Halo film

Rumors of a Halo movie had been heard for a while, but in 2005 it was officially confirmed by Bungie. While the movie was intended to be handled by 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, they have both since pulled out of the deal. It would have been a live-action flick, but with a heavy amount of CGI. Wingnut Films, the team behind Lord of the Rings and King Kong, was working on the movie. However, in October 2006 the movie was postponed indefinitely until new distributors can be found (see timeline below for more details).

Halowood
Joseph Staten mentioned that following seeing 28 Days Later: ''"If we ever make a Halo movie, who would you want to write it?" I asked Marty as we exited the theater, "I bet that Garland guy would be all over the Flood."'' Because Alex Garland is indeed the writer, it is reasonable to expect Flood. Staten also guaranteed that there will be Grunts.

Peter Jackson, a Halo game fan, was confirmed as executive producer for the film. While it was assumed that he would also direct, the announcement of Neill Blomkamp as director proved that speculation false. Jackson said he was tired after spending so much time on King Kong, and that Halo would have been a break.

Blomkamp is an acclaimed director of short films and commercials. He has also won Clios and a Visual Effects Society Award, and was nominated for an Emmy for his work on James Cameron's TV series Dark Angel.

Script
A website called Latino Review has posted a script review of the upcoming Halo movie; Rampancy.net asserts that it's credible. However, Bungie has said the story is not yet complete.

Crew
Director....Neill Blomkamp Producer....Peter Schlessel Executive Producer....Peter Jackson Screenplay Writers....Alex Garland(First Draft) & D.B. Weiss(Revisions)

Timeline

 * Summer of 2002 - With the success of Halo CE, Hollywood producers voice interest about making a Halo movie. Concerns over creative control sink the idea, "thanks but no thanks" said Joseph Staten
 * 2004 before Halo 2 launch - A Hollywood player, Peter Schlessel starts to meet with Bungie staff to discuss movie plans. He proposes that instead of leaving it up to Hollywood, "Finance the script yourselves, Hire a writer, have him write something you love, then bring it to Hollywood with a simple message: ‘This is the movie we want to make. Who wants to make it with us?'".   On the list of Schlessel  approved writers is Alex Garland who Bungie pick for reasons listed in above article.
 * June 2005 - Fox and Universal Studios announce their financial backing for the Halo project.
 * Oct 4, 2005 - Peter Jackson and collaborator Fran Walsh join the project as executive producers.
 * Aug, 2006 - Neill Blomkamp is picked by Jackson as the director of the Halo movie.
 * October 20, 2006 - Universal and Fox Pull out of deal. 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 [the percentage of profits they would receive from the film]. They waited until the last minute to have this conversation. Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungie, respectfully declined. The project lives on and Peter Jackson's Weta Workshop is continuing to work on the film while Microsoft locks down another partner.
 * October 31, 2006 - Producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with Microsoft, are putting the much-anticipated Halo movie on ice. Following recent reports that development of the film would continue in spite of studio backers Fox and Universal dropping out, a press release being distributed by Jackson's WingNut Films today confirms that Halo is being indefinitely postponed. Here's their statement regarding the film, sure to be greeted with howls of discontent by fans:
 * "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."