Pictured: Our first look at Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton in Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

The first behind-the-scenes video from the set of Disney's Prince of Persia has made its way online, courtesy of Entertainment Tonight, and in it you'll get to see a glimpse of the sets in London at Pinewood Studios (where they're still shooting for about another couple of weeks), as well as a taste of what was done in Morocco and a quick chat with the Prince himself, Jake Gyllenhaal. But don't let Jake's regular old American accent fool you -- the dude has taken on a whole new accent for Persia, but you'll have to wait a little while longer before we're allowed to share the type of accent it is.

Cinematical was lucky enough to visit the set of Prince of Persia earlier this month, and while we can't really go into details, we have no problem placing a bet now that Persia will go down as the most successful (in terms of quality and box office numbers) video game adaptation of all time. This sucker is a monster, and you have my word that it looks damn good. Much more coming soon -- in the meantime, check out ET's video over here.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time hits movie theaters on May 28, 2010.

Well, it's official: The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Hasbro and Universal are moving forward on that movie based on the Monopoly board game by not only hiring Pamela Pettler (Corpse Bride, Monster House) to write the screenplay, but also by bringing Ridley Scott (who was simply a producer before) on as director. There's no mention of a solid story here yet, but THR does say that Scott plans to give the flick "a futuristic sheen along the lines of his iconic Blade Runner." Apart from Monopoly -- and as mentioned previously on Cinematical -- Universal and Hasbro are also working on adapting other games like Ouija Board and Battleship for the big screen too.

But what about Monopoly? Considering the struggling economy and how folks all over the world are losing property, do you think this is the right or wrong time to make a movie like this? I mean, the main point of the board game is to create a monopoly and bankrupt the other players, right? So who, exactly, will we be rooting for? A character by the name of Bill Yates? That said, I do dig the futuristic possibilities, and the comparisons to Blade Runner, so it'll be interesting to see what they end up with. And also, seeing as Pettler's written these family-friendly flicks, I wonder if that will be their direction as well.

Thoughts?

OK, I highly doubt that anyone has ever sat down to read Dante's Divine Comedy and thought, "Hey! This would make a great video game!" -- But I guess there have been worse places to get an idea. Variety reports that Universal has snapped up the film rights to an upcoming console game with the working title of Dante's Inferno.

Universal was the lucky winner after a bidding war erupted between major studios (including Warner Brothers, MGM, and Paramount) for the netherworld adventure. The project went to Universal for the low, low price of a seven-figure deal, and this is the first title Electronic Arts has sold this year that was not based on an popular existing game. This brings EA's total to three film deals this year, with the possibility of a Sims feature (which some of us might have tried to block out), and then the announcement of an Army of Two feature film with Bourne scribe, Scott Z. Burns.

Since it's still early days for Inferno, not much is known about the game other than it will take players on a journey through hell. The games creator's will be taking a hands-on approach to the adaptation, and according to Variety , "Making a movie deal well before the game's release will give EA a shot at seeing a movie released closer to the beginning of the game's life cycle." I don't know about that, but I do know that it can't be any worse than most movie tie-in games.

That's it, I officially give up. Why does it seem like nobody really likes video game flicks, but Hollywood is determined to keep on making them? Well, I guess it's just another day in the movie business, and another game property has been snatched up for the big screen. Gaming giant Electronic Arts have just announced that Universal has purchased the film rights to their latest shooter hit, Army of Two.

The third person shooter centers on two mercenaries who, after earning their stripes, become embroiled in your run-of-the-mill global conspiracy. The game was a huge hit upon release back in March, and gamers loved that the story relied on the cooperation of our two heroes (good news if you normally get left behind and trapped in a corner while your partner sweeps out bad guys) and customizable weapons for maximum carnage.

Bourne Ultimatum scribe Scott Z. Burns has already been hired to adapt the game for Scott Stuber, and EA will also co-produce. EA has been pretty eager to get into the film game lately (and you can't blame them now that Hollywood has come knocking into the gaming business for themselves) and Army is their second feature project that the company has set in motion this year. Army definitely seems like the obvious choice for an easy transition to the big screen since it comes with a ready made story of political intrigue (first up for EA will be a film version of The Sims for Fox and producer John Davis). But let's not forget what is really important: Army of Two might just be Universal's shot at a brand new franchise.

Army of Two is expected to begin production in 2009. So who plays this game? Will it make a good film?

