http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/6/5478566/the-last-of-us-is-becoming-a-live-action-movie
Thoughts? I guess out of all the games in the world, this one probably adapts best to the screen. Who do we cast as Joel? Bryan Cranston?
Game » consists of 11 releases. Released Jun 14, 2013
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/6/5478566/the-last-of-us-is-becoming-a-live-action-movie
Thoughts? I guess out of all the games in the world, this one probably adapts best to the screen. Who do we cast as Joel? Bryan Cranston?
@atwa: For what it's worth, Neil Druckman the original creator will be penning the script.
Also, I want Viggo Mortensen (sp?) aka Aragorn to play the bad guy in the Winter season part of the game.
Edit/PS: Seeing as how the movie Children of Men already exists, yes things definitely feel like they're coming full circle.
@yummylee: Maybe, but it sounds like they're making this movie to target people who wouldn't play the game. As long as they don't get too focus-testy and let Neil write the script he wants to write, this could make for a powerful movie and maybe even change some opinions about video games.
Add it to the other pile of movies based on games that have been announced, but have gone nowhere for years now. After hearing the talk about where that Uncharted movie was going before it got canned, and the fact most games turned into movies change a lot from the game if they even get made, this doesn't leave me with much hope. Either way the game itself is still fantastic.
Can't say I really care about this.
This, of all the videogames that could be turned into a movie, seems like the absolute worst choice ever.
Stinks of executive "Strike While It's Hot" mentality.
Just because everyone said the Last of Us was the most cinematic game ever and just because there are cutscene only montages on YouTube does not mean we ever needed this.
I mean, to keep my pointless, angsty-mostly-kinda-sorta joky post going, what could this movie even be about?
If it's just Joel and Ellie in real life, well, it's already failed. No one who played the game will prefer this truncated, shorter, sexed-up hollywood explosion version, regardless of the hot up and coming actors they cast.
Did they somehow confuse themselves into thinking the setting is somehow unique and will sell the movie? This is just Children of Men/I am Legend/The Road/etc so on Zombie/End of the World movie. Or do they just think the writers are so good any story they tell in this world will sell?
The Last of Us was powerful because it's a game, end of story. It was the first time we've ever explored an environment in this setting that was so dense with world story and atmosphere. The first time we've had two characters act so believably, emote so well, and share real, human feelings that were grounded but also made sense in the heightened game world they inhabited. The journey was long and brutal and the time you spent paid dividends in terms of emotional impact as it goes on. So the story and gameplay and environment all melded together so tightly - that's what gave it power. Not just the characters, or story, or the writing, or the world. All of it together, and you playing it.
BUT WHAT DO I KNOW.
I'm just an entitled gamer or something.
Just because everyone said the Last of Us was the most cinematic game ever and just because there are cutscene only montages on YouTube does not mean we ever needed this.
I think your mistake is assuming this movie is for us. The president of the production company picking this up said, "I knew the audience for this project was far greater than just the gaming community". Unless you are actually of the opinion that The Last of Us is only good because of its interactive nature, I don't see how this is a bad thing.
Bad move. Last of Us only works within the context of a video game. As a film, it's a shitty knock off of The Road.
Just because everyone said the Last of Us was the most cinematic game ever and just because there are cutscene only montages on YouTube does not mean we ever needed this.
I think your mistake is assuming this movie is for us. The president of the production company picking this up said, "I knew the audience for this project was far greater than just the gaming community". Unless you are actually of the opinion that The Last of Us is only good because of its interactive nature, I don't see how this is a bad thing.
Oh that's exactly what I think. Somewhere in my rambling post I thought I said that but I didn't. I know this movie isn't for me. I guess that's where I was going with my YouTube comment - that the existence of those montage videos convinced them people outside gamers would be interested in the Last of Us.
But it's a weird thing to say anyways right? If I say the Last of Us is only good because it's a game (which I believe) then that still doesn't stop a Last of Us movie from being great by using the powers of film (you know, humans). Especially since it seems 99% sure it won't be about Joel and Ellie as that's too easy to spoil, right?
