RALEIGH, NC--Cliff Bleszinski hosted an open house for select game journalists at Epic Games studio this week to showcase Gears of War PC for Microsoft Games for Windows. In addition to outlining what's new for the new PC version of the best-selling franchise, Bleszinski talked about working with Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean), the screenwriter behind New Line Cinema's film adaptation of Gears of War. This exclusive interview includes the lead designer's thoughts on the new movie as well as the broader picture of convergence between Hollywood and games.

GameDaily BIZ: What's it like for you to see the Gears of War movie moving forward at New Line Cinema, which is something that Microsoft hasn't been able to do with the Halo movie?

CliffyB: I would love to see a Halo movie. You have the number one most recognizable character right now for gamers, which is Master Chief. I think in some ways Gears excites me as a movie because you have these actual characters and faces and they have their own personalities.

BIZ: What's it like working with Stuart Beattie, the man who helped turn Pirates of the Caribbean into a Hollywood blockbuster?

CliffyB: Stu is amazing to work with because he knows Gears inside and out. He beat the game several times and he was hooked on multiplayer. You go into these Hollywood meetings and expect a certain type of Hollywood people, many of whom I've met. But Stu was just the most sincere, honest type of Aussie dude. He was just a smart writer. He respects the franchise and he's a fan of it. He also knows how to write a compelling movie and adaptation. There's a lot of back-and-forth with him and a lot of long conversations about the universe and what would make a good film adaptation. I think we have a really great script and now it's just a matter of getting the right director attached and making sure it becomes a "AAA" blockbuster movie.

BIZ: What are your thoughts on going the 300 route with green screens and live actors to bring this world to life on the big screen?

CliffyB: That's a visual element. That's a budget concern that they did 300 for $60 million in front of green screens in Montreal and it was a huge success. My concern is that Hollywood has this love-hate relationship with rated R movies. They go through phases where they're convinced that they can't make a rated R movie that will sell well because it will cut out that whole audience. But any time a new Saw movie or a 300 comes along, it proves them wrong. As long as it's a good movie, people will pack in the seats. The fact that Gears is an M-rated franchise and involves people getting chainsawed in half, it's got to be a pretty f***ing hardcore movie.

BIZ: Fox is going for a hard R rating with the Hitman video game adaptation. What are your thoughts on Timothy Olyphant in that role?

CliffyB: The trailer for Hitman looked cool. It looks like a next generation Transporter movie to me. I think Timothy Olyphant is f***ing awesome. Ever since I saw him in Deadwood and The Girl Next Door, he's just a charismatic actor. When you do a movie like that, you don't just need somebody who looks a little like the character. I get a lot of forum posts where Gears fans tell us we need to cast this wrestler as Marcus. I don't give a f**k if the guy's buff or six foot five. What matters most is that this guy is charismatic and he can act and is somebody compelling that you want to watch on screen. The Rock is the rare exception of a wrestler who is that charismatic that he can carry a movie. If they cast four mongoloid wrestlers in Gears and they're just as exciting to watch as paint dry on the screen, nobody's going to go see it. They can make actors buff by working out for a few months before filming. You don't have any sense of scale when you watch a movie. They can make a badass with camera angles. What matters is charisma because you can't fake that.

BIZ: Did you share new details from the Gears PC game storyline with Stuart Beattie for the movie?

CliffyB: We shared every detail imaginable with Stu on the franchise as far as the story bible and all of the secrets that everybody wants to know about what went down in Gears of War. If you want to track somebody down and figure out what's going on, you can corner Stu. He has all of our secrets. There's a lot of mutual trust and non-disclosure agreements going on there. He had carte blanche. He's been great. He knows the underlying themes of the franchise and all of the underlying motivations of each of the characters. That's fuel for the screenplay that he's written.

BIZ: What are your thoughts on partnering with the movie studio that brought Lord of the Rings to the big screen for Gears of War?

CliffyB: Partnering with New Line on the movie is like partnering with Microsoft on Gears. You know Microsoft knows how to get Halo out there and market it and help facilitate a blockbuster experience. New Line, having done Lord of the Rings, they know how to back a very risky but also a potentially very lucrative franchise and make sure it's treated with the respect it deserves.

BIZ: Thanks, we're looking forward to seeing how the movie turns out.