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EXCLUSIVE: I’m hearing that DreamWorks is in pole position to close a deal for movie rights to Need For Speed, the Electronic Arts video game. UTA, which reps the game maker, brought it to market last week, with Real Steel screenwriter John Gatins attached to produce; his brother George wrote the script. The video game is a cross-country car race from San Francisco to New York. Studios were into it all weekend. I expect the deal to close today.
For DreamWorks, the deal is an important one because it signals that it is coming back to the game as a buyer. The studio was hamstrung by the drawn-out negotiations for the next round of funding from its partner, India-based Reliance. That backer is returning, though it’s putting up less than in its first round of coinage, going from $320 million to somewhere in the $200 million range, with DreamWorks making three to five movies per year. John Gatins wrote Real Steel for DreamWorks. Studio and agency declined to comment.
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Ay yi yi…
A shitty video game-to-movie deal. That’s the big plunge?
nothing like firing a ton of employees THEN buying an expensive big-budget script days later (money that could have been used to keep those employees…) that will likely have the same success of the movies that caused people to get fired…
go dream works.
This movie has already been done 6 times….3 Cannonball Runs, Deathrace 2000, Cannonball, and the best of this group The Gumball Rally. Agree with previous posters here….waste of investor money.
I don’t see the Deathrace connection beyond that they both involve cars. It’d be more fair to say most modern Need for Speeds are exactly like the Fast and the Furious franchise. Especially NFS: Undercover.
A couple of the Need for Speed games are closed-circuit racers so this movie could be going in that direction but I doubt it.
The most recent Need for Speed game, subtitled The Run is basically Cannonball Run with a mafia sub-plot directed by Micheal Bay. There are some really well-done set-pieces in the game that could translate very well to film.
Need for Speed is an incredibly successful game series and has been around for 17 years. If Dreamworks can keep the budget low and get some faces to star, it could be really successful for them. They’d need to keep it’s release far away from Fast and Furious 6 & 7, however.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY? This has the stink of “placate the stockholders” all over it. A stupid smash-the-fuck-out-of-cars video game is the big ticket move? Insanity. And please, don’t tell me “Need For Speed” has a “compelling back story for a video game” bullshit. Put Spielberg back together with Amblin, ditch Dreamworks and get back to making great movies.
Yes we are very placated here in Mumbai. This is what we want from DreamWorks we want movies that will play here in India that don’t require any dialog just fast cars that race each other based on a stupid video game this makes us very happy investors.
Re: SNL appearance — Nero fiddled while Rome burned! Or, in his Spielbergland, “Don’t tell me any bad news!”
Thank you.
Why did they buy this? Everyone pulled out. Fox, Paramount, etc…they all passed on first round. UTA totally scammed this deal!!!
This could be a money maker if done right. There has to be a good story line in written into the movie and good acting is a must ( character driven ), and a great plot. Because you don’t want a movie of just two cars racing across country with no conflicts or story line, it will be boring to watch and truthfully driving cross country is long and boring, but I made it from NY to LA in 48 hours
, when it takes people about 5-6 days to cross country, not to mention each states have highway patrols waiting and hiding…..
good luck!
If there’s a great story line written in, count me in Steven, I race cars and have driven cross country….
This movie should be done with good actors and not just treated just as an action movie with bad acting like The Fast and The Furious ( this movie is an action movie with bad acting )…..
But The Need For Speed can be a big money maker with great story line, great acting, great plot, great looking leads , all this combination will set it apart from other action movies…..no race cars movies have ever had a female lead before, and who can actually be believable and can actually race a car without fear….I’m in Steven if you give me a great story line and character. Let’s play and make $$$$$$!!!
This will only work if they cast Jonathan Lipnicki as one of the drivers so he can yell “I feel the need! The need for speed!” because that’s what Cruise taught him to shout when they were making that movie that was all about me. Lipnicki was a cute kid when he was six years old now he’s a stud muffin he’s a body builder and the girls love him. Sincerely,
Seriously? Need for Speed? Aside from the game produced by Criterion (NFS: Hot Pursuit), this game series has been nothing but mediocre for decades. Yet this franchise is going to be the basis of a movie? Jesus, this is going to be a megaflop.