Unless you’re finely tuned to the London theater scene, you’ve likely never heard the name Michael Lesslie. He’s a twentysomething wunderkind who’s taken the great stages of Britain by storm. His words have been performed by acting greats like Michael Sheen and Derek Jacobi, he penned a well-received stage version of the Kevin Spacey movie Swimming with Sharks when he was barely out of Oxford, and he wrote an actual prequel to Hamlet called Prince of Denmark.

So what does he do for an encore? Duh, he’ll write the screenplay for the adaptation of Assassin’s Creed.

Okay, so it’s not exactly a lateral move, but it is a compelling one, the film already has Michael Fassbender attached to star, but Lesslie’s addition to the team certainly classes things up even more. Lesslie himself is relatively new to the feature screenwriting field having penned only a couple of unproduced scripts, but he has had several short film scripts produced, including the BAFTA-nominated “Heavy Metal Drummer,” directed by Toby MacDonald and Luke Morris.

So how does this affect the status of actually seeing the Assassin’s Creed movie? Well, producers were aiming for a summer 2013 start date for production, but it’s highly dubious that it’s going to get started that quickly with a new screenwriter attached and still no director on staff. Still, with the recent release of the third Assassin’s Creed game, Ubisoft and the gang are going to want to get going on this at a speed slightly better than average.

More news as it develops.

Source: /Film

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We’ve heard about UbiSoft working on film adaptations for some of its games, including Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell.  Well, now it seems like the next on that list is the shooter series Ghost Recon.

Turns out they’ve got an edge on other game developers in the film adaptation arena because the head of UbiSoft Motion Pictures, Jean-Julien Baronnet, used to run movie director Luc Bresson’s EuropaCorp.  That’s a pretty nifty connection to have!

There aren’t many details available in terms of what we can expect for the Ghost Recon film adaptation at this point in time.  They’ll have quite a bit of flexibility, though, with the story as long as they get the look and feel of the thing just right.

Under the jump, you’ll find a short film that was released to promote Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and that may give you an idea of what we’d hope to expect for the film.

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After toiling in Hollywood for years, it seems that actor Tom Hardy is getting the ultimate honor that an actor can get in the movie business: a starring role in his own franchise. And bonus points for it being based on a highly popular video game.

Following hot on the heels of the news that Eric Singer (The International) had been hired to write the screenplay for a Splinter Cell movie, comes word from Variety that Hardy has been cast as the lead character in the film. Here’s what Ubisoft Motion Pictures CEO  Jean-Julien Baronnet says about the developments on the Splinter Cell front:

“Tom Hardy is currently one of the biggest talents in the film industry, and he has a phenomenal ability to take on complex and varied roles with his broad range of acting skills. His involvement in the ‘Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell’ movie is exciting news for movie and video game fans alike. Meanwhile, Eric Singer is one of the most talented writers of the moment, and … we’re confident he’ll bring a fresh approach and create a thrilling story … while still respecting all the codes and traditions of the franchise that are so important to fans.”

Ubisoft has been enjoying positive progress on turning their films into movies lately, the other recent big news being that Michael Fassbender was cast as the lead in the Assassin’s Creed movie. Hardy, meanwhile, is staying super busy with appearances in George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road,  the Dennis Lehane adaptation Animal Rescue, and Doug Liman’s Everest.

What do you Bastards think? Is Hardy a good choice to lead Splinter Cell?

Source: Collider

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Ubisoft has had itself a fantastic run, making some great narrative games over the last few years. The cinematic adaptions of some of their hit games however (Prince of Persia wink, wink) have missed their mark. Call it the inevitable “video game curse” that countless other video game based movies has suffered through, but there is still hope thanks to Michael Fassbender and New Regency.

This past summer it was announced that the Prometheus star had not only landed the lead role in Ubisoft’s film adaptation of their video game, Assassin’s Creed, but that he would also co-direct. After that came… silence, that is until some new financing for the picture and a partnership with New Regency.

Ubisoft Motion Pictures is hard at work developing both their Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon franchises for a live -action treatment as well, but Assassin’s Creed is the first to really have solid fan support since Prince of Persia. Ubisoft Motion Pictures CEO Jean-Julien Baronnet said:

“Bringing aboard New Regency’s renowned production and distribution expertise while maintaining our own creative and financial flexibility ensures that Assassin’s Creed will be a high-quality film that respects the lore and fans of the video game franchise.”

