Archive for the ‘Games and Game Movies’ Category
Filed under: Documentary, Fandom, Distribution, Games and Game Movies
The Hollywood Reporter announced that IFC Films has acquired North American rights to the Berlin International Film Fest title, Puzzle, directed by Natalia Smirnoff. The Argentine film will be released this year after the fall festival roundup via IFC’s In Theaters platform–making the VOD version available the same day as the theatrical premiere.
Puzzle follows forty-something housewife Maria del Carmen (Maria Onetto) who has doted on her husband and children for the past twenty years. When she receives a puzzle as a birthday present, she suddenly discovers she has a gift for assembling them at lightning speed–something her family ignores. As her passion for puzzles grows, the bonds of her relationships are tested.
We can add this title to the long list of narrative films and documentaries that pay homage to the geeky hobbies and games many of us love. Puzzle takes its place alongside fictional films like Mazes and Monsters, Fanboys and The Wild Hunt, as well as “true-life” celebrations of our nerdy passions like Trekkies or The Dungeons & Dragons Experience.
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Warner Brothers, Remakes and Sequels, Games and Game Movies
Well, here’s a good deal of noise on a franchise that barely seems to warrant the effort … but it looks like Warner Bros. just hit a road block on their way to a Mortal Kombat 3. The legal kind that has angry people on both sides of the argument.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, producer Larry Kasanoff and his Threshold Entertainment outfit are planning to sue WB for moving forward on a Mortal Kombat 3 without Threshold’s involvement. Needless to say, Mr. Kasanoff is none too happy about the situation: “the Mortal Kombat series, as it stands today, is far more a creation of Threshold and Kasanoff than of Midway,” states the lawsuit, and that the suit will tally “an amount which, considering Warner’s enormous worldwide wealth and income, is sufficient to punish Warner, to set an example and to deter further such wrongful behavior.” Yowch!
Long story short: not only will there be a delay on the next Mortal Kombat movie, but now it just might prove to be too expensive and troublesome to even bother with. Maybe one day this story will make for a movie of its very own. They could call it Mortal Combat. Bottom line is this: the longer this legal tussle continues, the longer we’ll go without another Mortal Kombat movie. Let’s hear it for lawyers!
My apologies to the MK movie fans out there, but you already have two rotten movies to dig through. Do we really need a third?
Filed under: Cinematical Seven, Games and Game Movies
I think we are all pretty sick of video game movies these days, and whether this is because most of them suck, I couldn’t tell you. But like it or not, there is a never ending supply of lazy executives who look no further than their home console for inspiration. But that is a rant best left for another time, because today’s Cinematical Seven is all about the movies that aren’t based on video games, nope, these are movies all about the cult of gaming.
If you watch enough movies centered on the world of video games you start to notice that a theme emerges: the desire and the peril of getting trapped in your favorite game. Granted it’s a theme that isn’t much of a leap considering that since the dawn of the gamer, there have been worried parents, teachers, and clergy convinced that those pixels are the work of the devil, and what better place for a cautionary tale than the movies? But, it’s not all doom and gloom and there are also stories of how a gamer can save the world — there really is something for everyone at the movies.
After the jump are seven movies that delve into the pros and cons of gaming…
Continue reading Cinematical Seven: The Good and The Bad of Gaming
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting, RumorMonger, Games and Game Movies
In the tradition of great movies based on real game shows (Quiz Show; Slumdog Millionaire), Tobey Maguire is said to be producing and starring in a film called Prisoners of Trebek, based on a true story about a guy who found romance while attempting to master Jeopardy. Pajiba has the exclusive scoop on the project, which was scripted by The Hoax screenwriter William Wheeler and is being likened to the work of Charlie Kaufman. Producing with Maguire’s company is Mark Gordon, who worked with Wheeler on The Hoax and regularly collaborates with Roland Emmerich (2012; The Day After Tomorrow).
The Kaufman connection could mean we should expect Alex Trebek to show up as himself in a surreal sort of comedy akin to Being John Malkovich. Or, Trebek could be more similar to Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which also went behind the scenes of a game show in its biographical portrait of The Dating Game host producer Chuck Barris. One of the the directors reportedly in talks to helm Trebek is Goran Dukic, who showed that he has a knack for weird plots with the cult favorite Wristcutters: A Love Story. I can honestly say I’d rather it be him than the other choice, Raymond De Felitta (The Thing About My Folks).
