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Turbo The Movie First Trailer

Tim Grube — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:16:32 -0500

The first trailer surrounding Turbo The Movie, a Jarrett Lee Conaway film.

Turbo The Movie: A Film By Jarrett Lee Conaway

Tim Grube — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:14:23 -0500

Jarrett Lee Conaway has made his rounds across the videogame and film industry. He previously worked here at Gaming Horizon Inc. as an Executive Editor back in the days of PSX Network when we were part of IGN.com Affiliation Network and now he is about to graduate at the University of Southern California. So what is this all about? Well, he has completed one of the best (I think so atleast) short film surrounding videogames ever to hit the "small" or even "big" screen.

Entitled, TURBO, is a high-adrenaline short film in the tradition of The Karate Kid and Tron. It tells the story of Hugo Park (Justin Chon, Twilight) a misspent youth whose only outlet for angst is a 4D fighting video game called Super Turbo Arena. When Pharaoh King (Jocko Sims, Crash the Series), the Michael Jordan of cybersports, announces a tournament to determine who will join his pro team, Hugo's sets his eyes on the prize. But Hugo isn't the only gamer who wants fame and glory.

If Hugo wants to win he's going to have to beat Shamus (David Lehre, Epic Movie), the all time Turbo champ at the local Pandemonium arcade, and Ruse Kapri, a feisty prep girl that knows how to win. Realizing he can't win on his skill alone, Hugo turns to his brother Tobias, a former kickboxer whose last match left him confined to a wheelchair. Together the two will mend old wounds and see if a washed up street fighter can teach a troubled teen how to become a virtual gladiator!

Also, there will be a public screening on May 2nd at the Norris Theatre (at the University of Southern California). at 3PM. First come first serve. Turbo will be sold afterwards, for $10 or less. The price has not yet been determined.

Visit the website by clicking here.

Master Chief to Play Supporting Role in Own Film

Shiva Stella — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:35:40 -0600

Disappointing news for Master Chief friends today, as the Halo movie (if it's still in the works at all) has demoted MC to a supporting cast role instead of focusing on him as the main character. If you ever played a Halo game and noticed how MC sort of... lacks anything that would make people think he was a human (ie, a personality), this probably makes sense to you.

Explained Joseph Staten, Bungie writing director, "I think what it boiled down to with the film was really a question of 'Who is the main character of the movie?' Is it the Master Chief or is it somebody else? And over time I think everybody around the table agreed that the Master Chief is best left as the most important supporting cast member."

So if the movie ever does come to fruition it'll be a film that just so happens to have Master Chief in it. Feel free to use your imagination to the right.

Video Games Outsell DVDs, World Implodes

Aaron Dunlap — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:42:33 -0600

According to an analyst quoted in the linked Ars Technica article, as of October of this year, more video games had been sold than in all of 2006. Considering that November and December are the biggest game-buying months of the year, this is huge news.

DVDs, on the other hand, are starting to slow in sales. Chalk it up to market confusion over High Def formats, or the fact that movies lately have been pretty bad, but DVDs have always been the great redeemer for movies that do poorly in theaters ("Eh, I'll wait for the DVD") so I imagine studio execs are pretty worried, in addition to the worrying they're doing over the fact that they have no writers.

For instance, Halo 3 sold more copies than Shrek 3, even though Halo 3 costs at least 3 times as much at $60. That could, of course, have something to do with the multi-million dollar ad campaign behind Halo 3 that spanned nearly all forms of media versus the fact that I didn't even know Shrek 3 was out on DVD yet (nor did I altogether care).

The story isn't lagging DVD sales, though, it's the increased game sales. Market saturation has at least seeped beneath the layer of hardcore gamers and meathead Madden fans. The Xbox's allure and the Wii and DS's casual gaming push may be the cause. Or it could be Peggle. Everybody's playing Peggle.

Ghostbusters Heading to Consoles in Fall 2008

Shiva Stella — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:42:59 -0600

In some interesting nostalgic news of the morning, Variety and other sources have reported that Vivendi Games is working with Sony Pictures to bring the Ghostbusters franchise to the videogame arena.

The first title currently being developed by Sierra is set after the events in Ghostbusters II and will launch in fall 2008. All four Ghostbusters - Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Harold Ramis - will be doing voicework for the title and Aykroyd and Ramis will be producing the storyline.

The deal follows Vivendi's success with Scarface: The World is Yours. Here's an excerpt:

Publisher is particularly optimistic for the chances of "Ghostbusters" because, unlike the young male-targeted "Scarface," it has the potential to appeal to children and adults. Developer Terminal Reality is making a "Ghostbusters" game for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 aimed primarily at the core gamer demographic, while Red Fly Studios is making a version for Playstation 2, Wii and DS designed more for families and casual gamers.

