Old Ben
It was announced today by video giant Konami that the long-awaited switch of their much adored tit;e ‘Metal Gear’ from console to movie screen will finally be upon us.
Together with Sony-owned Columbia Pictures, its original creator Hideo Kojima stood on stage alongside producer Avi Arad to confirm the the news, with Arad stating “For many years I have fought to bring comics to theatres. Comic books are now the biggest genre in cinema,” said Arad. “Video games are the comic books of today.” he added.
Tokyo-born Kojima was once Vice President of computer games entertainment at Konami and now heads Kojima Production for them. He debuted the first Metal Gear game back in 1987, where the player took control of an elite Special Forces operative called Snake who worked for a division called Foxhound. The goal for Snake was to track down a fellow Foxhound member who had gone MIA in a fictional South African country and a fortress known as Outer Heaven. More technically advanced sequel and prequel games quickly followed, with its acclaimed cinematic cut-scenes and heavy borrowing from movies of its type and has subtle references to the works of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whose questioned the ‘value of truth’ in life.
A novel of ‘Metal Gear: Solid’ was penned by Bond author Raymond Benson back in 2008, when producer Michael DeLuca was once keen to tap in Kurt Wimmer, who was fresh off directing his ‘Equilibrium’ movie.
“We will take our time and tell the story with all the nuances, ideology, cautionary tales needed.” said Arad.
However long ‘taking our time’ means, with Arad on board, it’s more likely to move forward at a much quicker pace than previous efforts. “Dead or alive you’re coming with me.” Oh no, that’s RoboCop.
