News

Sony is the latest player that would like to make an accusation. The studio has won the rights to develop a reimagining of the Hasbro board game “Clue,” and the studio intends to bring the murder mystery game to the screen for both film and television.

Hollywood has been trying to remake “Clue,” first adapted in Jonathan Lynn’s cult classic screwball comedy “Clue” from 1985, for years. Most recently, a project was set up at 20th Century Studios, and it had Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman circling to star along with “The Muppets Movie” filmmaker James Bobin directing. In 2022, Oren Uziel (“The Lost City”) stepped up to rewrite the original draft of the script from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (“Deadpool”), but it too went nowhere.

No cast or creative talent is attached at this stage of development. Sony is the only studio developing anything based on “Clue” at this time,...

Exclusive: The co-screenwriter of Paramount’s spring hit, The Lost City, Oren Uziel, is giving 20th Century Studios’ Clue movie a big reworking.

The first draft for the Ryan Reynolds movie based on the popular whodunnit Hasbro game was by Rheet Reese and Paul Wernick. James Bobin is attached to direct.

The first feature take of Clue back in 1985 turned into a cult classic during the video era, the pic’s theatrical run stateside grossing just under 15M and featuring all-star cast of Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Madeline Kahn and Lesley Ann Warren. Johnathan Lynn directed. Cute piece of distribution with that first movie is that various prints within certain metro areas like LA and NYC played different endings with different murderers (just like the board game).

The Lost City is one of the few original, non-franchise movies to bring older moviegoers back to the cinema during the pandemic,...

Hasbro chairman and CEO Brian Goldner, who served as executive producer or producer on toy-related films such as the “Transformers” movies, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and “My Little Pony: The Movie,” has died, the company announced. He was 58.

Goldner joined Hasbro in 2000 and helped the company move into the film business with titles based on toys including Battleship and Ouija board in addition to the Transformers, My Little Pony and G.I. Joe. Titles currently in development include “Monopoly,” “Clue” and “Dungeons & Dragons.”

Goldner disclosed last year that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014. He stepped down from Hasbro on Sunday. “After careful consideration, I have decided to take a medical leave to focus on my health,” Goldner said in a statement Sunday. “I feel confident knowing the Company will be in the skilled hands of Rich Stoddart as Interim CEO, our highly experienced management team...

James Bobin is in talks to direct Clue, the live-action feature adaptation of the Hasbro board game in the works at 20th Century Studios with Ryan Reynolds aboard. The Disney-run studio had previously been in talks with Jason Bateman to direct and act in the movie, but that is no longer the case.

Reynolds remains attached to Clue via his Maximum Effort production company, which is developing and producing with Hasbro’s film division Allspark Pictures. It also remains a possible starring vehicle for him.

Reynolds made a three-year producing deal at then-20th Century Fox in early 2019 off the success of the two Deadpool movies. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who wrote the first Deadpool film, penned the script for Clue.

Bateman in December signed on to direct Shut In, the New Line thriller from first-time scribe Melanie Toast, moving on from Clue as it would have been too...

Clue is getting a new director.

James Bobin, best known for helming Disney’s recent Muppets movies, is in early talks to tackle the big-screen adaptation of the classic board game.

Jason Bateman was previously on board to helm the project, which hails from Disney’s 20th Century Studios label. He also was going to act in the pic, but that, too, is no longer the case as he ran into scheduling conflicts with his Netflix series, Ozark.

Ryan Reynolds remains attached to star in the murder mystery and is also producing via his Maximum Effort label. Allspark Pictures, the film division of ...

Jason Bateman is in early negotiations to direct and star in Ryan Reynolds’ feature film based on the board game Clue for Fox and Disney.

Reynolds boarded the project last year as part of a three-year first-look deal he had signed with Fox. Reynolds’ Maximum Effort banner announced at that point that it would develop “Clue” as a possible starring vehicle for the actor with Allspark Pictures, the film division of Hasbro, also producing. The “Deadpool” writing team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were hired to pen the script.

The game, first developed in 1949, is a contest to determine who of six suspects murdered the game’s victim, where the crime took place and which weapon was used. Each player assumes the role of one of the six suspects, and attempts to deduce who the culprit is. Paramount released a film version of “Clue” as a mystery-comedy in 1985 with...

Jason Bateman, who just picked up an Emmy for his directing on the Netflix series Ozark, is in talks to direct the Clue adaptation backed by Ryan Reynolds, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Fox/Disney are behind the movie based off of the Hasbro board game, which was previously adapted into a feature 1985 pic that starred Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn and Christopher Lloyd.

