Here’s the deal breaker: According to Variety, “One of the conceits of the movie is that it tells the tale from a point-of-view akin to a first-person shooter game.”
The script was originally penned by F. Scott Frazier, who worked in the game industry. Peter O’Brien, who wrote Halo: Reach, recently did a re-write. See where this is going?
Just when you thought Hollywood could not screw up video games more, it cooks up a flick that borrows the look of first-person shooter, yet casts aside everything that makes FPS games fun–you know, the game part. Who the heck wants to watch a FPS?
But maybe the vanilla sounding Line of Sight needed a gimmick, and that’s exactly what it sounds like this is. How about making one of the conceits of the movie an interesting story, sharp dialogue, and memorable characters? Just a suggestion!
Affleck is currently “in talks” to star in this flick, and I haven’t read the script. Maybe it’s great — it doesn’t sound great, but maybe it is. The hang up is using that FPS point of view; the Doom movie did that. Other, better movies like Existenz and Run Lola Run have incorporated video game elements into something fresh and original — not simply stolen artifice.
Ben Affleck, there’s one word of advice for this project and it’s “don’t”.
Ben Affleck in Talks to Direct and Star in Thriller ‘Line of Sight’ [THR via FSR]
MrBS
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 7:11 AMSo…. dismissing a movie that hasn’t been made yet because it intends to use an FPS view. Apparently something videogames own and can’t be used in any other medium.
You know…. FPS view has been used before in movies and no I’m not talking about Doom. Maybe not the whole movie but much like any camera angle, it is an option available to a director.
Stay classy Brian.
Rappo
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 8:39 AMI agree with Brian, first person is fine for a short, tense moment in a film… but as a whole movie it would be a brand new hell, right up their with the profesional films that look like they were taken on handycam (eg Blair Witch).
skitt
Monday, August 29, 2011 at 2:13 PMIs that sarcasm? Blair Witch was not a largely amateur project, and WAS shot on a handycam.
noko
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 9:25 AMCloverfield and Blair Witch Prokect kind of did this.
It sucked
somejelly
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 9:45 AMYea was just gonna say that.
Totally sucky point of view
Aaron
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 9:49 AMYou forgot Scott Pilgrim as a movie that melds videogame elements with reality and does a damn good job of it.
This film sounds like Cloverfield without the monster.
Richard
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 10:15 AMBen Affleck directed The Town and Gone Baby Gone, I think he’s proven that he can be trusted.
Rod
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 10:28 AMIf their directorial decisions are hamstrung by a need to constantly go into a first-person view, I don’t think any director could deliver their best or anything like it.
Cpt. Cuddles
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 10:32 AMI remember seeing the FPS view being used in the T.V show Tour of Duty. It wasn’t used all the time, but when it was, it was done really good.
Rohan
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 10:33 AMYou don’t have to say ‘FPS point of view’ the term is just ‘first person’
There’s an old B&W movie of a Phillip Marlowe story done entirely in first person. It even had a classy look in the mirror scene so we can see the main character. It can work.
Lone Wolf
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 11:11 AMIron Man proved Comicbook-movie adaptions could work. While good videogame adaptions are still the exception rqather than the rule, it doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
It sounds like an interesting approach and as long as they keep the camera reasonably smooth, ie the FPS glide instead of the handicam hurl-o-tron, it should be fine.
Dan
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 12:46 PMWhat’s with all the hate Bashcraft?
How about “Studios in talks to develop FPS Movie” for a header??
I don’t care if they’re taking the idea straight from videogames. To me, it sounds like they’re trying something new and different for film, and whether it’s aimed at 20 something gamers or not I’m more interested to see if they can artisticly pull it off and make it work. If it turns out to be an hour of high action footage that looks just like the First Person cutscenes in Modern Warfare, then I’d be one of the first people to pay money to see it, just for the fact that they gave it a shot.
And really, what else is Ben Affleck doing at the moment?
Franz
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 10:25 PMSomeone needs to go and trademark every cliche turn of phrase, saying and proverb since these are constantly being abused as film names, meaning they can never be spoken again.