The Last of Us

Otacon · 07-03-2014 10:11am #1

Sam Raimi Wants To Bring The Last Of Us To Cinemas

You may already know how much we thought of immersive, successful PlayStation title The Last Of Us. If you don’t, you might want to check out our must-read interviews with its creators as well as our review, then come back and imagine our joy/trepidation at the idea that Sam Raimi wants to develop it as a film.

It’s not really that surprising – after all, the game itself is intensely cinematic and well suited to adaptation. We’re just worried about Screen Gems, Raimi and his Ghost House Pictures keeping the quality up. They’ve made a crucially positive first step, though, hiring co-creator Neil Druckmann to write the script.

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TBH none of this excites me. The Last of Us was exceptional as a video game experience. It doesn't need to be made into a movie.

The only thing that sparks any flicker of optimism in me is Druckmann's involvement in writing the movie script too.

Mickeroo · 07-03-2014 10:25am

Seems unnecessary, if you take the gameplay away it's already a better film than most Hollywood blockbusters.

Agricola · 07-03-2014 11:49am

Mickeroo wrote: »

Seems unnecessary, if you take the gameplay away it's already a better film than most Hollywood blockbusters.

Yeah but a huge swath of people will never get to pay to experience it simply because it is a video game. Why pass up the opportunity to make $$!

krudler · 07-03-2014 12:08pm

Lots of people saying Ellen Page should play Ellie, ehhh, no, she's what 13 years too old and just awful in everything.

Sad Professor · 07-03-2014 12:08pm

I loved the game but I fail to see how it would make a good adaptation. The premise and story, while extremely well executed, is totally unoriginal, borrowing heavily from films, tv and books - Children of Men, The Walking Dead, The Road, to name a few. Such games rarely (never?) make good film material.

Otacon · 07-03-2014 12:13pm

krudler wrote: »

Lots of people saying Ellen Page should play Ellie, ehhh, no, she's what 13 years too old and just awful in everything.

I think that is more of a joke based on Ellie's likeness to Page.

Elle Fanning might be a good shout.

Mickeroo · 07-03-2014 12:33pm

Sad Professor wrote: »

I loved the game but I fail to see how it would make a good adaptation. The premise and story, while extremely well executed, is totally unoriginal, borrowing heavily from films, tv and books - Children of Men, The Walking Dead, The Road, to name a few. Such games rarely (never?) make good film material.

The setting and that is incidental imo, the real reason it resonates so much is Joel and Ellie's character arcs. The problem here isn't that it wouldn't make a good or original film, it very well could I think, but could it be done better than the game? Pretty gargantuan task imo.

ThirdMan · 07-03-2014 12:42pm

Has there ever been a successful adaptation of a video game? Serious question.

krudler · 07-03-2014 1:03pm

ThirdMan wrote: »

Has there ever been a successful adaptation of a video game? Serious question.

as far as capturing the atmosphere of the source material Silent Hill was an ok attempt, the movie wasn't great but it had it's moments and it definitely felt like it was made with the best intentions, just lacked a decent script.

Otacon · 07-03-2014 1:14pm

ThirdMan wrote: »

Has there ever been a successful adaptation of a video game? Serious question.

No. The main reason being the games that have been attempted either did not have a good story to begin with (Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Hitman etc.) or the productions were poorly scripted (Silent Hill, Prince of Persia).

The Last of Us should not encounter either problem but we will have to wait and see of course.

ThirdMan · 07-03-2014 1:55pm

For that matter, has there ever been a successful video game based on a film? There's probably a few of them alright but nothing comes to mind.

For me, a film just cannot capture the essence of a game because, by default, it cannot allow the viewer to take an active role. No matter how engaging they are they always seem sterile compared to the source material. I never find them engaging. Of course any film should work on its own terms, but I can never allow myself to view them objectively. If it's based on a video game then it should do it justice. Simple as that.

On the other hand films never get under my skin like video games do. The Silent Hill games terrify me. I'm a bit of a sensitive soul and those titles just really mess with my head. I've only ever felt that way about one film, which was Snowtown. But I'd watch that again no problem. I'll never replay those Silent Hill games.

krudler · 07-03-2014 2:02pm

The best movie to game adapation ever imo is Escape From Butcher Bay, it was a brilliant side tale to Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick.

ThirdMan · 07-03-2014 2:05pm

krudler wrote: »

The best movie to game adapation ever imo is Escape From Butcher Bay, it was a brilliant side tale to Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick.

Jesus I totally forgot about that. It was fantastic. I love the Riddick character anyway so I was sold on it from the start.

