Last of Us Film Project - Screen Gems, Sam Raimi [Game Spoilers]

[protar]

I don't think she's playing 12 in the show. They have a completely different timeline in the show. Or who knows what they're trying to pull in that shit show nowadays anyway. Maise may look young but she is a far bit from 14.

I'm pretty sure Sansa is mentioned to be 13 or 14 in S4. So Arya has to be younger than that. They play it fast and loose with the timelines but Maisie is still definitely playing an Arya who is much younger than her. Maisie can't exactly pass for a 14 year old, but the entire industry is casting characters with older actors. So she can certainly pass for a movie 14 year old if you understand.

[Rhom]

Ellie to me is basically Ellen Page from 10 years ago... But since EP is not ten years younger, I guess we make do. Regarding Maisie specifically, she'll be fine... But they need to get a move on. Time is not on their side with this.

And I do agree that the voice acting in the game was so good that anything less will be a bit of a disappointment. But... We wait and see.

[Kalbear]

I'm pretty sure Sansa is mentioned to be 13 or 14 in S4.

This is incorrect. She's mentioned to be 13 in season 1. The show has Sansa at 13 to start season 1. She's either 16 or 17 by season 4. Arya starts at 11 intead of 8 or 9 as well.

I still don't understand why you'd make this a movie. It already was cinematic. What is the value of a movie?

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

This is incorrect. She's mentioned to be 13 in season 1. The show has Sansa at 13 to start season 1. She's either 16 or 17 by season 4. Arya starts at 11 intead of 8 or 9 as well.

I still don't understand why you'd make this a movie. It already was cinematic. What is the value of a movie?

Tens of millions or more, if made and marketed correctly.

[protar]

This is incorrect. She's mentioned to be 13 in season 1. The show has Sansa at 13 to start season 1. She's either 16 or 17 by season 4. Arya starts at 11 intead of 8 or 9 as well.

I still don't understand why you'd make this a movie. It already was cinematic. What is the value of a movie?

I distinctly remember her commenting on her age in S4. Maybe I just made it up but I'm pretty sure. Sansa is still like 14 in the show. I think we just have to accept that the show's timeline is messed up.

But that's kind of a moot point. The point is Maisie can play Ellie just fine. Movies, from what I've seen, tend to cast teenagers in roles a couple years younger than the actual actors, for the most part. If a character is 14 the actor will likely be 15 or 16. The gap between Maisie and Ellie will be larger, but Maisie is petite. And Ellie can be made 15 if suspension of disbelief is that under threat.

As for why make the film? Money.

[Kalbear]

Yeah, sorry, you're just wrong about the show. You're thinking of the books. This was done deliberately.

As to the movie I'll say it another way - why would anyone who played the game want to watch the movie?

[Jabronius Maximus]

Yeah, sorry, you're just wrong about the show. You're thinking of the books. This was done deliberately.

As to the movie I'll say it another way - why would anyone who played the game want to watch the movie?

I probably won't watch it, or I'd at least wait for reviews. But the way I see it, those who played it aren't the target audience of this movie. They're trying to hit the general public. It'll probably fall flat because it won't have the same depth as the game (and the gameplay itself was pretty immersive and added to the experience).

[TerraPrime]

I stopped playing the game because it was boring me; so to me, the movie is not going to be that appealing. But then, in general, I just have a strong antipathy for anything zombie. When I picked up the game I was hoping zombie was just one element of the game and the story, but no, it is THE game. Oh well.

In general I think a movie directly translated from the game is a bad idea, because that experience is already had by the players. A pre-quel or a sequel to the game but keeping the game world in tact and/or using a favorite character makes more sense to me.

[protar]

Yeah, sorry, you're just wrong about the show. You're thinking of the books. This was done deliberately.

As to the movie I'll say it another way - why would anyone who played the game want to watch the movie?

I'm definitely thinking about the show. I'm sure it was mentioned.

As to the movie. Well first of all not everyone has played it - I haven't played it. And secondly, maybe they're fans of the series who want to see it rendered in a different medium?

[Kalbear]

maybe they're fans of the series who want to see it rendered in a different medium?

There really isn't that much of a difference between mediums. That's sort of my point. LoU basically has mocapped actors doing mocapped things on digital sets. There's going to be almost no actual difference in how they film it.

