The live action adaptation of the science fiction/horror videogame Bioshock appears in danger of sinking, with news that a projected budget of US$160 million has caused a change of heart at Universal. Director Gore Verbinski's movie, which was to have commenced filming in LA, is instead on hold. All might not be lost though; producers are looking into alternatives, like filming in England, to cut costs.

"We are evaluating whether this is something we want to do," said director Gore Verbinski, Variety reports. "In the meantime, the film is in a holding pattern".

The publisher of Bioshock, Take-Two Interactive, received a multimillion-dollar advance for the rights to the game, one of the biggest videogame/movie deals since Microsoft’s Halo in 2005. Bioshock won numerous awards and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.

Universal must be experiencing extreme deja vu with this one: Bioshock marked Universal’s return to videogame/movie adaptations after the troubled development of Microsoft’s videogame Halo. Peter Jackson was going to produce and Neil Blomkamp to direct Halo, but Universal and Fox halted production due to budget concerns. The rights have now returned to Microsoft. Ironically, at the time, those involved stated that Bioshock would not become another Halo.

Bioshock tells the story of Jack, a pilot who crashes into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He discovers a secret entrance to an underwater utopian city called Rapture, where he becomes entangled in a struggle for power. The underwater utopia, based on the free market principles of Ayn Rand, has gone seriously wrong. Ayn Rand was a Russian-American writer and philiosopher who emphasised individualism, laissez-faire capitalism, and the constitutional protection of the right to life, liberty, and property. She opposed all forms of collectivism and statism, including fascism, communism, and the welfare state (sounds a lot like the founding principles of modern America to me!).

In this sinister failed utopia, Jack soon finds out that he is not as free as he appears to be.

When the deal was first announced, Verbinski told Variety that Rapture's art deco design and stunning characters, like the mechanical Big Daddys who protect genetically mutated girls called Little Sisters, inspired him to see the game as a film. Gore Verbinski had declined an invitation to direct the fourth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies specifically so that he could produce and direct Bioshock, so he's definitely keen to make this movie happen.

"I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that's cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential," he said. "Of all the games I've played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative."

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, you can watch the PC game trailer below (looks a lot like a film trailer already).