Director Neil Burger on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune movie

Director Neil Burger spoke to Collider about the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune movie. It sounds like he's got a good handle on it to me. I'm very pleased that he's being honest about wanting to keep as many things from the game as possible, but only if they fit into a movie structure. How refreshing.

“We’re rewriting it, and I’m just jumping in right now to do it. The deal really has just closed, so it’s very, very new. I’m basically writing it from scratch. So, it’s a ways off, but it’s very exciting to have something that could be a franchise. I like it, and I like that it’s a bit different from a lot of the science fiction stuff that’s out there. I like that it’s a classic, great adventure.”

“I think that the game has a really cinematic quality to it, and it has a wild feel to it, and I like the characters. I like the character of Nate. I know guys like him, who are either war correspondents or extreme adventurers – these guys that are living in a very different way and who are slightly hustlers or con-men. I think it’s a great character. All that stuff is there, the trick is to make it into a movie. There’s a lot of moments in the video game that are very cool and very intense. I would use as many of them as I could, if they work into the film’s story.”

“I just think you have to make the best movie you can. Something like Indiana Jones was updating 1930′s B-movies. In the same way, we’re inspired by the video game, but we have to do what a movie does best. What the gamers like is that it looks real and that you can be this person and do these amazing things. In a way, we need to do the same thing, but in the world of movies. We need to make it exhilarating and wild, and make you completely identify with this character and take you along on this ride, where you are this character and you feel it.”

Source: Collider

David O'Russell talks Uncharted film

Gamespot have an interview with David O'Russell, the man that will direct the movie based on the successful adventure game series, Uncharted. The movie will lift it's plot from the first game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, in which we are introduced to relic-hunter and self-proclaimed ancestor of Sir Francis Drake, Nate. Nathan Drake is the 21st century's Indiana Jones and to pretend that he isn't would be foolish.
The fact that O'Russell is looking to direct this after doing so well with The Fighter, leads me to think that this may turn out to be more Raiders than Crystal Skull.
My outlook for Drake's Forune? Sunny.

""My son plays most of the games in our house, and I will play them with him, but I'm not hardcore. I’m not going to present myself as hardcore. But I played the game a bunch of times and I also read as much as I could about the game," O'Russell said. "I started to brew together what I thought could be a really cool idea that I’d never seen in a film before…really intense action and really intense family dynamics on a global stage."
"To grow a game into a movie is an interesting proposition because a game is a very different experience than a movie. You guys are playing the game, and it's about playing the game. It's not about a narrative embracing you emotionally," he said. "So, I want to create a world that is worthy of a really great film that people want to watch and rewatch, so that's what I'm working on right now."
As far as the narrative of the film is concerned, O'Russell did not offer specifics but did note that his story will ring true with the video games. That said, he also mentioned how the film is his and his alone, and fans should let him do his work.
"I'm very respectful as far as the core content and spirit of the game, but beyond that, it's my job as a filmmaker to make what I think is going to be an amazing movie," he said. "People have to trust that and let that go, I think. There's not a bunch of movies you can point to that are made from games that are amazing movies...that stand up to time as a franchise or as [individual films]."
In early May, O'Russell was among a list of potential directors for the film, and in August, it was reported that negotiations between O'Russell and Columbia Pictures fell through. However, now all bets seem to be back on.
Unfortunately, further specifics on the upcoming film, like a potential release date or cast members, have not been officially announced. However, O'Russell has indicated his interest in having Wahlberg play Nathan Drake, either Scarlett Johansson or Amy Adams play love interest Elena, with Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci part of the cast as Drake's father and uncle, respectively.


The next entry in the Uncharted series--Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--is due out on November 1, 2011"

Update:
I've just posted this on twitter and clicked on #Uncharted, just to see what other people were saying and was overwhelmed by the amount of fanboys (and girls) already saying bad things about the movie. The script isn't even completed yet! People just don't realise that some things that work well in the game, just won't translate well into a movie. Yes, Uncharted has got some real cinematic scope, but things will need to be changed. We can't have Drake and Sully running around the jungle for three hours looking for the Strange Relic.
Before you ever grumble about a game-to-movie translation, think this through: it's fun to play, but would it be fun to watch?

Source: Gamespot