Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 11:10AM 'Just Cause' Latest Video Game for the Big Screen
Just Cause is an open world third-person shooter video game which sold over 1 million units on the PC, PS2, and Xbox 360. Variety reports that Eric Eisner's L+E Pictures has bought the rights to turn the Swedish developed video game into a movie. They have retained Michael Ross (Turistas) to write the script and have also signed up Adrian Askarieh to be the producer.
Like Turistas, the movie will be set in a paradisiacal scenery and in the case of Just Cause, a Carribean Tropical Island named "San Esperito". But that's where the similarity ends. Just Cause is a high flying action game loaded with impossible stunts. The story centers around a CIA black ops agent Rico Rodriguez who tries to overthrow San Esperito's dictator who may also possess WMDs.
Eisner and Askarieh are both well connected enough that if the script is any good, it shouldn't be hard to get it funded by some wealthy individuals. The team is looking for independent sources of funding rather than going to studio route. Eisner is the son of former Disney head honcho Michael Eisner and Askarieh was the producer for another video game movie called Hitman, and is currently working on getting Kane and Lynch to the silver screens which will star Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx.
Despite the fact that popular video games have a story played by millions, it hasn't alway been easy getting a quality script on paper. Sometimes they rely too much on the loyal following of gamers to watch whatever crap they put out and there's also an internal struggle as well. Video game studios usually have the final say on the background story to protect their IP and given that video game makers aren't always the greatest story tellers, I can see how it might be tough to pen a compelling story.
Just Cause will be just fine but it better not come out before the Halo movie!
Reader Comments (1)
Just Cause would make a pretty neat-o film. It'd be basically like a Bad Boys type movie, but without the buddy cop angle. Could be fun, but the phrase "From the writer who brought you Turistas doesn't inspire much hope.