Mark Walhberg IS Max Payne

Aaron Dunlap — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:51:12 -0600

Remember back in 2001 when Max Payne came out and you said, "Man, they should make a movie out of this!" but they never did. Apparently, they were waiting for the game to come tired, old news that very few remember.

"It was that game with the bullet time and melodramatic dialog and not much else, right?"

Right. Well, they're finally making a movie about it. Mark Wahlberg's playing Max, John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix [Remake],The Omen [Remake]) is directing.

I'm assuming pre-production can't start until the writers' strike is over.

Since the only thing that made Max Payne relevant was its then-new, now-overdone use of bullet-time, and since bullet-time in movies is officially a cliche now, will the only thing this movie has going for it be a Vice cop whining on and on about his dead family and seeking bloody, bloody revenge by taking down a gang? Because we already had that movie. Vin Diesel was in it. It was called A Man Apart. It was bad.

Shadow of Colossus Makes Cameo in Sandler Flick

Aaron Dunlap — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 11:54:06 -0600

I usually wouldn't be making a big deal about a video game appearing in a movie, because when they do they're usually Halo, Mortal Kombat, or some other obvious action title. But did you ever think you'd see Shadow of the Colossus, a game whose sheer perfection was surpassed only by how little attention anybody paid it, in a movie?

I was watching the trailer for the upcoming movie Reign over Me, an Adam Sandler/Don Cheadle movie that looks pretty somber and dramatic, when they showed a brief scene of the two main characters playing SotC.

It seems like the scene is meant to come off as a bit of an awakening for the Cheadle character. Maybe when the film comes out, the game will see a resurgence in sales?

Expansion for The Movies is Confirmed

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Wed, 31 May 2006 15:27:00 -0500

Activision and Lionhead Studios announced an expansion to The Movies, The Movies: Stunts & Effects.

The game brings stuntmen to your sets along with various stunts you can utilize in your films. Stunts & Effects will feature new sets, costumes, props, techniques and technologies as well. The advanced movie making mode will be improved too allowing players to control more of their films.

The Movies: Stunts & Effects is scheduled to release spring 2006 for the PC.

Originally written by Brian Mohr

Microsoft Seeks Lionhead Buyout

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:34:00 -0600

This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.The original author is Evan Lahti.

Could Molyneux and Microsoft join forces? Information published today indicates that Microsoft is on the verge of making a new acquisition for the small but coveted studio, with Ubisoft reportedly being outbidded.

Since the developer's latest PC effort, The Movies, sold below expectations last year, Lionhead frontman Peter Molyneux has been looking for buyers for his once-independent studio. Microsoft's purchase of Lionhead would mean they could keep a keen eye on the development of the next Fable title, among other games, and gain rights to the Black & White franchise.

Look for more info in the coming days as the Game Developers Conference comes to a close.

GH Review: The Movies (PC)

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 21:03:00 -0600

This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Matthew Call.

The Movies is the latest creation of Peter Molyneux and his Lionhead Studios, creators of Black and White and Fable. The game puts players into the shoes of a movie mogul in the 1920s who starts the game with a vacant lot, a pile of money, and the dream to rule Hollywood. Gamers begin by building production facilities and sets, hiring actors, directors, and staff, and then creating movies to try and sell to the merciless masses throughout the decades up until the 1980s. The Movies is really two games in one: on the one hand its a movie studio simulation a la Railroad Tycoon, on the other hand the game enables you to actually create your own movies, with a fair amount of customization. The game utilizes both gameplay types fairly well; the only drawback is that each mode is so complex and time consuming that most gamers will be drawn to either one or the other. This may not be a bad thing, as most games only offer one style of play for your hard earned cash.

The most enjoyable aspect of The Movies is the godlike sensation that comes from ruling over your own little movie empire. As your studio expands the screen becomes filled with buildings, sets, trailers, and other movie studio accoutrements. The action takes place primarily from an overhead view, at about 500 feet in the air. However, the game also enables players to drag the screen down to ground level where often humorous shenanigans are visible, which would have been difficult to see from the games usual lofty view. To further enforce the almighty feel of the game players can pick up their actors and drag their squirming bodies anywhere in the studio. Got an actor whos spending too much time in the bar? Drag his lazy pile of pixels back to the set to get some work done!

Managing actors is only one aspect of running a virtual movie studio. Buildings must be maintained, new sets and amenities need to be constructed, new workers need to be hired, scripts need to be written, and films that have been released must be archived once they are no longer making any money. All of these activities keep players extremely occupied as the game unfolds over the decades. In fact, time can seem to slow to a crawl as playing through a single decade of the game can take nearly two hours with all the managing that must occur. Its not unusual to start playing The Movies in the early evening and suddenly discover that morning somehow managed to sneak up on you, but thats a large part of what makes the game so enjoyable.

