Rockstar Eyes Movie Biz

[Earnest Cavalli]

Rockstar Eyes Movie Biz

If a new trademark filing is to be believed, Rockstar Games might be churning out films in the near future.

Take-Two Interactive, publisher of such fine, upstanding titles as Grand Theft Auto IV and LA Noire registered "Rockstar Films" on December 21, 2010. That trademark has since been approved, though the purpose of the filing remains mysterious.

The trademark text summary is suitably vague:

Animated motion picture films featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children's and documentary themes; pre-recorded video discs and other pre-recorded digital and electronic media in the field of live action programs, motion pictures, or animation featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children's and documentary themes.

Additionally, gaming industry news outlet SystemLink reports that Take-Two owns URLs for both "RockstarFilms.com" and "RockstarFilms.net."

What exactly does this mean? For now, not much. In truth it could merely be a successful publisher ensuring the ongoing viability of its burgeoning media empire. Maybe Take-Two is just keeping its options open.

Of course, there's also the more speculative option: That Rockstar is planning a Grand Theft Auto film series, and has no faith in Hollywood studios to do the game series justice.

That idea however, raises a crucial question: The Grand Theft Auto games have all been pastiches of various crime films. From Goodfellas to Miami Vice to Menace II Society, the entire GTA media juggernaut has been lifted wholesale from classic movies.

Would a Grand Theft Auto film be more of the same? If not, would it really be a Grand Theft Auto film, and if so, what's the point?

Unless they somehow wrangle Scorcese into directing this theoretical film, I don't know that I can muster any sort of excitement for the project.

Source: Game Informer [http://alt.systemlink.me/2011/07/take-two-file-rockstar-films-trademark.html]

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[laryri]

The LA Noire facial capture technology is quite impressive and it makes sense that they might want to use it for more than games.

 

[Gxas]

I read the headline, and the only thing I saw in my mind was GTA: the movie.

I imagine no plot, just a bunch of guys running around a city with too-big guns, shooting everything and stealing cars.

I imagine it would actually be quite a funny movie...

 

[the spud]

As long as bigfoot gets thrown in there somewhere they might as well take my money now...

...

What? It will be just like harry and the hendersons.

 

[Something Amyss]

Does this mean an ARG where the movies stops and your cousin phones you about going to a strip club?

 

[Alar]

/facepalm

Why? WHHHYYYYY?

Well, who knows? They might be good.

 

[manythings]

Is anyone not making movies? Did only one dev decide on this and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon or was there a fuck ton of "Make your own Movie production house kits" going cheap on Amazon?

EDIT: The newspost actually raises a good point; Wouldn't a GTA movie basically be something just like Scary movie except with criminals?.. Gangster movie and the Sequel (to get the inner city youth demographic) Gangsta' movie.

 

[Low Key]

GTA does indeed rip off other gangster movies, but they also have a subtext all of their own by conveying the dumb shit people do in the world of organized crime.

Besides, lampooning or not, GTA games have always had solid scripts, so moving from games to film wouldn't be too big of a stretch.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Unless they somehow wrangle Scorcese into directing this theoretical film, I don't know that I can muster any sort of excitement for the project.

Sounds more like it's there to see if they can make bricks without straw from the 'Game Designers who really want to be Film Directors' set.

If so, I have 6 words for them: Chris Roberts. Wing Commander The Movie.


OTOH, maybe they're thinking of hoovering up a few specialist cutscene studios and putting them to work under the Rockstar Films banner.

 

[Cousin_IT]

I dunno about GTA films. For one thing there already is a Grand Theft Auto film out there. However, that thing they did with Fox with all the Red Dead cut-scenes seemed rather popular, so maybe they're planning to make more of that sort of thing & do it on their own?

 

[twm1709]

They're probably going to make cg movies like the one from Red Dead Redemption.

 

[Outlaw Torn]

I dunno about GTA films. For one thing there already is a Grand Theft Auto film out there. However, that thing they did with Fox with all the Red Dead cut-scenes seemed rather popular, so maybe they're planning to make more of that sort of thing & do it on their own?

There was a GTA film from 1977, nothing to do with the games obviously. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076100/. I remember seeing a Grand Theft Auto film in Blockbuster that used the same font as the games, but it looks nothing like the one in that link. So maybe there is another one out there?

 

[Cousin_IT]

I dunno about GTA films. For one thing there already is a Grand Theft Auto film out there. However, that thing they did with Fox with all the Red Dead cut-scenes seemed rather popular, so maybe they're planning to make more of that sort of thing & do it on their own?

There was a GTA film from 1977, nothing to do with the games obviously. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076100/. I remember seeing a Grand Theft Auto film in Blockbuster that used the same font as the games, but it looks nothing like the one in that link. So maybe there is another one out there?

That was the one I meant. My point was that the name is taken & so they'd have to do an Inglorious Basterds style on purpose spelling error to release a film also called Grand Theft Auto.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

The LA Noire facial capture technology is quite impressive and it makes sense that they might want to use it for more than games.

Or they may be filing this so they can make a branch that can be lisenced out for use in other games/films.

Being on the technology side is always the safer bet in these kinds of things. Selling the use of your patent to other people means you don't have to bother with all the production fees of doing anything. This is as true for films as it is for mining, cell phones, video games, or cars.

 

[Low Key]

They're probably going to make cg movies like the one from Red Dead Redemption.

That would be cool too. RDR is probably one the best games I have ever played, though I'm curious how they'd put a 30 hour game into a 90 minute movie.

 

[SammiYin]

Most of their games are based on films anyway, so what's the point of turning their game franchises into films?*
Unless they don't use their games as a bucket of film ideas, in which case I'm interested.

[*Unless they do Undead nightmare into a film, that would be awesome]

 

[The_Puppy_Prince]

Well going to Rockstarfilms.com sends you to R*'s website so theres that
And yeah,Alot of their games have had good scripts and talent
So i doubt anything they try will be too bad