It’s an unwritten rule between Alex and I to avoid the most of the news about Hollywood picking the rights to produce movies based on video games, largely because they almost never happen.
That said, all bets are off when it comes to Paul Walker (Alex) and JJ Abrams (me). I'd apologize, except I'm not going to apologize.
Anyway, Valve founder Gabe Newell and director J.J. Abrams were part of a joint keynote this morning, the kickoff for the the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas this week (we aren't there, sadly). The duo revealed a mutual admiration for one another, and Abrams revealed he’d like to work with Valve on a game, and Valve would like to work with Abrams on possibly creating a Half-Life or Portal movie.
No real details were revealed, and it may only be aspirational between the two, at the moment.
The keynote was titled “Storytelling Across Platforms: Who Benefits Most, the Audience or the Player?”
The connection between Valve and Abrams isn’t completely new. An interactive teaser trailer for Abrams’ Spielbergian flick Super 8 was produced using Valve’s Source engine in 2011.