MediaZEALOT: FILM: New Line Wins the Rights to Gears of War

Epic Games' top-teir shooter hopes to hit the silver screen with New Line Cinema.

Apparently New Line Cinema, led by Robert K. Shayne and Michael Lynne, have bought the rights to the best selling Xbox 360 title Gears of War. The production company, which won the rights to the Escape from New York remake earlier this month (read my casting scoop HERE), has hired Stuart Beattie to pen the script. Beattie's resume features all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Derailed, and Collateral. He also wrote the screenplay for James Mangold's remake of 3:10 to Yuma, a film I'm really looking forward to seeing.

I like the idea of a Gears of War movie. I love the game, and the characters that are a large part of the property, and I think an all-out action epic film adaptation would completely rock. My one concern though is that New Line might try and turn the movie into an intellectual experience. Now, while I'm all for intelligent movies, Gears of War shouldn't be one. The video game is far from smart; dumbed down to the lowest notch and focused completely on action. The plot is flatter than the prairies, the characters don't develop, and everything is turned up to 11. The movie should be done similar to the recent 300, putting action ahead of everything save style. But hey, that's just my opinion.

New Line hasn't yet announced directing or casting choices, but I'll keep you posted as they occur. I just hope this video game adaptation doesn't attain the infinite hiatus status as the Halo movie did.

Cheers.