MassEffectMovie:10WaysToMake

ItNotSuck
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not-suck
WithUniversalPicturesannouncingrecentlythattheyreworkingonanunannouncedprojectfor
2016,theinternethasbeenabuzzwithspeculationthatthismightfinallybethemomentwhen
theMassEffectmoviefinallytravelsthroughamassrelayandhitsaCitadelnearyou.Itsascary
timetobeaMassEffectfan.Ononehand,itmaywellbeawesometoseeCommanderShepard
andfriendsinmovieform,butontheother,weveallbeenburnedbygamingmoviesbefore.That
isasideforStreetFighterandMortalKombat,whichhaveepiccheesinessandinthecaseofthe
latter agreattheme tune thats perfectly acceptable for playing whenever epic tasks are
accomplished.WhoevertakesontheMassEffectfilmhasalottoprove;itsanextremelypopular
franchise (one of the most successful of the last gaming generation) and the expectations
fromgamers are high. Theres also already an extremely large universe within Mass Effect,
aseverythingfromplanetstoalienraceswithfullbackstoriesalreadyexist.Sincetheressomuch
toplunderalready,itsconcerningtothinkhowthetakeonthisextremelyexpansiveseriescanbe
condensedintoafewhoursofmoviemagic.Fortunatelytherearesomethingsthatthedirector
can take note of in order to not make the Mass Effect movie a complete failure. Lets just hope
theyreadthis,eh?
10.AddGenerousDollopsOfFanService
Partoftheproblemwithalotofvideogamemoviesistheytrytodoafilmaboutthegame,but
completelydeviatefromthewholestructurethatmadethegameawesomeinthefirstplace.In
Mass Effects case, theres been so many memorable moments throughout the three games
released so far that theres absolutely no reason why the director cant put in nods within the
moviethatfanswilltotallynerdoutover.HowaboutGarrusatleastoncementioningthathesin
themiddleofcalibrations?ShepardpassingMordinSolusroomaboardtheNormandyandhearing
himsinginghisScientistSalariansongintheshower?OracrewenteringashopintheCitadel,only
to be greeted with: Im Commander Shepard, and this is favourite store on the Citadel!? All of
thesereallyneedtobeinthemovie(s)atsomepointalongsideothermemorablemomentsfrom
the franchise. The fan service should really seep throughout the entire film; everything should
remindusofthegameweallloved,fromthecharactersdowntotheteenytinyeastereggsonly
thosereallylookingforthemwouldsee.ThisfilmisbeingmadetoappealtobothMassEffects,so
whyshouldntitbefullofthisstuff?Youallknowyouwanttosingalongunderyourbreathinthe
cinema.
IamtheverymodelofascientistSalarian,IvestudiedspeciesTurian,Asari,andBatarian
9.ADirectorWhoKnowsTheirMassEffect
Themostimportantinitialdecisioninmakingagoodgamingmovieistohiresomeonewhoactually
knows,lovesandcandojusticetothesourcematerial.Ifyouhiresomeonewhohasntevendelved
intoMassEffectoncebefore,thereseverychancethatthemoviethatfollowsitwillbeacomplete
stinker.Atthetimeofwriting,nodirectorhasbeenattachedtotheproject.Wedohoweverknow
thatBiowaresRayMuzyka,GregZeschukandCaseyHudsonwereallrumouredtobeinvolvedat
some point,with each given the label Executive Producer. Ifthese guys are involved, hopefully
they can negotiate a deal with the right director and make sure that the decisions made going
forwardareasgoodforthefansastheycanbe.Literallythefirstthingthatshouldbeaskedofthe
directorofthismovieisiftheyknowthesourcematerial.TheresalottolearnaboutMassEffect
(particularly since the universe has been extended in other mediums such as books) so it is
important to have an understanding of the backstory, the presentation of the galaxy, the
personalities of the characters, the way the plot develops and absolutely everything before this
person is given free reign to make a movie on it. Dont let us down Universal we demand a
directorwhoknowshiherReapersfromtheirRachni.
8.HireMatthewFoxToPlayCommanderShepard
AlthougheveryonesCommanderShepardlooksdifferentandmanyarefemaletheleadinthe
movieisprobablygoingtobethedefaultmaleShepard.Ifthisisthecase,therehardlyseemsto
beamorefittingactorfortherolethanMatthewFox,wholooksalmostidenticaltothestandard
charactermodel.MostwellknownforrunningaroundanislandbeingchasedbySmokeMonsters
andbeingallheroicinTVseriesLost,MatthewFoxisnostrangertotheworldofacting.Hehas
howevermaintainedsomethingofalowprofilesincehisLostdays.Itstimethatthiscametoan
endbycastingFoxasCommanderShepardintheMassEffectmovie,givinghimhisN7armourand
bringingdownhisfuryupontheReapers.TheonlyproblemwiththisisFoxisprimarilyaTVactor
and apparently movies are a whole different ballgame altogether. Does he have the experience
necessary to convey Shep to the masses?Can you picture Fox uttering Commander Shepards
famouslines?
