Release Date: TBA 2003 (to be released in conjunction with the cross-platform launch of the Dead or Alive 4 video game)
Title Note: (3/28/02) D.O.A.: The Movie is the way this was listed in a recent press release, but it may have the final title of Dead or Alive: The Movie (or maybe a different subtitle?).
Distributor: Currently seeking distribution in the USA.
Production Company: Mindfire Entertainment (The Specials, Free Enterprise; specifically, this falls under their new Mindfire Millennium, which will specialize in adapting games and comics, the first movie of which will be The House of the Dead)
Cast: None announced yet. Mindfire´s press release promised "A-list" stars, but if they do attract A-list stars, that would be a first. The roster of previous Mindfire productions includes Rob Lowe, Melissa Joan Hart, and William Shatner (they´re certainly famous, but are more like B-list).
Director: Unknown; probably not hired yet.
Screenwriter: Unknown.
Based upon: The popular series of fighting video games published by Tecmo. There is also a TV series adaptation in the works.
Premise: Not much is known yet about this film´s premise, except that it will be about the world´s greatest fighters who must face off in order to save the world (no, I´ve never understood how that would save the world, either), and will focus on four or five of the game franchise´s many characters (Jann Lee wil be one of them), with others taking supporting roles. Following the reputation of the video games, we can expect there to be many female fighters, most of whom have, um, how do I say this.... very large breasts.
Filming: Production is scheduled to start in late 2002 on a budget of $30 million (or so).
Genres: Action, Based on a Video Game, Eye Candy, Martial Arts
Official Video Game Site: XBox.com/DOA3/
Official Site:
Also at Theaters: TBA 2003
Input about Upcomingmovies.com, or any movie covered here, is encouraged. Just e-mail Greg Dean Schmitz at the site´s contact page. Please note that all release dates are subject to change.
Greg´s Preview Thoughts: (3/28/02) This is often the spot where I rave about the source material for a given adaptation. However, I´ve played the XBox version of Dead or Alive 3, hyped as such a great game, and I was left completely underwhelmed and unimpressed. Yes, the graphics are grabbing... it was indeed interesting to see how the environment reacted to the fighting, and that you´re able to take the fight to other areas (including throwing someone from one floor to another, and then jumping down after them). The actual gameplay, however, seems formulaic (admittedly, I don´t play many fighting games, except for Tekken 3 for the Playstation, which I think still rocks, even several years later), and the storylines are paper-thin. Admittedly, fighting games are not known for great plots (or any), but what irked me was that DOA seemed to be pretending to have stories (through the video scenes), but that they didn´t deliver. Not that all this has anything to do at all with the movie, but I wanted to make it clear that you can´t believe the hype... there are people who think this game series "bites." This doesn´t mean the movie won´t be good; just... I´m not, for example, a "fan" going in.
Buy it at AllPosters.com
Mindfire Entertainment is currently best-known as the production company behind The Specials and Free Enterprise, both of which did have small limited releases, but most certainly found their widest audiences on video. Mindfire, however, is trying to move into higher-profile fare, starting with the movie version of The House of the Dead, which looks to be released not far before this hits theaters, so it will be a while before we can gauge what that film is like.
Page Created: 3/28/02
Page Updated: 3/29/02