@geraltitude: That's what you seemed to be saying but I wasn't sure. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree then. I feel like the story of TLoU is incredibly strong on its own merits as a narrative, outside of any interactivity. Yes, there are a lot of tweaks that would need to be done in terms of pacing etc because just stringing together 6-hours of cutscenes does not a movie make, but I don't see why you couldn't take that plot and rejigger it into an amazing cinematic experience.
Unnecessary.
I had the exact opposite reaction. As I played through The Last of Us, I kept feeling like I'd enjoy it more as a movie or TV show. At this point, I think it would be better-served as a TV show. TLoU really needs the slower pace that a TV show affords. There's a lot of story here, and to fit it into a movie with a similar pace would require cutting out something. TV "miniseries" is probably a better word. There's nothing about this game that can't be adapted to something on camera, whether that's at a theater or on the small screen.
I had fun with a large chunk of the gameplay, but there are significant portions that just plain fucking suck. Those sections where you have to sneak past infected are just fucking terrible, and they only get worse as the game goes on.
Should have been a 10 to 12 part mini-series on HBO instead.
You know what? I completely agree with this. Three episodes devoted to each season, one hour each episode, I think that could really work well. It also helps that the game is a little episodic in a way, with each season having a beginning, middle, and end.
Troy baker could pull of joel, Ellen Page for Ellie
Hiring a 27 year old to play a 14 year old girl is one of the most cliche Hollywood mistakes this film could make.
Not to mention the fact that Ellen Page is probably completely over being involved in video games. There was a huge overblown controversy regarding her and The Last of Us, and then there was a controversy regarding her and nudity in her own game Beyond Two Souls. I'm pretty sure she sees our industry as an immature cesspit at this point.
@geraltitude: That's what you seemed to be saying but I wasn't sure. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree then. I feel like the story of TLoU is incredibly strong on its own merits as a narrative, outside of any interactivity. Yes, there are a lot of tweaks that would need to be done in terms of pacing etc because just stringing together 6-hours of cutscenes does not a movie make, but I don't see why you couldn't take that plot and rejigger it into an amazing cinematic experience.
I guess what I'm saying is pretty nonsensical/pointless and wee bit lamely philosophical. Basically I was just trying to say that I feel that any movie that is the Last of Us won't be like the Last of Us game, because, you know, one is a game, one is a movie. Playing the Last of Us is the only way to experience it, for me. Anyways..
:D games!
Should have been a 10 to 12 part mini-series on HBO instead.
You know what? I completely agree with this. Three episodes devoted to each season, one hour each episode, I think that could really work well. It also helps that the game is a little episodic in a way, with each season having a beginning, middle, and end.
Yup. This is pretty much what I think whenever any video game is set to be adapted. Whoever thinks they can take what seems to be a minimum 15 hour game and turn it into a 2 hour flick (or worse, a 6 hour trilogy) without losing that much is nuts.
The Last of Us story is something that needs to be played to truly appreciate imo. However I'll be cautiously optimistic, if it even ends up being made.
Given the people involved, I'm more optimistic on this than if they just announced there was a film coming and didn't elaborate. It could work. It seems protecting the IP was first and foremost in their minds when it came to signing off on this.
I don't get the idea that this thing only works as a game and not as a film... how exactly?
Bad move. Last of Us only works within the context of a video game. As a film, it's a shitty knock off of The Road.
If it's a shitty knock off of The Road, it's a shitty knock off of The Road. The medium is irrelevant. Unless your grading on a curve because it's a game and making allowances which is silly and also undersells the quality of the writing in TLOU.
Given the people involved, I'm more optimistic on this than if they just announced there was a film coming and didn't elaborate. It could work. It seems protecting the IP was first and foremost in their minds when it came to signing off on this.
I don't get the idea that this thing only works as a game and not as a film... how exactly?
Bad move. Last of Us only works within the context of a video game. As a film, it's a shitty knock off of The Road.
