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Student Filmmaker Treats Halflife with More Respect than Hollywood Ever Will

A well-executed faux trailer for a Halflife movie, by student filmmaker Justin Seau. According to Aeropause this was put together for this digital video editing class, and uses all original footage.

7:40 PM on Fri Sep 8 2006
By Eliza Gauger
2,155 views
40 comments

Comments

  • Very Cool, Very Cool!! Lets hope the man directing acutally gets hired to direct a movie of this caliber other Paul A!!

  • Epic.

  • respect? his crowbar wasnt the right color :(

  • short, simple, very sweet. Also edited very nicly, and man, that looks like gordon for sure.

  • Needs a voice-over.

  • So if if YOU were the casting agent who would you be looking at to play Gordon?

  • Oddly enough: Charlie Sheen. Think about it - put a goatee on him and glasses, and he'd be Gordon. The trick would be in keeping Gordon the "everyman" - someone you don't think is strong, or brave - but he's smart, and he's got the suit.

    Most of the movie would be seeing him scared (and being scared with him) as he tries to get out - yay! The army's here! Oh, crap - the army's here!

    If they can just take out Xen part at the end and that Smoking Man clone, it could be pretty sweet.

  • Shweet! That looks pretty slick. Whoever did that has some great editing skillz. Oddly enough, I noticed that the last part with the guy attacking the camera pulled some audio from a song in the Halo 2 soundtrack (the Last Spartan, methinks)...

  • holy shit... that was AWESOME. I would see it. Someone really does need to make a movie like this

  • As far as looks and well-known actors go, Charlie Sheen would be a good choice. However, if you did want to keep Gordon Freeman as an "everyman" character, it would be better if you didn't go with a recognizable actor at all. It's not like you really need a big name to play Gordon anyway, since I think part of his appeal is his lack of a voice in the game and that limits the amount of acting that would be needed.
    So... I'd say cast a relative unknown that looks the part. Jerry Seinfeld would definitely be Headcrab #4. I have to think some more about who would play Barney the security guard, though.

  • That made me not only want to watch the film adaptation, but actually play the game.

    Can anyone say the same about previews for The Super Mario Bros. Movie? No?

    Didn't think so.

  • Uwe Boll where are you?!

  • Edward Norton for Freeman.

    Cool teaser too. Less is more.

  • Very cool. That must have required a lot of work.

    Very veyr nice. Congrats to them.

  • hey, edward norton would be a perfect choice

    maybe david fincher or ridley scott as director? depending on whether they want to go more tension-y or action-y.

  • Um, Black Mesa is in New Mexico, not Nevada...

  • Morgan Freeman as Gordon Freeman. His first name is practically an anagram.

  • Wowwwww. I don't even LIKE Half-Life and that made me want to see it. Totally, totally awesome. Best movie I've seen in awhile.

  • Not to sound racist Frodo but... you do know Morgan is black right? im just saying it would have to be a pretty big revision to make that work.

  • (As my liberal hackles get riled up...)
    Forst, I think Frodo was just being humorous. Second, is there anything in the characterization of Gordon Freeman that is relient on him be caucasian? I would think age would be a greater factor, but went straight to race? (Olay. All done.)

  • Kiefer Sutherland with more bumfluff;

    Johnny Depp when he's less pirate and more Ninth Gate;

    Edward Norton, if he tones down the badass (Freemans an MIT grad folks, not security, not even a porter, and you know why he never speaks? he's got a really nasal nerd voice and a lisp)

    Gary Oldman if he's not too old now;

    Michael Douglas, who is definitely too old now but... didn't use to be, right

    And from left field,

    David Hewlett (Rodney McKay from Stargate) with more beardage: [img]http://www.gateworld.net/omnipedia/characters/graphics/mckayrodney.jpg[/img]

    Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb from Firefly/Serenity): [img]http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0303461/5869100_2_19.jpg[/img]

    (hope the image tags work)

    Considering Freemans role as something of the everyman in the games, and his anonymity other than the ginger goatee, fierce green eyes and HEV suit, I'd go with a lesser known actor who won't bring unnecessary cache and baggage to the role. For example, were Kiefer to star in the role, audiences would constantly expect him to yell "Mr President, we've run out of time!" into a mobile phone. With Gary Oldman, we'd all be waiting for Gordon to fly into a psychotic rage. And so forth.

  • Yes sixsider, there is relevant characterisation. First, he's white. Second, he's ginger with green eyes. They are iconic elements of his character. There are even theories surrounding them. Black men don't have ginger hair or green eyes.

  • Sigourney Weaver for Gordon Freeman.

    You heard me.

  • Drool worthy. Too bad Hollywood has to go and screw everything up for us gamers...