The Paris-based studio said Fassbender was their first choice for the lead role with Conor McCaughan set to join the actor for the second half of the directing duties and according to New Regency CEO Brad Weston:

“This is the perfect intersection of what we have been trying to do, and that is to work with top quality talent like Michael Fassbender… We see this as our first big commercial action franchise property. Fassbender just did 12 Years A Slave with us, and he is as good an actor as there is right now. The storyline we are pursuing has a great narrative and because Ubisoft’s games are so character and story driven, Assassin’s Creed lends itself perfectly to our goal to re-brand Regency as a filmmaker driven company.

Yes, much like Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia, Fassbender doesn’t quite fit the ethnicity of Assassin’s Creed’s Desmond Miles, assassins Altaïr ibn-La’Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze or new assassin Connor Kenway, but who really cares? If played right in the next few years we’re going to have a sex symbol leaping off buildings into haystacks and stabbing people with hidden blades. A perfect date night movie for everyone involved.

What do you think about Ubisoft letting Fassbender take a crack at their little money pit idea?

Special thanks to The Mary Sue for spreading the joy.

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Those who’ve always wondered if Ubisoft would ever seriously pursue an Assassin’s Creed movie, especially after that rather disappointing Prince of Persia effort, you’ll be very happy to hear Michael Fassbender is planning to star in and co-produce an adaptation. Hells yeah, one of Hollywood’s hottest actors is tackling one of the hottest video game franchises. It’s like a match made in an Animus device.

Fassbender will be working along with Ubisoft and his longtime producing partner, Conor McCaughan. This will allow Ubisoft more creative control unlike the Persia film which was all Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer. And it sucked.

Details are pretty slim, but as you know Assassin’s Creed follows Desmond Miles and his adventures when he relives the life of an ancestor through the Animus device. The first game follows Altair in the Crusades, the second is Ezio in the Renaissance, and when Assassin’s Creed III releases in October it’ll be as Connor Kenway in the American Revolution. In each past life, Desomond learns more and more secrets about the Knight’s Templar, a prophecy about the  end of the world, and a pre-human civilization.

That sounds like a lot of plot for one movie to explore, so if this Fassebender/Assassin’s Creed film is a success I smell sequels! And honestly, doesn’t this sounds like gold? Especially if Ubisoft is in control of the story because their games’ stories are incredible and half the fun in playing. The other half being able to sneak up and stab people in the back.

What do you bastards think of an Assassin’s Creed flick with Fassbender in the lead?

Source: Variety via /Film

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I suppose it was just a matter of time before UbiSoft‘s huge hitter, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, was movie-fied.  The talks have been going between Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. recently, but no official studio has been announced for this motion picture just yet.  Regardless, we can expect UbiSoft to be fairly involved in the whole process.

The original game follows the main character, Sam Fisher, who is a covert operative in the Third Echelon, a faction of the National Security Agency.  Since its release in 2002, numerous novels have been written in the Tom Clancy ‘verse and several video game sequels.

We’ll keep y’all updated as more news becomes available, of course.  In the meantime, what do you guys think of a Splinter Cell movie?  Is there anything in particular you’d like to see addressed in the film(s)?

Source: Deadline

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Honestly, even though I loved Assassin’s Creed II neither of the following games, Brotherhood or Revelations, really sparked my interest. And I wasnt even all that excited for Assassin’s Creed III. That was until I saw this trailer.

There’s something about a game set during the American Revolutionary War that seems daring. Especially when if rumors are true and our main character is the son of a British Soldier and an American Indian mother. Note the use of that kick ass tomahawk.

Okay, Ubisoft, you’ve got me amped.

Assassin’s Creed III is rumored to be released this October.

Source: ComicBookMovie.com

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James Cameron‘s Dances with Blue Cat Elf Pocahontas (aka Avatar) is what it is – the highest grossing movie of all time. With any ego-maniacal director, comes the George Lucas effect. The quest to make even MOAR monies. While Cameron is no George Lucas (Yet), he is trying to ring out everything he can from the franchise he created. Cameron is currently writing a novel along with two scripts for the next two Avatar films, and helping develop theme park attractions for Disney. He’s previously worked with Ubisoft on creating a semi decent tie-in movie video game, now Cameron is discussing his plans for an Avatar MMO project that he wants to launch around the time the next two Avatar films will be released. Ugh, an MMO of avatars controlling avatars role-playing having sex. Surely that cannot possibly fail

In a recent interview the filmmaker talks in depth about video games and where 3D film, home entertainment, and gaming will be in the future.