I'm definitely thinking about the show. I'm sure it was mentioned.

You might be thinking of season 3:

Due to a time jump which was originally planned in the books but later dropped, Sansa is only 11 years old when the narrative begins. Author George R.R. Martin himself has said that he would have aged-up the younger characters had he initially known he would abandon the time-jump. Therefore, in the TV series' timeline, all of the younger characters including Sansa have been aged up two years from the books. Thus, Sansa is 13 years old in Season 1, and 14 years old in Season 2. Keeping in mind that in medieval times the age of maturity was lower than it is today, this younger age in the books isn't quite as unusual as it sounds, but due to the abandoned time jump this still led to some discrepancies. For example, Joffrey's torment of Sansa doesn't have quite the same inherent sexual tension to it in the books, because they're both two years younger. Sansa directly states that she is 13 years old in dialogue from the first episode of Season 1. On her wedding night with Tyrion Lannister, however, she says that she is 14 years old, when she should be 15 years old because two years have passed. It is possible that she either simply had not reached her nameday and turned exactly 15 yet, or that she was lying to try to shame Tyrion before he took her virginity (though as it turned out, Tyrion still refused to consummate the marriage, morally repulsed at being forced to marry such a young girl).

So in S3 she mentioned that she's 14 - but probably close to 15. In interviews and other data she's said that she's either 16 or 17 now.

[Whiskeyjack]

When I picked up the game I was hoping zombie was just one element of the game and the story, but no, it is THE game. Oh well.

Zombies may be the game. But the story goes well beyond that.

From my perspective - The Last of Us is the best game I've ever played. And it was perfect the way it was, in video game form.

But......I still can't help but be excited by a possible movie. In part because I'm (naively) hoping that it will be equally awesome. And in part because most of my friends don't play video games, and it would be cool to go see it with them.

In the end, will just come down to how good the movie ends up being. Hopefully, they can do it well and stick to the same tone/themes/ending as the game.

[MercenaryChef]

Please don't suck.

[DeathYon]

Has there ever been a game to film adaptation that was actually decent?

[Howdyphillip]

I stopped playing the game because it was boring me; so to me, the movie is not going to be that appealing. But then, in general, I just have a strong antipathy for anything zombie. When I picked up the game I was hoping zombie was just one element of the game and the story, but no, it is THE game. Oh well.

In general I think a movie directly translated from the game is a bad idea, because that experience is already had by the players. A pre-quel or a sequel to the game but keeping the game world in tact and/or using a favorite character makes more sense to me.

Actually, the Zombies are more background in this game. The really interesting and ground breaking stories are all about people.

This is my favorite video game of all time.

[TerraPrime]

Zombies may be the game. But the story goes well beyond that.

How so?

I stopped in the game where the two characters were separated and the dude is guiding a boy through the sewer. I think that's past the halfway point? So maybe there's a lot more to the story than what I had experienced up to that point?

[l2 0 5 5]

How so?

I stopped in the game where the two characters were separated and the dude is guiding a boy through the sewer. I think that's past the halfway point? So maybe there's a lot more to the story than what I had experienced up to that point?

I had a completely different experience. Ellie and Joel's relationship arc throughout that game moved me more than most of the better film/tv dramas I've ever seen. If you stopped in the sewers, you've come a couple chapters short in seeing their relationship develop.

[Jack Bauer 24]

This could be a defining moment for Maisie.

[Whiskeyjack]

How so?

I stopped in the game where the two characters were separated and the dude is guiding a boy through the sewer. I think that's past the halfway point? So maybe there's a lot more to the story than what I had experienced up to that point?

Terra - I think the best move would be to watch all of the cinematic cut-scenes on Youtube, so you at least get to experience the story first-hand to some extent.

But if you don't want to spend the time doing that, then here's a summary of what happens -

They get out of the sewer, but the boy (Sam) is bitten and becomes infected. His older brother (Henry) shoots Sam and then kills himself.

After that, it cuts to Fall. Joel and Ellie find Joel's brother Tommy. Joel tries to convince Tommy to take Ellie the rest of the way to the Fireflies, and lashes out at Ellie at one point, saying that he's not her father and she won't replace his daughter Sarah. But eventually he decides to stay with her, and at Tommy's direction they head to the University of Eastern Colorado.