You know, at this point I think that Milla Jovovich should probably be named the patron saint of video game flicks. Mainly it's because that in the barrage of crappy console-to- screen properties, there are none more beloved than the Resident Evil series. So I can only hope that some of that 'geek shine' is going to rub off on The Weinstein's latest attempt. Bloody Disgusting (who is usually pretty reliable when it comes to all things horror) has confirmed that Jovovich is set to star in the big-screen adaptation of Capcom's horror-survival game, Clock Tower. Even though this news is still in the rumor stage, BD is confident that Jovovich is already on board.

News of the film first surfaced back in April, and last month Variety had announced that Brittany Snow (Prom Night) signed on for the lead. According to sources, Jovovich will play "a woman in a psych ward who befriends the lead character, played by Snow, when they discover a shared family history. Meanwhile a psychotic madman dubbed Scissorman is pursuing her and keeping the family curse going strong." Eric Poppen (Borderland) was tapped to write the script, and even though there are some conflicting reports regarding the story, the general consensus seems to be that the film will be loosely based on the second installment of the series.

Shooting is scheduled for November in Los Angeles, and by then we should have a few more details. Hopefully the addition of Jovovich and an 'R' horror director like Martin Weisz (The Hills have Eyes 2) means that the film will be avoiding the usual pitfalls of PG horror and adding a little more 'bang for our buck'. Not to mention that at least with Milla on board, we might get a glimpse of a slightly more interesting female lead than the perpetually pouty Ms. Snow.

As is often the case with the translation of any geek property to the screen, this Friday's release of Max Payne seems to elicit just as many hopes and doubts as one would expect from a big-screen adaptation of a popular video game (well, one not directed by Uwe Boll, that is). So, coming from a position of relative ignorance when it comes to most titles (trust me, my PS2 gathers more dust than yours does), what's the current reading from fans on a film proudly rated PG-13, although based on a series of M-rated games?

And for which upcoming projects are you most hopeful: Halo -- that is, with or without Peter Jackson? Gore Verbinski's BioShock? Jerry Bruckheimer's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time? (And just when is The Rock's Spy Hunter coming out anyway? Do you care?) (Should I?)

As for my fellow ignorati: does this look to you like an appealing action movie regardless? Which video-game movies worked best despite your lack of familiarity with the source material? My vote goes to the first Resident Evil, with some moderate supporting love going to Silent Hill and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within -- no great blasphemy intended.

Oh, and just to keep things jumping, any thoughts on the following titles, or any left out, are more than welcome: DOA: Dead or Alive, Doom, Double Dragon, Hitman, the Mortal Kombat films, Street Fighter, Super Mario Brothers, the Tomb Raider franchise, Wing Commander.

It looks like another quiet week in the land of the geek -- particularly since all my friends are off at Fantastic Fest. If you're one of the lucky people attending, eat a Wild at Artichoke Hearts pizza for me at the Alamo Drafthouse. I lie awake at night thinking about it, and wishing for the skill to replicate it.

• The biggest news of the weekend was a story that hit Variety late Friday night: Stephen Chow has landed the role of Kato in The Green Hornet and the director's chair. Rumors and Seth Rogen's wishes have attached him for some time, but now it's official, and definitely shows that the project is going to be heavy on the comedy. (Incidentally, I never realized before now what huge Green Hornet fans my geek parents were -- let's just say Rogen's ears must be burning.) The movie is scheduled to be released June 25th, 2010.
  

• Tintin has run into some major financial problems. According to the LA Times, Universal has passed on the film, leaving Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson to scramble for a new studio to financially back them. It's as embarrassing as you can imagine -- not only because its two of the biggest names in the business, but because Spielberg may have to make nice with Paramount (who's financing half the film) just as he and David Geffen are trying to extricate themselves from it. It also leaves Spielberg without a project to direct, as Tintin was supposed to be next in line, and it delays the whole thing even longer. But hey, at least struggling directors the world over can now do something they never thought possible -- feel just like Spielberg!
  

The director of The Hills Have Eyes II is teaming up with the star of the Prom Night remake for what should logically add up to the worst horror film ever made. Variety reports that Brittany Snow has been cast as the lead in the video game adaptation Clock Tower, to be directed by Martin Weisz. Again playing a teenager, despite the fact that she looks 40 (she's really 22), Snow will apparently fill the role of Jennifer Simpson, a 15-year-old girl Variety describes as "a troubled psychiatric patient who witnessed her parents die and is constantly plagued by religious imagery."

