Variety reports that 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures have closed their deal to make a movie based on Microsoft's hit videogame Halo, with plans for a tentpole release in the summer of 2007. The two studios will pay Microsoft $5 million against 10% of the gross.

Universal will oversee the production and is handling domestic distribution, while Fox will take foreign distribution. The studios will split revenues 50/50 out of a shared pot, adds the trade.

Former Columbia president Peter Schlessel, who served as a Hollywood liaison for Microsoft, is producing. 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland was paid $1 million by Microsoft to write a script that met its approval. He'll now do a rewrite with studio notes, after which Universal will go out to directors.

The film is based on the game franchise which has grossed $600 million.

Theres a bunch of master chiefs
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Well atleast we wont have to complain about the lead actor.
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Microsoft signs movie deal for 'Halo'


Microsoft has signed a deal with two film studios to make a movie based on its popular space-based video game series "Halo," a spokesman for Universal Pictures said Wednesday.

Universal and Twentieth Century Fox agreed to pay Microsoft $5 million plus a percentage of movie ticket sales. The total price being paid is capped at 10 percent of domestic box office receipts.


The deal ends months of speculation over which studio would win the right to make a "Halo" film, which came to Hollywood last spring highly touted by Microsoft and its representatives at Creative Artists Agency. Messengers delivered a script to the studios wearing costumes and toting laser guns.

But several studios balked at an initially high asking price, which at the time published reports pegged at $15 million plus 15 percent of box office receipts in the United States and Canada.


Under terms of the final agreement, Universal will oversee the film's production and domestic distribution, while Fox will handle international distribution.

Previous Next Universal spokesman Paul Pflug said the studios are aiming for a summer 2007 release of a movie based on "Halo" and "Halo 2," a science fiction series about an alien-fighting warrior named Master Chief.


Microsoft spokesman Carlos de Leon declined to comment on the terms of the movie deal as well as on speculation that the software giant would launch its "Halo 3" game title alongside the movie.

"We haven't made any announcement on the launch of 'Halo 3'," he said.

how are they going to make the aliens (elites,grunts,jackels etc) I'm pretty sure midgets would be in the grunt suits
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how the heck do they intend to make a spartan suit?

it will look just like the crappy ones at Halo conventions 
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well those are just made instantly suits, im sure the spartan suit will be made by real movie outfit makers or w/e you call them lol
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