Grant Morrison is best known for his revisionist Batman book, Arkham Asylum, which is the top-selling original graphic novel in North America. But after writing countercultural comic books for nearly three decades and penning stories for the likes of Vivendi Universal Games' Battlestar Galactica, Morrison is now exploring the flip side of the convergence coin. He's taking Midway Games' hit video game, Area 51, to the big screen for Paramount Pictures and producer Christine Peters.
Morrison, who is nearly finished with the screenplay for the film, talked with Wired News about video games and offered a first look at what fans can expect from the new Area 51 movie, which builds on the game's notion of a top-secret military facility and hazmat specialist investigating a viral outbreak of alien flu.
Wired News: How familiar were you with the Area 51 franchise -- it dates back to the old light-gun arcade games from Midway?
Morrison: I got a copy for Xbox and gave up on the first level. I'm hoping someone will take pity and give me the cheat codes so that I can just explore the base without having to get killed by the electrical generators all the time.
WN: What are your thoughts about this video-game source material in terms of the sci-fi and the legend of the Area 51 complex?
Morrison: My familiarity with the background material was probably a big part of the reason I was asked to write the screenplay. Since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by UFOs and conspiracy theories and the various modern myths and urban legends that have grown up around the idea of the Roswell crash and the Gray aliens.
These images have become a big part of our culture, and I saw a way to do something fresh with the material by playing with the expectations of the audience. I like the idea of the hero's journey into hell or the underworld, and this is very much a modern version of that.
I had a lot of fun coming up with new ways of looking at some of the "classic" conspiracies, so anyone who thinks they know why the moon landings were faked or what the Grays are or what the flying saucer in Roswell really is will be in for a big surprise.
WN: Can you talk about the source material, since there have been multiple games, and how you plan on delving into these with the film's story?
Morrison: I'm using the basic background of the game as I'm familiar with it. The Gray aliens are still in there, the sound stage where the moon landings were allegedly faked is there and my take on a monster from the new BlackSite: Area 51 game shows up, so I'm hoping to keep the landscape and feel of the game intact while exploring new ways of making that environment scary, exciting and, most importantly, emotionally involving. On the sci-fi conceptual side, what I hope to do is create some unusual and alarming twists on the existing material, while remaining true to the established setup.
WN: Will you bring any characters from the games into the film or start fresh?
Morrison: There will be a couple of recognizable faces from the games. I'll probably use Doctor Cray and Mister White from the Roswell crash in some capacity, but the team we're sending into the Area 51 hot spot is composed of all-new characters.
WN: How do you walk the line, creating a film that's open to the masses but enticing to gamers?
Morrison: I tend to include the gamers as part of the masses, so I don't think about more than one big audience. Gamers, like everyone else, would rather watch a good movie than a bad one, so my plan is to write a good one. If I can create a story that's compelling enough to waste an hour or two (of someone's) valuable gaming time on, I'll be happy. Veterans of Area 51 should enjoy seeing the lore enriched and the scope of the story widened in ways I don't think they'll expect.
WN: How important is it for the filmmakers to play or understand the game's source material to succeed in this type of translation?
Morrison: I think it's always important to honor the source of one's material and only by playing games can a filmmaker know what makes them tick and how best to translate game effects into the very different language of Hollywood drama.
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