Continue reading Tobey Maguire’s Next Role: ‘Prisoners of Trebek’ or Bilbo in ‘The Hobbit’?
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting, RumorMonger, Games and Game Movies
In the tradition of great movies based on real game shows (Quiz Show; Slumdog Millionaire), Tobey Maguire is said to be producing and starring in a film called Prisoners of Trebek, based on a true story about a guy who found romance while attempting to master Jeopardy. Pajiba has the exclusive scoop on the project, which was scripted by The Hoax screenwriter William Wheeler and is being likened to the work of Charlie Kaufman. Producing with Maguire’s company is Mark Gordon, who worked with Wheeler on The Hoax and regularly collaborates with Roland Emmerich (2012; The Day After Tomorrow).
The Kaufman connection could mean we should expect Alex Trebek to show up as himself in a surreal sort of comedy akin to Being John Malkovich. Or, Trebek could be more similar to Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which also went behind the scenes of a game show in its biographical portrait of The Dating Game host producer Chuck Barris. One of the the directors reportedly in talks to helm Trebek is Goran Dukic, who showed that he has a knack for weird plots with the cult favorite Wristcutters: A Love Story. I can honestly say I’d rather it be him than the other choice, Raymond De Felitta (The Thing About My Folks).
Continue reading Tobey Maguire’s Next Role: ‘Prisoners of Trebek’ or Bilbo in ‘The Hobbit’?
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Casting, RumorMonger, Games and Game Movies
In the tradition of great movies based on real game shows (Quiz Show; Slumdog Millionaire), Tobey Maguire is said to be producing and starring in a film called Prisoners of Trebek, based on a true story about a guy who found romance while attempting to master Jeopardy. Pajiba has the exclusive scoop on the project, which was scripted by The Hoax screenwriter William Wheeler and is being likened to the work of Charlie Kaufman. Producing with Maguire’s company is Mark Gordon, who worked with Wheeler on The Hoax and regularly collaborates with Roland Emmerich (2012; The Day After Tomorrow).
The Kaufman connection could mean we should expect Alex Trebek to show up as himself in a surreal sort of comedy akin to Being John Malkovich. Or, Trebek could be more similar to Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which also went behind the scenes of a game show in its biographical portrait of The Dating Game host producer Chuck Barris. One of the the directors reportedly in talks to helm Trebek is Goran Dukic, who showed that he has a knack for weird plots with the cult favorite Wristcutters: A Love Story. I can honestly say I’d rather it be him than the other choice, Raymond De Felitta (The Thing About My Folks).
Continue reading Tobey Maguire’s Next Role: ‘Prisoners of Trebek’ or Bilbo in ‘The Hobbit’?
Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Games and Game Movies
A guy like Brad Pitt can do anything he likes. He’s handsome, he’s talented, he’s rich, he’s funny and outspoken … and apparently he gets to play sci-fi-action-type video games long before the rest of us. (Bastard!) Variety reports that Mr. Pitt and his Plan B production company have snagged the rights to an upcoming Capcom game called Dark Void. Their report indicates that the game is about “a pilot who crash lands in the Bermuda Triangle following a routine mission and wakes up to find himself in an alternate world.”
You can learn more about Dark Void at its Wikipedia page. For example, I just learned that the awesome Bear McCreary is doing the music for the game. (I say keep that guy around for the movie version.) You can also see a bunch of nifty Dark Void artwork over at Capcom’s blog. Could this be the beginning of a swanky new action franchise for Brad Pitt? I say the guy has earned one by now.
More information on this project as it becomes available. At this point I just want to check this game out. It looks pretty cool. (Game trailer after the jump!)
Continue reading Brad Pitt Prepares to Enter the ‘Dark Void’
Filed under: Action, Drama, Tech Stuff, Games and Game Movies
Once upon a time, there was a Twilight massively multiplayer online role-playing game being developed called Twilight Online. Think World of Warcraft but for Twihards. They were shut down (one would imagine by Summit, who is making oodles of cash from tie-ins — have you been to your local Blockbuster and picked up your very own couch pillow with Jacob’s face on it?) and the developer is now working on something called “Nebulous Blood.” (Read more about Twilight Online over at Geekologie since the details of the game are no longer on its official website.)
