THQ has joined with Syfy to produce a two-hour television movie based on Red Faction which could also serve as a jumping-off point for a new series.
Earlier this month, THQ Vice President Danny Bilson talked about incorporating the Red Faction franchise into “the most robust trans-media plays anybody’s ever seen in the games business,” a strategy which would include the development of a movie based on the games. True to his word, a movie deal has been announced, but it may not be quite as “triple-A” as we expected.
Instead of hitting the silver screen, the Red Faction movie will be coming to the small screen thanks to a deal with Syfy, the cable television channel that specializes in science fiction, fantasy and horror programming. The movie will also serve as a “back door pilot,” a hilariously inappropriate-sounding term that actually means that it will stand alone as a movie but can also be used as a lead-in to a series, similar to the original Battlestar Galactica remake.
Red Faction is “a great fit for a big Syfy Saturday movie,” said Alan Seiffert, senior vice president at Syfy Ventures. Syfy is also working to bring its television properties to the game space, starting with a version of the reality series Ghost Hunters Academy for the Nintendo DS, iPhone and iPad. “Both Ghost Hunters and Red Faction are great examples of how we are absolutely committed to [gaming], and it is going to be more than just taking the name, it is going to really be part of the overall experience.”
My original plan was to sneak in a few snide zingers about low budgets and cheezeball made-for-TV movies, but the more I think about it, the more I think this is a smart idea. Aiming lower has a way of tempering expectations, which can’t hurt, but more the point, Syfy has proven in the past that it can really kick things into high gear when it has to; just look at Battlestar for proof of that. And on the more cynical side of the coin, it’s not as though big budgets and theatrical releases have done a hell of a lot of good for any other game franchise out there, is it?
Source: Broadcasting & Cable