If it's a shitty knock off of The Road, it's a shitty knock off of The Road. The medium is irrelevant. Unless your grading on a curve because it's a game and making allowances which is silly and also undersells the quality of the writing in TLOU.
It doesn't work as a film because the emotional impact of The Last of Us only shines through the interactivity of it. The act of play places you in the same situation as the characters involved, which in a good game will build empathy toward the characters as you experience their journey right along side them. Consider the fandom that loves Halo. They don't love the Master Chief because he's a bad ass cyborg blank slate, they love him because he is iconographic shorthand that represents their experience in the Halo universe. Without that empathy or attachment built through the act of play, he's a one dimensional character good for occasional one liners and a whole lot of shooting.
I'm not saying that the Last of Us isn't a good story on its own (although I didn't particularly enjoy it), but that the tools and writing conventions employed in a video game narrative are very different from cinema. You could probably make a decent facsimile of what it's like to play The Last of Us in a hollywood movie, but it won't ever measure up the genuine article.
For instance, my experience with Spec Ops: The Line. Some people criticize its narrative, others call it bold. The thing that struck me the most about that game is how malleable the plot was and how it presented the act of play through a unique context. It takes genre conventions only available to video games and toys with them in interesting ways. I don't ever want to see a Spec Ops movie, partly because what's present in its narrative has been done before and done exceptionally well in other mediums. What made Spec Ops a unique experience was playing the game, and in playing the game I grew more haggard and emotionally drained as the game went along. I found myself slipping in a way similar to the protagonist of Spec Ops does; even to the point where I surprised myself by opening fire on a group of civilians for lynching my friend.
That is an experience that will stick with me and it is completely unique to video games. Video games have the ability to transplant you into a virtual world and, not only that, but the head space of your playable avatar. I can't speak to the many ways I'm sure this applies to the Last of Us, but considering your strong reaction to the game I can imagine you have some ideas on that.
That is ultimately what I mean by saying "without interactivity it's a shitty knock off of The Road". It's not a disservice to the writing in the game, or the performances by the voice/mo cap talent. It's a statement of how fundamental to experiencing the narrative that interactivity is in video games. Removing that interactivity effectively hobbles the experience. It makes it a lesser thing. I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone to experience a genuinely moving, gripping narrative in an abridged format. Give it to the people raw, or not at all.
Seems pointless. The game is so cinematic as it is, and the true impact of the story comes from having spent 10 to 12 hours interacting with these characters. Condensing it into a two hour film would hardly be the same. But I guess that doesn't really matter to who this movie is targeted at. Though apparently Sam Raimi is producing it, or at least it's being done in Ghost House. I'd feel better if he was directing it.
Josh Brolin as Josh Brolin Joel. Giant Swedish woman as Ellie.
The Road is a great book, not so great of a movie; The Last of Us isn't comparable as a book but is probably quite good in film form. Similarly the book version of the Godfather is mediocre and the Counselor wasn't amazing aside from the writing (from the best living writer).
I think the Last of Us was the third best film released last year, give or take 18 hours.
So did they confirm that it's gonna be the exact story of the game retold? I think that would be lame. Troy and Ashley did such amazing jobs with this and the final product was outstanding, why do it again with someone else?
Also the viewer is never gonna feel the same connection towards Ellie that the player felt. In the game you spent 12 hours with her, interact with her, help each other. To get that same kind of effect in a 2 hour film is almost not possible.
Why? It's already a movie, all they need to do is take out the hours of tedious gameplay and flesh out the cutscenes a bit.
@oldirtybearon: Okay, in some ways I do agree with you - I think the interactivity is a key aspect of the game, albeit not as key as it was to something like Spec Ops (which, to me at least, felt like a very deliberate commentary on the majority of similarly themed games).
Would better fit a TV series like Game of Thrones.
Yep. One or two seasons and leave it at that.
The best case scenario for ME personally would be a story that takes place in the LOU universe, but isn't directly about Joel or Ellie. I don't want other actors portraying those characters because the look is paired with the voices for me. Joel needs to be Troy.
@liquidprince: Josh Brolin can play Josh Brolin as well as not Josh Brolin
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