Every so often, someone, usually Roger Ebert, writes something suggesting that videogames can never be classified as an art form, and the internet goes batshit crazy. Whichever side you’re on (and we don’t really care either way), it’s hard to argue that games will get the respect that their advocates crave without growing up a bit; the vast, vast majority of the industry’s output is still incredibly adolescent, confusing ‘adult’ with ‘boobs and gore.’
But one of the few examples that manage to transcend this is the immensely successful game “Bioshock” and its recent sequel. While still a traditional stalk-and-shoot-em-up, and still including the usual psychic powers and exploding barrels bullshit, it’s also, like all the best games, an immensely successful act in world creation. Set in 1960 in a faded underwater city created by an Ayn Rand-esque despot, it’s a genuinely haunting and original creation.
Movie rights sold not long after the first game’s release, with Gore Verbinski (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) set to direct from a script by John Logan (“The Aviator”). Verbinski bailed on the director’s chair a year ago, although he’s still attached as a producer, with Juan-Carlos Fresnadillo (“28 Weeks Later”) replacing him. There’s been no word on the project for some time, but Verbinski spoke to IGN last week (via First Showing), and gave a little update.
It seems that it’s moving along, albeit slowly; “We’re working trying to make it. The problem with “Bioshock” was: R-rated movie, underwater, horror. It’s a really expensive R-rated movie. So we’re trying to figure out a way working with Juan Carlos to get the budget down and still keep it so it’s true to the core audience, you know? The thing is it has to be R, a hard R.”
It makes sense that they’re having budgetary problems; to do justice to the source material would be a hugely expensive endeavor. But, despite recent game adaptation “Prince of Persia” tanking, Verbinski seems determined to get the film done at some point; “I think Bioshock’s a rare one because it’s actually a great story. Me? I don’t want to make movies based on videogames, but Bioshock’s the one Oedipal, crazy kind of — it’s just got really good bones, and we’re really trying to figure out a way to make it work.” Particularly after the year that Universal’s had, with several risky big budget movies like “Green Zone” and “Robin Hood” flopping, we’re not sure that Verbinski and Fresnadillo will be rolling on this any time soon, but we wish them well with it…