How will the Mass Effect movie change under its new writer?

Four years after it was optioned and one year after plot details were first discussed, the Mass Effect movie has a new writer. Its new scribe, though, has never has a script produced. How will he change the BioWare adaptation?

Another year, more forward motion on the film adaptation of BioWare’s Mass Effect. While series creator Casey Hudson and Thor writer Mark Protosevich were attached as the writing creative team in 2011, the production has been silent since. Sam Raimi’s production company Legendary Entertainment shed more light on the project on Wednesday, announcing that it’s brought in a new writer to tackle Shepard’s silver screen adventures.

Variety reported that Morgan Davis Foehl has taken over script duties from Protosevich on Mass Effect. Foehl’s background in film and television is predominantly as an assistant editor, working on series like Rescue Me and Queer Eye as well as movies Click and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Not exactly the sort of space opera pyrotechnical projects the Mass Effect series is known for. His work in comic books with projects like City of Refuge and Crosshair, the film adaptation of which Foehl scripted, are a bit more in line with BioWare’s source material.

Mass Effect’s producers—including Avi Arad, the Marvel Studios founder producing film adaptations of Metal Gear Solid, Uncharted, and Infamous—chose Foehl for his adeptness at scripting action with an espionage bent.

In 2011, a San Diego Comic-Con panel including the producers of the film said it would only cover the events of the first game, not its two sequels. The original Mass Effect was more focused than its successors. Commander Shepard is the first human to become a Specter, the intergalactic equivalent of a US Marshal, and he/she is tasked with combating the Geth, a robotic race bent on wiping out and dominating organic life. By the end of the game, though, it’s revealed that the true threat is a larger, more ancient artificial species called the Reapers.

Mass Effect borrows much from film already, in its character dialogues as well as its story pacing, but what makes the games so memorable is how personal they are. Its fans are passionate about that aspect of the series as well, to the point that mass petitions and fund raising efforts were started after the release of Mass Effect 3 because fans felt its ending wasn’t reflective enough of their personal choices throughout the games.

With a new writer on board, though, it’s possible that the story plans for the Mass Effect movie have changed since last year. A story separate from Shepard might be the best choice for the screen.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

‘Veep’ co-creator to take on tech industry in new series

Having successfully dealt with politics in his earlier work, British comedy writer and producer Armando Iannucci is moving on to the Internet for his new project for HBO.

Beware, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Marissa Meyer: Armando Iannucci has you in his sites.

If you’re not a fan of the HBO series Veep – or a connoisseur of British comedy over the last twenty years or so – then it’s very possible that Iannucci’s name means very little to you, and the news that he is working on a new sitcom pilot for HBO set in Silicon Valley and looking at the tech industry something that may at best raise a quasi-interested “huh,” but little else. Nevertheless, this is very good news for those who would like to see smart commentary on the tech world, especially if “smart” comes with a side of “sarcastic, caustic comedy and a healthy sense of the absurd.”

For close to twenty years now, Iannucci has been responsible for some of the best comedy in the United Kingdom, working as a producer and writer on such projects as On The Hour and The Day Today – Chris Morris’ faux-news shows that predicted the rise of The Onion – as well as Steve Coogan’s various Alan Partridge spin-offs and the critically-acclaimed political sitcom The Thick of It (Not to mention its big-screen spin-off In The Loop), before launching a career in American television with the HBO series Veep. Now, it seems, he wants to give up on political writing and look at where the real power is these days.

Talking to Andrew Rawnsley in the Guardian to promote the fourth season of The Thick of It, Iannucci said, “Probably this will be the last series of The Thick of It. The door is left open at the end to come back and do specials, but I feel I have explored every crevice now and it’s time to take stock and move on. I’m thinking about the power of the internet.” What interests Iannucci, and will influence the new pilot is, he explained, the new power structure created by the Internet and the youth of those in charge of the largest companies in that particular area. “Microsoft, Google, Facebook; you have these twentysomethings who have a way into billions of households. Where’s the power gone? The power is gravitating towards these companies,” he told Rawnsley, adding, “I’m also interested in that personal thing of what it does to you when you’re 25 and you’re a multibillionaire and everyone in the world knows who you are.”

Iannucci has reportedly already finished the script, which has been handed in to HBO. Given the performance of Veep, it’s unsurprising that HBO would look to the writer and producer for another show; we can only hope that the channel is happy enough with the script to give the show the greenlight.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

James Franco gets awesome with the Galaxy Note 10.1

James Franco does more than act – apparently his resume includes being a writer, producer, director and…Galaxy Note 10.1 multitasker?

A cool new promo video shows off James Franco’s skills at multitasking with the latest and greatest slate from Samsung.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com