The Clue reboot was announced when Reynolds, hot off of the success of the Deadpool movies, signed a three-year first look deal with Fox in 2018.

Reynolds would star in and produce through his Maximum Effort banner, along with Hasbro's Allspark ...

Ryan Reynolds and his production banner, Maximum Effort, has cemented his relationship with Twentieth Century Fox for another three years. The deal will see Reynolds first movie come in the form of a revamped Clue. Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will pen the script.

Reynolds will take a starring role in the venture which will also see him producing the film.

The 1985 movie, to which this bears no relation, was directed by Jonathan Lynn. It starred the majestic Tim Curry as a butler leading Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, and the other characters from the famous board game on a chase to discover which one of them killed Mr Boddy. The film also starred Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, and Lesley Ann Warren.

Update: Ouija is back from the dead. Michael Bay is still producing and the first actor was cast today. In the story, a gruop of teens try to contact their dead friend with a Ouija board but contact a very, very evil spirit. "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" star Daren Kagasoff will play Trevor, who doesn't think trying to connect with the dead friend's spirit is a good idea. Juliet Snowden and Stiles White wrote and will co-direct, they co-wrote The Possession and the Nicolas Cage movie Knowing.

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Aug. 25, 2011 - Ouija has been scrapped by Universal, allowing producer Michael Bay to shop the film elsewhere. Fandango reports that he already took it to Paramount (where he's made over $1 billion this year alone with Transformers 3) and they said no. In this case, we can safely assume that it supersucks because Paramount definitely owes Bay one. Universal's original multipicture deal...

Hasbro is teaming up with Sony Pictures to bring Tonka Trucks to the big screen! Tonka Trucks were pretty badass back in the day. I had one when I was a kid, and I beat the hell out of it. I don't know if you've seen any Tonka toys today, but they aren't as badass as they use to be. Sony will team up with Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions and adapt the brand into an animated feature film. They are also working on developing films for Hasbro’s Candy Land for Sony. The studio is also working on bringing Hasbro’s Risk to the big screen as well.

Since Universal Pictures bombed with Battleship, they've stopped working all of their Hasbro projects like Stretch Armstrong, Clue, Monopoly, and Magic, The Gathering. Maybe they should have made a better Battleship movie. It's not the brands fault; it's the studio's.

Yesterday, we ran our conversation with "Rango" director Gore Verbinski, where he shared his inspirations for the Best Animated Feature nominee and discussed the development of the film's distinct and unique aesthetic. But with a director as talented and in-demand as Verbinski, he's got a number of movies in the works, either as director or producer. So we asked him to fill us in on a number of his projects, including "The Lone Ranger," Cary Fukunaga's sci-fi flick, "Clue," Chris Milk's "Bitterroot" and Nicolas Winding Refn's heist movie. Verbinski is in the middle of shooting Disney's big budget big screen "Lone Ranger," starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the titular masked hero. Given the movie's tumultuous past (including a start/stop last summer that left the project in an uncomfortable limbo for several months), we were curious how that was going. "It's going great.

One particular movie spot during the Super Bowl must have elicited a very specific reaction among the millions watching the big game: "Huh? They've made a movie of the board game 'Battleship?' And Rihanna's in it? How does that work?" We're yet to see exactly if and how it works, but what's clear at this point is that the film is no longer going to be the first in a whole string of Hasbro adaptations from Universal. In 2008, soon after the success of Hasbro's "Transformers" with Paramount, Universal signed a deal with the toy giant for a six-year partnership for as many as seven properties (with a minimum of four), with projects including Ridley Scott's "Monopoly," "Stretch Armstrong" to star Taylor Lautner, "Clue" from director Gore Verbinski, and "Ouija," which landed McG at the helm, among those in development. But one by one, the films fell by the wayside,...

A film based on the flexible, stretchable toy "Stretch Armstrong" is still alive - but it has changed studios and lost its star says Reuters.

Three years ago came word that Universal Pictures was creating "Stretch Armstrong 3D", a project based on the toy that would use a script by Steve Oedekerk ("Bruce Almighty") and be produced by Brian Grazer.

The toy was launched in the 70's and was a 13-inch, blond-haired, bulky muscled figure in a speedo whose limbs could be stretched to nearly four feet. Naturally an actor who looked nothing like it, "Twilight" hunk Taylor Lautner, was confirmed to be starring in the film approximately two years ago.

