Ratchman
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Posted - 2009.04.20 14:15:00 -
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EVE would only ever be the backdrop for a movie. It's a different media, and requires a different approach. The story is paramount, and given that you have sufficient characterisation and plot, you could then do it, using the EVE universe as a backdrop. I haven't read any of the fiction surrounding EVE, so I couldn't comment on how well it would adapt, but you are facing an uphill battle in getting one made.
Point 1: Sci-fi does tend to breed the biggest money makers, but they don't breed many critically acclaimed films. Even classics like Alien take years to be accepted by the critics. This is also true of Horror, Westerns, Comedy and Animation. All these genres suffer from critical snobbery. Note how many sci-fi or horror films win Oscars.
Point 2: The further into the future you go, the more alien the human culture becomes and although the same basic premises are always true, the remoteness of the culture will be enough to drive a division between the story and the viewer. Star Wars works because it's a simple 'good vs evil' conceit in a universe that strongly draws from recent history. EVE is far more morally ambiguous universe where death is no longer the end (as long as you have enough cash).
Point 3: The bigger the budget, the more 'Hollywood' the film has to be. Think of those stupid film parodies that the Simpsons does so well. That is how they genuinely work. They are trying to hit the broadest demographic, which means the lowest common denominator, which means stupid action blockbuster, where logic is thrown out the window in favour of people being chased down a corridor by a big orange explosion. They will not want a grim and dirty sci-fi set in an amoral future, where a happy ending is not likely. EVE would attract a much lower level of funding than many big-budget films. Whilst it may have big explosions, it won't have the happy-go-lucky mentality that the executives will be looking for.
Point 4: Film adaptations of games have, at best, been passable. Most are downright awful (Uwe Boll is a mark of low-quality that would make Roger Corman blush), and some are just plain bizarre, such as Super Mario Brothers (what the hell was that all about?). Hard to imagine that last one had Dennis Hopper, Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo in it. Studios will hardly want to invest in a genre that has a pedigree like that.
Point 5: EVE has a huge backstory. Too many films fail by trying to squeeze to much of the backstory into 90 minutes. It is better to do some judicious editing and keep only parts of it. The remainder can be used in future films, should it ever be required. The recent Watchmen film was a good example of where a good compromise has been reached. The film was nearly three hours long, and even then had many characters removed, or reduced to bit-parts, but without taking away too much from the story. However, this is more the exception than the rule.
The best EVE would manage, would be to fill a niche, rather than trying to tackle the mainstream. If it did attract commercial success, then that would be a bonus, but it would be better to make a lower-budget film closer to the source material. This is cult material, not the mainstream.
Sorry to rain on your parade, but EVE is unlikely to ever make it as a film, and if it didn, it wouldn't be the one you expected.
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