SouthTippBass · 07-03-2014 2:08pm

ThirdMan wrote: »

For that matter, has there ever been a successful video game based on a film?
.

Goldeneye.

ThirdMan · 07-03-2014 2:21pm

SouthTippBass wrote: »

Goldeneye.

Yep, that another one.

Spider Man 2 was also very good. There's a few Star Wars titles as well that were very accomplished, although they're based in that universe rather than a specific film.

johnny_ultimate · 07-03-2014 2:28pm

ThirdMan wrote: »

Has there ever been a successful adaptation of a video game? Serious question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20xsntIVokk

Nervous Wreck · 07-03-2014 11:54pm

Mickeroo wrote: »

Seems unnecessary, if you take the gameplay away it's already a better film than most Hollywood blockbusters.

This. Even if they make a great movie out of it, it'll be nowhere near as good as the epic, interactive movie that is the game.

Daemos · 08-03-2014 5:30pm

This will be a terrible movie if it happens. I also don't think TLOU has that good a story, tbh. It has an above-average story for a game, it pushes the plot forwards and keeps you engaged, but the story itself is just another generic zombie story affair

Don't get me wrong, it's a terrific game, probably the best of 2013, but that's because of the game mechanics coupled with a plot that drives you forward. Without the interactivity, it'll just be the same as World War Z - a heartless, generic movie adaptation that loses all the charm of the source material in the process

Mickeroo · 08-03-2014 6:04pm

Daemos wrote: »

This will be a terrible movie if it happens. I also don't think TLOU has that good a story, tbh. It has an above-average story for a game, it pushes the plot forwards and keeps you engaged, but the story itself is just another generic zombie story affair

Don't get me wrong, it's a terrific game, probably the best of 2013, but that's because of the game mechanics coupled with a plot that drives you forward. Without the interactivity, it'll just be the same as World War Z - a heartless, generic movie adaptation that loses all the charm of the source material in the process

Way off the mark imo, if WWZ had anywhere near the same strength in story telling as TLOU then it would have been a classic. Really don't see how anyone could call it heartless either tbh.

mdwexford · 09-03-2014 4:34am

ThirdMan wrote: »

For that matter, has there ever been a successful video game based on a film? There's probably a few of them alright but nothing comes to mind..

Ghostbusters on ps3 was very good.

cloud493 · 09-03-2014 9:55am

How many of these video games films ever come out? :P I don't think this will see the light of day.

Otacon · 09-03-2014 12:15pm

cloud493 wrote: »

How many of these video games films ever come out? :P I don't think this will see the light of day.

Sony appear to be making a push to get some of their properties into cinemas recently, like Sly Cooper and Heavenly Sword. TBH TLOU is the one property they have, outside of Uncharted, that I think could get a wide audience if brought to cinemas.

The Answer · 09-03-2014 10:39pm

mdwexford wrote: »

Ghostbusters on ps3 was very good.

Surprisingly very good alright.

Potential-Monke · 10-03-2014 12:58am

I'm gonna put it out there, the Mortal Kombat film was great imo. It was close enough to the games (ie: had the same characters and story) and it stayed true enough to the games also. Then again, i'm a huge MK fan, so i could be biased! Also, Zero Signal!

The Answer · 10-03-2014 1:14am

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I'm gonna put it out there, the Mortal Kombat film was great imo. It was close enough to the games (ie: had the same characters and story) and it stayed true enough to the games also. Then again, i'm a huge MK fan, so i could be biased! Also, Zero Signal!

I enjoyed the first one, but the sequel was terrible.

Thinking about it now, I also enjoyed the Hitman film as well.

10-03-2014 1:32am

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20xsntIVokk

And that's not even Miike's first successful game adaptation.

TheIrishGrover · 10-03-2014 11:28am

While the setup is nothing original: Post apocalyptic zombie/possessed/virus etc, the central point of the game was never actually about the setup. It was always about the central relationship between Ellie and Joel. Again, we may have seen all the elements in different films: The Road, 28 Days later etc. But it would be interesting to see all these elements together.

Give it a good cast and director. Change the dialogue only a little and you could have a great film. It may not bring anything new to those of us who have played (and loved) the game but it will hopefully open it up to a whole new audience and let movie-goers know that there's more to games than Dennis hopper in Super Mario Bros in the same way that comics are finally beginning to get the respect they deserve.

Just so long as they leave in the Giraffe scene.

And don't mention TLOU and WWZ in the same sentence.