The project was one of over a half dozen projects Universal and Hasbro were developing together, the first being the big-budget "Battleship" opening in May. Last Summer it appeared as if Universal was essentially culling all its Hasbro game...

Yet another Hasbro-based movie has bitten the dust at Universal. But this one, unlike Clue [1], Ouija [2], Monopoly and Magic The Gathering, immediately found a new home. Stretch Armstrong, which was originally set up [3] to star Twilight-phenom Taylor Lautner and be directed by [4] Rob Letterman (Gulliver's Travels), has been dropped by Universal and picked up by their most-of-the-time partner in crime, Relativity Media. That company has already locked in a release date, April 11, 2014, but both the star and director are out. Read more after the jump. The Hollywood Reporter [5] first reported the news and Deadline [6] later added the press release, along with a source who said Launter had actually been off the project for some months. He was first attached to the project in early 2010 with an April 2011 [7] release date but, according to reports, when Abduction flopped last September, he was off Stretch Armstrong. Relativity seems to be going at...

It seems Universal Pictures is slowly breaking the spell cast upon it by Hasbro. You know, the spell that caused Universal to think that people wanted to see movies based on toys like Stretch Armstrong. And though it's kind of sweet that Universal is reclaiming a little much-needed self-respect, it doesn't mean we won't eventually be subjected to the indignities of a Stretch Armstrong flick.

While it has done pretty well with Hasbro's Transformers, not quite as well with G.I. Joe and, based on its recent change in marketing strategy, seems prepared to have its Battleship sunk, Universal has drawn the line at giving the world a Stretch Armstrong movie.

Apparently the thought of having to smile and say nice things about a film based on a stretchy muscled doll clad only in tight black shorts was just too much, especially one starring the walking squint known as...

Universal Pictures has ditched yet another Hasbro movie project. Stretch Armstrong is no longer a part of their movie plans. However, after they dropped it, it was picked up by Relativity Media, who has teamed up with Hasbro to bring the pointless stretching toy to life on the big screen. Other movies that the studio has put in turnaround recently include, Ouija, Clue, Monopoly, and Magic, The Gathering.

Taylor Lautner was previously attached to star in the film which would have been directed by Rob Letterman. But Relativity is starting from scratch, which means Launter is out. Basically, Lautner is the reason that the project fell apart at Universal. After his last action film, Abduction, bombed at the box office, they had to rethink the project. Lautner isn't the leading man they hoped he would be. But hell, I think most of us knew that movie was going to fail.

Another movie in Hasbro’s groundbreaking deal with Universal Pictures has bitten the dust. If you recall, Universal was planning a slate of films based on Hasbro board games beginning with Battleship. Then, the studio put Ouija, Clue, Monopoly and Magic, The Gathering in turnaround. Now, it’s Stretch Armstrong, which Universal was determined to make but which now has been picked up by Relativity Media. The Universal version had Taylor Lautner attached in a whopper of a deal to play the title character. I’ll let you know if it’s a stretch to say the Twilight Saga star is still attached. >(Beverly Hills, Calif.) January 30, 2012 –Relativity Media has partnered with global branded play company Hasbro, Inc. [Nasdaq-has] to develop and produce a live-action tent-pole film based on Stretch Armstrong, the iconic action hero figure launched in the 1970s, it was announced today by Relativity’s Co-President, Tucker Tooley and Hasbro’s President and CEO,...

No Doubt spurred on by the $2.7billion earnings of the three Transformers movies - with almost half of that from the most recent robot adventure - toymakers Hasbro want to continue box office domination.

We previously revealed that another film was in the pipeline with Jason Statham tipped to be taking the lead.

Hasbro chief executive Brian Goldner has now given the first official word on the next film, stating that the company is in talks with Paramount, producer Steven Spielberg and director Michael Bay over Transformers 4.

Bay previously suggested he wouldn't helm the next instalment but is apparently still interested in directing, while star Shia Labeouf has said he doesn't want to return.

Variety reports that the plan is to make a fourth and fifth film together, thus saving money on special effects and actor negotiations and allowing more time for toy designs. It also mentioned that there is...

Yesterday we broke the news that Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner is looking to work on sequels for Transformers 4 and 5 with Paramount and that they could be shooting back to back. But he also talked about other Hasboro related projects like Ouija, Clue, and the J.J. Abrams directed Micronauts. In that statement Goldner announced that a script is being written for Micronauts and now Deadline has confirmed that Zombieland screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese will pen the script which will be produced by Bad Robot’s Abrams and Bryan Burk and Hasbro’s Goldner and Bennett Schneir.