  • Whenever i see David Hewlett he reminds me of Tarintino, I think its the large forehead.

  • In fairness to Hollywood, it seems a good trailer is easier to make than a good full-length feature film.

    Afterall, how many awesome trailers have you seen that have totally sucking films?

  • Morgan Freeman has played a ginger white man before - Red in the Shawshank Redemption. In the Stephen King novella, he was originally an Irish-American with ginger hair (hence the nickname).

  • If Sigourney dyed and used contact lenses, she'd be a good Hollywood choice, and I see no solid reason why not a woman, apart from it'd fuck up the sequel, unless you're really aiming to blow fans minds. Not my choice though, owing to the Alien connection and the hard ass attitude. She'd just bring Ripley with a crowbar. Actually, I just made it sound rather palatable. They could even take off and nuke Black Mesa from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

  • Hmm, I could really see Gary Oldman as Freeman, he's got quite the range of skills as an actor. I'd see a HL movie if they can make the G-Man eerie and headcrabs move in large groups like most parasidic lifeforms do.

    Another thing I'd love, Adrian Shepard's story too, perhaps even tweaking the gameplay to see Freeman saved from a Spec Ops soldier by Shepard, but never knowing who was his protector(as to keep the storyline intact.) now now, who do you see as G-Man? Who's really that damned creepy?

  • Ya, that was awesome!

    now if only hollywood would make a HL movie, and it not suck.

  • I guess I was the only one who felt that this trailer was EXACTLY like a standard Hollywood trailer. I think it has more to do with the fact that I am not in love with the game. A movie would be okay, but this trailer is no different from other movie trailers. I will give it points for making me want to see this movie based upon a game I felt was overrated more than the trailer for Bloodrayne made me want to see an actual movie based upon a game I felt was overrated. So bravo, better than Uwe...

  • Most of the actors mentioned are too old - Gordon's only 27 during Half-Life. But I can't really think of any youngish actors who'd be right. The only one who springs to mind is Eric Szmanda - Greg from CSI Vegas.

    On a side note, Morgan Freeman would be perfect as Eli Vance in the sequel.

  • The HL story requires is waaayy too subtlety for your standard Hollywood big budget movie. We'd be stuck with lines like:

    "Gordon... you have on that suit that protects you! It's.... your protection suit! In other words, a suit that protects you! You must save the world for us while you're in your protection suit! Do it for little Jimmy here!" *jimmy coughs* "and Gordon... do it... for me. If you do maybe we'll have sex later!"

    and:

    "Let me get this straight, dammit!!. If the damn Vortigons aren't the enemy then why the hell are they attacking us? None of this makes any sence, dammit!"

    or maybe even:

    "Dammit Gordon, I won't let you go, dammit! It's too damn dangerous, dammit! Dammit!"

    We may have to wait until Valve can finance it themselves. I just couldn't trust anyone else.

    One last thing: Ed Norton. End of discussion.

  • i wish!!

    But then again, HL is something I wouldnt mind waiting for years. It has to be that good.

  • I'd have to go with Edward Norton also - Michael Douglas is far too archaic, Gary Oldman's age also plays against him and Johnny Depp is talented but too pretty for the role.

    Norton has a worn, beaten-up, doughy look that would work perfectly.

  • Heh, I just read through the first line of my comment, two up from here... should read "The HL story requires waaayy too much subtlety for your standard Hollywood big budget movie."

    Sorry, just wanted to prove I'm not retarted. Or worse: foreign! (kidding!)

  • Rosario Dawson = Alyx
    Gollum dude = Dog
    Morgan Freeman = Dr. Eli Vance
    Sean Connery (after some voice training so he would sound less ridiculous) = Dr. Wallace Breen
    G-Man = Chris Cooper
    Barney = colin farrell

    i still say Edward Norton (with American History X goatee) for Freeman, if he lost a few pounds, which can totally pull off

  • five bucks says that if this were the real deal and not some student project, your opinions would be completely different.

  • hmm.. I don't know about Freeman but I'm TOTALY SURE that the guy they should put in G-MANs shoes is...


    William B. Davis
    other known as CSM
    or Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Files :)
    now try and tell me he wouldn't be good for the part :]

  • If any thing the actors should be the people who gave their faces for the game and these are them...

    This url should reveal that the characters faces are not fake... these are real people that could be hire to act in the half-life movie and not stray away from its story...

    [www.pdsys.org]

    And if any movie is gonna be made on half-life 2 it should be made by Valvee itself... so it preserves the climactic story and values. if this is done then the movie will be the best movie of 2007, or when ever... its not like they need hollywood, if they can make the game as great as it is then the movie should be no less as good. FIN.

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