski said that he was unsure if he could still direct Bioshock as he could not commit to the lengthy overseas filming. Universal wanted to take advantage of overseas tax breaks in an effort to trim down the budget, which apparently spiralled to $160 million. Well now according to Variety Verbinski has stepped down as director, however he will still produce, and a new director is in talks to direct the game adaptation.

“28 Weeks Later” helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is in talks to direct “Bioshock,” the Universal Pictures adaptation of the Take-Two Interactive videogame.

Fresnadillo directed the 2001 Spanish thriller “Intacto,” and made his Hollywood breakthrough with “28 Weeks Later.”

With “Bioshock,” Fresnadillo is stepping into one of the highest-profile projects on the Universal roster. Verbinski came attached as director when Universal made a multimillion- dollar against gross percentage acquisition from Take-Two. Verbinski then stepped away from directing his fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film because he expected to be in production on “Bioshock” last spring in Los Angeles.

Once it was clear Verbinski wouldn’t direct, he and the studio sparked to Fresnadillo, whose deal is contingent upon the thumbs-up from Take-Two, which maintains director approval. Fresnadillo’s producing partner, Enrique Lopez Lavigne, is in talks to become a producer.

Both 28 Weeks Later and Intacto have just over 70% on Rotten Tomatoes which suggests Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is a capable director, and Universal will need one. Bioshock takes place in an alternate 1960, and in the game the player takes the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack, who must explore the underwater city of Rapture, and survive attacks by the mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate it.

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The last thing we heard on the movie adaptation of Bioshock was that production had been halted due to the escalating budget and Universal were trying to work out how to reduce costs, which could involve filming outside of the US where countries such as Australia give tax breaks for films shot there. Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski is attached as director, however he may not be for much longer as he revealed to the L.A. Times that it may not be possible for him to leave the US for such a long length of time.

The bottom line is it has to shoot out of the States for budget reasons and my schedule may be prohibitive. There’s a great script and a really interesting cast. It really comes down to the financial model now. Big movies are just not being shot in the States. I’m weighing whether I can physically go the U.K. or Australia or one of those other places with a tax rebate for a year-and-a-half.

Gore filmed most of the Pirates trilogy in exotic locations so it’s probably not down to a fear of flying. He obviously has commitments elsewhere, whether they be family or business. Personally I would like to see Gore direct Bioshock as I think he could actually make it a good, entertaining and cool film, unlike what we have seen with most other game-to-movie adaptations.

I find it interesting that he says they have a “really interesting cast”. Universal probably won’t reveal anything until they know what they are doing, however there has been talk that Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) could have landed a role in the film. Hopefully Gore and Universal can work something out because i’d hate to see Bioshock stay in development limbo for years.

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Director Gore Verbinski recently announced that he would be working on the movie adaptation of Bioshock instead of directing Pirates of the Caribbean 4, however Universal have now put the film on hold while they find a way to reduce the budget.

From Variety:

Universal Pictures has put the brakes on “Bioshock,” the Gore Verbinski-directed live action adaptation of the bestselling Take-Two Interactive vidgame. The picture was in pre-production, but the studio has halted that effort–and let some production staff go–as Universal and Verbinski figure out a way to make the film at a more reasonable budget.

Sources said that the John Logan-scripted picture was gearing up to shoot in Los Angeles, but that changed when the budget rose to the vicinity of $160 million. U and Verbinski are looking at alternatives like shooting in London as a way to pare costs. The plotline takes place in the underwater city Rapture, where a pilot crash-lands near a secret entrance and becomes involved in a power struggle.

“We were asked by Universal to move the film outside the U.S. to take advantage of a tax credit,” Verbinski said. “We are evaluating whether this is something we want to do. In the meantime, the film is in a holding pattern.”

Variety go on to say that everyone involved intends to make the film, and that it won’t become another Halo (with studios bailing due to costs) so fans should not be too worried. Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood experienced a similar situation, but is now filming after they found a way to reduce the budget.

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Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy director Gore Verbinski has decided not to get back into the directors chair for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 according to Variety.

Verbinski has informed Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer that he will not helm a fourth installment that’s expected to set sail in 2010 with Johnny Depp back as Captain Jack Sparrow.

Sequel is in development but not yet greenlit. It’s unknown how Verbinski’s ankling will affect the pic’s schedule.

“I had a fantastic time bringing ‘Pirates’ to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry, Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team,” Verbinski said. “I’m looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future.”

This is understandable considering Gore has spent 6 years of his life surrounded by pirates. While the exotic filming locations will no doubt have been tempting, most directors prefer to use their creative talents on different things. Variety say that Gore will instead be focusing on the movie adaptation of Bioshock, which he has been attached to direct since May last year. Filming on that is expected to begin sometime in 2010, so Gore will not be escaping the sea entirely, as Bioshock mostly takes place under it (or in it if you want to be technical).

This obviously means Disney will be searching for a new director for Pirates 4, which won’t necessarily be a bad thing depending on who they get. Someone else guiding Captain Jack Sparrow on another adventure will be interesting, and some fans of the trilogy may welcome it. Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio will be back to write the script, so we shouldn’t expect anything too drastically different from what we saw in the trilogy.

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Director of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy Gore Verbinski, will be returning to the sea, but in a different kind of way, as he has signed up to direct the game to movie adaptation of BioShock. It is believed to be the biggest game-to-movie deal since 2005, when Universal and Fox signed onto the Halo movie, which is still not moving forward.

Variety report:

“Bioshock” takes place in an underwater city based on the free market principles of Ayn Rand, but things have gone disastrously wrong. Players control a pilot who crash-lands at a secret entrance to the city, called Rapture, and is drawn into a power struggle during which he discovers that his will is not as free as he’d thought.

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

Though no release date has been set, Verbinski said he plans to start pre-production as soon as Aviator writer John Logan’s script is finished and approved.

BioShock has sold more than 2 million units worldwide since its release in August 2007 and has been praised for its morality-based storyline, immersive environment and Ayn Rand-inspired dystopian setting. A sequel to the game, BioShock 2, is planned for a release in 2009.

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