'Gran Turismo' Movie Adaptation News: Joseph Kosinski in Talks With Sony to Direct
"Gran Turismo," one of the best-selling PlayStation games, is heading to the movies. The racing game, developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in 1997 and created by Polyphony Digital, is being eyed by Sony Pictures as one of the few video game adaptations that they can do with Sony PlayStation exclusive content.
Joseph Kosinski is reportedly in talks with Sony to direct the video-game adaptation. Kosinski previously directed "Oblivion," a science fiction film with Tom Cruise as lead actor and "Tron: Legacy." Both films were however criticized as "visually impressive but lacking in substance," according to a report in Screen Rant. This was reportedly due to Kosinski's background in directing commercials.
"Gran Turismo," unlike other video games which have some story plot, is simply just a racing game where the player needs to earn different types of licenses in order for him to advance in the race. According to Screen Rant, Kosinski is also talking about developing the script for the adaptation. An initial script was said to have been earlier developed by "Watchmen" writer Alex Tse which was about a video game player who becomes a race car driver. Reports are not clear whether Kosinski will work with this script or make an entirely new one.
The movie reportedly is backed by Sony Pictures' President for Production, Michael De Luca who will join the producing team, which includes Sony Pictures' Vice President Matt Milam, Dana Brunetti, Josh Bratman, DeVon Franklin and Elizabeth Cantillon. No one has been rumored to be interested in the movie so far.
"Gran Turismo" was designed by Kazunori Yamauchi and was released for the PlayStation console in 1997. As of March 2013, it is said to have shipped 10.85 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation games. The game became a series and has around 10 spin-offs and sequels.
