LOS ANGELES, Oct. 23 - When the producers of the upcoming movie "Halo" sought a location for shooting, they headed to the director Peter Jackson's studio in New Zealand. Mr. Jackson's soundstages were empty, since he had finished directing and writing a remake of the movie "King Kong." And Mr. Jackson was an avid gamer who admired the futuristic universe of "Halo," the video game on which the movie was to be based. Universal Pictures, which is making the "Halo" movie, also got the 43-year-old director himself; they made him an executive producer who would offer creative input while sharing in the movie's profits. Few movies based on video games are easy blockbusters: just this weekend, the movie based on the video game Doom made its debut and early estimates showed that it took in only $15.4 million at the domestic box office, below expectations. [More]