I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jerry Bruckheimer's upcoming game-to-movie translation of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" is the next great hope for adaptations of this sort. Video games have a spotty history in the world of cinema. In fact, that's probably a generous characterization. While a few have certainly made money, none have yet achieved that rare parity between critical and box office approval.

Bruckheimer's "Persia" has a shot though. The mega-producer has a great track record with event blockbusters: the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy, two "Bad Boys," "Black Hawk Down," "Beverly Hills Cop" and a string of Michael Bay-helmed hits, including "Armageddon," "The Rock" and "Pearl Harbor." Okay... maybe not so much with "Pearl Harbor." Now we've got the latest on "Prince of Persia," in the form of a detailed runthrough of the as-yet-unreleased new trailer for the movie, which hits theaters in May 2010. Read more...

by Blair Marnell

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski have signed on with Disney for a film adaptation of 2K Games' real-time strategy title “Shattered Union.” According to Variety, Mike Stenson and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films will also come onboard as executive producers. The duo is also attached to the upcoming film adaptations of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" and “The Sorcerer's Apprentice.”

Originally released in 2005, “Shattered Union” is a turn-based tactics game that chronicles the second American Civil War following the nuclear destruction of Washington D.C. and the assassination of the President of the United States along with most of Congress. In the aftermath, several states secede and wage war against each other. Read more...

My fondness for video games compels me to always follow news of game-related movie projects, no matter how doomed to fail they might be. I mean, let's face it-- adaptations of video games haven't had the best of track records. That's not to say they're all doomed from the outset though.

Take "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time." You've got blockbuster-meister Jerry Bruckheimer producing, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" director Mike Newell at the helm and Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of the titular Prince. In other words... there's a lot going for this one. Read more...

-- The poster for Michael Jackson's "This Is It" premiered at Yahoo! Movies. It's a cool image: Jackson's silhouette, arms thrown outward and upward, with a collage of performance stills scattered around inside the human form. For those who haven't been keeping track, "This Is It" is a documentary featuring the recently departed pop star's final performance footage. (Yahoo! Movies)

-- Jerry Bruckheimer is preparing to blow up the small screen with loud noises, lots of gunplay and spectacular explosions. The mega-producer is bringing his talents to NBC for an untitled TV series which will tell "the stories of a team charged with making sure fugitive criminals don't evade justice." The last time Bruckheimer teamed with NBC was for the short-lived "E-Ring" in 2005. (The Hollywood Reporter) Read more...

-- Rebecca De Mornay, who I'll always identify with the delightfully cheesy "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle," gets to roll out her sadistic mommy act again when she stars in the upcoming remake of the 1980 horror flick "Mother's Day." Latter-day "Saw" director Darren Lynn Bousman is directing, so expect plenty of greasy, grimy gore to keep you up at night when De Mornay and her band of twisted sociopaths terrorize a family living in their old home. (Variety)

-- Nicolas Cage has signed on to star in the revenge flick "Driving Angry," which will be a 3-D release. Cage will play a man who sets out on a quest for bloody murder after his daughter is killed and her child is kidnapped. Patrick Lussier will direct a script that he co-wrote with Todd Farmer. Lussier previously directed "My Bloody Valentine 3D," so he's got plenty of experience in looking at a scene with an eye towards multi-dimensional spectacle. (The Hollywood Reporter) Read more...

I've got a hypothetical, one of those "tree falling in the woods"-type scenarios, to run by you. Can there really be a "Bad Boys 3" if Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence aren't involved? I say no.

That might just be a possibility however, as Peter Craig is busy putting together a script for Columbia Pictures while the franchise's key players wait to see the results, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This isn't unusual of course, though newer series' get around this problem by locking the most important names into contracts spanning multiple movies. "Bad Boys," which first snapped to action back in 1995, was conceived before it became common practice in Hollywood to write out franchise plans before the first movie hits theaters. Read more...

I suppose "defy the future" is better than "desecrate the past." Or "raise hell in the present." We have here the shiny, new one-sheet for Jerry Bruckheimer's video game-turned-movie "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time." Rather than strike out in a new direction, a Ubisoft's 2008 entry in the series did, "Sands" is a proper adaptation of 2003's 3-D rendered reboot of the franchise.

The story follows a street urchin named Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is adopted as the king's heir as a way to prevent the ruler's biological sons from jockeying for the position. In addition to jealous siblings, Dastan must also contend with a Nizam (Ben Kingsley), a nobleman who has some dastardly plans of his own. Dastan's chief ally is Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), who joins him in trying to find the time-twisting Sands of Time before Nizam can.

I'm not sure what to think about "Prince of Persia." On the one hand, video game adaptations do not have the best track record. Then again, "Sands of Time" is particularly focused on narrative and a cinematic presentation. What's more, Bruckheimer delivers the sorts of blockbusters I tend to flock to. Yes, even "Con Air." Continue past the jump for a look at the full one-sheet. Also, head over to UGO for their exclusive look at Kingsley as Nizam! Read more...

Many video game lovers regards Jerry Bruckheimer's "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" as a rare bright, shining ray of hope for video game-to-film adaptations. Let's face it, with past efforts ranging from so-bad-it's-entertaining awful ("Super Mario Bros.") to halfway decent ("Resident Evil" trilogy), games are kinda due for their breakout movie adaptation.

The picture off to the right there offers an early look at Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), fully armed and armored. I haven't been on board with every decision made regarding this adaptation, but I've got faith in Bruckheimer's ability to deliver an attention-grabbing summer blockbuster. Check out the story at Entertainment Weekly EW.com or grab this week's issue for a larger version of the pic and more print-based goodies.

Johnny Depp's hands are full of win. He's signed on as Tonto in "The Lone Ranger," a Disney Pictures film adapted from the old-time series that features Depp as a Native American sidekick. The beloved actor has also agreed to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in a fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" film. These roles emerged as a double-announcement made back in late 2008. Assuming Depp can juggle that busy schedule of his, it's very likely that he'll have yet another wildly popular character on his hands in "Ranger"'s Tonto.

That said, both "Ranger" and "Pirates" are without directors at the moment. It has been unclear as to which of the two projects would be Disney's first priority. Now, producer Jerry Bruckheimer has weighed in with his thoughts, telling ComingSoon that the Depp's bumbling hero-pirate will set sail first. Read more...

FROM MULTIPLAYER: We've known for some time that MTV and Jerry Bruckheimer have been ambling down the road together towards a video games-related partnership. MTV has seen a world of success with their "Rock Band" rhythm game/platform and mega-producer Bruckheimer... well... he's good at making explosions look awesome. It's a natural pairing then; MTV gets to expand their games lineup while Bruck inserts himself into a fast-growing entertainment industry with a well-established partner to back him.

Late last night, Variety reported that there's finally been some serious movement with regards to this partnership. The newly-minted Jerry Bruckheimer Games Studio will be run by the powerhouse gaming tag team of Jim Veevaert and Jay Cohen. The Variety piece also reveals that Cohen and Veevaert will handle development and production, respectively.

Continue reading Jerry Bruckheimer, MTV Partner Up To Make Games.