For those who are not familiar with Micronauts, think they are transforming robots who have interchangeable parts. According to Deadline Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese the duo also wrote the script for the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra sequel G.I. Joe Retaliation and Deadpool, the X-Men spinoff movie for Fox. Wernick...

As soon as Transformers: Dark of The Moon crossed the $1 billion worldwide mark it should have became clear to everyone that this wasn’t a movie franchise Paramount and toy-making property licensers Hasbro were going to just let die. Despite director Michael Bay and star Shia Labeouf making their intentions known that they wanted to pursue other things, at least for a little while, Paramount & Hasbro were always going to find a way to make further movies one way or another. The Transformers series keeps too many people in a job.

This week details started to emerge on just what direction that may be.

In a conference call with investors on Monday morning, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner revealed that he has held talks with producer Steven Spielberg and the first trilogy director Michael Bay about a proposed inevitable fourth installment to the juggernaut summer franchise. He hinted that confirmation of...

Transformers, Battleship, Oujia, Candyland, Stretch Armstrong, Clue, Micronauts, Risk… sheesh, Hasbro sure has a Monopoly on merchandise-driven movie franchises, huh?

Brian Goldner, CEO of toy behemoth Hasbro, has stated that the company is moving forward on film adaptations based on its popular brand library. Their next project is a big-screen version of Battleship, is due out in 2012. The company is in good shape and persevering despite several setbacks. Universal recently dropped plans to create a Ouija film, forcing the company to restructure the budget and re-polish the script. Goldner cites Disney in their same strategy to solve budgetary problems with The Lone Ranger.

Hasbro is also talking with Paramount Studios and director Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg when it comes to continuing the financial gold mine Transformers series. A potential fourth film is in the works, with word expected to come upon the next quarter. Additional scripts for other...

Despite the fact that several Hasbro projects once set up at Universal (like Ouija [1] and Clue [2]) have been put into turnaround, the company is still trying to make movies. During a third-quarter earnings call this morning, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said today that developing projects Micronauts (with the involvement [3] of J.J. Abrams), Ouija, Candyland [4], Risk [5], Stretch Armstrong, Clue, and Monopoly [6] all continue to putter along. The company won't try to emulate a company like Marvel and form its own studio, but rather continue to partner with others, and the projects that some studios have put into turnaround are being shopped to other studios, which we've known for a while. The biggest news out of the call, however, was spurred by the huge box-office performance of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Goldner said the company is in talks with Transformers series producer Steven Spielberg and director Michael Bay to make a fourth film in the franchise.

Following the phenomenal success of the third film in the franchise, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which scored a massive $1.119 billion at the worldwide box office, THR report that Hasbro President and CEO Brian Goldner has said that the company is in “active discussions” with the triumvirate of Paramount Pictures, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg about a possible fourth Transformers flick.

Goldner also stated that Hasbro:

…continue to actively develop a number of additional Hasbro films with great partners and writers, including Micronauts, Ouija, Candyland, Risk, Stretch Armstrong, Clue and Monopoly.

Besides Transformers, the only real exciting possibility in that list sof brand-to-film adaptations is Micronauts – the script for which is being written with Jj Abrams and Paramount attached.

Update, 9:40 Am: Hasbro’s in “active discussions” with Paramount, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg about a fourth Transformers, CEO Brian Goldner told analysts in a conference call today. ”Hopefully I’ll have more news for you next quarter,” he said. The most recent edition, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, will generate revenues for Hasbro between the $482M from the first film in the series in 2007 and $592M from the previous one in 2009. In other movie news, the company is reworking the budget for a film based on its Ouija game in the hope of reviving the project that Universal recently dropped. Battleship is on course to be released worldwide in April and in May in the U.S., with G.I. Joe: 2 following in June. Hasbro is working with J.J. Abrams on Micronaughts. Goldner says Hasbro is “actively developing” scripts for films based on Monopoly, Risk, and Clue as...

Transformers: Dark of the Moon was one of the biggest hits of the summer, grossing more that $1.1 billion at the box office taking the fourth spot on the worldwide box office list. So is it a surprise that there are already talks of a fourth on being in the works.

On Monday, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said that the toy company has entered talks with studio partner Paramount, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg about a potential Transformers 4. “We continue to actively develop a number of additional Hasbro films with great partners and writers, including Micronauts, Ouija, Candyland, Risk, Stretch Armstrong, Clue and Monopoly,” he said.

