J.J. Abrams and Valve To Make Half-Life & Portal Movies?

By Shaun Munro /

At the DICE summit yesterday, the shock announcement was made that newly-minted Star Wars helmer J.J. Abrams and Valve boss Gabe Newell were looking to collaborate on a possible series of games and movies. More specifically, Abrams and Newell pondered whether they could find a way to bring Half-Life and Portal to the big screen. Of course, nothing is concrete, and we have to remember that Abrams is going to be pretty busy with Star Wars Episode VII and Star Trek 3 until probably at least 2017, but it's a tantalising prospect nonetheless. Given Newell's ambivalence to filmmakers honing in on his projects in the past, Abrams must have come to him with quite the pitch for adapting these classic games. During the chat, Abrams and Newell spoke of the various advantages and disadvantages of both mediums, confronting the most challenging aspect of a Half-Life movie head on: how do you make a movie about a silent protagonist without compromising everything he stands for? Abrams also spoke to Newell about having his own idea for a game, which is sure only to further fuel the comparisons between himself and Steven Spielberg, who over the years has had pronounced input on the various Medal of Honour games. Just when you thought Abrams couldn't appeal anymore to the geek fanboy demographic, he goes and does something like this. What's your take on the announcement? And do you think J.J. Abrams ever sleeps? Let us know in the comments below.