Unfortunately, the place is abandoned, other than some monkeys and giraffes (and the scene with the giraffes is amazing - the sense of peace after all of the conflict leading up to it is very well done). Anyway - Joel and Ellie start growing closer, and you can see the bond between them, in spite of what Joel said to her previously. You find out that the Fireflies are now located at a hospital in Salt Lake City. At the end of the section, they are attacked by hunters, and Joel falls over a balcony and is impaled through the stomach by a metal bar. Ellie leads Joel out, killing the last few enemies while he stumbles after, but as you get past the last ones, he goes unconscious.

You wake up in Winter, playing as Ellie. She is hunting and kills a deer, but as she goes to pack it up, she is approached by two men (David and James). She agrees to give them the deer if they'll trade her some medicine for Joel. They agree - but after the trade, they reveal to her that some of their friends were killed at Eastern Colorado, and that she matches the description of one of the killers. She escapes and goes back to the house where she's made camp. Joel is barely alive, but she gives him a shot of the medicine. Then she hears the men outside - they followed her to the town where she's hiding, but they don't know which house she's in. She leads them on a chase away from Joel, but is eventually captured and taken back to their settlement. It's revealed that they are cannibals.

After that, you wake up as Joel. He goes on an absolute rampage to find Ellie. Probably my 3rd favorite part of the game, after the giraffes and the ending. At that point, you can tell just how much he has grown to care about her. He eventually tracks her down, but not before she is attacked by David, who attempts to rape her. You are going back and forth between controlling Joel and Ellie, and you control Ellie for the fight with David. It's brutal. In the end, he's kicking and beating Ellie, as she tries to crawl away......toward a machete that he dropped earlier in the fight. She gets close, but he knocks her over, flips her on her back, and starts to choker her. She reaches out in desperation......and manages to grab the machete and hit him with it. She then hacks into him over and over again, until Joel shows up a minute later. The reunion basically makes it clear that he views her as a daughter at this point.

Then it cuts to Spring. Ellie is acting different - no longer upbeat and positive, she's now kind of depressed. She makes it clear that she wants to find the Fireflies and sacrifice herself for the greater good. You make it into Salt Lake City, but Joel is knocked unconscious by some soldiers. When he wakes up, Marlene (one of the Firefly leaders) reveals that Ellie is heading into surgery. They need to cut her open to make a potential vaccine, and she's going to die. Joel refuses to accept that, and fights his way through the hospital. He eventually saves Ellie, who is still under anesthesia and not aware of anything that is happening. As he reaches the parking lot, Marlene tries to stop him. She says that she never wanted this, that Ellie's (dead) mother was her best friend, and that she practically raised Ellie.....but that it's necessary to reclaim the world. Joel shoots her, and then as she begs for her life, he fires again, saying that he can't have her following them.

Ellie wakes up hours later, as you're driving on a highway. She asks what happened. Joel lies and says that they didn't need her after all. They had previously found other people who were immune to the infection, and were unable to create a cure. So they just let her go. She seems skeptical, but doesn't say anything.

You arrive back in Wyoming, where Tommy lives. As you're hiking to his town, Ellie stops Joel and asks him to swear that his story is true. She clearly doubts him, and feels guilty about being alive. But he looks her in the eyes and swears that he isn't lying. She stares at him, and then says "okay," but you can't tell whether or not she believes him. Then the game cuts to black.

Best game ever. Probably meant a lot to me especially as a father, but I have no doubt that it's something everyone can relate to, and that it leaves everybody with a lot of things to think about.

[l2 0 5 5]

Terra - I think the best move would be to watch all of the cinematic cut-scenes on Youtube, so you at least get to experience the story first-hand to some extent.

But if you don't want to spend the time doing that, then here's a summary of what happens -

They get out of the sewer, but the boy (Sam) is bitten and becomes infected. His older brother (Henry) shoots Sam and then kills himself.

