If a new trademark filing is to be believed, Rockstar Games might be churning out films in the near future.
Take-Two Interactive, publisher of such fine, upstanding titles as Grand Theft Auto IV and LA Noire registered “Rockstar Films” on December 21, 2010. That trademark has since been approved, though the purpose of the filing remains mysterious.
The trademark text summary is suitably vague:
Animated motion picture films featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children’s and documentary themes; pre-recorded video discs and other pre-recorded digital and electronic media in the field of live action programs, motion pictures, or animation featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children’s and documentary themes.
Additionally, gaming industry news outlet SystemLink reports that Take-Two owns URLs for both “RockstarFilms.com” and “RockstarFilms.net.”
What exactly does this mean? For now, not much. In truth it could merely be a successful publisher ensuring the ongoing viability of its burgeoning media empire. Maybe Take-Two is just keeping its options open.
Of course, there’s also the more speculative option: That Rockstar is planning a Grand Theft Auto film series, and has no faith in Hollywood studios to do the game series justice.
That idea however, raises a crucial question: The Grand Theft Auto games have all been pastiches of various crime films. From Goodfellas to Miami Vice to Menace II Society, the entire GTA media juggernaut has been lifted wholesale from classic movies.
Would a Grand Theft Auto film be more of the same? If not, would it really be a Grand Theft Auto film, and if so, what’s the point?
Unless they somehow wrangle Scorcese into directing this theoretical film, I don’t know that I can muster any sort of excitement for the project.
Source: SystemLink, via Game Informer