Portions of the interview are below, you can read it in full on IGN.

What role do you see videogames playing in the 3D landscape with PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS and NVIDIA 3D Vision?

Well, we love it because it’s another reason to buy a 3D display, another reason to buy a big home flat panel or whatever it is. We don’t do games, but we see that as part of the market and as proof that we’re going to take in all of our entertainment in 3D and within five years we’re going to be demanding it in 3D. If it’s not, it’s going to feel like it’s in black and white.

What do you say to the naysayers who don’t believe in 3D gaming or entertainment?

People apply these sort of artificial arguments, “Oh, well this is going to be good in 3D but this doesn’t really need to be in 3D.” But the entertainment industry spent twenty years arguing about what should or should not be in color and then color TV came along and everything was in color. Every movie was in color, every TV show is in color and we never went back. I think that that’s what 3D is going to be like. I think all of these arguments about what should and should not be in 3D are going to go away because frankly we see in 3D. You’re hardwired for 3D. All life on earth is hardwired for 3D, not just human beings. There’s an evolutionary reason why we see in 3D. It makes us better hunters. It makes us better at getting through the woods when a predator is behind us. We can’t not be in 3D. So it’s ludicrous to say one thing is going to be better in 3D and another thing is going to be better in 2D. That’s just people holding on to a reality that’s shredding all around them.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

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By now you’ve gone and heard the news that Ubisoft is creating a new Assassins Creed game, titled Revelations, set for a November 2011 release. The first game was a hit, it’s sequel expanded the history and Brotherhood gave everyone the multiplayer experience they were begging for. With the news of yet another game being months away in development, what is a fan to do in the mean time? How about building your very own functional hidden blade just like the one Altair and Ezio use to give their enemies a new blow hole. Remember this is real and shouldn’t be worn in the middle of high fives and handshakes.

This hidden blade is modeled after the one worn by Ezio in Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, but it doesn’t make it any less cool. Not only can the blade be naturally concealed, but the system has a fully retractable and retractable blade but how exactly does it work?

“Based on a dual action Out The Front (OTF) Mechanism with a ring driven ratcheting pulley system to index the OTF Mech. Blade locks in both the extended and retracted positions and can be extended and retracted regardless of arm orientation (no gravity/arm shake required).”

It’s a piece of art that needs to be seen to be believed, the only part is the terrible camera work thanks to the creator and cameraman. Don’t expect any accidental finger loss the blade is made of plastic (dammit).

This is going to be a huge hit in prisons across the nation if anyone get’s a hold of how to put this bad boy together.

Via: Geekologie

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Huge fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise? Who isn’t? The game series is one of  the most articulated and well-developed on the market and it’s comprehensive and engaging story lines have launched a legion of fans. Most of those fans, myself included,  are waiting desperately to learn what becomes of Etzio, Altair’s heir. Come November, with the release of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, we’ll see the final showdown between Assassins and Templars.

Ubisoft has wowed us again and again with this series and Revelations will be no disappointment. The finale is said to include, “ revolutionary gameplay, allowing players to manipulate the construct of Desmond’s memories and the Animus to decipher the mysteries of his past and gain insight into the future.” Which I’m taking to mean we, the players, will be given even more control over the Etzio’s path. Multiple ending, maybe? Possibly, but  maybe I’m reading in to much into the “to manipulate the contruct.” The basic premise for Revelations is,

…master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of his legendary mentor, Altaïr, on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.

In addition to Ezio’s award-winning story, the acclaimed online multiplayer experience returns, refined and expanded, with more modes, more maps and more characters that allow players to test their assassin skills against others from around the world.

Pictured above is the first released screen cap of the game, click the jump for a larger version. Beautiful, isn’t it? I can’t wait to be tooling around Constantinople, what a great city to practice your free-running and bloody assassinations under a cloak of secrecy. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will release in November for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. Will you be picking up this title release day or is Assassin’s Creed more of a a bargain bin purchase?

source: TheDailyBlam

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