The first Twilight video game, one of many that’s sure to come, is a trivia game that’s part of the “Scene It?” game series. It is currently available as an iPhone app and a DVD game, and now even Wii and Nintendo DS players will be able to give their Twilight skillz a workout as well on November 24th. The console games are from Konami, a pretty damn solid game publisher that’s behind great games like the Metal Gear Solid series, Silent Hill, Dance Dance Revolution, and even the recent Saw game.
Twilight game deets are hiding on the other side of the jump.
Filed under: Animation, Documentary, Horror, Trailer Trash, Games and Game Movies, Trailers and Clips
Despicable Me
Second trailer for this 3D animated comedy, and this time it’s focusing on arch villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) trying to break into the headquarters of a rival bad guy. This looks like fun and the bit with the shark had me howling. Check it out on July 9.
Sherlock Holmes
A second trailer for the new Holmes fllck with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role aided by Jude Law as Watson. Pretty sure this will have awesome written all over it. Plan a trip to Baker Street for Christmas day.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
There’s some serious spectacle at work here. Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this adaptation of a video game I’ve never played, but I’m pretty sure that’s not necessary. It seems tailor-made to be a summer blockbuster, which is good because it comes out on May 28.
Best Worst Movie
Speaking as someone who has watched and enjoyed some truly awful films in his time, this one really speaks to me. This documentary examines the phenomenon/train wreck that is Troll 2, a 1990 horror flick whose badness has become legendary. No release date yet and I suspect this will be hard to find in theaters.
How to Train Your Dragon
In this new animated comedy from Dreamworks, a viking teenager is trying to learn the ways of his people including hunting and killing those pesky dragons that are plaguing them. He soon learns, though, that everything his people know about dragons is wrong and sets out on his own path. Training begins on March 26.
New this week on AOL Moviefone:
- Splinterheads - A young slacker falls in love with a beautiful carnival worker.
- Invictus – Morgan Freeman stars as South African President Nelson Mandela who urges the captain of the national rugby team to strive for the World Cup for the sake of unifying their nation in the days following apartheid.
- Eichmann – Historical drama based on the confession of Adolf Eichmann.
- Mammoth - An intricately woven family drama starring Michelle Williams and Gael García Bernal as a married couple whose lives begin to spin out of control.
- Shake Hands With the Devil – Based on true events surrounding a 1994 U.N. peacekeeping mission to Rwanda that failed to prevent the slaughter of 800,000 Rwandans.
- Avatar - Second trailer for James Cameron’s epic 3D science fiction extravaganza.
- Did You Hear About the Morgans - A couple on the verge of divorce can’t escape each other after they witness a murder and must enter the witness relocation program.
Filed under: Action, Deals, Games and Game Movies
Battleship. Monopoly, Candy Land, and Ouija. A Clue re-do. If it’s a board game, chances are it’s going to get put into development sometime in the near future. If Hollywood wasn’t such a wacky world of insane ideas, I’d be surprised that we hadn’t gotten this one earlier. Nikki Finke is reporting that Sony Pictures has bought the rights to Risk, piling more cinematic coin into Hasbro’s coffers. The project will be developed by Hasbro in conjunction with James Lassiter and Overbrook Entertainment.
Columbia Pictures pres. Doug Belgrad says audiences have “shown a great desire for films that bring to life everything that has made these franchise properties stand the test of time,” and mentioned the likes of Transformers and G.I. Joe. Unsurprisingly then, he says the film will be an exciting movie with “an action-packed, thrilling story.” It makes sense — a game where you roll the dice to world domination is just asking for a big blow-out action flick. That being said…
First of all, there’s been no “great desire” to see board game movies get adapted. Nice try. Second, in the piece, Finke talks about Belgrad mentioning the two old cartoon redo’s before noting that he did not mention “the dismal movie from the board game Clue.” While I understand some people dislike the film, dismal is quite a strong statement — especially in a world where we’re getting Battleship. Finally, with the ever-rising popularity of all things geek, I’m kinda disappointed that this won’t be a tongue-in-cheek comedy about a bunch of geeks playing Risk. But who knows? Maybe that will come when someone gets around to buying Magic: The Gathering.