What about Ouija, the big screen adaptation of the spiritual board game that was to be adapted by Universal? Well Goldner compared the state of Ouija to the financial restructuring of The Lone Ranger. That is “the same process we have gone through on the Ouija brand,...

Remember that time when director Michael Bay said that Transformers: Dark of the Moon would be his final Transformers movie? Well, the director is currently in active discussions along with producer Steven Spielberg to develop a fourth Transformers film for Hasbro. The last film in the franchise pulled in $1.119 billion dollars, so of course they want to make more movies. You can bet your ass that if Bay is offered a giant paycheck of death to make Transformers 4 he'll do it.  Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner hopes to be able to announce some big news regarding this in the companies fourth quarter. 

Goldner went on to say that Hasbro is still developing other projects based on its brands. They continue to actively develop a number of additional Hasbro films with great partners and writers, including Micronauts, Ouija, Candyland, Risk, Stretch Armstrong, Clue and Monopoly. He added that Hasbro will continue to...

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner was talking during a recent conference call to report third quarter earnings that the company in is active talks with Paramount, Michael Bay, and Steven Spielberg about the possibility of a fourth Transformers movie. Goldner says that he hopes to be able to share the news next quarter. From The Hollywood Reporter: Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said Monday that the toy giant is in active discussions with studio partner Paramount, director Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg about a potential fourth Transformers movie. Goldner also stated that there a multitude of other movies in the works based off the company's games including Micronauts, Ouija, Candyland, Risk, Stretch Armstrong, Clue and Monopoly. The next project, Battle Ship, will be out in the Summer of next year. With Transformers: Dark of The Moon raking in 1.119 billion dollars over its run it is no surprise that Hasbro wants to keep...

Peter Chernin’s Chernin Entertainment is about to acquire a yet untitled pitch by Dracula Year Zero and Clue scribes Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The pitch is described as a “futuristic Jungle Book” and Chernin has snagged Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean, Rango) and Basil Iwanyk (The Expendables, Clash of the Titans) to produce.

Walt Disney Pictures, who released both animated and live-action versions of Jungle Book, also bid on the property.

[The Shakedown]

Though the immediate visuals conjured from the description of a “futuristic Jungle Book” may seem a little silly, Sazama and Sharpless could have something we haven’t seen before. Their work in adapting the board game, Clue, may give us a literal clue to what they can do with a concept.

Gore Verbinski is best known for directing the Pirates trilogy and this year’s animated hit, Rango, but he’s started to dip his toes into the world of producing. One movie to get his name but not his direction is Cary Fukunaga‘s upcoming Spaceless, a project that sounds pretty fantastic. If this small streak can be continued (or started, really), it might be with a new film from writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.

Deadline described as “a futuristic Jungle Book,” the film’s being picked up by Chernin Entertainment, with Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark producing alongside Blind Wink’s Verbinski and John Krauss. Taking Rudyard Kipling‘s beloved, frequently-adapted tale and setting it in the future is an interesting idea — which makes it frustrating to not know anything else about it. Hopefully more will come soon.

Curiously enough, Disney was actually one of the bidders on this project; had they won,...

Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski is set to produce a new untitled sci-fi film project that's being described as a futurist Jungle Book story.

The pitch for the film came from Dracula Year Zero screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless and it will be acquired by Chernin Entertainment the the mid to high six figure range. Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark and John Krauss will all be producers on the film as well. 

Verbinski is hard at work trying to get his Lone Ranger film in development and the screenwriters are writting the big screen adaptation of the board game Clue, which is also being developed by Verbinski.

There really isn't much more to say about this project because we basically know nothing about it other then it will be like a futuristic Jungle Book. Any thoughts?

Source: Deadline (http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/chernin-entertainment-and-gore-verbinski-landing-futuristic-pitch/)...

[1] Chernin Entertainment is close to a deal to acquire a pitch from screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. Deadline [2] is reporting that the deal is in mid to high six figures, and that Pirates/Rango helmer Gore Verbinski would produce. The yet to be titled project is being described as a futuristic Jungle Book, whatever that means. Sarama and Sharpless are probably best known for developing board game turned movie adaptations of Clue and Missile Command, as well as the announced Flash Gordon redo and Dracula Year Zero (which I've heard great things about). Walt Disney Pictures, who has released a bunch of Jungle Book movies, was also bidding on the property. Note: The illustration above, by Phil Longson [3], has nothing to do with this project. But I thought the imagery of a boy and his giant robot to be cool. [1] http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/ZZ374FB52C.

