inFAMOUS movie in the works

[R Nilla]

As The Hollywood Reporter . . . reports:

Screenwriter Sheldon Turner is becoming even more "inFAMOUS."

Sony Pictures has pre-emptively picked up a pitch from Turner to adapt the Sucker Punch Prods. video game into a feature film. The deal is for seven figures.

The studio is working out a deal for rights to the game, which was published by sister company Sony Computer Entertainment.

Avi Arad and Ari Arad will produce. Sony executives Matt Tolmach and Jonathan Kadin are handling for the studio.

Launched in May, "inFAMOUS" centers on bike messenger Cole MacGrath, who survives an explosion that destroys entire blocks of Empire City only to find he has new electricity-derived super powers. The action game, designed for Sony's PlayStation 3 console, allows the player to use his powers for good or evil, as MacGrath's karma affects how the devastated city's people and infrastructure deal with him.

"What excited me most about the game was it was the first of which I've come across that had a big idea and a character arc," Turner said. "It is, I believe, the future of gaming. The game, while big and fun, is at its core a love ballad to the underachiever, which is what our hero, Cole McGrath, is."

The CAA-repped Turner wrote the screenplay for "The Longest Yard" remake. He also co-wrote "Up in the Air," which Jason Reitman is directing at DreamWorks, and he has an untitled Arizona journalist project in development at Miramax for Ben Affleck to direct.

Turner's in-progress comic book "Warrior" will be published by Top Cow.

Most recently, Avi Arad produced and Ari Arad executive produced "The Incredible Hulk" and "Iron Man." They also are producing an adaptation of the Sony video game "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" for the studio with Charles Roven and Alex Gartner.

But will it feature good Cole, evil Cole, neutral Cole...? It would be interesting if Cole started off as good or evil and then did a 180 part-way through the movie so it featured both his red and blue sets of powers.

Almost forgot--inFAMOUS: The Movie: The Game confirmed?

 

[Ackmed]

Well, I thought the story was pretty good. With a fantastic twist at the end. I wonder how much they will follow the game story, if they do this.

 

[Joemonkey]

I've only played the demo so I don't quite understand the good vs. evil thing, but I can only assume he'll take the good route in the movie

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
I've only played the demo so I don't quite understand the good vs. evil thing, but I can only assume he'll take the good route in the movie

There's a karma meter, and in addition to your actions in general there are several 'karma moments' throughout the game where you can choose to perform a good action or evil action. Depending on whether your meter is on the good side or evil side you have a different set of abilities available to you. If you are good your electrical abilities are blue, if you are bad your electrical abilities are red.

Originally posted by: Ackmed
Well, I thought the story was pretty good. With a fantastic twist at the end. I wonder how much they will follow the game story, if they do this.

Don't worry, I'm sure they'll find a way to stray wildly from the game story and incorporate several ridiculous plot points.

 

[Industrial]

I suspect they may show him morphing between good and evil and settling on neutral. This way they get to show everything and the internal struggle of his decisions.

dare I say it.... what do you guys think of Justin Timberlake as Cole? Looks the part, although he's lacking in the ideal superhero part , but that might be the appeal that he's not some superhero, but a real everyday guy. His acting isn't bad, from what I remember of some of his movies.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: R Nilla

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
I've only played the demo so I don't quite understand the good vs. evil thing, but I can only assume he'll take the good route in the movie

There's a karma meter, and in addition to your actions in general there are several 'karma moments' throughout the game where you can choose to perform a good action or evil action. Depending on whether your meter is on the good side or evil side you have a different set of abilities available to you. If you are good your electrical abilities are blue, if you are bad your electrical abilities are red.

Originally posted by: Ackmed
Well, I thought the story was pretty good. With a fantastic twist at the end. I wonder how much they will follow the game story, if they do this.

Don't worry, I'm sure they'll find a way to stray wildly from the game story and incorporate several ridiculous plot points.

Am I the only one who enjoys movies not following the source game in every way?
If I wanted to watch the story unfold the exact same way, I'd just play the game. A game is like an interactive movie in my mind, and well... I want a movie of a game to flow ever so slightly different if they can pull it off while keeping the movie generally the same concept and story as the game.

inFAMOUS and Uncharted both potentially getting the movie treatment? Awesome. Those two games are at the forefront of perfect game-to-movie adaptation opportunities, as long as the studio(s) handle it correctly. Those games have relatively simplistic story basics, but with easily doable little nuances that made those games so refreshing to play. Uncharted would be a dream to see on the big screen done properly, there is so much waiting to be exploiting with that game, and with the right actors would be a blast to watch if the kept the characterizations close to the game.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Industrial
I suspect they may show him morphing between good and evil and settling on neutral. This way they get to show everything and the internal struggle of his decisions.

dare I say it.... what do you guys think of Justin Timberlake as Cole? Looks the part, although he's lacking in the ideal superhero part , but that might be the appeal that he's not some superhero, but a real everyday guy. His acting isn't bad, from what I remember of some of his movies.

Timberlake was fun to watch in Southland Tales. I think he could pull off a light/dark mixed character pretty well, but I don't know if he'd be my first choice, but with a good director I think it could be pulled off and be a good film to watch.

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: destrekor
Am I the only one who enjoys movies not following the source game in every way?
If I wanted to watch the story unfold the exact same way, I'd just play the game.

I was not implying that movie-based games should be a live rendition of a playthrough of the game. Change is fine and expected but a movie-based game should still be true to the source material in some meaningful way. Otherwise, why bother associating the movie with the game in the first place?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: R Nilla

Originally posted by: destrekor
Am I the only one who enjoys movies not following the source game in every way?
If I wanted to watch the story unfold the exact same way, I'd just play the game.

I was not implying that movie-based games should be a live rendition of a playthrough of the game. Change is fine and expected but a movie-based game should still be true to the source material in some meaningful way. Otherwise, why bother associating the movie with the game in the first place?

Because it's easier to make money that way than by creating something entirely original.

 

[biggestmuff]

why do we continue to have these threads. The movie will fail hard. Who gives a fuck?

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
why do we continue to have these threads. The movie will fail hard. Who gives a fuck?

You do, apparently. If you don't, you shouldn't have bumped this thread back up to the top.