MS Nears Halo Movie Deal

I work as the Web editor for Technology Review, and, as you might imagine, there is little call for my expertise in digital entertainment. That's not really what we do here. Every once in awhile, though, I do get called to duty. Last week, the deputy editor and I had a long discussion about Halo 2, and its import to Microsoft.

It's a subject I've long championed, because I believe this franchise is the lynchpin to their digital home move, particularly since its this franchise that will make people go out and buy the next Xbox 360 -- the center piece of Microsoft's digital living room.

I bring that up so that I we can talk about the news that Microsoft is nearing a deal to sell the movie rights to its Halo franchise. Apparently, negotiations hit a snag because the company wanted to maintain creative input (which is a no-brainer, since any misstep could kill the franchise, and set its move into the home back some ways).

From the story:

Represented by Creative Artists Agency, Microsoft sought an unusually high upfront payment of $10 million plus 15 percent of initial gross box office sales, which led several studios to drop out of talks, according to sources near the deal-making.