Just when we were starting to get excited about the upcoming movie adaptation of Microsoft's blockbuster Gears of War comes word that the project may be running into trouble, according to IESB.net.

According to IESB's source, "...due to the budget concerns the studio has, New Line will most likely not be moving forward on this film."

Unlike comic book-based films such as Spider-Man 3 and others that have been raking in cash at the boxoffice, video game properties just haven't had the same impact (with a few exceptions like Resident Evil). As IESB says, "Studios have a hard time gambling $100 million dollars plus to a genre that has not been able to break out of the 'Uwe Boll' stereotypes."

Stuart Beattie, the screenwriter behind the Gears movie, admits that creating a successful video game movie in Hollywood is a challenge, but he also thinks the perceptions are starting to change.

"While there are more and more videogame movies being made because there are more and more videogames being made, there still hasn't been that one that has hit it out of the park yet," Beattie told GamePro. "At the moment, I would say the perception of videogame movies in Hollywood is: they are interested, they're intrigued, but they're still not completely sure if it can actually work."

If New Line proceeds on the film, it's expected to hit theaters some time in 2009.