Take-Two is ‘discussing’ more movie adaptations but being ‘very selective’
Take-Two has explained why a Grand Theft Auto film or TV show is seemingly unlikely to be announced anytime soon.
Earlier this week, Nintendo revealed that it has partnered with Sony Pictures Entertainment to create a live action The Legend of Zelda movie.
In light of this, during Take-Two’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, the publisher was asked how willing it—and subsidiary Rockstar Games—are to find ways to extend the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises beyond video games.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the company is taking a “very, very selective, and very careful” approach to adapting its properties for film or TV.
Borderlands and BioShock movies are currently in the works, and while Zelnick said Take-Two is “discussing” further adaptations, the company is wary of the damage a misfire could to its brands.
“If we were willing to use the company’s balance sheet to make a movie or a television show, then in the event of great success we would benefit from it,” he said. “But we’re not prepared to use the company’s balance sheet that way because the risk/reward profile is unappealing to us.
“They’re very difficult businesses,” continued Zelnick, who previously spent four years as president and chief operating officer of 20th Century Fox, and also served as vice president of international television for Columbia Pictures. “I’ve been in them successfully, they’re super challenging, they’re not what we do. We much prefer the risk/reward profile of the business that we’re in.
“So that means that the only way we can be in that business is through a license arrangement with a third party. And let’s put it in context. Mattel said that their expected profits from licensing the Barbie IP for a movie would be
Read more on videogameschronicle.com
