Rock, Paper, Shotgun

There have been some fairly peculiar games optioned for movies recently. Last year we heard about Asteroids getting picked up, for instance. But then as daft as that may first sound, what you’re really saying is: film about aliens that attack tanks. Well, Roland Emerich probably just weed in his trousers reading that. Then there’s the more obvious, your Max Paynes and your Princes of Persia. None ever seem to be especially good, sometimes they’re egregiously awful, but at least there’s sense behind making them. However, I am completely at a loss to figure out what anyone’s going to do with Rollercoaster Tycoon.

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According to Variety, BioWare’s most recent RPG, Mass Effect, is to definitely be a movie. There have been rumours floating around for a while, but Variety seem assured that the rights have been optioned by producer Avi Arad (responsible for every Marvel movie you can think of).

Of course, stuff gets optioned all the time, so this isn’t exactly the beginning of production. This is Mr Arad expressing an interest in getting a film off the ground. Although he must be a bit busy, with his own recently launched company, as well as producer/exec producer credits on thirteen forthcoming Marvel movies in the next five years. So there’s likely a bit of a wait before we find out which version of Commander Shephard will make it to the big screen. But if it’s not a she, with red hair and a pointed face, who survived a terrible attack, then I shall protest outside cinemas. (Thanks to Andrew for the tip).

Seems Hollywood big boys are taking videogame adaptations seriously these days. First, Bioshock gets a big-name director attached to it, in the form of Gore Verbinski, and now the other driving force behind Pirates of the Caribbean, noisy uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, is dumping a truckload of money on a Prince of Persia silver-screener. It’s due next year and “the producer and Disney hope to turn [it] into a follow-up franchise to “Pirates of the Caribbean”, reckons Variety.
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