I guess the most surprising thing is that it’s taken so long to happen. I’m talking, of course, about the recent surge of board game-inspired films getting set into motion. Deadline‘s Mike Fleming reports Sony Pictures is the latest studio to make a move (see what I did there?), hiring John Hlavin (Underworld: New Dawn, “The Shield”) to write a contemporary global action thriller based on “Risk.”
Even though a live-action Candy Land movie is currently in the works and attempts at a Ridley Scott-helmed Monopoly and a Gore Verbinski-directed Clue have been discussed and seemingly abandoned, it’s probably safe to say next summer’s Battleship will determine the future of the genre. The Universal Pictures production has a strong director in Peter Berg (Hancock, Friday Night Lights), the son of a naval historian who is said to be very passionate about the project, and a wildly random cast that ranges from the solid (Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch) to the, um… wtf? (Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, Tom Arnold). Oh, and it’s also worth mentioning that $200 million budget.
Universal isn’t giving up there either as they have already put into motion Ouija with Terminator Salvation director McG helming a script from TRON: Legacy scripters Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis based on the prophetic board game. The film has been set for a November 9, 2012 release, though a cast has yet to be announced… or a plot.
If Battleship enjoys an Alice in Wonderland-type success, I’m sure more adaptations will follow, just as we’ve seen with Red Riding Hood, Oz: The Great and Powerful and the rival Snow White pictures. Battleship‘s biggest struggle will likely come from the inherent stigma of being a board game-inspired movie. The average comment on any article concerning a board game adaptation usually reads something like this: “Worst. Idea. Ever.”
Conversely, how often does a movie sound awesome in concept, only to disappoint when you see the final product? I was talking to my friends last week about Jonah Hex, which I see it as some sort of miraculous disaster (or is it disastrous miracle?). It all sounded so good on paper. Josh Brolin. Michael Fassbender. John Malkovich. Westerns. Revenge. Mastodon (the heavy metal band providing the score). Megan Fox in a corset. I like all of these things. Yet the movie still failed miserably.
Candy Land‘s director Kevin Lima (Enchanted) has described his vision for the project as “Lord of the Rings but with candy,” a laughable premise indeed. But Candy Land screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, the writing team behind the Kung Fu Panda movies, made a solid argument in the project’s defense during a recent interview with Ain’t It Cool News. Here’s Aibel’s take:
“If someone said, “There’s this archaeologist, and he tries to steal this relic from the Nazis,” you’d be like, “I don’t know, that sounds kind of lame.” Anything is going to be in how it’s done. And hopefully this will be done well. We’re certainly approaching it in the spirit of sincerity. We want to tell a great story, and it just happens to be based on Candy Land.”
I suppose he has a point. Execution is everything. Difficult as it may be these days, maybe we should temper our expectations of a film’s quality and avoid writing off other films while they’re still in pre-production. Let’s at least see a trailer before we decide whether or not a film is worth our $10.
We’ve already seen plenty of movies based on action figures, theme park rides and video games, just to name a few of the more ridiculous sources. Some have been good. Some have been bad. Some of them made a lot of money. Others didn’t. But this holds true for all films, regardless of the source material.
That said, are there any board games that would actually make for a promising concept? Could Hungry Hungry Hippos be the next Anaconda or Lake Placid? Could Twister become the next Devil-esque claustrophobic thriller, slowly unraveling the details about which entangled stranger might have murdered a fellow party guest earlier in the night? Might it be the fat dude dripping enough sweat to make the playing field impossibly slippery? Or the quiet hottie in the corner leaving you hoping for a left-hand-on-green so you can “accidentally” cop a feel? Let’s make it happen.
And since I briefly mentioned video games, what do you think of the news that Roland Emmerich (2012, Independence Day) may develop an Asteroids movie based on the classic arcade game? Are Pong and Donkey Kong next (even though we’ve already seen the brilliant The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters)?