Exclusive: Chernin Entertainment is near a deal to acquire an untitled pitch by scribes Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark will produce with Blind Wink’s Gore Verbinski and John Krauss. Chernin will buy it out of his discretionary fund, a mid- to high-six-figure deal for a pitch that sounds like a futuristic Jungle Book. It was competitive, as Disney also bid, with Verbinski and Basil Iwanyk attached to produce. Disney, of course, made both animated and live-action Jungle Book films, and Verbinski is working hard there to nail down a start date for The Lone Ranger after the film was unplugged by the studio over budget. Sazama and Sharpless scripted Dracula Year Zero, are teamed with Iwanyk on an untitled project at Summit; and are writing the script for live-action adaptation of the board game Clue, which Verbinski is developing as a potential directing project.

Consider the die cast. Director/producer Ridley Scott and toy manufacturer Hasbro have just hired writing duo Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to pen a screenplay based on iconic board game "Monopoly", according to The Hollywood Reporter. This development comes despite Universal's recent decision not to move forward with the project, which had resulted from a 2008 deal the studio made with Hasbro to bring some of their best-known board game titles to the screen. Scott is still attached to direct the film, with Hasbro's Bennett Schneir and Brian Goldner producing. Other Hasbro titles recently let go by the studio include "Clue" and "Ouija", though...

Oh, good: the Monopoly movie is still happening. We knew that was the idea, even though Universal turned up its nose at the idea of the board game-based movie along with Ouija [1], Clue [2] and a couple other projects. That studio disinterest notwithstanding, Ridley Scott and Hasbro are moving ahead with the film, and have hired Ed Wood writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to write the script. THR [3] has the news but offers few clues as to the project's future. With a script in hand producer and provisional director Ridley Scott and Hasbro, which is bankrolling development at this point, will take Monopoly to other potential studio partners. And what of the story? Back in 2009 [4] the idea for the Monopoly movie featured a character in a Jumanji- type setup: [H]e’s in this very vibrant place, Monopoly City, and he’s just come out of a Chance Shop. As it goes on,...

Last month, Universal made the brutal but (I think) wise decision to drop nearly all of their Hasbro board game movies, including Ridley Scott’s “Monopoly,” Gore Verbinski’s “Clue,” the unattached “Magic: The Gathering” and McG’s “Ouija.” (They’ve still got “Candyland’ in the works.) But Hasbro is undeterred. They may have lost their big studio partner, but they’re still developing these projects on their own and with their own cash, hoping that another big studio will bite. One of these is Ridley Scott’s “Monopoly” which still moves ahead to pass Go and collect its $200. According to Heat Vision, Scott and Hasbro have hired two writers to spin a script from the board game. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have been brought on board to develop the gripping tale of real estate development, utility purchase, and market dominance. There’s no word if the Top Hat,...

Three weeks after word surfaced that Universal Pictures had dropped feature film adaptations of Clue and Monopoly, the studio has scrapped plans for a big-budget take on the Ouija board, to be directed by McG (Terminator Salvation).

Vulture broke the news that executives were putting the project in turnaround, reportedly due to its undisclosed but large-scale budget. Meanwhile, according to THR, Hasbro has it’s own required thresholds the budget should meet, as well as initial creative input.

The concept was set up in 2008 with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes producing. Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Tron: Legacy) wrote the script, which kicked off an exhaustive search for the director that ended with the dubious selection of McG. The filmmaker is taking meetings to gauge interest from other studios, but if Gore Verbinski isn’t having any luck with the proven, genre-specific Clue, then there’s little hope for a...

The Scorecard Review news

News: Universal’s Ouija board movie may be in trouble if somebody else doesn’t step up to the plate, after Universal backed out.

Source: New York Magazine

Thoughts by Tsr: Even as a horror fan, I’m conflicted on this one. On the one hand, after seeing the abysmal trailer for Battleship, the idea of no more board game movies is always appealing. Still, if there was any board game that I think could actually be turned around into a halfway decent (or at least entertaining) movie, it was probably this one.

The gentlemen involved, Michael Bay and McG, don’t exactly have the greatest track record but I was almost sold on the idea with one line from the article. When the movie was described as “a big-budget Jumanji-like family fantasy” I couldn’t help but think about the potential.

Still, it doesn’t...

Universal is dump–happy lately, dropping numerous projects that they had been developing for multiple years.

