COLUMBIA ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO DEVELOP SCI-FI ACTION
FILM BASED ON POPULAR PC GAME "DEUS EX" FOR PRODUCER LAURA ZISKIN
Eidos
Interactive, Creator of the Tomb Raider franchise, Signs With Columbia Pictures
for Deus Ex Film
(Culver City, CA, May 22, 2002) — Columbia Pictures
has optioned the rights to develop a science-fiction, action-adventure franchise
based on the award-winning PC game "Deus Ex," as announced today by Peter
Schlessel, President of Production for Columbia Pictures. The project will be
developed and produced by Laura Ziskin, who most recently produced Spider-Man
for the studio.
Columbia secured the rights to the title from Eidos
Interactive, the successful video gaming company responsible for developing such
hit titles as "Tomb Raider." Greg Pruss is currently writing the screenplay.
Like the popular game, the film will be set in the
year 2052 as the world confronts the threat of a crippling disease, economic
collapse and the threat of global terrorism. JC Denton is a highly-rained, nano-technology
enhanced counter-terrorist who is sworn to protect the government. But as he
unravels one conspiracy after another, he must decide between continuing to
serve the government or overthrow it.
Eidos is already developing a sequel to the
franchise and expects to begin marketing and distributing the new game early
next year. Ziskin brought the project to Columbia Executive Vice President of
Production Matt Tolmach, who will oversee the project with Vice President of
Production Rachel O’Connor. Marc Evans will oversee the project on behalf of
Ziskin’s production company.
"With the brand awareness of the title and a
fantastically conceived hero at the core of this film, we feel we can develop
Deus Ex as a potential franchise for the studio," Schlessel said. "Our challenge
will be capturing all the story elements that have made this one of the most
popular PC games and delivering a film that has a distinctive look, execution
and feel."
"Deus Ex is an exciting world full of great bad guys and good
guys with a movie star role in the character of JC Denton. There is an amazing
ambition and depth to the story and we’re excited that it has attracted a writer
of Greg’s intelligence and ability." Ziskin said.
Deus Ex was created by Warren Spector and named
"Game of the Year" by over 35 game enthusiast magazines. More than one million
units have been sold on the PC and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system
formats. The sequel to Deus Ex, DX2: Invisible War, will be launched at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on May 21 through May 23, 2002.
“Eidos is thrilled to partner with Columbia,” said
Eidos Vice President of Marketing, Paul Baldwin. “Deux Ex is one of our top
franchises, and we look forward to seeing it come to life with a top of the line
studio like Columbia.”
About Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia Tri-Star
Motion Picture Group, is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures
Entertainment (SPE) is a division of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a
subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass
motion picture production and distribution; television production and
distribution; digital content creation and distribution; world wide channel
investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of
studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and
technologies; and distribution of film entertainment in 67 countries. Sony
Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.sonypictures.com.
Eidos Interactive’s Background Information
Eidos Interactive, Inc. is a leading developer and publisher
of interactive entertainment products for the PC, PlayStation®2 computer
entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube™ and the Xbox
video game system from Microsoft. For more information on Eidos Interactive’s
product line visit
http://www.eidos.com.
*"PlayStation"
and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc.
