Max Payne producer slams "train wreck" 2008 film, thinks he and Remedy's Sam Lake can help "do it right" in 2024

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Max Payne producer Scott Miller thinks it's time for another movie adaptation after the "disaster" Mark Wahlberg movie

Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis in Max Payne (2008)
(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

3D Realms founder and Max Payne game producer Scott Miller has aired his grievances, 16 years later, about the 2008 movie starring Mark Wahlberg – but thinks Hollywood should give the series another shot.

"When the Max Payne film was released and I saw it day one in 2008, I was instantly disappointed and super upset," Miller wrote in a lengthy post on Twitter, which you can read in full below. "The story had changed dramatically from the original script we sold to FOX. The issue was that the film's director revised the script such that it no longer resembled the game's story."

Miller added that he let "everyone around [him]" know that the film was a "disaster." That even included emailing the studio with a "dozen" key things wrong about the adaptation of the 2001 shooter that helped put Remedy on the map.

Despite the experience, Miller believes Hollywood's current track record of video game movies and shows – perhaps ignoring the Borderlands-shaped elephant in the room – gives him hope that things could go much better the second time around.

"I think current Hollywood has reached a point of getting things right more often than not, so they'd likely be able to do Max Payne right if they tried again (trust me, go back to the original script)," Miller wrote. "And brought in people like me and Sam Lake as consultants."

Sam Lake – for those unfamiliar – is a creative director and writer at Max Payne developer Remedy Entertainment. He, along with his team, helped bring to life several video games that now make up the 'Remedy Connected Universe' – including Alan Wake, Control, and Quantum Break. Hilariously, Lake is also the face model for Max Payne in the first two games.

Even if another Max Payne movie doesn't come to pass, the future is still bright for the series. A full remake of the first two games is currently in the works, with Remedy announcing earlier this year that it's "increased development pace" on the project.

For more, check out the upcoming video game movies in the works and all the new PS5 games and new Xbox Series X games just over the horizon.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.