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A home-style spaghetti Western for gamers By John Gaudiosi
Mon Sep 12, 7:38 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - If you have ever answered to the nickname Blondie, it might be time to dust off your poncho and make sure your six-shooter is fully loaded. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is coming to a game platform near you.
In a deal with MGM Interactive, Bits Studios has acquired video game rights to the three Sergio Leone movies often called "The Man With No Name" trilogy. The 1966 classic "Good, Bad, Ugly" which starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, was the last in the series but will be the first to get the interactive treatment.
Bits Studios CEO Foo Katan said he is exploring options for actors to contribute their likeness and voice talents. He has not ruled out working with Eastwood but said that likeness and other rights for original cast members need to be handled separately through the individual actors or estates because of the age of the movies.
Katan has secured portions of Ennio Morricone's memorable scores, however, which he thinks "is probably the most important aspect we embrace in the game beyond the film itself. They are powerful and unforgettable scores that you really associate with the films."
No publisher is attached yet, but the game is on schedule to ship next year for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.
Although it will bear the name and the music from the popular spaghetti Western, the third-person-perspective video game will follow a new story line that is influenced by the movies and will keep the tone of the films. This design approach supports better gameplay, Katan said.
Bits Studios is employing the same business model as it did with the video game based on Warner Bros. Pictures' "Constantine." The U.K.-based independent game development studio acquires Hollywood licenses on its own, creates the game and then finds a publisher to distribute the title worldwide.
Eastwood is already working on a revival of "Dirty Harry" for next-generation consoles next year, working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Foundation 9 Entertainment.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Mon Sep 12, 7:38 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - If you have ever answered to the nickname Blondie, it might be time to dust off your poncho and make sure your six-shooter is fully loaded. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is coming to a game platform near you.
In a deal with MGM Interactive, Bits Studios has acquired video game rights to the three Sergio Leone movies often called "The Man With No Name" trilogy. The 1966 classic "Good, Bad, Ugly" which starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, was the last in the series but will be the first to get the interactive treatment.
Bits Studios CEO Foo Katan said he is exploring options for actors to contribute their likeness and voice talents. He has not ruled out working with Eastwood but said that likeness and other rights for original cast members need to be handled separately through the individual actors or estates because of the age of the movies.
Katan has secured portions of Ennio Morricone's memorable scores, however, which he thinks "is probably the most important aspect we embrace in the game beyond the film itself. They are powerful and unforgettable scores that you really associate with the films."
No publisher is attached yet, but the game is on schedule to ship next year for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.
Although it will bear the name and the music from the popular spaghetti Western, the third-person-perspective video game will follow a new story line that is influenced by the movies and will keep the tone of the films. This design approach supports better gameplay, Katan said.
Bits Studios is employing the same business model as it did with the video game based on Warner Bros. Pictures' "Constantine." The U.K.-based independent game development studio acquires Hollywood licenses on its own, creates the game and then finds a publisher to distribute the title worldwide.
Eastwood is already working on a revival of "Dirty Harry" for next-generation consoles next year, working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Foundation 9 Entertainment.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