The Movies also knows when not to take itself too seriously. Often the titles the game assigns to your films (which can be customized as desired) are ridiculous. A few of the ones I encountered are Battling Gatlings, Dogharvest, Battlesun Arachnid, Alien Under My Bed, and Dont Make Me Axe You Again. Another piece of comic relief in the game is the in-game radio station. As time passes in the game the radio announcer will mention historic events that mesh with the era. Ive heard the announcer mention the Great Depression, World War II, and even tidbits about the Cold War during my time with the game which helps pull the player into the appropriate time period.

While the level of micromanagement that the game requires is precisely what makes it so addictive, it can also become extremely tedious. Actors will frequently cause players grief because they must be pampered and watched over. After making a movie, actors and directors will be slightly stressed and need a break at a bar or restaurant before working again. If actors are forced to work without having an opportunity to unwind they will frequently rebel, storming off the set and refusing to work again until they calm down. Such tantrums can put all the players movie making desires on hold until the situation is resolved. Meanwhile there are scripts that need to be written, buildings that need to be built, and more workers need to be hired because the $50,000 restroom you built a minute ago just broke. At times like these the game walks the fine line between fun and annoying.

In addition, the pacing of the game can slow to a standstill. With so many things happening at once, it can take forever to progress from one decade to another, dragging a fun game into monotonous drudgery. This is a minor criticism since the games pacing usually moves at a fairly good clip, but time does seem to crawl on occasion.

The game also provides you with an extremely limited number of workers. Even after the studio has earned a few million dollars there just arent people lining up at the gates to be hired. Often this forces the player to readjust personnel, assigning former extras to be janitors or vice versa. Unfortunately this will cancel out all experience the worker had made at his previous task, taking a nearly professional extra and turning him into a lousy janitor.

Last of all, the moviemaking features of the game can be easily overlooked. While a nearly full featured movie-making mode is present in the game, its easily overlooked in favor of enabling the game to create movies for you. This is especially true when a million things are happening at once, which is often the case. When two actors are upset, one film is being held up, another film is in the works and a script is being written, its difficult for the player to call time out and make a movie for an hour before returning to the tasks at hand. This makes the movie editor a tool that gamers will play instead of the main game, not in addition to it.

The Movies offers a unique perspective on moviemaking and its gameplay style is refreshingly original. If you're a movie buff, or love Sims-type games, The Movies is for you. Other gamers will also likely enjoy it simply because of the game's sheer originality. Be warned The Movies can easily suck hours of your life away without you even noticing. It's that fun.

Addictive, the kind of game that makes 3 hours feel like 20 minutes.

Decent, good art and design for a simulation game.

Again, decent, good orchestral score but nothing that really stands out.

Managing your own movie studio is a unique experience and causes a lot of laughs.

The game will never unfold the same twice, lots of replay value.

GH Preview: The Movies (PC)

Brian Mohr — Sun, 22 May 2005 14:55:00 -0500

This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

The Movies gives players a Sims like experience as they become a movie mogul working his way through the history of Hollywood. The game features three unique styles of play including studio management involving buildings, budgets and people, managing stars including dealing with actors, directors, personalities and their addictions and finally straight movie-making which allows people to be completely creative with over 1,000 pre-rendered scenes.

The game is a sim of how creative you can be in making, editing and sounding movies and the title even rates your film from a computer generated audience. The Movies first starts in the 1920's as you start from scratch developing and doing research on movies. You work through the silent era and progress in time adding new features like computer graphics, costumes and more from every decade till now.

Overall the game features a lot to offer as you must keep track of all your character's stats as well as develop the movie. If you want to focus on just movie making and not deal with all the management options you are free to do that as well. The game looks to feature 45 sets, hundreds of costumes and 8,000 scenes where you can adjust the outcome of every one with sliders that affect the character personalities. Beyond that, you can put in weather, lighting and more to change the scene as you see fit.

The graphics for The Movies look very impressive, the characters are much in the same build as The Sims and the array of scenes and character emotions are impressive and truly show off the game's graphics. The controls for The Movies are also very good as it is simple point and click from the different buildings to begin creating your movie, picking your stars, costumes and more.

Along with more on the single player, certain times will determine a movies success so if you make a sci-fi film during the launch of Sputnik it'll be a big success. After you make you movie, there is of course post-production and movie editor in which you can put in subtitles, your own voiceover by recording it, music and more. Finally after that you'll have to market it.

Finally, the game looks to feature film festivals where you can put your finished movie online and also see what other people have done. Activision has also stated there are already plans for an expansion for The Movies as well.

Overall, The Movies is shaping up to be a hit for the PC in much the same way as The Sims. The games controls and graphics are very similar to the PC hit and the various options including management, star support and straight movie making should have something for everyone. If you like The Sims you'll definitely like The Movies so keep an eye for more as we close in on the PC's fall release.