Citadel Wackiness: I'll get right on this, obviously
mood: 
amused
amusedYou guys at The Citadel have done the most extensive research for any video game in the history of all video games, thoroughly detailing every single event in one of the largest, most complex games ever created.
This is, of course, my own opinion and I haven't played every video game in the history of all video games, but I have played Final Fantasy VII, perhaps 17 or 18 times through. I've found the game intriguing - far beyond any piece of literature, be it written or film. Each time I play it, I find something new that I haven't discovered before. Or something I'd forgotten I'd already discovered.
I don't know who you guys at The Citadel are, but have you conceived of talking to Square and writing a movie, 100% true to the game, and directing the movie and... everything?
A movie based on this game, if done right (right being exactly true to the game), would be astronomical!
Furthermore, you'd probably have a real fun time working on it (and i know i'd have a fun time watching it).
So what's taking so long?
Well, maybe the game was just meant to be a game, but it seems more to me like an incredible piece of literature which ultimately transcends the more obvious themes of corruption in government, the human psyche (a rather confused one, at that), magic, hope vs. despair, depression, loss... etc, etc, etc - to discover the more subtle and perhaps most important theme: the meaning of life itself! Friendship, love, life counter Villainy, hatred and death, and yet the contrast is not completely black and white. Each character has his or her flaws, and the characters' stories intertwine.
Obviously you know all this stuff about the game, I don't need to write it all out. These are terrific elements for Hollywood. If adapted properly, this game could become the most successful movie based on a video game.
And oh! It would HAVE to be a four film series. Even without all the nonsense random battles, a movie like this game would run well into eight hours. Scenes would have to be reconstructed to match the game's Full Motion Videos, most dialogue would have to remain exactly as written.
And make it with live actors. I'm getting sick of computer animated movies. I don't see the point of having played the video game only to watch a 2 (or 4, or 6 or 8) hour FMV. For animals like Cait Sith or Red XIII, get a good looking machine or a puppet or if all else fails, CG it, i guess. But make it good CG, yeah? And get Uematsu to re-play the entire score, obviously.
Oh and please, just stick to Final Fantasy VII. Leave out AC BC CC and DC.
All right! I'm excited I can't wait for this project to get started. If you need some casting picks, just ask. I've been envisioning this game to turn to a movie since 1997 so I've got some choice selections (although some people have grown too old for their parts so they'll have to be replaced).
- ian