Tim Riggins · 10-03-2014 7:37pm

loved the game

wandatowell · 10-03-2014 7:43pm

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

Just so long as they leave in the Giraffe scene.

I think In a movie that scene wouldnt resonate as well as it does in the game.

Caveat_ · 10-03-2014 9:48pm

Was a huge fan of the game. Not sure a movie would be a good idea though.

krudler · 11-03-2014 10:41pm

Josh Brolin would be a great Joel

tok9 · 18-04-2014 10:05pm

Just watched a trailer for a movie called the Rover and thought to myself Guy Pearce could definitely play Joel.

Just to give you an idea.

Caveat_ · 19-04-2014 12:58am

Nervous Wreck · 19-04-2014 8:36am

Could post a picture of literally any man with dark hair and stubble.

tok9 · 19-04-2014 11:09am

That you definitely could but I do think Josh Brolin or Guy Pearce would be good choices.

Caveat_ · 19-04-2014 11:09am

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Could post a picture of literally any man with dark hair and stubble.

Professional actor would probably be best though.

Skerries · 19-04-2014 2:14pm

ThirdMan wrote: »

For that matter, has there ever been a successful video game based on a film? There's probably a few of them alright but nothing comes to mind.
.

Game that I thought were very good are Robocop 3 which was way better than the film
Dune 1 and 2 are both fantastic games
Blade Runner was an excellent adventure game
Star Wars has spawned some excellent games such as Knights of the old Republic, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy and Republic Commando

FortuneChip · 19-04-2014 3:27pm

It's as if they overheard the hype with people saying "Wow, this game is great, it's almost like a movie" and thought "Hmm, let's make a Last Of Us movie!"

Seems really lazy to try and spin a project off it. If they're specifically trying to turn a game into a movie, try do one that's a little more unique. The Last Of Us is a great character story, but it's nothing ground-breaking. There's nothing in it that hasn't been used in movies that have already been made.

tok9 · 19-04-2014 3:35pm

To be honest I think that's why this has the best chance of any video game to make it so far.

Most movies based on games are ridiculous to begin with while the Last of Us is a far more personal story.

That said, I really would have loved to have seen a Bioshock movie.

Rubber_Soul · 26-07-2014 2:14am

Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones has had discussions for the role of Ellie according to the game and film's writer Neil Druckmann.

Raimi talked a little about what to expect,

“It doesn’t need to be different,” Raimi said. “It just needs to capture the core of what made ‘The Last of Us’ special to so many fans.”Both Druckmann and Raimi promised a “laser focus” on Joel and Ellie’s relationship in “The Last of Us.”

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/games/comic-con-sam-raimi-neil-druckmann-surprise-with-last-of-us-panel/#/0

Adamantium · 26-07-2014 4:02am

StarshipPooper wrote: »

Maisie Williams
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/games/comic-con-sam-raimi-neil-druckmann-surprise-with-last-of-us-panel/#/0

That's insane, just an hour ago, that's exactly who I was thinking would be Ellie perfectly.

Mr.Prodston · 26-07-2014 10:55am

Maisie Williams would be absolutely fantastic as Ellie. Anyone else would be a disappointment now

Adamantium · 26-07-2014 8:03pm

To be honest, I love how it's going to be a condensed version, how many videogames stories get told as a condesnsed version of what they are (the original material)

If Hideo Kojima were to ever make the MGS movie, I'd hope it'd be the Shadow Moses story.

Though David Hayter did write another script that was described by others as a "digital Apocalypse Now for the modern age"

J Mysterio · 14-05-2015 7:48pm

Anybody watch Maggie? Watching it now and all I can think is Joel and Ellie.

.ak · 18-05-2015 4:11pm

To be honest, I really can't see how this'll work. The acting an dialogue in TLOU is what makes it so good, its what makes you buy into it so much. You believe the relationship development between Ellie and Joel (and then in the DLC her friend, which was stronger again).

I think ANY tinkering with that and it just loses it. The little mannerisms in Joel's southern twang, the laid back attitude of Ellie, the subtle humour, the understanding of Joel's angst etc., etc. All of that is brought to life by the actors AND they have so much time to be subtle because of the length of the game, which you won't get in a movie.

I'm open minded, I love the game so I would gladly watch a film based on it, but I think there's an element of Raimi being a bit fanboi'ish here and just covering something he likes. Art rarely works in that way.

J Mysterio · 18-05-2015 4:27pm

J Mysterio wrote: »

Anybody watch Maggie? Watching it now and all I can think is Joel and Ellie.

Actually... Only watched 30 mins... Was too dreadful to continue.

The Last of Us

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