Shadow of the Colossus' to become a movie
By Steven Zeitchik and Borys Kit
"Shadow of the Colossus" is heading to the big screen.
The colossally popular video game is being developed as a feature by producer Kevin Misher, who has set the project up at Sony; the studio's sister division Sony Computer Entertainment is behind the video game.
Justin Marks, the go-to young scribe who's writing "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" for McG at Disney, is attached to pen the script.
Colossus, which was developed for the PlayStation 2, was released in the U.S. in 2005. It quickly became a huge hit as well as a critical favorite.
The game centers on the character Wander, who along with his horse Agro travels across a Western-style landscape to defeat enemies known as Collosi, with Wander's larger aim to save the girl Mono.
Unlike many other games, Colossus is dominated by a minimalist landscape and lacks ensemble characters; instead, the challenge lies in locating the remote Colossi and uncovering their weaknesses through a series of puzzle-like challenges. Its scenes as well as its soundtrack are regarded by many as highly cinematic.
Romantic elements also pervade the environment, as does a surprise ending to rival some of the better big screen whodunits. Guillermo del Toro has been among those who've called the game the Citizen Kane of the medium.
Video games have been a hot commodity recently in Hollywood development circles, with titles like "Max Payne" and "BioShock" attracting top level talent, though their boxoffice track record has been more checkered.
Misher has several movies set to release in the coming months, including the Channing Tatum-Terence Howard street-fighting drama "Fighting" and the Johnny Depp period gang pic "Public Enemies."
The WMA- and Madhouse Entertainment-repped Marks also is attached to pen the comic-book adaptation "Suicide Squad" for Warners, which will be up next for him. He has also come aboard to write other pics based on complex worlds, including the horror-themed comic adaptation "Hack/Slash" for Relativity and a reimagining of 80's fixture He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for Warners and Joel Silver.