‘Tomb Raider 3’?

The first two Tomb Raiders were horrible. The only redeeming quality was the chance to see Angelina Jolie in tight outfits, but now days, with the Internet, you can see that whenever you want (see image to left). So, that said, word coming from The Business Online is that “SCI, the computer games company that owns Lara Croft, along with her Tomb Raider franchise, is in talks with Paramount Pictures over licensing the property for a third Hollywood movie.”

My thoughts on this… Go for it. Lara Croft has the open opportunity to become the female Indiana Jones fighting evil in the present day, but some serious changes are going to have to be made.

First: Get a good director. Jan de Bont for Tomb Raider 2 was not a horrible choice considering he had a major success onhis hands from Speed, but ultimately we all know that movie didn’t pan out. Simon West directed the first feature, and like de Bont he had some action success with a little film called Con Air, but one hit does not an action director make. Considering the first two Tomb Raider flicks were no more than popcorn pics the chances of nabbing a huge director are slim, but if Paramount can somehow fulfill my next request a more experienced director might come a knocking…

Second: Get a good writer. As far as screenwriters go this franchise is yet to see anyone worthy of recognition. Granted Tomb Raider 2 scripter Dean Georgaris has a few bigger movies to his name, but I hated both of them. “Them” being Paycheck and the remake of The Manchurian Candidate.



Who would I like to see script this third movie? Without a doubt J.J. Abrams would be my choice, hands down. I would like to see him write and direct it, and my assumption is that he could pen a script in two days that would be better than either one of the first two movies. If you give him time I think he could totally reinvent the wheel on this franchise and Tomb Raider would become more than just another video game adaptation. It would become a legitimate movie franchise.

Anyway, back to the TBO story as they seem quite confident this thing has some legs. They go on to say the following:

Sources in Hollywood say negotiations have started between Paramount and SCI for the latest movie, and Angelina Jolie has once again expressed an interest in starring as Lara Croft, the English archaeologist-adventurer.

It is thought that Eidos took a one-off licensing fee from Paramount in 1998 and collected a percentage of the film’s gross receipts. It also gets a cut of sales from Tomb Raider merchandising.

SCI is likely to negotiate a tougher deal for its property under chief executive Jane Cavanagh, who is one of Britain’s most successful female executives.

Get the full story here.

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