That sounds a lot less frightening than the actual game, but either the trade received a watered-down synopsis or Clock Tower will indeed be a disappointment to gamers. I've never played any of the Clock Tower games myself, but from what I've gathered from fan feedback, they're actually pretty scary. They center on a serial killer called the Scissorman, who stalks the player, who must survive by figuring out clues (feel free to correct me or elaborate if you've played).

I am amazed that Duke Nukem hasn't been made it into a movie yet. Lara Croft got a movie deal faster than he did -- perhaps that's why she let him touch her boobs and live. Consolation prize.

Well, perhaps Duke got the last laugh, because producer Scott Faye, the man behind the upcoming Max Payne, isn't going to rest on his video game movie laurels. According to Kotaku, he's working with 3D Realms' Scott Miller to make a Duke Nukem movie. "I'm working diligently at making a Duke Nukem movie scenario that will live up to the character and its import in the videogame world," said Faye. "As is the case with all of my game adaptations, I'd rather not make the movie than make a poor adaptation. With the two new games coming out based on Duke Nukem, I'm working at establishing a Duke film scenario that will compel a studio to finance a feature version. Certainly, there's a large audience that knows and loves this character."

Lest you think that it is all empty producer-speak, it was just such a casual verbal commitment that started the ball rolling on Max Payne, which Faye first saw 10 years ago at E3 in Atlanta. He told Miller he would get a Max Payne movie made -- and he did. That's devotion. I certainly hope, just for Faye's sake, that it doesn't take another decade to get Duke Nukem made. Anyway, Nukem fans, has the boat sailed? Would you still be into a big screen version? And which musclebound man would you place your bets on taking the lead? I've got nothing outside of genetically combining Dolph Lundgren and Kurt Russell. But I nominate the crazy woman from the Duke Nukem Chat Prank as the villain -- Google that, it's too naughty to link here.

[via Empire]

Talk about picking your battles: John Moore, director of the upcoming thriller Max Payne, has openly lashed out at the MPAA for granting the film a full-blown R rating instead of an hoped-for PG-13, explicitly calling out the ratings board for granting leniency towards The Dark Knight. His NSFW thoughts on the matter were brought to light during an interview with Das Gamer; I'd recommend that you head over there and give it a look-see.

Now, most filmmakers shoot for the more profitable PG-13 due to contractual obligation, and while I don't doubt that's part of the drive here -- as a studio, Fox has shown no scruples about trimming out the naughtier bits of last month's Babylon A.D. and last summer's Live Free or Die Hard -- Moore has been quite openly set on earning one. Who knows, maybe the man is actually out to prove the difference between lots of action and lots of violence, or perhaps it's just semantics as he shuffles back to the cutting room.

Moore made the PG-13 action flick Behind Enemy Lines for Fox, but also the R-rated horror remake The Omen, and judging from this most recent trailer, this seems to be a fair cross between the two in terms of genre intensity (guns and demons -- what kid wouldn't sneak in if they had to?). We'll just say how rough and tough Max Payne really turns out to be come October 17th.

[And a tip of the hat to /Film.]

While you suffer through those back to school blues ...

Guitar Hero: The Movie -- I have to start with this one. Have to! Because not only are we talking about a possible big-screen movie based on the popular video game, but we're also about to tell you who wants to direct the thing. Can you guess? Here's a hint: It's not Uwe Boll. And if it's not Boll, it has to be ... Ratner! YES! (I really do think I love this maniac in a totally platonic, yet sadistic way -- sorta how you love a great movie villain.) Anyway, Brett Ratner tells MTV that he'd love to make a Guitar Hero movie, possibly about "a kid from a small town who dreams of being a rock star and he wins the 'Guitar Hero' competition. One of these dreams-[come-true] kind of concepts." Ratner adds, "I would love to do a 'Guitar Hero' movie, if Activision would ever let me. I'm trying to convince them, but why would you have a movie screw up such a huge franchise? Not that I would make a bad movie. So that would be cool, to do a 'Guitar Hero' movie. " I'm leaving this one to you, folks -- have at it!

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: In case you're interested in seeing what a standard Persian-esque set looks like, Korben.info has put up a few select shots (see one above) of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time set. Based on the popular video game (hurray for themes in posts!), Prince of Persia stars Jake "I didn't know he was Persian" Gyllenhaal as a young prince who teams up with a hottie princess (Gemma Arterton) to stop an evil ruler from doing evil things.

A director has been chosen to remake Poltergeist and Cinematical says we likey him ... after the jump ...

