While all folks involved are still working on getting a live-action Halo flick off the ground, that film's producer, Peter Jackson, and director, Neill Blomkamp, have settled on something different to mark Blomkamp's feature directorial debut. Variety tells us that both men will move forward with a live-action, sci-fi flick called District 9, which Jackson will produce through his Wingnut Films. Blomkamp also wrote the script, along with Teri Tatchell, and production is set to begin this spring in South Africa, where Blomkamp is from.

Unfortunately, there are no story details at this time, but based on that "live-action, sci-fi" description, it would appear that District 9 will serve as another calling card for Jackson and Blomkamp to use to convince studios that Blomkamp is the right man for the Halo job. We already know that pre-production continues on Halo in New Zealand, and right now it's all about finding a studio (or studios) willing to eat up some of that high budget and take a chance on the young filmmaker. In addition to his very cool short film, Alive in Joburg, Blomkamp also recently directed three live-action short films promoting the Halo 3 video game. Though there's no word on plot for District 9, I wonder if it will have anything to do with Blomkamp's Joburg. That short told the story of a group of aliens who become refugees in South Africa. It was live action, had sci-fi elements and was shot in South Africa. Could it be a feature-length version? Who knows, but after watching it several times, I'm convinced Blomkamp has one helluva future ahead of him.

In my opinion Halo is to video games what American Idol is to television, and yet both 20th Century Fox and Universal decided a Halo movie (with newbie director Neill Blomkamp directing) just wasn't going to happen. But that was then, and this is now -- with Halo 3 getting set to demolish the gaming world, Peter Jackson told OnFilm magazine that he expects the project to lift itself out of development hell once Fox and Universal catch a glimpse of the Halo hype first hand. As far as Blomkamp goes; Jackson notes: "We wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. It's Neill's call." But that's not all the man has on his plate; apart from directing The Lovely Bones, Jackson is producing a remake of 1954's The Dam Busters; a project he's kept quiet about for quite some time.

Now, however, there's a director (Christian Rivers) and a writer (Stephen Fry) for Dambusters (or is it Dam Busters?), and Jackson said the project is a lot further along than you would think. Apart from saying that some major announcements about the film would be made in the next few months, Jackson said that Weta Digital is already hard at work creating "computer-generated image tests of Lancasters in flight and attacking dams. Not only that, but they're halfway through building a "full-size replica of a Lancaster bomber." Jackson adds, "It's been full on, but we've been keeping under the radar somewhat. It's one of those projects that requires a lot of prep – you can't sprint out of the gate when you've got to figure out how to build a bunch of Lancasters and do vast amounts of research."

One thing is for sure, if they make a big screen version of Gears of War, the trailer is going to have a hell of a time topping the commercial for the video game. Variety reported that New Line had bought the rights to the best-selling XBox 360 game. The Microsoft title was a huge seller (4th highest selling game in the US in 2006) and is one of the most played games on XBox Live. There isn't much of a story, just a loose setting of a world struggling in the aftermath of an invasion by an alien force known as the Locust. Since this is a video game after all, there is a small group of elite soldiers (including the typical anti-hero that has been freshly let out of prison) out to save humanity. I wish I had more gaming info to impart, but I've always been more of a Grand Theft Auto girl myself.

There is no word on who New Line is looking at to direct (but I guess there is one director we can take off the list), and the last time they were going to make a popular video game into a big budget Hollywood production it didn't exactly work out. Rumors of the studio balking at Halo's heavy price tag isn't a good sign because Gears doesn't exactly look like a low budget production either. This time, I hope New Line is bringing their checkbook.

It's practically impossible for me to sit here and list the top ten short films from 2006. Not only are there thousands of shorts to sift through, but the majority of them are not available online. So, how does Erik go about putting together a list of the best short films from 2006? Will he randomly spew out names and titles for films you'll never be able to see unless you just happen to show up at a specific festival on a specific day at a specific time?

Of course not. What I've actually done is comb through all the previous Eat My Shorts and chosen my ten favorite short films that I've written about this year. Most (if not all) of them are not from 2006, but they are available online and all of them are wonderful, fantastic and definitely deserve your attention. This has been an amazing year for short films, and I like to think (in my own bizarre fantasy world) that Eat My Shorts truly helped spread the word -- that it helped bring more attention to an art form that desperately needs to be back in front of a mass audience. Oh, and thanks to you for being a part of the revolution. Viva la Shorts!

