By Stevie Smith Jun 19, 2007, 13:10 GMT
20th Century Fox has this week pushed forward with not one but two notable deals, the of which will see fans of Microsoft’s near legendary first-person videogame Halo filled with glee as Fox resurrects the game’s failed movie iteration, and the other sees Internet TV service Brightcove signing on to become the online video platform for Fox Entertainment Group.
The movie adaptation of Halo was initially well under way during 2006, with Universal and Fox originally pencilled in to helm the Peter Jackson executive-produced motion picture that charts mankind’s struggle against an evil race of religious aliens known as the Covenant. However, when the plug was abruptly pulled on the project, it appeared that Halo had indeed slipped from Hollywood’s list of movie priorities.
However, thanks to its long-standing licensing relationship with Redmond-based software giant Microsoft, 20th Century Fox has now signed a new deal that will breathe fresh life into the production and see the studio occupying the role of primary licensor for the property, including global merchandising for its upcoming videogame. Fox has previously handled licensing for Microsoft on two of its other videogame products on the Xbox 360, namely Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power.
"Those two games established our relationship with them as a licensing agency, and those conversations continued during the same time that a 'Halo' film was in development here," commented Elie Dekel, executive vice president of domestic licensing for Fox in a related Variety article.
In terms of series-related merchandising, Fox is looking to roll out everything from books to apparel to collectables, all of which will tie-in with the much anticipated release of Halo 3 on the Xbox 360 this coming September. Comic designer Todd McFarlane (Spawn) has already joined the venture and will provide a range of Halo 3 figures. When the official Halo movie will move back into production has not yet been revealed.
In other related Fox news, Internet TV service provider Brightcove has signed on the dotted line as the online video platform of choice for the Fox Entertainment Group.
"When you look at the Big Four broadcast networks, none of them have singularly adopted an Internet TV platform – Fox is the first," trumpeted Adam Berry, Brightcove’s vice president of marketing and advertising. "This signifies the way Internet TV is moving into the mainstream."
While Brightcove currently has deals with the likes of BskyB, Buena Vista TV, Discovery and the MTV Networks, with certain services assigned to CBS, the securing of a place with Fox marks the first time it has provided its complete service to a major communications conglomerate.
"Brightcove's tools and services enable us to quickly and easily deploy broadband video on our network Web sites while retaining control over the quality, brand experience and monetization of our content," commented David Baron, vice president of Fox Digital Media on the deal.
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