First was the Guillermo del Toro–directed H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, At the Mountains of Madness, which was followed by Ron Howard's The Dark Tower, the insanely big three–film and two–season TV series adaptation of Stephen King's book series of the same name. The studio also dumped two of its Hasbro board game movie projects not too long ago in Clue, which is being developed by Gore Verbinski, and Monopoly, which was being set up with Ridley Scott attached as a potential director.

Now comes word that Universal has dropped yet another Hasbro board game project, Ouija, based of course on the popular game where kids pretend they can communicate with the dead.

The Ouija movie is being developed by Michael Bay and his production company, Platinum Dunes, with Terminator Salvation...

What is Movie News After Dark? Sometimes it likes to think that it is a carefully constructed Rube Goldberg machine constructed by a popular rock band that quickly became on online sensation. It also sometimes thinks that it’s a world famous traveling circus of puppets. Sadly, it’s just a nightly column of movie news and interesting links. Sorry. Have any of you seen a recent picture of actor Jonah Hill? He looks odd, to say the least, having lost a great deal of weight. Is it me, or does he look like a nerdy white version of President Obama? Slightly unrelated is his being cast in Neighborhood Watch alongside Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller. Perhaps Universal Studios is becoming wise right before our eyes. Or they are running out of money. Either way, they seem to be canceling movies left and right these days. First they axed The Dark Tower, which...

Hey, remember that Ouija movie we've been talking about for ... oh, I don't know ... forever now? Well the messages from the other side are coming to a close. Blow out your candles and pull up the shades.

According to New York Magazine's Vulture, just three weeks after Universal Pictures ditched plans to turn the Hasbro board game Clue into a film (again) with Gore Verbinski, things are not looking good for another Hasbro property at the studio: Insiders tell Vulture that Ouija, an adaptation of the magical board that was to be produced by Michael Bay and directed by McG, has been put in turnaround.

The project had been set up at the studio since 2008, when Universal signed a rather aggressive deal with the world's second-largest toymaker to develop Hasbro and Milton Bradley properties like Candy Land, Stretch Armstrong, Battleship and Ouija into film titles. Most recently, screenwriter Simon Kinberg...

Hasbro must be a bit frustrated. Only days after Universal dropped its Gore Verbinski-helmed Clue adaptation, it is now looking to dump its planned adaptation of the popular board game Ouija, which had Michael Bay producing and McG set to direct [New York Magazine]. Considering that the board game has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, this comes as a bit of a surprise.

Both pieces of news are interesting when considering the upcoming release of Battleship, Universal’s big, big bidget actioner based on the Hasbro board game of the same name. Ouija, once set for a November 12, 2012 release, has been put into turnaround, despite the Terminator Salvation director attached and a new draft from Sherlock Holmes scribe Simon Kinberg delivered. The idea was to find the Spielberg-ian adventure inside the board game via Kinberg’s script. I guess we’ll never know. Unless another studio picks it up of course (Paramount,...

Universal Pictures has quietly passed on Clue, an adaptation of the whodunit board game from Hasbro. However, the attached director, Gore Verbinski (Pirates 1-3, Rango) still plans to direct the murder mystery with funding from the toy company and new writers.

Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama, who wrote an un-produced Flash Gordon redo, will write the script, according to Deadline. Naturally, the writers, Verbinski, and Hasbro “came up with that retains the murder mystery spirit of the board game, but broadens the setting to a global stage.” How that concept will fit with the game, which is contained to a multi-roomed mansion, remains to be seen.

You may remember the studio targeted seven Hasbro properties for movies, but was only contractually obligated to deliver four films in their six-year partnership with Hasbro, signed in February 2008. That includes 2012’s Battleship directed by Peter Berg, Kevin Lima’s “epic,” undated Candy Land movie,...

Board game movies have been a hot topic the past few days, thanks in no small part to the trailer debut of Battleship. That Hasbro classic was just one of seven titles all set for the big-screen treatment at Universal – except now that list of titles is smaller. Deadline is reporting that Universal dropped a third title from the monumental 2008 deal: Gore Verbinski’s take on Clue now joins Magic: The Gathering and Monopoly (which is still being developed by Hasbro as a potential directing project for Ridley Scott…) as board game movie projects looking for a new home. The timing of the move to dump Clue seems a little odd – and our initial reaction was that Universal was cooling off on the idea of board game adaptations given the reaction to the...

