Pirates of the Caribbean: Black Flag...

I've loved pirate adventures since I was old enough to hold a toy sword...

Honestly, I believe my first experience with pirates was the "Swiss Family Robinson" film with my mom and uncle.  Followed by watching and then reading "Treasure Island" as an adolescent.  The ultimate experience of riding Pirates of the Caribbean in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.  I remember seeing old pirate films on cable growing into my adulthood.

In college I read the screenplay for the remake of "Captain Blood" that was to star Alec Baldwin when he was at right age with the right amount of buzz to star in it.  The adventure and excitement of being a pirate and sailing into the unknown with the chance of finding treasure was so alluring.  An aquatic Indiana Jones type of adventure almost if you think about it.

So when Disney announced that they were going to make a film adaption of their famous attraction I was both excited and worried about how it would turn out.  And when I saw it, I loved it.   I even like the slow, heavy layered story, but visually exciting sequels (the second was good, but overblown, and the third was bazaar and filled with bloated fun, the last one was simply an experiment carried too far in the wrong direction).

And then they began videogame adaptations of the films.

And most of what Disney Interactive came up with was disappointing to uninspired; a collection of mediocrity, with the exception of the Lego game.  It seems all Lego games are fun or at least playable.  From the original Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl for Gameboy to the Pirates of the Caribbean Online game, nothing was inspired, everything was average to unworthy.  With a franchise of so much potential, nothing was worthy of the film(s) they were trying to exploit.

Sounds a bit like Lucasarts with Star Wars doesn't it?

And then there was Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned and Pirates of the Caribbean: Master of the Seas.  Monumental games with hugely ambitious goals.  Put together by teams that were filled with disfunctional supervision and divided goals.  The companies that we're doing these games were not up to the task of such an epic scale.  Studios like Naughty Dog and companies like Electronic Arts should have done these, not the middling companies that Iger acquired as part of his digital strategy (still his greatest error as CEO).

So it looks like we'll never see a great Pirates game.

But it seems we will.  But it's actually not a Pirates of the Caribbean game, and it's not even made by Disney Interactive.  It's made by Ubisoft.  And if you want to see what a POTC game could/should have been, this is it:

Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag.

For anyone wanting to see the potential of what could have been, or someday might be, then check out the latest trailer for it.  Or check out the reviews and you'll know that it is possible to make a pirate game worth playing.  And therein, worth purchasing.  Are you watching Disney Interactive?  Here is solid proof that there is treasure out there if you care to find it.

You now have a map to find that treasure...

Monstrous Year Just Got More Monstrous...

And yet another film joins that year...

And this is one of the few that's not a Disney film.  New Regency and Ubisoft have plugged in Memorial Day, 2015 for the release of their "Assassin's Creed" film.  Hmmmm.  I wonder what other film will likely be out in May of that year?  The film studio is moving ahead with the Michael Fassbender starring game adaptation.

The studio/game-maker studio are moving for forward with production to begin on the film by early next year.  No start date has been announced, but the film, produced by Fassbender as well is being targeted as a tent pole franchise.  The first of many from Ubisoft's film division.  Michael Lesslie is penning the screenplay at this time with supervision by Fassbender himself.

Now, if they only had a director...

Soft In Translation...

Turn the power button on...







In this modern world this news only seems almost obvious...

Yesterday, Ubisoft, creator of games like "Assassin's Creed" and "Prince of Persia" (you remember that one) announced that they were creating their own film studio: Ubisoft Motion Pictures. It appears they realize the potential of the franchises they have and are not content with others having the creative control over them.

To be more accurate, it's really just a production company, not a full fledged studio. Most of the reports have gotten this one wrong. Perhaps it was lost in the translation of the original article. They will still partner with other studios in Hollywood to get films made of their properties. They just don't want Tinsel Town to be the one calling all the shots.

I'd be surprised if we didn't hear about more companies doing something like this. Micro$oft has even flirted with this idea (And in this process, Halo has languished). As the film business searches for new sources of material to adapt, video games feel like a natural alternative/variant to comic books. Both mediums are very visual and provide lazy suits that are too busy to actually read, the ability to grasp a concept quickly and efficiently. Expect more to come.

My feelings are based on the success, they would require and receive more and more autonomy as time when on. So they would essentially be like their own studio after a while anyway. But that means making hits and in the film business can often be elusive. After all, Walt Disney Pictures "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" made $335 million dollars and it's considered a disappointment at best. The trouble will be balancing budgets with scripts. That's something Hollywood has had trouble with from the dawn of the industry.

Making money and make believe can be a difficult but enticing partnership...