7.TheRightScriptwriter
ThisgentlemanisnoneotherthanDrewKarpyshyn,themannotonlybehindMassEffect1and2s
plot,butalsothescribeofthreeoftheMassEffecttieinbooks.Inotherwords,heisprobablythe
gotoguyforwritinganythingtodowithMassEffectsincehepracticallycreatedmostofit.Heis,
however,primarilyavideogamescriptwriter,buttheresnoreasonhistalentscantbetransferred
overtomakingamovieaboutafranchisehesbeeninvolvedwithforyears.Ifyouhaventreadthe
tieinnovels,(Revelation,AscensionandRetribution),theyreareallygreatreadandfillinagreat
deal about the universe and popular ingame characters such as Saren. Unfortunately, if early
rumours are to be believed, Universal may be hiring Morgan Davis Foehl, who has written
screenplaysforfilmssuchasINowPronounceYouChuckandLarryandAdamSandlersClick.Dont
dothisUniversalwellhavethemastermindbehindMassEffectwritingourmovie,thanksvery
much.
6.AnOriginalTale?
DuetotheopenendednatureoftheMassEffectseries,condensingitdownintoamovieseems
quitedaunting.Itsagameserieswherechoicesmatter(apartfromtheendingofcourseZING!),
andtheplayerhasdirectchoicesthataffectthewaytheplotmoves,manycharacterscanliveor
die, with much more happening alongside. The storyline of Mass Effect, while it has its rickety
moments, is extremely popular because its gripping, expansive and engaging. Its a believable
worldwithbelievablecharacters,filledwithlore,ahuge,galacticthreatandisprimedandready
fortheHollywoodtreatment.Unfortunatelytheproblemwithadaptingthegamesandcharacters
sofaristhatitspracticallyimpossibletocreateanexperiencebasedaroundagamecenteredon
choice.OnecharactersShepardisnotthesameasanothersandtheressimplytoomuchplotto
condenseintoafilm.Iftheydodecidetoadaptthegamesintothemovies,theyneedtomakesure
its done right and the pacing is correct. If not, theres plenty in the Mass Effect universe still to
exploreanditcouldbequiteexcitingtoexperiencethingssuchastheFirstContactWar(where
humanitydiscoveredtheMassRelaysandannoyedtheTurians)orotherasyetunexploredfacets
oftheMassEffectuniverse.Whatwouldyouprefer?Anadaptationofthegames,oranewstory
altogether?
5.HireMartinSheenToBeTheIllusiveMan
Althoughhesnotquiteaswellpresentedashiscounterpartduetotheinabilitytoaccessfuture
technology that makes you look all shiny and new, theres no better choice for the Illusive Man
thanMartinSheen.Physicallyhefitsthepartquitenicely(andcanbetouchedupbythemagicof
Hollywood), but the single most important thing hes got going for him at this point is he
actuallywastheIllusiveManintheseries.Youcantgetmoreperfectthanhavingtheactualdude
whovoicedthisfamouscharacterplayinghim,canyou?SincetheIllusiveManissuchanintegral
partoftheMassEffectseries,theroleshouldgotoanestablishedactorwhoknowswhattheyre
doing.Giventhathesplayedthecharacterfortwogamesandlivedthroughalltheexperience,you
cant get better than having Martin Sheen. Hes also an established actor already, most recently
popping up as Uncle Ben in the Amazing Spiderman. Who doesnt want to see Martin Sheen
standing in front of that lovely dying star backdrop and eventually descending into bonkers
indoctrination?
4.DoTheAliensRight
Iftheepicspaceoperafeelandexcitingmissionsarentenoughforyou,oneofMassEffectsareas
where it really excels is creating a collection of different alien species that look, act and feel
different from one another. Anyone who has played the first three games knows the difference
between the Rachni and the Turians, or the differences between the methodical Elcor and the
entirely female race, the Asari. The aliens in Mass Effect, unlike in many other scifi media, are
believable.Theyhavetheirownsocietyandidealsandinabreakfromtraditionusuallydont
wanttokilleveryhumantheyseeoutright(justdontthinkabouttheReapersandtheCollectors).