As Kevin previously reported, both Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox recently pulled out of their commitment to co-finance the big-screen adaptation of the hugely popular Halo video game, citing concerns over a rising budget and novice director Neil Boekamp. Even though both studios dropped out, Halo developer Microsoft and Executive Producer Peter Jackson, through a statement made by his agent, expressed optimism that the film would eventually find new backers and still be made. Because of this, pre-production work on the film would continue until those backers were secured and the film could move forward with its new financing.

Apparently, their patience with the "looking for new backers" process was short-lived because according to a joint statement made today by Peter Jackson's Wingnut Films and Microsoft, pre-production on Halo is being officially and immediately halted. According to the statement:

"As was previously confirmed, we deeply regret that both Universal and Fox did not choose to move forward with financing the Halo film under the original terms of the agreement. At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first class film to the big screen. We are fully supportive of Director Neill Blomkamp's vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait."

That's a nice thought and I'm glad they're so confident. But now that two studios have pulled out and production has been officially halted, it seems like it will take even more effort to get things going again -- even if they do eventually secure financing. I trust Peter Jackson and if he says the Halo movie will eventually happen, then I guess it might.

Still, with all the trouble the Halo movie has had before it ever really got going, maybe its time to put the project to rest for good. After all, movies adapted from video games seldom perform very well at the box office (or in the minds of critics) and more than likely Halo would face the same fate. Like it or not, its hard to live up to so much hype; as much as fans might want the movie to happen, it would still be a huge gamble for any backer choosing to finance the film at this point. Besides, sometimes it's just better to cut your losses and move on.

What say you? Should the Halo movie live or die?

Welcome to yet another edition of Cinematical's podcast, Coming Distractions. As ever, I'm your host, Cinematical editor-in-chief James Rocchi, and this week's guest co-host is Lisa Rosman of Flavorpill. Lisa and I talk about a whole lot of everything this week -- from Marie Antoinette to Halo, The Departed to The Road to Guantanamo -- as well as longing for the old-school B-movie, watching movies during wartime and much more. Also, this edition comes with free stuff -- be one of the first five people to mail james.rocchi AT cinematical.com with the answer to our trivia question, and you'll win a Cinematical t-shirt. All you have to do is answer this question: Name the director Lisa Rosman mistakenly thinks directed King of New York. That's all you have to know; the answer's within the podcast -- and you'll get one of our lovely orange Cinematical T-shirts. You can download the whole podcast right here, and, as ever, let us know what you'd like more of -- or anything you think we should be talking about!

(Music: "Overdose," Dumb.)

Personally, I don't blame Fox and Universal one bit for pulling out on the Halo flick. Seriously now, a $200 million budget for a video game adaptation in the hands of a first-time director? They don't need a psychic on the payroll in order to see that those two ingredients alone make up the perfect box office suicide mission. Hmm, I wonder how many times the name Doom came up in conversation. Heh, probably in more ways than one.

Look, no one is arguing the fact that Halo is one very successful video game. That's obvious. But why on earth would you pour that much money into a film that's geared toward a certain type of audience, mainly people who play the game? Furthermore, would those same people actually spend the time and money to actually step away from the game to see the movie? I think part of the problem with video game adaptations is that fans like to feel as if they're in control of these worlds, not Hollywood. And so more often than not, the movie takes a little something away from the gaming experience. Especially if it sucks. Heck, you can throw Peter Jackson's name around more times than a dollar bill at an exotic dancers convention -- fact is, he's not directing the flick. Also, where's the female audience here? Oh, that's right -- there is none.

Will Halo: The Movie become a reality? Microsoft is doing all they can to not scare away every single potential distributor, but unless they get this budget down to around $100 million (and chances are they won't even make that back at the box office), then you can kiss this sucker goodbye.

So, I ask you: Will the film make it to theaters? And, for you hardcore fans, do you even care if a Halo movie exists at all?

