James Delahunty
4 Oct 2005 13:31
The creative team behind J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings movies, including award winning director Peter Jackson have jumped at the chance to work with Universal Studios and Fox on the upcoming Halo movie, based on the highly successful video game. Peter Jackson and wife, Fran Walsh, will be executive producers for the movie which is not expected for worldwide release until mid-2007. Universal will oversee the film's production and domestic distribution. Fox will handle international distribution.
It will be filmed in New Zealand at Wellington, using Jackson's production and post-production facilities. "I'm a huge fan of the game and look forward to helping it come alive on the cinema screen," Jackson said in a statement. Hints had been made when the game was announced originally that Peter Jackson would be somehow involved as Universal and Fox were looking for someone "as dedicated to Halo as Peter Jackson was to Tolkien's middle earth".
Screenwriter and novelist Alex Garland (28 Days Later, The Beach) wrote the original feature film adaptation of Halo, which is still without a named director, but an announcement is expected in the coming weeks. Peter Jackson is currently working on post-production of King Kong which is expected to come to theaters in December.
Source:
ABC