It's difficult (and a little silly) to try and judge an entire quarter-year's movies in one lump sum -- but that's what we seem to do at the end of every Summer Movie Season. That's when all our excitement, expectations, and final reactions come colliding together and we find ourselves thinking: "Was I actually looking forward to that piece of crap for four months?" But to me, each summer is like a walk through a carnival: Some of the attractions dazzle me, others simply don't interest me, and a few are just a waste of tickets. But once early May rolls around, I'm always ready for another trip to the Hollywood Movie Carnival. (It's where you find all the tentpoles!)

So while I'm elated to greet the upcoming season of "prestige movies," there's little denying that we've had one hell of a good summer, cinematical-ly speaking. I'm not talking about box office grosses, because frankly that stuff is so unimportant. What matters is that we got some good flicks, a few pieces of mindless (yet well-made) popcorn adventures, and even a few great films that will enjoy a very long shelf life. So while I'm not exactly sure that 2008 represents the finest Summer Movie Season of all time, I'd definitely say it was more good than bad. But if you can think of a summer that was better than this one, you know where to throw your comments. (In the comments section.)

I must admit that, after watching this new trailer on Yahoo! Movies for upcoming actioner Max Payne, I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it, but I'm willing to predict this much: it won't be boring.

Having not played the games, I can't speak for much faithfulness beyond the incorporation of slo-mo, but beyond that, this strikes me as some sort of cross between The Punisher (as Mark Wahlberg's eponymous NYC cop has lost his family to criminals) and Constantine (seriously, what's with the angelic demons here?).

That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you -- for a video game adaptation, this thing looks pretty slick and atmospheric so far -- but how will this flick play out under an assured PG-13 rating? Doesn't that somewhat defeat the purpose of anything titled 'Max Payne' (or anything starring Mila Kunis for that matter)?

Regardless, Max-ish Payne opens on October 17th, opposite the teen-targeting (but R-rated) romp Sex Drive and Oliver Stone's controversy-magnet-in-waiting, W.

It's funny how little things can make a big difference. When the first poster was released from the big-screen version of Max Payne, I have to tell you; I was pretty underwhelmed. But my opinion of the design has improved now that I've gotten a gander at the two new posters for the flick (see larger versions of both in the gallery below). Although, I have to ask, who knew that Mr. Payne was such a 'shoe-gazer'? The original Max seemed a bit more thick-skinned than his feature film version; Wahlberg makes the man look downright depressed at times.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Payne, a cop who has lost his family and partner at the hands of a powerful crime syndicate. When he is left to his own devices, our hero sets out on a mission of revenge for his loved ones, and discovering some unnatural secrets along the way. Starring alongside Wahlberg are Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) as Mona Sax, Beau Bridges as Payne's friend and mentor, and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as an IA agent.

We finally got a look at the trailer back in July, and if you are fan of the series, you probably noticed that the film has taken it's look from the original game. Payne was directed by John Moore, who has the dubious credit of being behind the remake of The Omen back in 2006. But, to be fair, the flick seems like an easy sell. Wahlberg seems suited to the more 'violent' strain of moviemaking. Plus, once you throw in the pre-existing fan base, and competition-free release date, Fox should be able to rake in some serious dough.

Max Payne will arrive in theaters on October 17th.

It has not been a good week on the "Movies Elisabeth Wants To See" front. First there was that wretched news that Warner Bros isn't particularly interested in RocknRolla, then Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was delayed a whole year. And now, producer Gary Lucchesi told SciFi Wire that Game has been pushed back to the increasingly crowded summer of 2009.

Game is a futuristic thriller directed by the insane duo of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and stars the ever-so-lovely Gerard Butler. While he's reason enough to see it, it's also the kind of frantic, maniacal movie making we've come to expect from Neveldine and Taylor. We were treated to some footage at ComicCon, and it was a hell of a lot of fun. Later in that same day, Butler described it (and his directors) as being not only in tune with Internet, science, and pop culture, but having a nightmarish sensibility. "You're literally walking around the set at night and there are people hanging with hooks coming out of their skin and that's your day filming. There's blood dripping. I had blood on me. These people did it for fun." Come on! Who doesn't want to see that right now?

Well, if wishes were horses, and all that. Lucchesi said we should get a teaser by Christmas, and a solid date will be set very soon. But that doesn't satisfy me -- and so I'm just going to abandon my posting duties to build a time machine, and travel to the Summer of 2009. I'll wait around for The Road and Australia, of course, but I fully intend to skip ahead a year to see Harry Potter, Wolverine, and Game. I'd come back bearing Star Trek news, but frankly, I would rather not return to a bleak Colorado winter. Especially when the movie selection is getting thinner and thinner.