A few days ago, our very own Kevin Kelly shared with us news of Halo's untimely demise, as Universal and Fox (in what seemed like a very sudden move, but was apparently bound to happen for awhile now) backed out of the project citing directorial concerns and monetary issues. Microsoft, however, is not deterred by such minor trivialities, and continues on unchecked. Their official statement says: "We are disappointed that Universal and Fox wanted to significantly renegotiate the financial points of the deal, but the Halo franchise is hugely popular, and our goal remains the same --to find a partner that shares our passion and will creatively collaborate with us to best represent the story and spirit of the Halo franchise." Microsoft also claims to already be in discussions with several other companies, in a statement which sounds very much like what your best friend tells you after he broke up with his long time girlfriend. You know, the "it's okay, this just means I can play the field now. Trust me, there are all kinds of ladies interested in this action," speech.

Look, Microsoft, I know you are an enormous, all powerful juggernaut and are very, very used to getting your own way. But you need to face facts here: the universe simply does not want to allow a good video game movie to happen.

Both Fox and Universal have decided to pull the plug on the Halo movie adaptation due to concerns over the rising budget and novice director Neil Blomkamp. The budget on the film has been rumored to approach $200 million, well above the original $135 million, a claim strongly denied by executive producer Peter Jackson's agent Ken Kamins.

According to Kamins, "What happened was this: Universal, on behalf of both studios, asked for a meeting with the filmmakers just prior to the due date of a significant payment. Basically, they said that in order to move forward with the film, the filmmakers had to significantly reduce their deals. They waited until the last minute to have this conversation. Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungee (the studio that designed the original game), respectfully declined." The due date he refers to is the now past-due October 15th deadline that Microsoft set for an up-front payment of $5 million for the rights to the film and the script penned by Alex Garland, and a further payment of 10% of the gross.

While waiting until the last minute is nothing new in Hollywood or other business ventures, it is hard to argue with Universal and Fox's decision to pull out at this stage. Even though the two studios were partnered on the film, they would have both been laying out more than $100 million each in budget costs, to share only 45% of the profits, in a genre that has never performed well at the box office -- video game adaptations.

The involvement of Peter Jackson was a huge shot in the arm for the production, but there have been many concerns over the hiring of first-time director Blomkamp to the project, who only has 3D animation and short film credits to his name. Not exactly someone you'd want to trust with a $200 million dollar budget, and the reins to the crown jewel in Microsoft's gaming empire. Blomkamp's short film Alive in Joburg does have strong visual elements reminiscent of the Halo universe, but it would be an enormous leap to go from that to a mega-budget Hollywood tentpole.

Pre-production work continues on the film, and Kamins claims that they remain behind Blomkamp's vision for the film, but with two major Hollywood studios pulling out, what are the chances it will make it to theaters?

More Halo Movie news on Cinematical:

Peter Jackson Signs on to Halo

Halo Lands a Director!

Hollywood Laughs at Halo but Fox/Universal Pay 5 Million?

Leaked Halo Screenplay "Rocks"

Podcast: The State of Video Game Movies

In the last several years, director Peter Jackson has risen to the top of the Hollywood scene, becoming one of the mega power players after the smash success of his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Since the early beginnings of Microsoft's Halo game-to-movie rumors, Peter Jackson's name has been attached to the project. Now it seems as though Jackson is making the full crossover, signing a deal to help create the next Halo video game as well. Alongside his writing partner Fran Walsh, Jackson will work on two projects for the game industry, with the second project still an unknown.

Jackson is heading into the video game world with full force; he's creating a company named Wingnut Interactive in collaboration with Microsoft Game Studios. Sci-Fi Wire describes the new company as a "world-class interactive entertainment studio fusing the strength of Microsoft's technology and interactive entertainment experience with the creative and imaginative excellence of the Wingnut Interactive team."

We're seeing more and more of this, with established writers, directors, and sometimes even actors, crossing over for forays into the video game world. This is being heralded as a sign the industry is becoming "more legitimate," although some of us tend to think of it as everyone else in the world finally getting wise. Welcome to video games, Jackson, I'm glad you've found this "new" creative outlet. It should be fun to see what you bring to the table; I, for one, expect good things.