After that, it cuts to Fall. Joel and Ellie find Joel's brother Tommy. Joel tries to convince Tommy to take Ellie the rest of the way to the Fireflies, and lashes out at Ellie at one point, saying that he's not her father and she won't replace his daughter Sarah. But eventually he decides to stay with her, and at Tommy's direction they head to the University of Eastern Colorado.

Unfortunately, the place is abandoned, other than some monkeys and giraffes (and the scene with the giraffes is amazing - the sense of peace after all of the conflict leading up to it is very well done). Anyway - Joel and Ellie start growing closer, and you can see the bond between them, in spite of what Joel said to her previously. You find out that the Fireflies are now located at a hospital in Salt Lake City. At the end of the section, they are attacked by hunters, and Joel falls over a balcony and is impaled through the stomach by a metal bar. Ellie leads Joel out, killing the last few enemies while he stumbles after, but as you get past the last ones, he goes unconscious.

You wake up in Winter, playing as Ellie. She is hunting and kills a deer, but as she goes to pack it up, she is approached by two men (David and James). She agrees to give them the deer if they'll trade her some medicine for Joel. They agree - but after the trade, they reveal to her that some of their friends were killed at Eastern Colorado, and that she matches the description of one of the killers. She escapes and goes back to the house where she's made camp. Joel is barely alive, but she gives him a shot of the medicine. Then she hears the men outside - they followed her to the town where she's hiding, but they don't know which house she's in. She leads them on a chase away from Joel, but is eventually captured and taken back to their settlement. It's revealed that they are cannibals.

After that, you wake up as Joel. He goes on an absolute rampage to find Ellie. Probably my 3rd favorite part of the game, after the giraffes and the ending. At that point, you can tell just how much he has grown to care about her. He eventually tracks her down, but not before she is attacked by David, who attempts to rape her. You are going back and forth between controlling Joel and Ellie, and you control Ellie for the fight with David. It's brutal. In the end, he's kicking and beating Ellie, as she tries to crawl away......toward a machete that he dropped earlier in the fight. She gets close, but he knocks her over, flips her on her back, and starts to choker her. She reaches out in desperation......and manages to grab the machete and hit him with it. She then hacks into him over and over again, until Joel shows up a minute later. The reunion basically makes it clear that he views her as a daughter at this point.

Then it cuts to Spring. Ellie is acting different - no longer upbeat and positive, she's now kind of depressed. She makes it clear that she wants to find the Fireflies and sacrifice herself for the greater good. You make it into Salt Lake City, but Joel is knocked unconscious by some soldiers. When he wakes up, Marlene (one of the Firefly leaders) reveals that Ellie is heading into surgery. They need to cut her open to make a potential vaccine, and she's going to die. Joel refuses to accept that, and fights his way through the hospital. He eventually saves Ellie, who is still under anesthesia and not aware of anything that is happening. As he reaches the parking lot, Marlene tries to stop him. She says that she never wanted this, that Ellie's (dead) mother was her best friend, and that she practically raised Ellie.....but that it's necessary to reclaim the world. Joel shoots her, and then as she begs for her life, he fires again, saying that he can't have her following them.

Ellie wakes up hours later, as you're driving on a highway. She asks what happened. Joel lies and says that they didn't need her after all. They had previously found other people who were immune to the infection, and were unable to create a cure. So they just let her go. She seems skeptical, but doesn't say anything.

You arrive back in Wyoming, where Tommy lives. As you're hiking to his town, Ellie stops Joel and asks him to swear that his story is true. She clearly doubts him, and feels guilty about being alive. But he looks her in the eyes and swears that he isn't lying. She stares at him, and then says "okay," but you can't tell whether or not she believes him. Then the game cuts to black.

Best game ever. Probably meant a lot to me especially as a father, but I have no doubt that it's something everyone can relate to, and that it leaves everybody with a lot of things to think about.

Pretty spot on synopsis. A lot of those cutscenes are pure gold, and really hit me.

One nitpick:

The Giraffe scene is in Salt Lake. The monkey one is by itself in Colorado. That Giraffe scene is so simple, yet beautiful, as you said. I think it really moves Joel to see that something so simple means so much to Ellie, and just how innocent she is, making the decision for him to save her all the more easy.

[Kalbear]

Has there ever been a game to film adaptation that was actually decent?

It's gotta be either Mortal Kombat or Resident Evil.