Inthemovie,thealiensneedtobedonerightandfeelliketheyvebeendonetothesamestandard
asthegames.GivenouradvancesinCGInowadays,theresnoreasonwhytheycantlookliketheir
gamingcounterpartsandhaveeverythingfromtheTurianstrademarkfacialstructuretothejelly
squidybitsoftheHanarbepresentedinbeautifulfashion.Itsalsoimportanttorememberthat
everyalieninMEalsolooksdifferenteventhoughtheyrethesamespecies,itseasilyapparent
thatindividualsaredifferentfromeachother,ratherthanuniformlylookingthesameacrossthe
board. Just like the games, the aliens should also be involved heavily in the plot, forming the
backboneofthemaincharacterssquadandalsoformingabelievablesocietythatisntdominated
byhumans(letusrememberthatinMassEffect,humansarethenewestracetotheintergalactic
alienparty).Forbestresults,wedprobablyliketoseethealiensperformedusingmotioncapture
byestablishedactorsbeforethetechnicalwizardslayonthealienmakeup.AndySerkisforMass
Effectanyone?
3.WeightyPlotDecisionsAreAMust
Scifitendstohaveaproblem;quiteoftenitgetssowrappedupinthespectacle,ittendstoavoid
the actual substance.Mass Effects universe is all about substance. If a movie is to be made, it
needs to focus not just on creating a visually stunning experience, but also needs to craft a tale
thats just as plotheavy and weighty as the games. While the choice element of the games
naturallygetstakenawaybyhavingamovie,theresabsolutelynoreasonnottohaveemotionally
involving sections where the viewer will genuinely have feels. The games felt grounded and
believableenoughtohavethesemoments;forbesteffect,soshouldthemovies.Ifthemovieisto
follow the plot of the games, we need to see the moments that really defined that experience.
HowaboutwhenCommanderShepardhadtodecidetosacrificethecouncilforthegreatergood
attheendofthefirstgame,orthedecisiontodestroyanentireraceinthethirdgame?Theres
alwaysafearthatthemoviewillcompletelyforgotheplotofMassEffectinfavourofabigbudget
spaceepic;itcandothis,buttheresgottobeabalance,anditsgottoultimatelyfeeljustlikethe
gamestosucceed.Iftheymanagetopullbothoff,thiscouldverywellendupbeingthenewscifi
moviefranchisetowatchoutfor.
2.KillSomeCharacters
Unfortunately during your journey through Biowares epic trilogy youll leave more than a few
bodiesinyourwake.Someofthesearecriminalswhoprobablydeservenothingmorethanbeing
oneofthem,oralienswhotrytoshootyoutodeathbutsomeofyourcompanionswillalsolose
theirlivesdependingonyouractions.Inthemovie,theresnoreasonwhythistrendcantcontinue.
Commander Shepard, or whichever character were journeying with, should have to make the
trickiestofdecisions,andhis/hercompanionsshouldconstantlybeinjeopardy.Whenweplayed
the climactic moments of Mass Effect 2, battling through the Collector base on the aptlytitled
SuicideMission,manyofushaventfelttensionlikethatingamesbeforeorsince.Itfeltlikeatany
momentyourcompanionscoulddieandthankstothecharacterdevelopment ofthegames
losing one of them had the emotional impact it should have. In the movie, there should be
elementswherethedeathofacharacterhasthesameweightitdidinthegame.Withouttheplot
developmentandgenuinefeelofthreatestablishedwithinthegamingfranchise,theredbelittle
reasontogetemotionallyinvolved.Pluskillingoffthecharacterswouldbeagreatwaytoshock
thosewhowillbewatchingthefranchiseasamoviewithoutexperiencingthegames.Justmake
sureitsdoneright.
1.HaveATie-InTVShow
Amovie,onaverage,lastsanywherebetween1andahalfto3hours.Thatsnowherenearenough
timetogeteverythingaboutMassEffectcondensedintoatrilogyofmovies(ifindeeditcomesto
that!).Thesolution?Simple;youhaveaTVshowwiththesamecastthatrunsinthetimeperiod
betweenmovies.ThisTV/moviethinghasbeenbandiedaboutinthepastbythoseinterestedin
adaptingStephenKingsTheDarkTower,butitnevercametofruition.Itsalsoworkedtoadegree
withMarvelsAgentsofS.H.I.E.L.D,aspinoffoftheMarvelcinematicuniverse.WithME,thisidea
would work brilliantly. The areas that the film doesnt have time to explore could easily be
addressedontheTVshow,openingupthepossibilityofmorecharacterdevelopment,agreater
lookattheuniverseitselfandperhapsmostexcitinglythepossibilityoftheaudienceskewing
thedirectionoftheshow.HowaboutthoserunningtheTVshowasktheaudienceatcriticalpoints
inthenarrativehowtoproceed?Thisway,gamerswholoveMassEffectwillbeinvolvedjustlike
playingthegame,withthemajorityvoteskewingwhichoftwofilmedsceneswillairthefollowing
week. You can just picture it now cant you? What will happen to Shepard and co as they
contemplatethefateoftheRachni?Findoutsoon,sameShepardtime,sameShepardchannel!
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