HOLLYWOOD - Peter Jackson has already conquered the movie-to-videogame market with his Lord of the Rings trilogy (with his upcoming King Kong remake a sure bet to follow suit), now he’s trying it the other way around.Jackson agreed yesterday to serve as executive producer on the big-screen version of Halo, the best-selling game on Microsoft’s Xbox system, alongside his producing partner Fran Walsh. The duo teamed up for all three Lord of the Rings films and Kong.
Although Jackson will be very instrumental behind the scenes, one thing he will not do--gamers, brace yourselves--is direct the film, slated for release in summer 2007.
On the bright side, Jackson and Walsh will impart wisdom to whomever’s lap the project falls into (no one is in place yet to direct Alex Garland’s (28 Days Later) script) and his Weta Digital Ltd. and Weta Workshop Ltd. will come up with creatures, miniatures and visual effects.
"As a gaming fan, I’m excited to bring Halo’s premise, action and settings to the screen with all the specificity and reality today’s technology can provide," said Jackson.
"Fran and I are intrigued by the unique challenges this project offers, and we're delighted to be working again with our friends at Universal, and with our new ones at Fox and Microsoft. I'm a huge fan of the game and look forward to helping it come alive on the cinema screen."
Universal Pictures, the production company behind Kong, approached Jackson regarding Halo without prior knowledge of his love for the game, which led him and Walsh down the path of involvement in the film.
Halo and its sequel, 2004’s Halo 2, have sold a combined 13.8 million copies worldwide and grossed over $600 million.
Now those are numbers to which Jackson can relate!