No Green Light for GTA Movie

No Green Light for GTA Movie

June 24, 2008

In addition to heaps of criticism, the recently released Grand Theft Auto IV has received its fair share of kudos. Game critics across the board have lauded the controversial title for everything from its impressive graphics and entertaining gameplay to the dramatic depth of its large cast and its cinema-quality story. 

With such high accolades, not to mention record-breaking sales, a movie based on the game seems like a forgone conclusion, no?

Well, no.

You see, back in ’77, Roger Corman produced a little flick called Grand Theft Auto.  The film (written, directed by, and starring Ron Howard) involves a rich girl stealing her dad’s car and running off to Vegas with her boyfriend to get married.  A $25,000 reward is offered for her safe return and suddenly everyone from the cops to the daughter's ex-boyfriend is after them.

According to LA Weekly blogger Nikki Finke, Fox Atomic currently owns the rights to the movie title Grand Theft Auto. By agreement between the parties, Take-Two can’t make a film called Grand Theft Auto and Fox can’t make a game called Grand Theft Auto.

For now, the best we can hope for is a remake or sequel to the 30-year-old, PG-rated chase film but even that’s looking unlikely.  As an insider revealed to Finke:

Yes, Fox owns the Corman movie. Yes, it has been one of 400 development projects for several years. But they are nowhere on the script. It has certainly not been a front-burner project.

Via: GameDaily

-Reporting from San Diego, GP Correspondent Andrew Eisen is still waiting for a film version of Chibi Robo

Comments

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Im not sure GTA would really work as a movie.

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Heres and idea, why not call the film just 'GTA'

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Or "Grand Theft Auto: The Movie".

I'd just as soon them NOT ruin the rep of the game by making another generic shitty crime movie

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

This can only be a good thing!

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

It's been said already, but the first thing I thought when I read this was that they could simply call it something else... 

But we really don't need a GTA movie

-- mostly harmless

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

I Could see it no

 

GTA A NEW FILM BY UWE BOLL!!!!

But seriously it will never work becauses all of the GTA games are a form of parody to films to begin with.

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie
GTA Grand Theft Auto: The Movie GTA: Vice City [or whatever GTA-universe location] Vice City [or whatever] GTA: The Niko Bellic Story GTA: Vice City Stories Vice City Stories See? The only thing that could stop them making a movie would be lack of interest, not lack of a title!
Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie
Sorry for the improperly formatted post up there^, not sure what happened to all of the line breaks.
Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

GTA would not work as a movie.

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Aye, I'm not hopeful for a decent GTA movie...

And the whole name issue seems abit silly, if you'd call it GTA I'd expect to see a movie based off the original game, or some of the mission packs...now there's a movie worth making!

Is the ownership of the name thing the only thing keeping the movie from being considered? Seems silly, you could call it "Hooker Massacre 38xTurbo: The Awakening" and it would work. I'd be interested in seeing a movie adaption of "Libert City Survivor" (From the radio ads in GTA III). Now there's a movie pitch!

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Another problem might be the problems associated with packing thirty plus hours of content into a two hour movie.

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Meh it would just be another gangster movie, they couldn't really capture the open ended gameplay in a movie.

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Well everyone knows that the only reason they would make a "Grand Theft Auto: The Movie" would be to mercilessly ride the free brandname publicity and piggyback on those kinds of sales. Really, the only way that the game translates into a movie is as a gangster movie, and a pretty standard cut-and-paste one at that. Any movie they would make would just be a lame attempt to capitalize on a successful product IMO.

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

I don't think the idea would work either, the whole thing that made GTA sell was the fact that you could choose how to be, there wasn't no requirement for running round with the rocket launcher and getting your stars up, you merely did it for the heck of it, the plot didn't require it. With a movie, the whole thing has to run on rails, and that means plot devices, which would pretty much ruin the idea of the whole genre.

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

The only way a GTA movie would work is if it were a parody on a parody.

-Loudspeaker
"Volume helps to get a point across but sharp teeth are better."

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

As a general rule movies based on video games are terrible.

I can't think of even 1 that was any good. (I kow the RE movies were popular, but I just can't see where they are all that great. Bring me a code veronica movie done well and i'll applaud! ....boodrayne......ew.)

