MikeMcD

<span class="articleText">
Grand Theft Auto, along with Call of Duty, Halo, and World of Warcraft, is one of the first game series that comes to mind when thinking about videogame properties that are big targets for Hollywood. Rockstar Games' Dan Houser explained that, while movie deals have been explored, Rockstar simply hasn't chosen to proceed with a movie based on its games. Were it to do so, however, it would be made in-house -- or, if not, in tandem with only the best talent available.
Talking about bringing videogames into other forms of media, the Rockstar co-founder addressed what everyone knows: That most videogame-based movies stink. "Virtually all movies made from games are awful, while many games made from movies are also pretty horrible," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "This will change, but with an ever more discerning audience, the goals of taking something from film-to-games or game-to-film have to be more than financial. If you feel the property has something about it that is universal or could work in another medium, and it is not simply about making easy money, then that is something worthwhile. Too often, however, the aim appears to be to cash-in on the success of a particular game, book, pop singer, website, etc., and that usually produces mediocre results."
Moving on to why no Rockstar games are currently slated for the big screen, Houser explained, "We have explored a lot of movie deals, but we have just chosen not to make a movie. We love movies, but we also love games and that is what we remain focused on. If we were to attempt to make a movie, we would like to make it ourselves, or at least work in collaboration with the best talent, so at least if it is bad, we can know we failed on our own terms. But doing that takes time, and making games properly takes a lot of time. So, we may make movies one day, with the right property and the right partnership, but we have not found the time to do that yet."

More...