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Board game movies have been a hot topic the past few days, thanks in no small part to the trailer debut of Battleship. That Hasbro classic was just one of seven titles all set for the big-screen treatment at Universal – except now that list of titles is smaller. Deadline is reporting that Universal dropped a third title from the monumental 2008 deal: Gore Verbinski’s take on Clue now joins Magic: The Gathering and Monopoly (which is still being developed by Hasbro as a potential directing project for Ridley Scott…) as board game movie projects looking for a new home. The timing of the move to dump Clue seems a little odd – and our initial reaction was that Universal was cooling off on the idea of board game adaptations given the reaction to the...

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Ever since the first 'Transformers' film hit in 2007, studios have thought it wise to bring other Hasbro properties to the big screen. In 2008, Universal signed an exclusive deal with Hasbro to make seven of their properties into theatrical films: 'Monopoly,' 'Ouija,' 'Magic, the Gathering,' 'Stretch Armstrong,' 'Clue,' 'Candy Land,' and 'Battleship,' which just debuted its first teaser trailer not too long ago.A few of these projects have fallen by the wayside: 'Monopoly,' 'Magic, the Gathering,' and 'Clue.' That doesn't necessarily mean that they're dead, however. In the case of 'Clue,' Deadline reports that Hasbro is funding the project themselves with development studio, Blind Wink. They've made some progress with it as well. Gore Verbinski, director of the first three 'Pirates of the Carribean' films, 'Rango,' and the upcoming,...

Director Gore Verbinski's adaptation of the board game Clue has reportedly been dropped by Universal Studios. Clue was one of the games that the studio planned to develop in a deal with manufacturer Hasbro, which also includes Battleship and Candy Land, Deadline reports. However, Hasbro is now taking over the development of Clue and plans to produce the film alone with Verbinski's company Blind Wink. Screenwriting duo Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless - who worked on Flash Gordon and Universal's Dracula (more)...

Universal Pictures has quietly dropped "Clue", the third of seven Hasbro board game properties which the studio contracted to make into movies reports Deadline.

The studio has also reportedly dumped plans for films based on "Monopoly" and "Magic: The Gathering" which have both been in development for a few years. Despite this, the projects are said to still be alive with Hasbro funding the development and production of "Clue" with Gore Verbinski (the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films) still attached to direct and produce.

"Flash Gordon" scribes Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama have been hired to write a new "Clue" script based on a take by the producers that "retains the murder mystery spirit of the board game" but shifts the setting to a global stage.

Universal is still committed to the four other projects with Hasbro, the first being next Summer's action epic "Battleship". Also in the...

If we were a director or producer developing a project at Universal right now, we’d probably be feeling extremely nervous. Because following the company's decision to put Guillermo del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness on hold and back out of Ron Howard’s plans to adapt the Dark Tower series comes word that the studio is dropping Hasbro murder mystery game property Clue, which had Gore Verbinski overseeing its slow – slower now – progress to the screen.Okay, so it’s not exactly on the same level as those others, but it was part of the big deal Universal made with toy giant Hasbro to turn some of its games into movies, the same deal that is bringing the world Battleship and Candy Land, among others.But this latest development does not mean that Clue is now a corpse lying on a rug with blood flowing from knife wounds.

Universal Pictures has been working on a live-action "Clue" movie, based on the Hasbro board game, for many years. In 2009, the studio pushed the film forward by attaching "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski to helm. Deadline is now reporting that Universal is no longer pursuing "Clue," a property that the studio signed on to make, along with other Hasbro properties. Apparently "Magic The Gathering" and Ridley Scott's "Monopoly" have also been dropped. None of these projects are actually dead. In fact, Hasbro has decided to fund the development of "Clue" and is still planning to have Verbinski bring it to the big screen. The company has just hired "Flash Gordon" writers Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazame to pen the script for the murder mystery story. Universal is still involved in other Hasbro properties like "Battleship" (directed Peter Berg), "Stretch Armstrong" (Taylor Lautner starring), "Candy Land" (written by...

Apes will rise this Friday, and you're going to want to be there to see it happen.

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" already has some seriously strong critical buzz going for it, and having seen a preview screening of the movie earlier today I'd say that it's warranted. But if you still aren't sold on the second attempt at a "Planet of the Apes" reboot, Next Movie has five clips to whet your appetite for this weekends lesson on "evolution = revolution."

Check out the rest of today's film news after the jump!

Universal Saves Robert Zemeckis' Imagemovers

Hollywood has proven over the past decade that it is the place for second chances to happen, and Robert Zemeckis' production company Imagemovers just got a big one. Imagemovers, which was behind the flop "Mars Needs Moms," was shut down by Disney in 2010, but now The Hollywood Reporter has...