Grave Gamer News & Views — scott waugh

Need for Speed and Shadow of the Colossus Films Moving Forward with New Directors

There was a time in the film industry where a video game adaptation was a surefire way to get a producer fired and a screenwriter slapped.  Now, with the advent of cash cows such as the five flick Resident Evil franchise, Hollywood knows there’s green oil to be mined from video games (especially when the films can be cheaply pumped out at around $40 million and see a return of $150 million or more much like the RE franchise).

Modeled after the Fast and the Furious series for an easy in, EA’s Need for Speed is riding into theaters thanks to DreamWorks.  The studio currently looks to hire Act of Valor co-director Scott Waugh to bring the racing title to the big screen, based upon a script penned by George Gatins.  Being as it is that the games never truly cling to an established story thread, it’ll be easy for Waugh and company to project whatever cookie-cutter narrative they want as long as the Need for Speed name is attached (i.e. terrifically boring shit).

The monumentally more intriguing game adaptation would be Sony’s attempt to put Team Ico’s Shadow of the Colossus on the screen.  The ball got rolling on Colossus back in 2009 when Sony first conceived the notion of a movie, but the project sat in place, gathering moss for some time.  After the success of the HD re-release, though, it seems the film has gained some new traction with the recent enlistment of up-and-comer Josh Trank as director, fresh off of his hit superhero biopic Chronicle.

Neither Trank nor Sony have indicated how they intend to bring the Colossi to the screen (whether it all be CGI or live-action or, considering Trank’s resume, shot as found-footage is up in the air) but the two parties have confirmed that they’re actively shopping around for a screenwriter to shape the story.