HIT OR MISS?
This column ridiculed the deal Hasbro swung last year with Universal to turn board games and toys like Clue, Ouija and Magic 8-Ball into movies.
But as if to prove that a $200-million budget makes anything possible, production begins next month on the tent-pole film Battleship, with Friday Night Lights’ Taylor Kitsch in the lead, and Peter Berg (Hancock) at the helm. Canada’s own Paul Gross (Gunless) is one of the writers, and he confirmed that the story involves aliens attacking by sea. And yes, someone will shout, “You sunk my battleship!” (We’d be surprised if it isn’t the movie’s tagline.)
“Of course (aliens) would land on water, there’s so much of it!” Gross says, dryly. “The fascinating thing was getting script notes from the United States Navy - which once again goes to prove that everyone thinks they can write screenplays. ‘I’m not so sure about the arc of this character.’ You’re with the navy. I thought you’d be giving me notes like, ‘All full ahead doesn’t mean anything.’“It’s wild. You get notes from Hasbro. A toy company is telling you what the characters would do. The game doesn’t even have characters! But it’s all in the writing. It’s like, if we bought the rights to (the fake video log-burner) Fireplace, we could make a movie out of it.”
As quid pro quo, Berg has agreed to direct the first two episodes of Jerusalem, a miniseries Gross is writing. It’s about a North American police counter-terrorism liaison officer who finds himself in the middle of various elements on both sides trying to make sure a signed Middle East peace accord never happens. The miniseries would be shot next year on location in Jerusalem, with interiors in Canada.
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But as if to prove that a $200-million budget makes anything possible, production begins next month on the tent-pole film Battleship, with Friday Night Lights’ Taylor Kitsch in the lead, and Peter Berg (Hancock) at the helm. Canada’s own Paul Gross (Gunless) is one of the writers, and he confirmed that the story involves aliens attacking by sea. And yes, someone will shout, “You sunk my battleship!” (We’d be surprised if it isn’t the movie’s tagline.)
“Of course (aliens) would land on water, there’s so much of it!” Gross says, dryly. “The fascinating thing was getting script notes from the United States Navy - which once again goes to prove that everyone thinks they can write screenplays. ‘I’m not so sure about the arc of this character.’ You’re with the navy. I thought you’d be giving me notes like, ‘All full ahead doesn’t mean anything.’“It’s wild. You get notes from Hasbro. A toy company is telling you what the characters would do. The game doesn’t even have characters! But it’s all in the writing. It’s like, if we bought the rights to (the fake video log-burner) Fireplace, we could make a movie out of it.”
As quid pro quo, Berg has agreed to direct the first two episodes of Jerusalem, a miniseries Gross is writing. It’s about a North American police counter-terrorism liaison officer who finds himself in the middle of various elements on both sides trying to make sure a signed Middle East peace accord never happens. The miniseries would be shot next year on location in Jerusalem, with interiors in Canada.
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