Dreamworks, EA driving 'Need for Speed' to the big screen

DreamWorks Studios has acquired the feature film rights to EA's popular video game franchise, "Need for Speed," it was announced jointly Friday by DreamWorks CEO and Co-Chair Stacey Snider and EA President of Studios Frank Gibeau.

The franchise has sold 140 million units.

Brothers George and John Gatins developed the original story with George writing the feature's screenplay. The screenplay is based on the "Need for Speed" series, but is not based on an individual game. EA will produce along with John Gatins and Mark Sourian. Scott Waugh ("Act of Valor") is attached to direct, and the project will be fast-tracked at DreamWorks with a target production start date for early next year, for a 2014 release.

The film adaptation will be a fast-paced, high-octane film rooted in the tradition of the great car culture films of the 70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise, officials said. In "Need for Speed," the cars are hot, the racing is intense and the story keeps players at the edge of their seat.

"I'm excited about getting back into the creative trenches with John and George Gatins and my partners at EA to bring to life an exhilarating script based on an epic video game that seems to have been made for the movies," said Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks chairman. "This is a big piece of business for DreamWorks and we are grateful to Frank Gibeau, Pat O'Brien, Kevin Maher and John and George for choosing us to deliver their goods."

'Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell' movie in the works?

The popular video game series "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" could soon be sneaking its way into movie theaters.

The fist game was released in 2002.

Deadline is reporting that a number of studios are hovering around the project, including Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, which may be the current frontrunner.

The Ubisoft video game series consists of five installments (plus a PSP edition), the first of which was released in 2002. The games follow protagonist Sam Fisher, a highly-trained agent of Third Echelon, a fiction black-ops division inside the NSA. A sixth game, "Splinter Cell: Blacklist" is set for release in 2013.

As of June 2010, the series had sold more than 22 million copies. It has also spawns a series of novels which currently stands at six.

The video game company launched Ubisoft Motion Pictures in January to handle film and TV productions, and "Splinter Cell" was among the properties targeted for a film adaptation. The others were "Assassin's Creed" and "Ghost Recon," also endorsed by Clancy.

'Hunger Games' social media game to launch simultaneously with the movie

Funtactix, a worldwide developer and publisher of social games based on the world’s premiere entertainment brands, in partnership with Lionsgate, a leading global entertainment company, announced Wednesday that "The Hunger Games Adventures" will launch day and date with the highly anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' bestselling novel on March 23.

The film hits theaters March 23.

 "The Hunger Games Adventures" is an adventure-based social game where fans can explore the world of Panem--the setting for The Hunger Games trilogy, the companies said. Players will explore Panem and complete missions that will take them to each of the Districts and the Capitol where they will interact with the familiar characters from the book. With each mission they complete, they will advance their own storyline within the world.

As the official game of the series, "The Hunger Games Adventures" will be the first place fans can see the official map of Panem, and how the districts are laid out. Details for the Map of Panem will be rolled out in the game with a steady stream of chapter expansions as the game, and the world, reveals itself over time.