 

I'm not a fan of GTA, but i'm glad for the fans that there will be no movie, they won't have to take the dissapointment when it turns out rotten.

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Final Fantasy: Spirits Within

I know it was not critically well received but I really, truly enjoy this film.

 

Mortal Kombat

Very watchable if nothing else.  Would have been an actual good movie had the editor not butchered it.

 

Silent Hill

Haven't seen it but I hear it's good.

 

Doom and Tomb Raider

No, not great but watchable.  Fun even.

 

Andrew Eisen

Re: No Green Light for GTA Movie

Is this really news? It's not as if it's a little known fact that there was a movie called "Grand Theft Auto" decades ago, hell I've seen it a few times on TV and it's known to be one of Ron Howard's first feature lentgh movie he directed and wrote. Plus, people at T2 and/or Rockstar (I think it was the one of the Houser brothers) have gone on record in saying there are no plans for a GTA based movie seeing as their games are already movies when it comes to the story aspect but then also with a lot more freedom.

 

EDIT: Okay, didn't say as much but here's an interview with Dan Houser and comments regarding the movie rumor (started by Variety) from months ago, hopefully this edit doesn't alert the anti-spam bot.

http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2008/04/dan-housers-ver.html

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1580997/20080205/id_0.jhtml

Post new comment

By posting comments on this Web site you agree to abide by the Comments Policy.
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
This image is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. The letters in the picture are all UPPER-CASE.
Image CAPTCHA
Copy the characters (respecting upper/lower case) from the image.

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 09/06/08 at 09:04pm
gamepolitics: but I do love me some brunch, too...
Posted 09/06/08 at 09:01pm
gamepolitics: TJLK - brunch is just breakfast dressed for respectability
Posted 09/06/08 at 05:52pm
Freyar: I prefer Mid-night snack.. Because I can eat in the middle of the night without feeling too stupid, or whatever.
Posted 09/06/08 at 05:35pm
TJLK: I like brunch, because you can have waffles but it isn't in the morning.
Posted 09/06/08 at 02:07pm
Dark Sovereign: @GP: This list, number 30, for the librarian story: http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/09/06/palin-rumors/
Posted 09/06/08 at 12:55pm
gamepolitics: is there a better meal than breakfast? If so, I've not experienced it...
Posted 09/06/08 at 12:30pm
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: mmmm syrup *lick*
Posted 09/06/08 at 12:21pm
Freyar: Buy Waffles, tasty waffles with lots of syrup.
Posted 09/06/08 at 08:30am
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : @Waffles: WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIVIDE BY ZERO, DAMMIT!? NOW SHADOW IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE VOID!!! -T.O.S.
Posted 09/06/08 at 05:32am
King of Fiji: @MaskedPixelante: Is it me or in a way dose he look like what the AVGN will look like in a few decades in that picture? xD
Posted 09/05/08 at 10:14pm
ZippyDSMlee: BlackIce: its funny it dose not mind zippy speak tho :P
Posted 09/05/08 at 08:40pm
BlackIce: @Zippy: Yeah, it does. Fucking thing..
Posted 09/05/08 at 07:31pm
MaskedPixelante: This new Jack picture should be the official picture whenever there's an article about Jack.
Posted 09/05/08 at 07:19pm
ZippyDSMlee: Tyler Baumbarger: Iuse <br/> withno troubl, it dose like catching links as spam tho.
Posted 09/05/08 at 07:11pm
BunchaKneejerks: Couldn't sleep 'till I got this one last idea for a 'shop out my head.
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:35pm
Tyler Baumbarger: Hmm, maybe I should take the <hr/> off of my sig. Keeps being flagged as spam.
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:12pm
Freyar: I do love Italian foods..
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:10pm
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: Then you must agree I iz not quit "humanz" either :P I dunno what worse thinking your "Garfield " or thinking your odie trying to be as smart as Garfield. =0-o= UHg I fail ! but then the joy of life is trying not to. ^_~
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:05pm
Freyar: I recognized the Garfield joke. *grin*
Posted 09/05/08 at 06:04pm
ZippyDSMlee: Freyar: No but I could probably mail self to you in lil pieces :P last time I went brown box I wound up in Abudobie... (Garfield joke BTW). Sadly I am in the US =0_o=
Login or register to post shouts