A blockbuster movie spin-off of the Grand Theft Auto series very nearly happened last spring, with one of Hollywood's six major studio's lined up to develop the Rockstar film.

According to Variety's Cut Scene blog, last year the GTA flick was basically a "done deal," with rap star Eminem possibly lined up to star, though that sounds more like speculation on Variety's report.

"Then at the last minute," the blog reads, "it all fell apart. I'm told Take 2 couldn't finalize terms with the studio, though I'm not sure if it was a purely financial issue or if, in the end, the publisher got cold feet about giving away rights to its baby."

Given the highly cinematic nature of the games, GTA would've made a cracking movie under the right people. More than likely though it would've been handed out to some cheapo action director - or worse, Uwe Boll. So we're probably better off.

It's unclear whether Rockstar will ever be willing to sign a movie deal again, though we reckon that decision will be directly determined by GTA IV's cash pile.

Courtesy of CVG.

Feb 7, 2008